HTNSA 30

Chapter 30

There were rumors that she suffered from mana insensitivity and wasn’t skilled at magic, but at least when it came to magic potion classes, she seemed to be an exception.

“I’d like you to prepare these ingredients,” Eila said to Peony.

It was a simple task among the many they had.

“Snap off all the thorns from the flower. We’re going to use even those. Saron grass is such a great potion ingredient that not a single part of it goes to waste.”

“Okay, got it.”

Peony diligently began trimming the thorns just as Eila had instructed.

Meanwhile, Eila dropped a few slender blue petals into the pot of red liquid.

As the petals melted, the mana they contained altered the liquid.

The red and blue colors merged and transformed into a soft silver hue.

Peony watched in silent awe.

‘So pretty.’

In contrast to their smooth experiment, chaos was unfolding on the other side of the classroom.

“Oh no…! The potion is burning! Lower the flame right now!”

Professor Jaycee was shouting frantically, scolding a student whose pot was emitting thick smoke.

The acrid smell of something burnt spread throughout the room.

Despite the commotion, Eila remained composed and continued adding the prepared ingredients to her potion.

The thorns that Peony had trimmed were the final component.

As the potion boiled, the colors began to slowly blend.

The potion changed moment by moment, almost like playing with paint.

Eila adjusted the heat one last time and gently simmered the mixture.

As a result, the potion turned a vivid golden color.

Peony looked around the room, curious about how the other students’ potions had turned out.

Her shoulders rose slightly in pride.

‘Eila’s potion seems to have the richest golden hue.’

The other students’ potions hadn’t absorbed the mana properly and turned out reddish or light green.

Peony wasn’t an expert in potions, but she knew that even a subtle difference in color could mean a big difference in effectiveness.

‘Amazing. I didn’t know Eila was so talented at making potions.’

Just as Peony was admiring Eila inwardly, a commotion erupted at the other end of the classroom.

A group of female students were marveling over a potion made by someone named Roshia.

“Oh my gosh, Roshia. This potion is absolutely perfect.”

“It’s glowing with a bright golden light, just like the ones made by the Mage Tower mages.”

Peony tilted her head in confusion as she listened. It was the first time she’d ever heard the name Roshia. And upon looking more closely, she realized it was a completely unfamiliar face.

‘Did she transfer in recently? But how did she get so close to everyone so fast?’

At Riod Academy, students typically formed close-knit groups based on social status, and it wasn’t easy for a new person to slip into those cliques—unless they were of exceptionally high nobility.

But this girl called Roshia had a face Peony had never seen before.

‘Something feels off.’

As everyone’s attention turned to Roshia, even the professor seemed curious about her potion and approached the group’s experiment table.

Professor Jaycee examined Roshia’s potion closely.

After a moment, she spoke with a voice filled with admiration.

“You’ve created a wonderful potion. Excellent work.”

Roshia smiled proudly at the praise.

Jaycee, looking pleased, began walking between tables to check on the other students’ results.

Then, her eyes suddenly stopped at one of the tables.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

There, at the end of her gaze, was a potion glowing with an even deeper gold than anything she had ever made herself.

Startled, Jaycee quickly approached the table.

“Eila, did you make this potion?”

“Yes. I made it with Peony.”

Eila answered shyly and nodded.

But Jaycee instinctively knew that wasn’t quite true.

She had already been informed that Princess Peony often missed classes and struggled to keep up with the coursework.

‘To produce such a high-quality potion with an inexperienced partner…’

Jaycee was utterly impressed. The potion was even more impressive than the one she had just seen from Roshia.

“Incredible. I can feel the mana inside is perfectly balanced. If applied to an object, I imagine it would emit the most beautiful glow.”

As soon as she spoke, several students’ faces stiffened.

Roshia, too, lost the smile she’d been wearing.

‘Eila… is being praised more than me in a magic-related class?’

She tried to keep a neutral expression, but the corners of her mouth twitched against her will.

‘Was Eila always this skilled?’

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

As someone playing the role of the Blanche family’s noble daughter, she was always supposed to be the best.

But now she was being outshined by Eila in potion class?

Roshia was completely shaken.

Still, Jaycee didn’t seem to notice the change in the atmosphere and continued her praise.

“Truly impressive. I had heard from the previous professor, but I never imagined your skills were this refined…”

Eila blushed, unsure how to respond to all the praise.

Perhaps because it was the first experiment of the semester, her reaction was especially emotional.

Jaycee, being from one of the top noble families in the Empire, didn’t care at all about student politics, which made a big difference.

‘If I didn’t have memories of the novel, I wouldn’t have been able to get these results.’

Thanks to her knowledge of the original story and various magical insights, Eila was able to perform far better than before.

‘Well, good thing. I’ll be putting this to important use later.’

Eila turned to glance at Peony beside her.

Peony seemed fully in awe, her mouth slightly open in admiration as she absorbed Jaycee’s words.

She appeared to be deeply impressed by Eila’s skills.

‘This should be enough to lay the groundwork.’

Eila looked around the classroom, satisfied.

Even among the students, whispers began to spread at Professor Jaycee’s unusually high praise—especially considering her reputation for being strict.

“Was Eila always that good?”

“I knew her potion grades were high, but… today’s assignment was especially difficult.”

“Roshia did well too, but…”

It seemed like the students were reluctantly acknowledging it.

That Eila’s potion skills surpassed even Roshia’s.

Freya, who wasn’t happy with the situation, tried to diminish Eila’s success.

“So what? She’s terrible in every class except for potion-making.”

But no one could deny that Eila had showcased the best skills in today’s class.

Eventually, Roshia, unable to contain her frustration, bit her lip.

‘What the hell did she do?’

Her body trembled with humiliation.

Her tightly clenched nails dug deep into her palm.

‘How can she make a potion better than me—someone from the Mage Tower?!’

As soon as potion class ended, the students hurried out of the classroom.

Luckily, Eila was still packing up her things slowly.

Seeing this, Peony hesitated before cautiously approaching her.

There was something she had wanted to say for a while.

“Blanche lady… I mean, Eila, you’re incredibly talented at potion-making. Truly amazing.”

Perhaps from nerves, she accidentally addressed her by title instead of name.

There was a rule at the Academy not to refer to students by their noble status.

Eila looked up, puzzled.

“Blanche lady?”

“Ah, I misspoke…”

“I’m not a noble lady.”

Peony’s expression stiffened at the unexpected response.

Then, looking completely confused, she asked again.

“You’re not… a noble lady?”