HTNSA 46

Chapter 46

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Then Freya, who was standing beside her, sneered openly.

“Well, it’s obvious. She definitely ran away.”

Peony’s insides churned as she listened to them chatting carelessly.

Having spent time with Eila and grown close to her, she knew better than anyone that what they were saying wasn’t the full truth.

But she also understood that, without knowing the full situation, it was easy to become suspicious.

At that moment, someone caught Peony’s eye—someone standing beside Freya, smiling brightly.

‘Come to think of it, that Rosia girl… doesn’t seem all that kind, unlike what I heard.’

According to Rona, Lady Rosia was known for her gentle heart, so much so that she even showed kindness to Eila, who had supposedly stolen her life.

But Peony didn’t see it that way at all.

‘If she truly cared about Eila, shouldn’t she be the first to worry when she disappears?’

Clenching her jaw, Peony turned to the students gossiping about Eila.

“It doesn’t look very nice to be spreading rumors when nothing’s been confirmed.”

For the usually timid Peony, those words took great courage.

Fortunately, as soon as the imperial princess spoke, the students flinched and fell silent.

Professor Jacey, seeing the atmosphere, stepped in to calm the situation.

“For today’s class, we’ll be making healing ointments. I’ll be stepping out briefly, so begin your experiments in the meantime.”

With that, Professor Jacey exited the lecture hall.

She was likely going to meet the dormitory director to look into Eila’s whereabouts.

It was only because she had a favorable view of Eila that she was even doing this much.

Peony knew all too well that the other professors probably didn’t even care where Eila had gone.

“Peony, may I sit here for a moment?”

Peony looked up at the girl who had spoken to her.

Rosia Blanche.

She smiled shyly at Peony.

“Do you need a partner for potion-making?”

Peony glanced around.

Everyone else seemed to have already paired up, leaving only the seat next to her.

“Looks like I don’t have much of a choice.”

At those words, Rosia’s smiling lips tensed for a moment—but just briefly.

She quickly adjusted her expression and nodded.

“I understand you’re disappointed not to be with Eila. But I’m not too bad myself, you know.”

Suddenly, Freya appeared and chimed in to support Rosia’s words.

“That’s right, Peony. Rosia is going to be the top scorer in the upcoming exam.”

Rosia smiled shyly at that, but Peony felt a subtle sense of discomfort.

‘Not even pretending to be humble, huh?’

Rosia truly believed she would come out on top.

But Peony knew better—that Eila was a more talented magician than Rosia.

‘There’s a reason I like Eila.’

There was a reason the black dragon symbolized royalty: in ancient times, royal bloodlines were said to descend from the black dragon.

And black dragons were known to be innately sensitive to mana.

Perhaps that’s why the royal family had a knack for recognizing powerful magic users.

While Eila had cured her illness and that had brought them closer, Peony realized she had felt a strong affinity from the very first moment she met Eila.

That’s why she was confident—if Eila could just overcome her illness, she’d become an outstanding magician.

‘But it’s strange… I can’t seem to like Rosia at all.’

Peony narrowed her eyes.

From the aura she sensed, Rosia clearly had strong magical talent.

And yet, every time she looked at her, Peony felt an unpleasant sensation.

‘It’s like… something dirty and oppressive.’

Almost as if Rosia gave off a stench.

“Let’s make the potion together today. You won’t be disappointed in my skills.”

Rosia smiled, her eyes curving softly.

But the emotion lurking behind that smile twisted with a completely different intent.

‘I don’t know why you’re close to Eila, but you won’t be anymore.’

She hadn’t liked that Eila had been friends with her. But as a princess, Peony had a suitable enough status to be in Rosia’s circle.

If she could draw Peony into her group, the other students would surely admire her cunning and charm.

To achieve that, she needed to win Peony’s favor in this class.

Rosia looked at Peony and said,

“Let’s get along. We’ll be seeing each other a lot even after graduation, right?”

Peony didn’t respond.

Rosia’s eyes twitched slightly. Peony’s expression was clearly guarded.

‘She smiled so sweetly at Eila…’

Seeing her like that reminded Rosia of Irene.

Someone who trusted Eila too much and protected her without a second thought.

As if there were some reason they had to be her enemy.

‘Well, what can she even do now? Without Eila, she doesn’t have any other friends.’

Before coming to class, Rosia had told Freya she wanted to befriend Peony.

Thanks to that, all the other students had already formed pairs, leaving only Rosia and Peony unpartnered.

Without a choice, Peony had no option but to make the potion with her.

Soon, the experiment began.

Rosia, with confident hands, began brewing the potion in front of Peony with practiced ease.

To others, it would have been impressive.

But watching her, Peony simply pouted in silence.

‘She’s not as skilled as Eila.’

Peony knew she was being petty.

Still, she had no intention of flattering someone who subtly belittled her friend with veiled words.

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* * *

A while later, Professor Jacey returned to class—but her expression wasn’t good.

Seeing it, Peony grew anxious.

She figured something must have gone wrong—Professor Jacey, after all, cared about Eila.

“You’ve all done a great job with the healing ointment. I hope you do just as well on tomorrow’s exam.”

Just then, a student raised their hand.

“Professor, could you tell us where Eila went?”

Professor Jacey’s expression twisted slightly.

“Student Eila is away due to personal matters.”

“So she won’t be taking the exam?”

“I don’t know. It’s a personal matter, so I can’t say any more.”

Her vague answer stirred murmurs among the students.

“Personal matters?”

“Why now, right before the exam?”

“Did she run away because she was nervous about the test?”

Hearing the whispers, Peony shook her head in frustration.

There was no way Eila had run away because she feared the exam.

She had been preparing for it more thoroughly than anyone else.

‘But then why did something personal suddenly come up…?’

Without a clear answer, Peony rushed to Eila’s dorm as soon as class ended.

But all she found was a firmly closed door.

Without hesitation, she went straight to the dormitory director and asked bluntly,

“Where did Eila go?”

The director scratched his cheek with an awkward expression.

It was understandable—Professor Jacey had just stormed in earlier, causing quite a fuss.

To the dormitory director, it was hard to understand why a mere commoner’s disappearance had caused both a professor and the imperial princess to panic.

“Last night, someone claiming to be Eila’s father came looking for her.”

“Her father?”

“A shabby-looking commoner.”

The director snorted as if amused.

The man who had come claiming to be Eila’s father looked extremely poor and foolish.

 

It was laughable to think that Eila, who had once been treated as a Blanche noblewoman, had come from such parents.