HTNSA 60

Chapter 60

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The inside of the greenhouse was more spacious than expected.

Eila walked past rows of flower pots and made her way to the deepest part of the greenhouse.

Before long, she arrived at a spot where moonlight poured in through a rounded glass ceiling.

At that moment, she felt a faint pulsing from the egg she held in her arms.

“You want to hatch soon too, don’t you?”

Here, it would get plenty of sunlight and moonlight. And since it was near the forest, the mana in the area was rich.

Eila gently placed the egg on a soft cushion she had brought and crouched beside it, softly stroking its surface.

“They say if you want an egg to hatch, you have to say nice things to it.”

Just like plants grow better when spoken to kindly, the egg would feel secure that way—according to the book.

But Eila wasn’t particularly good with words.

So instead of whispering all kinds of things, she simply patted the egg gently.

“I’ll be waiting to meet you after you hatch.”

Just then, she thought she felt the egg tremble slightly.

Since leaving the egg in the greenhouse, Eila began visiting it often.

She found herself growing unexpectedly fond of it. She would wipe the shell with warm water using a clean cloth or even make hot packs from potion ingredients to keep it warm.

Taking care of the egg quickly became part of her daily routine.

Raising something gave her a surprising sense of fulfillment.

Through this experience, the tension in her heart that had always been wound so tightly began to ease.

‘I guess I really didn’t have many places to rest my heart before this.’

It was a sudden realization.

With that inner space opening up, she naturally started talking to the egg every time she visited the greenhouse.

“Recently, I went dress shopping with Fioni. She seemed more excited than I was. It’s a design I’ve never worn before, but it’ll be fun to wear matching ones at the ball.”

Even though she knew the egg couldn’t reply, Eila kept chatting away.

“I’m thinking of matching the dress color with Felix’s outfit. Ah, I guess you don’t know who those two are, huh?”

She chuckled awkwardly.

“Fioni and Felix are my… well, how should I say it—friends. Honestly, I needed help because my situation was so difficult, so I started working with them. But they’re both really good people.”

She let out a quiet breath.

She still got choked up remembering the moment they pulled her out of that dark storage room.

Their relationship was only bound by contract, yet they had searched for her so desperately.

She struggled to keep her emotions in check and continued.

“The three of us plan to eat lots of delicious food at the festival and watch the fireworks together. I’m really looking forward to it. I’m not sure I deserve this kind of peace, though…”

As she gently stroked the egg and smiled again—

Tremble.

The egg suddenly shivered slightly.

Eila’s eyes widened as she stared at it.

She was sure now—what she felt wasn’t her imagination.

“Was that your answer to me?”

She giggled softly and tapped the egg with a fingertip.

Tremble tremble.

As if responding to her laughter, the egg quivered again.

Eila looked startled for a moment, then broke into a bright smile.

Perhaps because her heart had softened, she found herself speaking a truth she had never shared with anyone.

“I’m going to have the first dance with Felix at the ball. I haven’t told anyone else… but I’m a little excited.”

She recalled dancing with Felix not long ago.

Holding his hand, fumbling in front of Fioni…

Felix had said he never formally learned to dance, yet he improved quickly after only a few tries—maybe thanks to his innate physical ability.

Before long, they had forgotten it was just practice and gotten fully immersed.

Sometimes, when their eyes met, she could feel a strange warmth in his gaze.

Whenever Felix and Fioni were kind to her, Eila couldn’t help but waver inside.

If she just had these two by her side, maybe she didn’t need to struggle to reclaim the name “Eila Blanche.”

Maybe she didn’t need to chase down those who targeted her and put herself in danger—maybe revenge wasn’t worth it.

Maybe… she could just accept their kindness and enjoy life as it was.

These weak thoughts kept sneaking in.

Staring blankly at the greenhouse ceiling, Eila shook her head.

‘That could never happen.’

Her future was still destined to end in a tragic death. It wasn’t something she could ignore.

Besides, Felix and Fioni hadn’t even graduated the academy yet. Who knew what dangers awaited them?

She couldn’t drag such innocent people into her mess.

‘Depending on someone… especially kind people like them…’

Determined to hold herself together, she whispered to the egg:

“Sometimes I feel like telling them everything and leaning on them… but don’t worry. I know I can’t.”

With that, she lowered her head and buried her face between her knees.

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Eila stayed in the greenhouse for quite a while before she left.

But someone had been silently watching her departure.

‘Why does she come here every night?’

Through the undead rat she had summoned recently, Rosia discovered that Eila visited the greenhouse frequently.

She would even stay there late into the night.

However, the rat could only track her location—it couldn’t perceive what was happening inside.

So Rosia had to see it for herself.

After confirming Eila had left, Rosia used magic to unlock the door and slowly stepped inside.

The greenhouse was large, but she had the rat.

Its red eyes gleamed as it guided her toward the back.

After a short walk, the rat scurried ahead and crawled under a soft cushion.

There, Rosia discovered a massive egg.

The moment she saw it, she felt like the air had been sucked from her lungs.

She touched the smooth surface of the egg and raised an eyebrow.

“What is this?”

She stared in a daze—then a glint of glee flashed across her eyes.

‘So this was it?’

Rosia had long wondered why her plans hadn’t gone smoothly.

She had spent over a year preparing to destroy House Blanche.

She had done everything thoroughly—so why couldn’t she gain control?

How had Eila managed to hold her head high at the academy until now?

‘And lately, she even overcame her mana insensitivity…’

It always seemed suspicious that all these things happened so suddenly.

Wasn’t the timing too convenient?

‘She got kicked out of her house and immediately recovered from mana deficiency?’

Rosia had always suspected foul play.

And now, right in front of her, was the answer.

‘This has to be a demonic beast’s egg.’

And not just any beast—likely a high-ranking one.

‘Eggs like this were once used as ingredients in ancient forbidden magic.’

All living beings in this world were classified based on whether or not they contained mana.

And depending on the type of mana, they were given different names.

 

Creatures infused with moonlight energy, for example, were often classified as demonic beasts.