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Chapter 73
Lucilea entered Elbadin’s office, guided to the sofa by Riat.
“Would you please wait a moment, Lady Lucilea?”
Riat said as he led her to the sofa.
“His Highness still has a letter that requires urgent attention.”
“Yes! It’s fine. Take your time!”
Lucilea sat politely on the sofa, sipping the warm milk Riat had given her, and sneaked glances at the desk.
Behind the mountain of documents, the faint outline of Elbadin’s head could be seen.
Even at the capital residence, he always seemed buried in paperwork…
Perhaps the position of Grand Duke, while being the highest among the nobility, was also the most grueling, since he had to hear even the voices from the lowest ranks.
Either way, it didn’t feel like the right atmosphere to ask for anything.
Maybe because of what Arkel had told her.
Coming to see him so suddenly made her regret it a little.
Should I just say I’ll come back later…?
While her eyes rolled restlessly in her thoughts, Riat sat down on the sofa across from her, seemingly to keep her company while she waited for Elbadin.
“I heard you are studying alchemy under Lord Arkel.”
At the mention of alchemy, Lucilea’s face lit up.
It was the perfect topic to clear away her cluttered mind.
“Yes! Yesterday, I learned how to turn medicinal herbs into poisons, and poisons into antidotes! Lord Arkel said even poisons can become medicine depending on how they’re used. Oh, and I also learned a magical distillation method that increases a potion’s effectiveness…”
Lucilea began proudly listing all the things she had learned over the past few days.
Riat listened quietly with a gentle smile, giving the occasional nod at the right moments.
The only sound that had filled the room before—the turning of pages—was now joined by the child’s cheerful chatter.
A touch of warmth seeped into the once-sterile atmosphere of the office.
“…I also learned how to extract at low temperatures by controlling it with mana. That way, the bitterness decreases! If you have to drink medicine anyway, wouldn’t something tasty be better? So I’m researching potions that are not only effective but also pretty to look at and delicious!”
“That’s a splendid idea!”
As Riat agreed, a low voice came from beyond the desk.
“Taste is important.”
Elbadin set aside his papers and stood up.
He picked up a teacup from the corner of the desk, took a sip, and walked over to the sofa.
Riat rose from his seat to make room, and Elbadin sat down.
Lucilea, who had been happily chattering, fell silent and stared straight at his face.
—The Elite Corps… was created to find his blood kin.
—For the past eight years, he has searched tirelessly for the child he lost.
Arkel’s words suddenly resurfaced, and her chest ached once more.
Lucilea took a shallow breath and asked, carefully observing Elbadin’s expression:
“I’m not disturbing you, am I?”
“If a man can’t handle this much and still call himself a Grand Duke, he doesn’t deserve the seat.”
“Ah, I see…”
Lucilea nodded.
Somehow, she had gotten used to Elbadin’s typically arrogant tone, and today it didn’t feel quite as unpleasant.
It’s all because of what Master Arkel told me…
Crossing his long legs, Elbadin asked,
“So? What’s the reason you came to see me?”
Lucilea set down her glass of milk and replied in as serious a tone and expression as she could muster.
“I have two reasons.”
“Two, is it?”
Elbadin chuckled low, amused.
Since he didn’t seem to be in a foul mood, Lucilea felt a little more at ease and carefully began.
“I want to study alchemy properly.”
Elbadin tilted his head.
“Alchemy? Aren’t you already learning it now?”
She had just been excitedly going on about the alchemy she learned from Arkel.
So why was she now saying she wanted to learn?
As Elbadin looked puzzled, Lucilea quickly explained.
“I don’t mean as a passing hobby or out of curiosity. I want to study it seriously.”
Lowering her gaze, she continued in a smaller voice.
“I don’t think I have the temperament to charge through battlefields with flashy, destructive magic. The recent field training made me realize it more strongly.”
“I’ve heard you still haven’t discovered a specialized attribute.”
“Yes…”
“But you’re still young. With your potential, you’ll likely find your attribute soon enough.”
But Lucilea shook her head with determination.
“That’s not the only reason.”
“Then?”
“This time, while studying under Lord Arkel, I realized something even more strongly. I enjoy alchemy.”
Learning deeply about herbs, combining ingredients to make potions—
“I want to create new potions the world has never seen before. Potions that can help people, too. So…”
Lucilea swallowed dryly and went on.
“I heard there’s as much shortage of alchemists as there is of battle mages.”
“And?”
“So, if you grant me a private garden to grow herbs and a laboratory to research, I’ll become the greatest alchemist in the Grand Duchy’s history!”
“……”
“……”
A heavy silence settled in the office.
Maybe… asking for both a private garden and a laboratory was too much.
Perhaps just the garden would do…
No, maybe the lab would be better?
Lucilea’s eyes darted nervously as she tried to read Elbadin’s face.
Then, Elbadin leaned back against the sofa, folding his arms.
“Riat.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“As I recall, the western section of the Glass Garden is vacant.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Add a greenhouse there. Build a connecting passage to the existing Glass Garden, but access will be strictly restricted.”
“……”
Lucilea’s eyes went wide.
Elbadin continued giving orders.
“Have her workshop built in the room next to her fifth-floor bedroom.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Elbadin tilted his head toward Lucilea again.
“As for the rules of having a private garden and lab, discuss with Lord Arkel and draft them yourself.”
“R-Really?!”
“But you must write a daily work journal and submit it after I finish my duties.”
“Wahhh—!”
Lucilea jumped to her feet, cheering.
“I’ll work so hard! Really! I promise!”
Seeing her excitement, Elbadin allowed a faint smile and quietly added an order to Riat.
“Use explosion-resistant materials.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
***
From that day on, Lucilea’s life became even busier.
While her garden and lab were being quickly constructed, she continued honing her alchemy skills under the intensive training of Arkel, the Tower Master.
Early morning—
“Hey now! I told you, crushing Helios petals like that destroys their medicinal properties!”
“Ah, right!”
“Were you listening with just the back of your ears?!”
“Hehe, sorry, Grandpa!”
Lucilea scrunched her nose and giggled.
“And again! How many times did I say not to put it in your mouth?!”
“I wasn’t going to taste it! Just sniff it a little…”
Arkel sighed and pulled the vial away from her lips.
“Resisting temptation is the first step in alchemy. What would it look like if the one making the medicine died from taking it?”
“Oh, but it’s not poison I’m making, though?”
“If you make a mistake in mixing, that potion is no different from poison.”
The lessons went on.
Sometimes the two bickered loudly, sometimes they displayed monstrous focus when it came to critical moments of teaching and learning.
To exaggerate only slightly, they looked very much like a grandfather and granddaughter, unreserved and close.
Arkel, a little weary, sat down and watched Lucilea mixing ingredients.
How curious…
He had sworn never to take on another student again.
Teaching required far more time and energy than one would expect.
Arkel had wanted to spend the rest of his life quietly, detached from politics and the affairs of men.
But then.
At this point in life, when he thought he had grown indifferent to all things, Lucilea appeared.
Noah’s words—that she was a child under transformation magic, bearing great magical power—had sparked a little curiosity in him at first.
But that curiosity quickly faded.
Well, it happens. Now and then, a hidden genius surfaces.
Wasn’t that the very reason the Grand Duke’s elite corps existed, to seek out such children? He had brushed it off at first.
But now…
What are you?
Arkel’s eyes glinted sharply as he looked at Lucilea.
