IAYA 08

chapter 8

I didn’t know why Petrine suddenly told me to stand up, but I obediently rose from my chair as she instructed.

She looked me up and down, then spoke in a warning tone.

“From now on, when I come in, you stand up and greet me. Don’t just sit there like you own the place.”

After saying that, she glanced over at the beds in the infirmary to check if anyone was lying down.

The students who had been sleeping there while I was reading had all gotten up and left. Now, the infirmary was empty except for me.

Confirming this, Petrine shot me another sharp look.

“What, you don’t like it? Not answering… I guess you don’t.”

I got the sense she disliked me for some reason, but since she had worked here longer than I had, I wanted to keep things peaceful and just go along with her.

“Alright, I’ll do that.”

Smirking in satisfaction, Petrine plopped down in the chair I had just been sitting in. She glanced at the teacup on the desk and said:

“I drink coffee. Three spoons of sugar.”

Her words froze me in place.

‘Wait… is she telling me to make her coffee?’

Even if she was my senior, was I really supposed to do something like that for her? I wanted to get along since we’d be working together, but this felt a bit much.

As I stood stiffly with a hard expression, Petrine gave me a crooked, mocking smile.

“What’s wrong? Don’t want to do it because you got this job thanks to the alchemy professor?”

“……!”

The words “alchemy professor” out of her mouth made me jolt in shock.

“What, surprised? Did you think I didn’t know? You think a place like the Kamar Academy would take in someone like you with no experience?”

I had no response. She wasn’t wrong.

Until the age of 38, I’d never worked in this field. If it hadn’t been for my contract to serve as Jer’s test subject, I never would’ve landed such a good position.

“To be blunt—how did you even get in here? You know the professor already had someone in mind? Someone I recommended?”

I didn’t know that. Jer had never told me.

When I failed to answer, Petrine raised her voice again.

“Not answering? Are you ignoring me right now?”

“No, it’s just… it’s a hard question to answer.”

I couldn’t tell her the truth—that I had taken Jer’s experimental drug, grown younger, and in return agreed to be his test subject. That this assistant apothecary job was part of the deal.

“Ha! You’re a funny one. Just because you’re young, don’t think the world is easy.”

Her words startled me again.

‘Young? She thinks I’m young?’

Normally, someone should be scolding me for being nearly forty and still without a career. But here I was, being lectured about youth by Petrine, who looked no older than her late twenties.

Only then did it really hit me—my appearance had indeed become much younger. To others, I looked like I was in my early twenties.

Thump.

My heart skipped a beat. Even though this was hardly the time for it.

Seeing me silent, Petrine sneered.

“What? Don’t like what I said?”

Of course, I didn’t. But since I had gotten this job through Jer in a less-than-legitimate way, I held back.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll make the coffee.”

“Forget it. Now you suddenly offer to make me coffee? What, planning to spit in it? Who knows what you’d put in there?”

Her accusation left me dumbfounded. I’d never once considered spitting in her coffee. In fact, the idea was so absurd it hadn’t even crossed my mind until now.

“Never mind the coffee…”

Her eyes darted quickly around the infirmary, as if looking for something to dump on me.

Then she brightened, pointing toward a sack near the door.

“Take that to the east warehouse.”

“That sack?”

The sack had been sitting there since I first entered. I hadn’t touched it, not knowing what it was. Now she wanted me to haul it off, and I grew curious about what was inside.

Perhaps noticing my curiosity, Petrine spoke first with a sly smile.

“It’s full of Munno grass.”

I knew Munno grass as a useless weed. Why there would be an entire sack of it puzzled me.

Petrine clearly hadn’t planned to hide it from me, because she continued proudly:

“You know the monsters captured from the Taran Forest recently?”

“Ah… yes.”

I had been attacked by one, so of course I knew. That incident had even led me to meet Teansis.

“Their food is Munno grass.”

“Oh!”

I hadn’t known that. Everyone knew monsters lived in the Taran Forest, but since the Acruge family guarded the northern border, sightings were rare. Only the older generation would still remember them firsthand.

Since coming to Kamar Academy, I seemed to be running into monsters far too often.

The memory of the one that had chased me surfaced, and my face stiffened. Noticing this, Petrine smirked with satisfaction.

“The monsters are locked in the east warehouse. We’re storing their food here in the infirmary.”

“So all I need to do is deliver this sack there?”

Relief washed over me. As long as I didn’t have to see the monsters directly, I didn’t mind.

But my calm response made Petrine bite her lip.

“Tch… you think that’s all?”

“Then what else—?”

“You have to feed them yourself! If you just dump the sack there, who do you expect to do it?”

“……!”

I froze. I had barely survived a monster attack last time—how could I face them again?

Feeding them directly was a whole different matter. The terrifying image of their grotesque forms came rushing back, and I felt the blood drain from my face.

Petrine grinned triumphantly at my expression.

“Don’t worry. They’re locked behind iron bars. All you have to do is put the Munno grass in front of them.”

If I didn’t know what monsters looked like, maybe it would’ve sounded fine. But after that attack, my body tensed automatically.

“If this is my first time, maybe you could come with me…”

“Do it yourself! If you can’t handle such a simple task, how are you going to manage anything? Don’t you want to do any real work?”

It was obvious she disliked me. That much anyone could tell. But I couldn’t refuse—especially since I lacked knowledge about medicine and might need her help later.

We’d be working together from now on. I didn’t want her first impression of me to be that I was unreliable.

“…Alright.”

Reluctantly, I agreed. Petrine smiled in delight, then suddenly asked:

“By the way, what’s your name?”

“Velia de Fe—”

I cut myself off. Saying my family name didn’t feel safe. My sisters could be looking for me, and if someone recognized me, I’d have no way to explain.

I couldn’t let anyone know I had become younger. So I kept quiet.

“What? Say that again.”

She pressed me, but I hurriedly lifted the sack onto a cart.

“Hey! Finish your sentence! Your name is—”

“Well then, I’ll be off.”

I quickly shut the door behind me, ignoring her complaints. Worried she might chase after me, I rushed away with the cart.

I’d dodged it this time, but next time, I’d need to figure out what name to use.

Not yet familiar with Kamar Academy, I asked people for directions until I reached the east warehouse.

Wearing the academy staff uniform helped—everyone gave me clear directions. But as I neared my destination, something felt off.

‘Why is no one here?’

Sure, the monsters were in cages, but shouldn’t someone be stationed at the entrance? The complete absence of guards was suspicious.

I left the cart in front of the warehouse and looked around. Still no one.

‘Maybe they just stepped out…?’

I would’ve preferred someone to be here.

I lingered at the entrance, but my task wasn’t going to vanish just because I hesitated.

Sigh.

Taking a deep breath, I forced myself forward and pushed open the heavy door.

Creak—!

Rusty hinges groaned as the massive door swung open.

Inside, darkness stretched, broken only by the glint of iron bars running along both walls.

And then—I felt it. Countless pairs of monstrous eyes all turning toward me at once.

Gulp.

My throat tightened as I swallowed hard.

Meanwhile, Teansis sat in his office at the academy dormitory.

Opposite him sat Fabian, a retainer of the Acruge family—older than Teansis, with sun-darkened skin and a muscular build, loyal to the core.

“The task I assigned you?”

At the question, Fabian’s eyes gleamed as he nodded.

“Yes. I had the monsters locked in the east warehouse instead of underground, and I’ve cleared all people from the area. By now, not even an ant should be nearby.”

“Good. We can’t let the alchemy professor’s research continue unchecked.”

At first, Teansis had supported Jer’s experiments, even supplying rare materials from the Taran Forest.

But Jer’s research had grown dangerous, beyond what Teansis had imagined. He couldn’t allow it to continue.

The imperial family still fully supported Jer, so Teansis couldn’t openly oppose him. He had reluctantly complied with Jer’s demand to capture monsters, but he had no intention of handing them over.

The plan was simple: blow up the east warehouse under the guise of an accident. That way, the monsters inside would all die.

Jer couldn’t experiment on corpses. He would eventually demand more, but transporting monsters from the north took time—at least six months to a year. That would buy Teansis time to sabotage the research.

Moreover, letting monsters near the city was dangerous. Already, one had attacked a woman when they were first brought in.

Teansis’s thoughts drifted to Velia.

─I hope you’ll stay healthy and never suffer again.

He hadn’t expected such words from a woman he had just met. Normally, noble ladies pestered him, but Velia’s words had felt strangely sincere.

Maybe that’s why the memory lingered in his mind.

As he brooded, the door suddenly slammed open. A knight of the Acruge family rushed in.

“My lord, it’s terrible!”

Entering without permission meant something urgent had happened.

Suppressing a foreboding feeling, Teansis asked,

“What is it?”

“Someone has gone into the east warehouse!”

At those words, Teansis and Fabian shot to their feet simultaneously.

The warehouse was set to explode soon—if someone was inside, they would be killed.