IAYA 17

Chapter 17

Ever since Teansis told me to be careful of Jer, my heart had felt strangely complicated.

After giving Jer some of my blood, I had been meeting him every night to help with his experiments. His face had grown more and more haggard, likely from the busy research, but his eyes were shining with vitality.

The last time I met him, Teansis’s warning weighed on me, so I asked him.

—Professor, is your research going well?

Jer had smiled brightly then and answered me:

—I’ll have good news for you soon, so just wait.

Good news.
That phrase somehow kept gnawing at me.

Call it a woman’s intuition, but I had a strange feeling that what counted as “good news” for him might not be so good for me.

I was lost in thought when it happened.

Chatter, chatter.

Voices suddenly rose outside the dispensary window, and I turned my head almost instinctively.

People were carrying all sorts of things, preparing for the upcoming Kamar Academy festival.

‘Ah, right. The festival’s coming up soon.’

Kamar Academy’s festival was famous.

Since all the students were high nobles of the Vulcanus Empire, the scale was unlike any ordinary academy’s festival.

On the day of the festival, the main gates would be opened to everyone. Not only nearby residents but also people from other academies came to enjoy it.

There would be fascinating foods, contests, and even performances said to rival operas…

I had never been to one before either, so I couldn’t help but look forward to it a little.

Just as I found myself staring out the window—

“Hey.”

A sharp female voice snapped me back, and I turned my head.

A group of female students stood inside the dispensary, though I hadn’t noticed them come in. It wasn’t an unfamiliar sight anymore ever since rumors about me and Teansis had begun to spread.

“Oh, are you here because you’re unwell?”

At my question, the girls exchanged quick glances, then one of them answered.

“Indigestion.”

“I see. Just a moment.”

I quickly prepared a medicine that was good for digestion and wrapped it neatly.

“Try to stick to soft foods as well—”

“How old are you?”

The direct question froze me for a moment.

People had come to gawk at me plenty of times before, but few had asked so bluntly about my personal details.

After hesitating, I gave a small, awkward smile.

“I’d rather not say.”

I was thirty-eight, but my face had grown too youthful to say so outright. Still, I didn’t want to lie either, so this was the only way to dodge the question.

A mocking laugh came from beside the girl who had spoken.

“Why bother asking? It’s obvious she’s around our age, that’s why she won’t say.”

The remark, clearly meant for me to hear, made me flinch.

“Right, ‘teacher’?”

The girl teased me again, though she didn’t wait for an answer.

“What’s with calling her teacher? She looks our age. Just drop the honorifics.”

They giggled among themselves while letting their eyes roam up and down my body.

I could feel their scornful gazes. They, children of high-ranking nobles, were adorned with flashy accessories, while I—who had left the Ferington estate without even packing properly—wore none.

I had never encountered students quite this mean-spirited before, and the situation was uncomfortable.

But I couldn’t argue back at every word they said. The best thing I could do was get them out of the dispensary quickly.

So I pretended to know nothing and held out the medicine.

“Here’s your medicine.”

Normally, that would have been the end of it. But the girls didn’t take it, only stared.

“We heard you’re dating Duke Acruge. Is it true?”

I had heard this question many times already. I answered calmly.

“No.”

But they reacted as if that were the obvious answer.

“See? Why even ask something so obvious?”

“Exactly. A duke and a dispensary assistant? Ridiculous.”

At this point, it was clear they hadn’t come here for medicine. But what they said wasn’t exactly wrong, so I had no desire to deny it.

Teansis and I didn’t match, not in anyone’s eyes. Even I thought so.

That was when the girl who had been standing quietly at the back stepped forward.

Her dazzling blonde hair and doll-like beauty were so striking, I wondered how I hadn’t noticed her before.

“Enough. You know the academy rules. Even if she’s an assistant, she’s still a dispensary teacher. Show some respect.”

For some reason, her words carried a hidden edge.

She looked me straight in the eye.

“Hello, teacher. My name is Reigeny Lou Anox.”

Reigeny Lou Anox.

The name made my eyes widen without me realizing.

The Anox family was a wealthy count’s house, well-known for its large businesses in the capital.

And most importantly—there was a rumor that the Emperor himself had intended to match Teansis and Reigeny. I knew it well. And as someone who had long admired Teansis from afar, I knew that rumor wasn’t false.

I froze in surprise, then quickly composed myself and returned her greeting.

“Nice to meet you, Lady Anox. I am Vellia, assistant apothecary.”

I carefully left out my family name as I spoke.

Up close, Reigeny was breathtakingly beautiful. Her fair, soft-looking skin and large, glistening eyes gave off an aura that stirred protective instincts.

She kept her gaze fixed on me and spoke gently.

“I don’t know how this will sound to you… but I’d appreciate it if you stopped hanging around Duke Acruge. Our families are currently preparing an engagement, and I don’t want even the slightest whisper of scandal.”

Her words caught me completely off guard.

“An engagement…”

I had never truly believed anything would happen between Teansis and me. But hearing this still left me with a bitter taste.

For years, I had watched him from afar. I had imagined countless times how wonderful it would be to meet someone like him.

In dreams, he had confessed to me, taken me on dates to many places.

Surely, I wasn’t the only one who’d indulged in such fantasies.

But Teansis couldn’t remain everyone’s beloved forever.

And I wasn’t young enough to pretend otherwise. He was of marrying age now. It was only natural for him to find a good match and start a family.

Still, despite knowing this, my heart ached faintly.

But I forced that feeling down. As long as Teansis was happy, that was enough.

“I understand what you’re saying, my lady. I only crossed paths with the duke by coincidence, so I hope you won’t misunderstand.”

At my reply, the girls beside Reigeny burst into laughter.

“As if there’s any misunderstanding. Obviously, Lady Anox is the only match.”

“Must’ve been her own delusion.”

That wasn’t what I’d meant at all—but their words were true.

Anyone could see it. Beautiful Reigeny and I weren’t even in the same league.

As I struggled to respond, I suddenly caught sight of one corner of Reigeny’s mouth twitching upward.

It was unmistakably a smirk.

‘Huh?’

Startled, I looked again, but she was wearing the same demure, ladylike expression as before.

‘Did I imagine it?’

Something felt off, but I let it go.

Reigeny smiled sweetly.

“I’m glad you understand. Well then, I’ll be going.”

With that, she left the dispensary, the others trailing after her.

All that remained was the medicine I had prepared, abandoned on the counter.

The “indigestion” excuse had been a lie.

I stared at the leftover medicine before finally tossing it into the trash. Once prepared, it couldn’t be given to someone else.

As I watched it fall into the bin, I couldn’t help but feel as though I, too, were something useless and discarded.

Later, I closed the medical text I’d been reading in my spare time.

The clock on the wall told me it was nearly time for Petrine to take over my shift.

Still dreading facing her, I started getting ready to leave early.

I was just finishing up when—

Clatter—

Petrine entered, her face as sour as ever. She had been wearing that look for some time now.

“You’re here?”

She ignored my greeting and went about her work.

I hurried to finish up, and as I left, I said politely,

“Good work.”

And so, another day ended.

I saw no chance of getting along with Petrine. But that didn’t mean I had to treat her the same way she treated me.

Even if she ignored me, I could at least do what was proper.

Lost in thought, I walked toward my quarters when—

“What are you thinking about so intently? You didn’t even notice me coming.”

A husky voice at my side made me turn.

The sun was shining directly into my eyes, blinding me. I raised a hand against the light—and then saw Teansis’s dazzling face.

“Your Grace?”

He usually came to the dispensary every day, so I had wondered why he hadn’t shown up today. But I’d prepared myself for such a day, so I tried not to let my heart waver.

“Where are you headed? What a coincidence, meeting here.”

I looked around. We were in the middle of Kamar Academy, surrounded by bustling students. It did feel like a coincidence.

But Teansis looked almost amused.

“As if. Do you really think the odds of us meeting here by chance are so high?”

He made it sound absurd, but after all, I had met him by chance at the academy before.

I opened my mouth to respond, but he spoke first.

“Of course I came looking for you. You’re just leaving work, right?”

“How did you know?”

“You thought I wouldn’t?”

His reply left me speechless.

This was, after all, the man who had figured out I was working at the dispensary without me ever telling him.

“Do you have something to tell me?”

I was curious why he had come here instead of the dispensary as usual.

As if reading my mind, he nodded.

“There’s something I want to show you.”

“To me?”

“We had a deal, remember?”

With those words, he stepped closer.

Startled, I backed up a step, but he only closed the distance again.

Suddenly, his perfectly sculpted face was right at my ear.

So close I could hear his breath, he whispered:

“To bury the dead monsters properly.”

I looked up in shock.

That day in the warehouse, I had promised to keep what happened from Jer—if, in return, Teansis gave the dead monsters a proper burial.

“Don’t tell me… it’s today?”

“Yes. Will you come with me?”

Without realizing it, I nodded quickly.

I wanted to see. To know where they had been laid to rest. The memory of those monsters who had sacrificed themselves for me still pained my heart.

Teansis looked at me knowingly.

“Follow me.”

He strode ahead, and I hurried after him.

As I walked, I thought I glimpsed Reigeny in the crowd. When I turned to check, no one was there.

‘Strange.’

I could’ve sworn I’d seen her golden hair, biting her nails as she stared at me…

Puzzled, I slowed for a moment, but Teansis was already ahead.

I quickened my pace.

“Wait for me, Your Grace!”

At my call, he stopped as if on cue and turned.

“You walk slower than I expected.”

Flustered, I blurted out,

“That’s because your legs are longer than mine.”

He was tall, even for a man. I was only average height for a woman. It was impossible to match his stride.

Teansis only gave a small nod. But strangely enough, from then on, he never again walked so far ahead that I couldn’t keep up.