HTNSA 59

Chapter 59

When Fioni notified Rona that she would gradually reduce the medicine, Rona strongly objected.

However, Fioni was firm and would not be swayed.

Since then, Fioni continued to distance herself from Rona, and in response, Rona would often look at her with a longing gaze.

“That commoner must have bewitched the princess. Our princess was originally such a brilliant person…”

“I will quietly wait until the princess changes her mind again.”

Rona occasionally rambled on like this, but Fioni had silenced her with a cold voice. From then on, Rona didn’t dare to speak out of turn.

Fioni coldly asked, “A letter has arrived?”

“Yes, it’s probably something to do with the upcoming cultural festival,” Rona answered.

Fioni received the letter with a displeased expression. After discovering that the medicine she had been taking was poison, Fioni had almost cut off contact with her family.

This letter was likely from Prince Darian, who had sent it to check on her after a long period of silence.

“Fioni, it’s been a while since we last communicated. How’s your academy life going? Have you made many friends? Everyone at home is wondering if you’re doing well.”

As Fioni read the letter, a strange feeling washed over her.

Her relationship with Prince Darian had always been a special one among the family.

He had often visited her as a child when she was sickly, and he had always been concerned about her well-being.

‘He always checked if I was taking the medicine properly.’

But now, Fioni wasn’t sure if he had been genuinely worried about her or if he had been making sure she was taking the poison correctly.

When she realized that Rona had been feeding her poison, everything she had believed in, including her relationships, felt meaningless.

“I heard that the fall cultural festival will be held at the academy soon. Everyone wants to come visit you, but Father is busy with work, and our youngest, Adolf, has a bad cold. So, I’m going to stop by and see you. I know it might be a hassle, but I hope you’ll greet me warmly.”

The letter’s tone was still as kind and informal as it had always been.

Although Fioni couldn’t accept it as easily now, she still couldn’t help but admire Prince Darian‘s sincerity. No heir to the throne would humble themselves in such a way.

Fioni had been deceived by him because of his warmth, but now the circumstances had changed.

‘It looks like it will be inevitable to meet Prince Darian at the cultural festival.’

The cultural festival was a large event, not just for students, but also for their families. Therefore, at least one representative from the royal palace would have to attend.

Sighing deeply, Fioni realized she had to write a response.

She couldn’t bring herself to tease him as she usually would. So, reluctantly, she wrote a brief response, telling him she understood, and handed the letter to Rona.

“Please deliver this to Prince Darian,” she instructed.

The next day, a magic-summoned carrier bird tapped gently on the window of Rosia’s room.

Rosia, who was about to fall asleep, immediately sat up, her heart pounding.

Outside the window, a small bird sat, holding something in its legs.

The carrier bird was an unusual visitor at this hour, and it sent a wave of unease through Rosia.

She walked over to the window and, as she reached out, the bird dropped a letter, as if waiting for her to take it.

The bird disappeared as mysteriously as it had arrived.

Rosia quickly tore open the seal, and as she read the short message inside, her breath caught.

“It seems like a rather disappointing outcome, considering how confidently you demanded it. Should I trust you more?”

Rosia’s hands trembled as she held the letter.

Her chest tightened, making it hard to breathe.

She bit her lip and threw the letter into the fireplace.

“No, it’s not too late to turn this around. I’ve only lost the top spot once,” she muttered to herself.

But the anxiety in her heart only grew stronger.

Rosia wrapped herself in a shawl and tried to calm her racing thoughts, but memories of recent events filled her mind.

“Pathetic Jerat,” she muttered bitterly.

She had sent him to Eila pretending to be desperate, hoping to pressure Eila into giving up on her studies, with the aim of bringing her back into the family.

To be honest, she hadn’t expected much from it. She just needed to unsettle Eila.

However, Jerat’s reaction was far from what she expected.

“I think I made a big mistake. Even if the situation was confusing, I shouldn’t have said those things to Eila.”

“And about Eila ignoring you, it seems like there was some misunderstanding. She didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Eila… she’s really struggling right now. Why did I say such cruel things to her?”

Rosia laughed bitterly, unable to hold it in.

‘How stupid. Does he really not understand that I know exactly what’s going on?’

The most important thing wasn’t Eila‘s feelings. The issue was that too many people still cared about her.

The situation was becoming more difficult to manage, and Rosia felt the pressure build inside her.

‘Eila… what kind of scheme is she running now?’

After thinking about Jerat’s behavior following his conversation with Eila, Rosia realized it was eerily similar to how Kedric had acted after talking to Eila.

This couldn’t be a coincidence.

‘It seems like there’s something that’s interfering with my magic that Eila has.’

Thinking about how easily Eila had escaped the magically sealed storage room only raised more questions.

At first, Rosia thought it was due to Eila overcoming her mana insensitivity.

But that explanation didn’t cover everything.

‘I even placed magic seals that blocked mana flow in that storage room, so how could she escape so easily? It doesn’t make sense.’

Rosia nervously chewed on her nails.

‘I need to find another way to deal with this.’

If she could find Eila‘s critical weakness, then she would have nothing to fear.

With her thoughts settled, Rosia slowly walked over to the fireplace and picked up a handful of ashes.

She began to draw a magical circle on the floor.

Having studied forbidden ancient magic for years, Rosia had learned many secret spells that even the wizards in the tower couldn’t fathom.

And these spells often proved to be much more useful than regular magic.

Completing the magical circle, Rosia flicked her fingers to activate it.

She then placed a dead rat on the circle and leaned down, blowing a breath toward the rat.

Miraculously, the rat’s eyes opened, and it came back to life.

With a serene smile, Rosia spoke in a chilling, otherworldly voice.

“Follow Eila everywhere she goes. Monitor every movement and report back to me.”

The rat blinked its red eyes, seemingly understanding her command.

With a squeak, it scurried out of the room.

As night fell, the bright moonlight bathed the academy.

Eila, cradling the egg wrapped in a blanket, hurried toward the greenhouse, trying to avoid anyone’s gaze.

Luckily, the greenhouse that Professor J.C. had given her was located on the outskirts of the academy, making it a rare place to find anyone.

Its tall iron gate and glass roof stood out even from afar.

When Eila arrived at the greenhouse and unlocked the door, she whispered quietly to herself.

“Sorry, Professor. You didn’t give me the key to use for this, but I’ll make good use of it.”

Just as she was about to step inside, a rustling sound caught her attention.

She turned around with a furrowed brow, only to let out a sigh of relief.

‘Oh, it’s just a rat.’

On the floor, a rat with glowing red eyes was staring at her intently.

Though the rat made her uneasy, Eila didn’t have time to pay it any attention. She quickly entered the greenhouse.