Chapter 79
You Shine Like a Shooting Star
Of course, the Southern Alliance, the Vikrant Empire, and the Holy See weren’t obsessed with sugar alone. But just the hint from Idnia had made it clear—she was not someone to be taken lightly.
“But she’s a Saint candidate, right? That means she’s on our side. I heard she even talked nicely with a secret agent during her night out.”
A foolish aide asked.
“Well, sure. But we shouldn’t let our guard down.
If she were just a clueless countryside girl, maybe.
But she’s the daughter of the Duke of Betelgeuse.
Just because she’s a Saint candidate doesn’t mean she’ll forget her loyalty to the Empire and follow the Holy See.
From what I’ve seen, she doesn’t even care much about religion.”
“But isn’t it true that the Empire treated the Betelgeuse family badly?”
“Exactly. That’s why she gave us this turnip dish as a subtle message.
Look over there—at the Crown Prince Rudolf’s group.”
As the students from Notos looked toward the students from the western Zephyros group, their eyes met.
No one said a word, and they all turned away shortly after.
Meanwhile, Crown Prince Rudolf…
“I don’t understand. I thought I had tasted all the best food in the world, but… what is this sweetness?”
Even Prince Rudolf couldn’t figure out the sweet flavor in the turnip salad.
It was sweet like sugar, but unusually clean and smooth.
It seemed like salt was used to draw out the juice from the turnip and help the sweetness seep in.
The complex flavor was made by mixing the turnip’s own sugar with something Idnia had sprinkled.
For someone like Rudolf who was used to fancy food, this mix of vegetable and sweetness might seem simple.
But compared to the awful food at the Academy, this turnip salad tasted heavenly.
“I’ve never eaten turnip before. But after being at this Academy… it tastes like heaven. It’s really good.”
“The problem is… we don’t know what caused this sweetness. You know some sweet things can be poison or addictive. You’re royalty, so you must be extra careful.”
Isolde warned Rudolf.
“You’re being too harsh.”
“Don’t forget, the Emperor did mistreat Duke Betelgeuse. Please… remember that.”
Isolde spoke with a heart full of pain.
Back then, we thought the Betelgeuse family was too weak to resist anything.
Even when the Holy See made Idnia a Saint candidate, we thought they just accepted it because they had no other option.
But if they had this much strength hidden all along…
Even though Isolde had deep feelings for Rudolf, she knew she had to act like a proper advisor.
Breaking the engagement with Idnia was a huge mistake.
Even if she was the one who suggested it, he should’ve refused. Ahh…
Isolde burned inside with painful emotions—over their different social ranks, over the thought that they might even be half-siblings with the same father.
But most of all, she envied Idnia.
That duchess who held a status fit to stand beside Rudolf without lacking anything—yet threw away the position of his fiancée without hesitation.
Isolde both envied and respected her.
Despite all this, when Isolde saw Idnia standing tall like a rock in front of a storm, she looked less like a rival and more like an unshakable symbol of willpower.
The feelings of envy slowly turned into admiration.
Meanwhile, Idnia…
Hehe. My alchemy magic is quite useful, isn’t it?
She didn’t think too deeply about any of this.
She had just poured expensive sugar all over a plain turnip dish to show off her ability without directly saying anything.
Students from both Zephyros and Notos (belonging to the Holy Empire and the Southern Alliance) were intimidated by Idnia’s bold move.
Did she have a secret sugar trade route?
Or maybe she had something to replace sugar, and this was her way of threatening the sugar-obsessed Southern Alliance?
What exactly was she thinking?
Actually… she wasn’t really thinking that deeply.
It’s not that she was giving out food for free with no goal.
But unlike Rudolf and Lorenzo who thought she was showing off, Idnia had a different purpose.
I made so many preparations to get here. This result makes it all worthwhile.
And now that I’ve taken over Buremhyde’s territory, things will go smoothly from here.
She remembered the past.
Back on the day of the entrance ceremony…
Idnia already knew that in Academy life, food was everything.
So when the Academy revealed its true nature by serving disgusting rock-hard bread, she started collecting it.
She kept the delicious scones and cookies from the ceremony, and when others refused to eat the gross bread, she quietly took it all.
“Lady Idnia? Are you seriously going to eat that?”
Her roommate Marie was shocked when Idnia even brought a big sack for it.
“No. I have a use for it.”
“Oh… well, it is a waste to throw it out. Back in my hometown, we’d make bread porridge. But there’s no kitchen in the dorm…”
“I don’t plan on eating it. It’s too much just for me.”
“Then… what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to make liquor.”
“…Huh?”
Marie was shocked.
In prison, people would make moonshine using old bread. Alcohol and vinegar are super important in organic chemistry.
Instead of wasting it, I’ll use it for experiments.
That’s why she collected the bread.
Afterward, even though the food didn’t get better, students started eating even the gross bread out of hunger.
Still, leftovers happened. And whenever they did, Idnia gathered them all.
The problem was… her dorm room was too small.
Her bed was about to get buried in bread.
And it was so hard that sleeping on it was like sleeping on rocks.
Idnia could sleep anywhere—even on a pile of stones—but storing so much bread in one room wasn’t hygienic.
So she grabbed the sacks and headed outside.
“Lady Idnia?”
“I’ll be back soon. Sleep first.”
“But… it’s dangerous outside.”
“It’s not like it’s my first time out.”
“Oh, right…”
Marie knew Idnia sneaked out almost every night to explore the Academy and do her secret work.
Nothing had gone wrong so far.
That night, as she stepped outside…
The fog was thick, covering everything.
Idnia climbed the dorm wall and stood on the rooftop.
Hmm. I can only move between buildings that are visible. But there must be more Academy buildings than this.
This place must be made with complex dimensional portals.
I’ll need to unlock the map later.
But for now… can I get to that forest?
She moved through the fog toward the nearby woods.
There, she found a clearing where fallen trees had created an open space.
This should be good enough. And no one’s around.
She released the energy she had been holding in.
Her body lit up with the presence of a Conqueror King.
With power in her veins, she started clearing fallen trees to make space.
But then…
Something moved in the mist.
Ghosts started to appear.
“Grrrhhh…?”
“Hmm?”
At first, they approached confidently.
But the moment they met Idnia’s intense gaze, they stopped.
Even though they were spirits from the afterlife, her presence was too overwhelming.
“Excuse me. Can we talk? If you still have reason left, we don’t have to fight.”
Idnia tried to speak peacefully.
“Grrraaaahhhh!!”
But the ghosts turned vicious and rushed at her.
“Sigh. I guess we’re doing this the hard way.”
Idnia grabbed a huge tree.
Her fingers sank into the bark like iron claws, and the tree creaked as it molded to her grip.
With her energy infused into it, the tree turned into a weapon.
“Excuse me!”
She swung it.
BOOM!
A massive wind burst out around her. The fog cleared briefly, and the night sky appeared.
Just one swing and the clearing was under control.
She stood proudly under the moonlight, her long hair flowing like a battle queen.
Yup. Unless I unlock the map, monsters will keep appearing.
But if I can defeat them… then I can use this place anyway.
She picked up the tree again and threw it toward the next wave of ghosts.
“Waaaah!”
CRASH!!
The ghosts were crushed by the rolling tree like mist blown away by wind.
“Well, that takes care of the space issue.
Now I just need tools.
To hydrolyze the bread, I’ll need a big pot…”
Idnia picked up stones and stacked them in the middle of the clearing.
Then she clenched her fist.
“I’ve rested too long. Let’s see if I still got it.”
She leapt into the air.
Wind surrounded her body like a blue dragon soaring through the foggy sky.
And then… the dragon turned upside down and dived.
“Meteorite!”
The ground exploded as if a meteor had fallen.
A booming sound echoed across the forest.
