This time, Luciette was speechless, having observed the entire process.

Did those two really eat a Deathly Star Herb?

“Miss Luciette, we are wasting our time being with the four of them. I think they are purposely doing this to make us fail,” the hunk among her followers said, once again.

Not everyone can afford to flunk their tests like Kairos and his team. To get into a class requires a lot of hard work. Often, the students need to submit several request forms before the Academy may assign a course to a student; besides grades, passion is just as important.

Luciette thinking how much effort her ‘friends’ worked to enter the Pill Creation Class, finally became concerned. As part of the genius class like Kairos and the rest, she was offered a list of courses she can choose and did not need to go through the usual selection process.

However, she did not know that the real reasons her followers tried so hard to get into this class were to get closer to her. In fact, there were more than the four of them, but only they managed to get in.

“We need to make sure they are alright first,” she said, relenting. Though she enjoyed Edward’s company, should her friends fail because they tarried, she would feel guilty.

They looked around for Lugh, the only one that could resolve the problems, but they found him standing on the side carefully observing with a serene look on his face.

“Lugh, you must help them…” She asked.

“One moment,” he said, sounding awfully distracted.

“Don’t worry Luciette, let the two suffer a bit so they can grow some brains. They are perfectly fine,” Kairos pointed at the two whose faces are starting to turn red.

Seeing their captain like this, Luciette could only turn to Edward. But he only gave her an uneasy smile, “I don’t know how to help them…”

Everyone looked back to Lugh. Sensing everyone’s attention focusing on him, he gave a wide grin and said, “… soon… soon… there! Look!!”

The two on the floor has turned from red to purple, and their heads started swelling up. They look incredibly alike big-headed dolls.

Lugh took out a notepad. He put his brush in his mouth, wetting it, and immediately started scribbling on it.

“This is a rare chance,” he said excitedly, explaining to the others what he was doing, “to be able to observe what happen before my own eyes rather than reading it off from the medical texts.”

He carefully tucked away his notes minutes later to the astonished silence of the others, and then he removed two pills from a porcelain bottle.

“A tier one Panacea,” he introduced and placed the pills on their lips with a pair of pincers. The solid medicinal ball melted upon touching their skin and flowed into their mouths. Lugh immediately pulled up Jim and slapped him on his chest, causing him to swallow. Then he repeated the same with Alan.

“Okay,” he declared, and moments later the two recovered. A panacea, even if it is only low tier, is a fantastic cure-all medicine. It is the pill that made the Light Rose family irreplaceable in the Empire.

“What about that one,” right after they recovered, the healer suggested a completely black fungus growing on a tree nearby to the two.

“Oh dear,” Edward whispered.

…..

The instructor really does not know what to make out of this group that he has his eyes on. They are truly just fooling around. Pinning his hopes on Kairos, a famous boy who had incredible grades for all crafting class, was no doubt, a mistake.

*Haahhh*

“… I hope that they at least know all the spirit herbs they ate must be paid.”

The Steel Rose family as one of the three great nobles would not be too particular when accidental damages happen in their medical gorge, but things done on purpose will need to be repaid.

Alan and Jim, however, ate everything they could get their hands on. Didn’t the stories always mention that so and so went up a mountain and found an odd-looking herb, which after eating become the greatest cultivators?

“It must be because the spirit herbs we ate are not odd-looking enough,” Alan whispered to Jim, who repeatedly nodded in agreement.

Luciette ended up staying with the group, from being consistently worried about them.

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Those that needed to fill up their ingredients, hurriedly plucked what they needed while tagging along. They couldn't tell why or how, but after following behind Alan and Jim for a while, their group realised that they found plentiful spirit herbs along the way.

The two of them, led everyone towards the most amount of spirit herbs in the gorge using their soul perception and brought the group without detours.

Edward, having too little time to study, could not decide on the herbs to pluck, and was often torn between choices.

Luciette felt that since they studied together, she should try and help, and she gave him hints on his choices based on what he already chose. She could guess the pills he is making, at least the general directions.

Although the instructor could see it, and mark Edward down for failing to identify the ingredients, at least he could still earn points on extracting the herb, and he would have the correct parts for the next lesson when they make their pills.

The followers burned with jealousy, but they didn’t really know what to do. They had approached Luciette out of admiration, yet at the same time, their feelings kept them a respectful distance from her.

“Hey… shouldn’t we do something? At this rate, our goddess will be stolen away.”

“Don’t be a fool. She wouldn’t really fall for him…”

“Look at how close they are, before you speak! I rather lose her to you than to some boy we don’t even know.”

“Good point. Let’s think of something to mess them up… heh heh…”

But before they took any action, Edward who was growing more silent by the minutes suddenly grabbed Luciette’s hand when she was trying to point him to another herb.

“How daring!”

Everyone thought speechlessly.

“Umm… unnn… Ed.?” Luciette started to ask, feeling awkward at the sudden contact, but when she looked at his expression, she turned quiet.

The archer is no longer smiling, and even his aura had changed.

“Luciette. Please, tell me the truth… Did your family receive a top tiered pill recipe in the past that made your knowledge foundation this strong?”

“Ow… my hand.”

“I… I’m sorry,” Edward let her go when he felt her flinch, but he continued looking at her directly.

“It was about eight years ago. Do you remember anything? No… no… maybe only seven years ago, considering that they have to hide the recipe for a while.”

“A pill recipe?” Luciette frowned.

She knows that her clan history is rather shady. In fact, the whole Empire knows that nearly a thousand years ago, the White Snow family were mountain bandits that preyed on the rich. The authorities, the army and even neighbouring powers had raided them repeatedly in the attempt to subdue this growing threat. Yet, the White Snow family managed to elude all their efforts.

It wasn’t with bribing those in higher stations that they escaped, nor was it because they were good with the terrain that they managed to flee.

The White Snow family had actually fought back and survived.

No matter what armed forces were sent against them, those bandits who were far fewer in numbers, always manage to repel them with powerful guerrilla and ambush tactics.

It was until the point that Galahad, went and convinced the White Snow family to join the Empire, and since then their family had grown to become one of the top Hundred Nobles.

If there is a missing valuable pill recipe or any stolen goods it is possible that the White Snow family is keeping it or had it in their hands for a period of time.

They may have long renounced their outlawed ways, but they still hold their old smuggler's cove and have a close relationship with the undercities.

However, Luciette does not know much about the shadowy world. Her father and grandfather had ensured she was protected from the underside, only imparting her the war strategies their ancestors had passed down.

Seeing her confused look, Edward calmed himself but turned silent.

She immediately requested the others to leave them for a moment, and with Edward’s permission only Kairos, Alan, Jim, and Luciette are left.

“Is it about your family?” Kairos asked immediately.

Edward smiled at him. In their group, only Tommy and Kairos had a vague idea on the last secret that he had kept.

The archer solemnly admitted. Perhaps, it is time to tell.

“I haven’t meant to keep this from everyone. But, it’s an old scar that I did not dare to pick. You know that my name is Edward Alfonso, but I did not register my last name in the school…”

“Alfonso! A noble?” Luciette exclaimed immediately.

Edward observed her reaction carefully, but except being surprised, she did not show any recognition to his last name and hence he continued with a deep sigh, “Yes, I am from a noble family. A middle-ranked one that was never famous in the Empire.

Eight years ago, someone in my family found an incredible pill recipe during an adventure. I was only five then, but I could remember how my whole house was celebrating.

Thinking back now, they must have foolishly believed we could become higher ranked nobles because of it.

But what that cursed item brought about was not glory, fame or fortune. Only death.

Somehow, someone from the outside found out it was a treasured recipe and murdered everyone for it. I am the only Alfonso left.”

They became silent for a while after hearing his story.

Then Luciette spoke, “No wonder you asked if my family gained a pill recipe recently. From my recollections… around five years ago, I started training in pill scrying when I never had to before. When I asked my family, they said that we gain quite a few pill recipes that could help lower the cost of medicines.

I also had to learn, so that I can save myself or my soldiers out in the field if needed.”

Edward hissed but quickly became confused. He is looking for a specific pill recipe. One that is treasured above many.

Any pill recipes meant a great deal of steady income, and all noble houses would hide from the world even the most rudimentary recipes. Unless the White Snow house had somehow helped the perpetrators and received other recipes in return, it wouldn’t be easy to acquire a few as Luciette said.

Edward locked eyes with Luciette, and for a moment, they understood each other without words.

She said, “I will ask my grandfather about this. Hopefully, he will know something about it.”

“I, however, hope not. Because, it will mean that the White Snow clan is my enemy, no matter your family played the role of conspirers or instigators.”

There was an unnatural silence after Edward said this. They could tell what happened was unforgivable for him and he seriously hoped it had nothing to do with Luciette's clan.

The atmosphere turned stranger than before, and nobody knows what to do next until Kairos who looked at the unnaturally silent idiot duo, suddenly he yelled out in alarm, “Alan!! Jim!! What did you eat this time?”

The two had their faces turned black, the whites of their eyes are showing and their cheeks sunken in like they had not drunk or ate for a long while.