Chapter 76: Potion
Fortunately, Emilia Carleton quickly controlled her emotions and turned her head to wipe away her tears.
"I was too reckless." The girl whispered with red eyes, subconsciously wrapping the black robe tighter around her body.
She felt ashamed, flustered and uneasy, and the little courage that flickered like a faint candle deep in her chest was almost gone - because of that ridiculous, self-righteous "deal".
But she heard the other say, "Honesty is a virtue, Miss Carleton."
"You and I are not equal. If you try some foolish, ridiculous, or pretentious trick in front of me, I will kick you out without mercy." The extremely arrogant, yet terrifyingly intelligent black-haired man stared at her expressionlessly. "But you chose to be honest, so I'm willing to give you a chance."
"I won't marry you, nor will I waste my life and thoughts on a boring marriage, like a fly stuck to ointment." He intertwined his fingers, leaned back slightly, and curled up comfortably in the cushions of the soft chair. Emilia suddenly felt that he was like a lazy cat, lazily lying on a high chair with his hands in his pockets. "But perhaps I will help you escape from your father's control - the premise is that you can provide me with something I want, not just now."
Emilia gritted her teeth and, following the other party's hint, abandoned all euphemisms. "How can you guarantee that you will fulfill everything you promised afterwards?"
The man twitched his lips at her quickly, but looked at her perfunctorily: "But besides me, you have no other choice at the moment, right?"
“…”
Emilia was choked for a moment by the guy's shamelessness.
The room fell silent. Just as the professor began to rhythmically tap the back of his hand with his fingers, the noble girl suddenly whispered, "Okay, I promise you."
Without waiting for further prodding, she continued, "Several judges from the Inquisition came that day and spoke with my father for a long time. I overheard a few words of their conversation, and in the middle of the night, I was so worried that I couldn't sleep, so I got up and walked around the house."
"I accidentally heard a sound in my father's study, that kind of... movement." She paused, unable to speak, and secretly glanced at the expressions of the two men - one had a blank expression as always, and the other had a faint smile as always, which made her feel better.
Emilia forced herself to remain calm and continued, "I was very embarrassed and wanted to leave quietly - but then I heard a woman's voice."
"I've never heard such a voice before. It was like a snake slithering down her throat. It didn't belong to any of my father's lovers, even though he was always changing..." Her expression revealed fear, her fingers wrinkling her cloak, and her voice gradually faded. "But when I regained consciousness, I had already pressed down the doorknob to my father's study. I was trembling all over, ready to push the door open the next second."
Nova and Azuka exchanged a deadpan look.
"Miss Carleton, what did she say?" asked the God-favored One in an extremely gentle tone.
Emilia repeated in a low voice: "She said, 'Analene is watching you, darling.'"
The professor's brows slowly raised.
"I didn't know who I was talking to. I was terrified, worried that my father would notice me peeking—so I immediately ran away quietly." Miss Carleton's voice trembled slightly. "...But then I started dreaming, like a never-ending nightmare. The dream always had the same content: a woman's back, and behind her seemed to be an iron chain extending into the distance. I tried to get closer to her and see her face clearly, but she turned into an illusory, twisted ghost, pouncing at me like a giant python—and then I was woken up by fear again and again."
"I couldn't sleep all night, growing increasingly haggard—until my father told me I was to be your fiancée." She bit her lip and glanced at the man—his gray eyes remained as cold as ever, yet Emilia felt strangely reassured. "He, he wanted me to seduce you and have...that kind of relationship with you as soon as possible. My mother didn't want to, and she argued with my father. She said that just being your fiancée would be enough to fulfill the Inquisition's requirements, and that I would marry later, and they didn't want my virginity ruined."
"But my father slapped my mother hard in front of me and told her to shut up. His facial features were distorted and he looked terrible. I have never seen him lose his composure like this..." She looked at a point in the void, her pupils shrank into a point with fear.
"...Father said this was God's will. God had come and was blessing the Caledon family. As the daughter of the family, she should dedicate everything to God."
Then Emilia Carleton closed her mouth tightly, her face pale, and she looked like she didn't intend to say another word.
"Do you have any research on pharmacy?" The professor suddenly changed the subject.
"How do you know..." Emilia asked subconsciously, not being able to react for a moment.
"Fingers, cuffs, and smell," Nova answered briefly. He glanced at the girl's silly expression and added coldly, "The most important thing is that I saw many pharmacology books in the study that showed signs of recent reading. Mother won't read my books, and Mrs. Maggie has poor eyesight, so no one else is allowed to enter the study."
Mrs. Brody believed that his collection of books was the culprit that caused people to have wild thoughts and become morally corrupt - the reason she didn't throw them away was perhaps because she was subconsciously afraid of her eccentric son.
Emilia blushed immediately. "I'm sorry! I touched your collection without your permission. They were all books I hadn't read before, and I couldn't help myself..."
She was hesitant not only because she had secretly read other people's books, but more importantly, mixing medicine was not a hobby for a proper noble lady. Men preferred to watch them use their fair and delicate hands to arrange flowers, embroider, and fiddle with the hems of their skirts, and "medicine" always reminded people of disease and death. Her mother often scolded her for this.
The other party did not comment, pulled out a piece of letter paper, leaned it against the armrest and began to write something.
Emilia couldn't help but ask, "What is this...?"
"A letter of introduction," the professor replied casually as he wrote. "Take it to White Tower University and find Vice President Gibson Wyatt. Ask him to pass it on to Mr. Owl. He will arrange for you to study at Evergreen College. The Carleton family cannot get involved in the Oakensale Society for the time being."
That guy was taking advantage of him, so he shouldn't waste this favor and convenience - not to mention that the other party would be satisfied with this student.
He paused, then looked her over as if remembering something, his eyes sharp and bright. "Of course, that assumes you can pass the entrance exam. But there's still half a month until the exam, so I think that's more than enough time for you."
The noble girl stared at him blankly. "But, but I'm a woman, not a believer in the God of Life and Joy, and certainly not a sorcerer..."
Regarding the former, there are indeed more and more women enrolling in schools - but the number is extremely small, and most of them are bridal schools or church schools that educate unmarried aristocratic women. There are only a handful of women who actually study at a high level with men, and they are despised by the upper class.
The latter is even more outrageous - as we all know, the vast majority of pharmacists are believers of the God of Life and Joy, and concocting truly effective potions requires the support of spells.
"Don't be silly. Being a woman doesn't affect the structure of the brain," the other person said lightly, but the understated words exploded like thunder in the girl's ears. "Besides, how did you make the poison you've been hiding in your sleeve?"
Emilia's pupils shrank violently. She stood up suddenly and wanted to retreat, but was horrified to find that the last person in the room had already stood behind her without her knowing.
"Probably not fatal. Whether it's an aphrodisiac, a coma potion, or something else depends on your opinion - don't tell me you bought it. I'm not interested in continuing to expose a clumsy lie." The professor lowered his head and signed his name in the lower right corner of the letter. Then he shook the letter with satisfaction and waited for the ink to dry.
He raised his head and looked at the pale-faced girl. "Your eyebrows are drawn together and raised, and your upper eyelids are lifted along with them. Are you scared? Why?"
"I told you, you made the right choice." The black-haired young man stood up and slowly walked over to the girl, gracefully handing her the folded letter. "You're a self-savior who chooses to protect yourself. That's good. Otherwise, I'd doubt your sanity and whether trading with you was the right choice."
“…”
The girl clutched the hem of her skirt, her head lowered, her expression unclear. Nova waited for a moment, growing impatient. He was a little sleepy, yet now he had to suppress his sleepiness to confront and negotiate.
"Take it, cooperate with me and I'll give you more, or leave now."
He offered the most brutal option succinctly and efficiently, adding, "Don't worry, you will never be able to tell what happened in this room."
No matter it is a soul contract or some other kind of spell, the God-favored One will take care of it, so there is no need to worry about being threatened by something.
The girl was frightened by him and took the letter from his hand with trembling hands. Her eyes were red, as if she had decided to sign a pact with the devil.
...Am I that scary? Nova couldn't help but twitch his lips. He sat back in the soft chair, rubbing his forehead, longing for another cup of coffee... Well, forget it. Someone was still here. Even though that person was trying to comfort Miss Carleton and send her away, he swore that the occasional glance from that person clearly saw through his thoughts, and it was definitely not a good intention.
"How can I contact you next?" Miss Emilia Carleton asked timidly as she stood at the door.
"There's enough magic power in there for five phone calls." The blond wizard handed her a portable, two-way crystal ball the size of a button—where did he get it from? The professor couldn't help but glance sideways: "You can contact me."
The man smiled and added, "Contacting me is the same as contacting the professor."
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