OHNIR – Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Cooperation

The Antipyretic Potion was, after all, a highly difficult medical potion to create. Even though Wend was using a simplified method taught by the professor, it still took him nearly two hours to complete the brewing process. After the professor lavished praise on the bottle of pale red liquid and gave his own students another thorough scolding, the dull toll of the bell signaling the end of class finally rang, interrupting the sarcastic remarks caught between his caustic lips.

“...I hope this brilliant demonstration has managed to enlighten your stone-like minds, because in the upcoming practical class, I don’t want to see a single person waste precious potion ingredients due to their own carelessness.”

The professor snorted coldly, snatched up the textbook from the lectern, and didn’t bother to spare the students below another glance. He gave Wend a friendly nod before leaving the dimly lit potions classroom as the bell was still ringing, never once looking back.

Behind the workstation to the side of the lectern, Wend was a step behind as he put the equipment back in its place. The skilled, silver-haired youth, with an indifferent expression, poured cleaning solution into the crucible. The glass jars and bottles containing ingredients were also neatly arranged by his long, slender fingers, sorted by category and type. After finishing the cleanup, he put back on the black gloves he had taken off and placed in his pocket while brewing the potion. Without so much as a glance at the students hesitating by their desks, wondering whether to speak to him, he turned and walked toward the door.

As his figure disappeared behind the dark wooden door, while many students were still wallowing in the regret of not seizing the opportunity, Kelusta immediately stood up. She casually grabbed her textbook from her desk and, almost as if stepping in Wend’s footprints, quietly followed him at a speed that wasn’t too conspicuous yet couldn’t be called slow.

Fortunately, since most people were well aware of Wend’s personality, even though Kelusta was the first to leave the classroom, few students thought she would have the guts to rashly strike up a conversation with the heir of a ducal family.

The young master of the Silentdis family was not like his sister. If Gloria was a pool of clear, gentle lake water, then Wend was like a block of eternally unmelting ice—not only was he frighteningly cold, but he also had solid and sharp edges that could easily injure any stranger who tried to approach him.

Therefore, even if Kelusta had received courteous treatment from the duke’s daughter, she was unlikely to gain any advantage from his younger brother, Wend.

Logically speaking, this line of reasoning was sound. However, judging from past experience, things rarely developed as people hoped. Those who thought they had seen through the ways of the world could never have predicted that not only would Kelusta get a favor from Wend, but that this favor would be offered to her by Wend himself.

---

Potions was Kelusta’s last class of the day. It was clearly the same for Wend, who was heading straight for the exit of the academic building with a clear destination in mind; he had likely been called in by the professor to serve as a role model because he had no other classes.

They passed through a garden full of wisteria and walked along a path shaded by green trees. The spire of the first-year tower was faintly visible in the distance, and the leaves overhead rustled in the warm breeze. This was a shortcut that wasn’t often cleaned, with piles of fallen leaves underfoot. Normally, fastidious nobles like them would rather walk a few hundred meters around on the wide, stone-paved road than get their shoes dirty just to save a few insignificant minutes…

Just as Kelusta was wondering if Wend was in a hurry for some urgent matter, the young noble in the pure black uniform ahead of her suddenly stopped. The sole of his high-quality shoe crushed a dry leaf with a soft “crunch.” He turned around, his handsome face devoid of any expression. His eyes, so similar to Gloria’s, met the girl’s golden ones squarely. His light-colored eyebrows rose slightly as he asked coolly, “Why are you following me?”

Kelusta stared into his eyes for a moment, relaxing her tense body. After some thought, she decided to be cautious. Smiling, she told a blatant lie, “Just a coincidence, sir. I’m heading back to the tower, too.”

“...Is that so?” Hearing this nonsense, Wend revealed a half-smile. His silver eyelashes trembled slightly, lowered to hide the thoughts in his deep blue eyes. “So, by your meaning, you have nothing to ask of me?”

Of course not. You’re the Tool Man I’ve designated.

Kelusta’s “tailing” had originally been intended to find an opportunity to test the waters with Wend, to see if he would be interested in a potion formula that had never appeared on the continent of Nobili. But she hadn’t expected him to proactively adopt an attitude that said, “I’ll give you two minutes, so ask for what you want.” He had even specially chosen a quiet place to facilitate their secret talk…

Hmm, it seemed that at this point in time, the relationship between the Silentdis siblings was still quite good.

“As expected, I can’t hide anything from you, Mr. Wend.”

Having figured out the key point, Kelusta was unwilling to continue putting on an act in front of a smart person. The fake smile she had put on slowly faded, and her entire posture became much more serious.

Her original plan had been quite academic: in exchange for “one finished potion,” she would reveal the entire formula that the System had transmitted to her, without telling Wend she intended to use it to feign injury and win his sister’s sympathy.

However, plans couldn’t keep up with changes. Wend, who at this moment was unaware of the existence of the “Fake Illness Potion,” was actually showing a willingness to cooperate. There could only be one reason—he already knew that Kelusta had been set up by Kevit, which had made Gloria angry.

Therefore, a simple potion transaction was no longer viable. Kelusta’s only option now was to be sincere and clearly tell Wend she was seeking his help to appease Gloria. Only then could the plan proceed.

“You must have heard about Senior being angry with me,” Kelusta said under Wend’s gaze, sighing. For a rare moment, she shed the scheming she kept up at all times, a troubled expression on her face. “You may not be willing to believe it… but what Senior saw that day truly has another side to the story.”

“If I didn’t believe you, do you think you’d still have the chance to stand here and tell me this?” Wend tugged lightly at the corner of his lips, but his tone was blunt, his choice of words as caustic as a second potions professor.

Knowing she was the one asking for a favor, Kelusta didn’t pay much mind to Wend’s less-than-pleasant attitude. She selectively ignored his words and gave an embarrassed smile before continuing, “I’m extremely grateful that you’re willing to believe me… but Senior still refuses to see me these past few days. I suppose she’s still angry, isn’t she?”

Seeing her deferential posture, Wend felt a bit embarrassed to maintain his sharp demeanor. After all, if things went as expected, Kelusta would likely be his sister’s future fiancée. If he was too rude to her, he would be the one to suffer for it later. The silver-haired youth nodded, his expression softening slightly as he explained, “Gloria knows someone was stirring up trouble… but what she saw with her own eyes that day was also a fact. So her reluctance to see you is also meant to teach you a lesson.”

After speaking, Wend paused. Looking at the innocent, bright eyes of the girl before him, he hesitated for a moment before adding, “Don’t hold a grudge against her because of this. Once she’s had some time to think it through, she’ll naturally come find you to make up.”

But she couldn’t wait for that.

Gloria’s affection level was currently at a dangerous value. If she rashly let their relationship enter a cooling-off period, there was no guarantee that things wouldn’t change.

Her relationship with the duke’s daughter was not only tied to whether she could successfully clear the True Ending, but it also concerned her own love life. She didn’t want to take any risks at such a crucial juncture.

Besides, it was just a ruse of feigning injury. It wasn’t much trouble, it wouldn’t cause any real physical harm, and it could quickly break the ice between them. It was a plan that killed several birds with one stone; only a fool wouldn’t do it.

“I believe Senior will still be willing to see me after she’s calmed down,” Kelusta said with a small smile, her eyes lowered as she spoke slowly. “But… I hope you won’t laugh, Mr. Wend, but without Senior these past few days, I often feel like I don’t have the energy for anything. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep well, and I’m distracted in class, always thinking of her…”

These words were true.

Setting the mission aside, this was how Kelusta truly felt. Before, they would see each other at least once every three days, with frequent correspondence in between. But now… even when the brown-haired girl stood right in front of Gloria, the latter still managed to pretend not to see her.

It was like a running machine that had suddenly lost a part. It seemed to be working normally, but it was actually already damaged.

And the longer this went on, the harder it would be to repair the machine.

“…”

Wend remained silent.

In his view, Gloria was in a similar state.

When he went home for the weekend, the duke’s daughter, who was in a foul mood, had not only been incredibly rude by returning all the magic tulips the Charles family had sent as an apology, but she had also failed to get a perfect score on the last Herbology pop quiz. It had gotten to the point where Professor Lysa had worriedly come to ask him if something was wrong with Lady Gloria lately. She knew the cultivation conditions for the agave flower, which was third-year material, yet she had made a mistake on the description of a mature Thunder Shell Fruit.

Wend could only speechlessly comfort the overly sensitive professor, who was an old friend of his father’s, while thinking distractedly: Why did she get it wrong… Isn’t it because a fully mature Thunder Shell Fruit looks just like a small golden shell?

Deliberately getting a question wrong because you had a fight with your sweetheart… How childish can you be, my dear sister?

But complaints were complaints. To be honest, Wend had no interest in getting involved in Gloria’s love life. If it weren’t for the fact that she seemed to have taken a huge blow, he wouldn’t have gone with the flow and given Kelusta an opportunity for a private talk.

“So, what’s your plan?” Wend looked at Kelusta, who was standing obediently before him, and frowned slightly. He said frankly, “If you need anything, I can do my best to cooperate with you.”

Kelusta’s eyes widened in surprise, not expecting him to be so proactive. Her expression was one of genuine, pleasant surprise. “If you’re willing, that would be wonderful!”

She glanced around, pursed her lips, and said in a low voice, “But this isn’t the place to talk… Please, Mr. Wend, let’s go to the Pudding Workshop. The afternoon tea booths there are quiet enough—”

“And,” the brown-haired girl offered a somewhat shy smile and said gently, “let me buy you some of their new items… as a small token of my gratitude.”

Wend, carrying a large pile of puddings of different flavors, speechlessly knocked on the carved wooden door of Gloria’s room.

A moment later, the room’s owner opened the door. When she saw it was him, the expressionless look on her exquisite face was about to turn to one of disgust, and her hand was already itching to close the door again. To avoid a wasted trip, Wend quickly reached out and thrust the colorful bags in front of Gloria, saying dryly, “For you.”

“Have you lost your mind?” Gloria didn’t take them. Instead, she folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at him, saying caustically, “If I recall correctly, didn’t a certain young master declare after the age of five that he would ‘never again eat sweets, the kind of thing only little girls like’?”

“…” Wend said faintly, “Do you want them or not? If not, I’m taking them back.”

“No,” Gloria said with a cold smile. “I can’t guarantee you haven’t added something to them, future potion master.”

…A Gloria who had been pickling in a vat of vinegar for days was just this difficult.

This was one of the main reasons Wend was willing to cooperate with Kelusta; after all, he was the direct victim.

“You really don’t want them?”

Wend raised his eyebrows and casually shook the paper bag in his hand. The sturdily packaged puddings tumbled and bumped inside, making a soft, muffled sound that indicated a large quantity. He said suggestively, “A certain young lady emptied her allowance for these things… If you don’t want them, fine. I’ll just take them back to the Pudding Workshop for a refund and get some gold coins back.”

With that, Wend made a move to turn and leave—but as expected, he had only taken one step before the silver-haired woman mercilessly grabbed his collar and yanked him back hard.

Wend obediently turned back and met his sister’s eyes, which held an unreadable emotion. He raised his eyebrows and offered the puddings to her again.

This time, Gloria didn’t say anything harsh. She lowered her eyes and took the paper bags filled with desserts. It was easy to see the different kinds of puddings and cakes, so full they were almost overflowing. She was silent for a moment before saying, somewhat unhappily, “She came looking for you?”

“We ran into each other after potions class. She insisted I give these to you,” Wend said cautiously. “We only walked to the Pudding Workshop together… Don’t take it out on me because of this.”

To avoid stepping on a landmine, he cleverly concealed the fact that Kelusta had given him a bag of candy as a thank-you gift.

Compared to the several large bags for Gloria, that paltry amount of candy was really not worth mentioning…

When he had accepted the “thank-you gift,” Wend had been speechless at the incredibly thick-skinned Kelusta. Even if I don’t eat sweets, this is a bit too much preferential treatment, isn’t it?

Gloria glanced at her brother.

Her mood having improved slightly, she wasn’t in her usual habit of looking for trouble. So, after sizing up the unlucky kid Wend who had come all this way to make a delivery, she began to dismiss him in a relatively gentle tone. “Well, thank you for your trouble… I still need to sort and store these things, so I won’t see you out. Be careful on your way back—good night, Wend.”

With that, she raised the corners of her lips in a perfunctory smile, turned slightly, and mercilessly slammed the carved wooden door in Wend’s face with a loud “thud.”

“…”

He hadn’t even taken half a step inside.

The most miserable Tool Man in history, confirmed.

No matter how vexed Wend was outside the door, Gloria, inside, wouldn’t spare half a thought for her unlucky brother. She carried the bag of sweets to the living room and, with her slender white hands, placed them one by one on the table.

There was pink-colored rose pudding, chocolate muffins whose sweet aroma couldn’t be contained by the box, rich and custardy rice pudding with syrup, and a large bag of glittering golden lemon honey candies, the same color as Kelusta’s eyes…

The silver-haired girl smiled faintly, her eyes and brows filled with gentleness. She unwrapped a candy and put it in her mouth. The refreshing lemon fragrance and sweet honey flavor immediately lingered on her tongue—sweet and sour, just like her current mood.

With the candy in her mouth, Gloria leaned back in the soft armchair. Her deep blue eyes, for some reason, became even deeper and darker, like a pair of magnificent gems submerged in water. Once seen, it was hard to look away.

“—I should still teach you a lesson,” she said suddenly after a long moment. Her gaze was gentle, and she reached out as if Kelusta were right in front of her, gently poking at the empty air. “My Little Shell,” she said calmly, “you should learn to be a little more prickly… It would be best if no one but me could pick you up. That’s how it should be.”

Get instant access to all the chapters now.

Previous Table of Contents Next