Chapter 27: All the Ingredients! (Bonus Update)

After leaving Larvia’s room, Chloe hurried back to her own.

She took off her coat and pulled the small glass bottle from the pocket.

Holding it up to the light, she shook it gently.

‘Yup! Same color as the one Silia gave me!’

Chloe was overjoyed.

Then, something hit her.

‘Wait, Larvia’s hair?’

Realizing this, she quickly dug back into the pocket.

When she pulled her hand out, her fingers held several strands of snow-white hair.

Chloe sighed in relief.

She’d forgotten when she’d stuffed them in there.

‘Thank goodness.’

But for some reason, her heart felt oddly heavy.

A strange thought crept in—if she hadn’t found them, she’d have an excuse to sleep with Larvia again.

‘No, no, no!’

‘What am I thinking? She’s my enemy!’

Chloe quickly shook off the absurd idea.

With this, she had all the ingredients for the transformation potion except those in the alchemy storeroom.

A triumphant smile spread across her face.

‘Larvia, just you wait!’

‘I’ll take back everything I’ve lost…’

‘Thirty years east, thirty years west—don’t underestimate a poor girl!’

Knock, knock, knock.

“Who’s there?”

“Little Chloe, it’s me, Flora.”

“…Huh?”

Chloe blinked, confused.

Why was Flora here?

“Miss Flora, what’s up?”

“Nothing major. The princess is getting restless.”

“Huh? The princess? What’s wrong?”

“Little Chloe, the princess and Professor Reginald have been waiting for you at the alchemy lab for almost half an hour.”

“…”

Ten seconds later, Chloe, dressed in her neat maid outfit, flung open the door.

“Sorry!”

She clasped her hands, bowing sincerely.

“It’s fine, as long as you’re okay. The princess was worried something happened to you.”

Flora smiled faintly.

“Come with me.”

After escorting Chloe to the alchemy lab, Flora stepped out, as usual, waiting outside during the lesson.

“Chloe, why are you so late?”

Reginald’s voice carried a hint of irritation.

“Sorry, Professor Reginald! I overslept this morning!”

Seeing Chloe’s earnest apology, Reginald’s stern expression softened.

“Alright.”

He nodded.

Chloe cheered inwardly.

‘Looks like I got away with it!’

‘Sweet!’

“You’ll stay after class to practice alchemy for an extra half hour.”

“…”

Chloe opened her mouth but couldn’t make a sound.

She had so much to say but swallowed it all.

“What? Unhappy with the punishment?” Reginald asked stiffly.

“No… I was half an hour late, so practicing for half an hour after class is fair…”

Her swallowed words turned into tears.

“Good. Let’s start the lesson,” Reginald nodded.

“First, we’ll begin with a basic healing potion. As discussed before, you must choose the right magical blood as the base. Alchemy is a craft where one plus one is greater than two, so the magical blood used as the base should typically be one tier below the target potion’s effect…”

Chloe listened, her eyes slowly turning into swirling mosquito coils.

‘Head’s spinning… don’t get it…’

To ensure Larvia was asleep, she’d stayed up late last night. Then, the letter’s contents kept her mind racing, delaying her sleep even more.

On top of that, after gathering the ingredients, she’d been so excited in her room that she lost track of time and skipped breakfast.

All these factors left Chloe in a terrible state.

And today, of all days, was the dull alchemy class—and a hands-on lab requiring intense focus, no less.

Yawn~

Chloe covered her mouth, letting out a long yawn.

‘So sleepy…’

“Got it? Now, let’s move to the practical. I’ve prepared the materials, but the tools aren’t calibrated yet. As I explained, calibrate the tools before starting.”

“Uh…”

What’d he say?

“Sorry, Professor…”

With Reginald’s guidance, Chloe calibrated the tools and poured non-magical blood into the crucible.

Today’s task was a first-tier healing potion, using non-magical blood, calendula, and nettle.

‘Let’s see… I think it’s nettle first, simmer for two rounds, then add calendula…’

Just follow the recipe, and it’ll be fine.

Muttering to herself, Chloe tossed the nettle into the crucible.

“Fail.”

“…Huh?”

“Look at the recipe again.”

“Grind the nettle first… oh!”

“Sorry!”

Chloe quickly bowed.

“Practice more after class. I only prepared enough materials for this lesson. If you run out, get more from the alchemy storeroom.”

“Okay… huh?”

“What?”

“Nothing, nothing!”

‘Get it from the storeroom myself?’

‘Ten-year valerian! Seven-leaf wisteria!’

‘I’m coming for you!’

After class, Chloe dove into her makeup lesson with surprising enthusiasm, baffling even Reginald.

“Oh no, out of materials~ Gotta go to the storeroom~”

Chloe muttered to herself as she entered the alchemy storeroom.

It was a while before she emerged.

She carried a box stuffed with calendula, nettle, and several vials of non-magical blood.

Hidden beneath were ten-year valerian, seven-leaf wisteria, and a precious vial of fourth-tier magical blood.

Her already upturned lips curled higher.

‘What a stroke of luck!’

She’d been stressing about sneaking into the storeroom, but her accidental tardiness got her in!

And the fourth-tier magical blood, her biggest worry, was just sitting there with the common materials!

‘Someone must’ve dropped it during transport.’

‘Somebody’s getting a pay cut~’

‘How’d I find this so easily?’

‘Talk about luck~’

Outside the alchemy lab, Larvia watched Chloe through the glass, a glint of amusement in her eyes.

‘Yeah, how’d you find it so easily, huh?’