By the time the chaos in the laboratory was barely dealt with, it was already three in the afternoon.
Lilian changed into a clean dress, while Camilla simply straightened her disheveled clothes. The two of them sat in the mansion’s living room, with the red tea and pastries just delivered by the Lady laid out before them.
Rimlu was punished to face the wall in a corner, its blue body drooping as it occasionally let out a pitiful “Pujii” sound.
Little Silver lay at Lilian’s feet, its amber eyes occasionally casting wary glances at the seemingly harmless slime—memories of being swatted away just now were still painfully fresh.
“Sorry for turning your laboratory into such a mess.”
Camilla sipped her tea, lowered her head, and apologized sincerely.
“I’ll compensate you for the damages.”
Lilian waved her hand, her face already restored to its usual gentle smile.
“No need, solving Little Silver’s problem is more than enough, and besides…”
She paused, her pale golden eyes curving gently.
“Getting to see another side of you, Camilla, is an unexpected bonus.”
Camilla knew she was referring to her accidental slip of foul language. Her face flushed with embarrassment, and she could only chew on a biscuit to hide it.
“By the way, Camilla, what are your plans for next month’s practical assessment?”
Lilian didn’t press on, naturally shifting the topic.
“I heard this assessment will involve all the faculties together, and teams will be formed at random—four per group. If only we had a chance to be assigned to the same team.”
“We’ll see.”
Camilla replied vaguely. To be honest, she actually wanted to team up with Emma more. Although Big Teacher Ai wasn’t the strongest in battle, her support abilities and knowledge were first-rate, and her straightforward personality made her easy to get along with.
Lilian was about to say more when the living room door was gently knocked.
Guard Shuang pushed the door open and entered, bowing with an impassive face.
“Your Highness, Miss Elina from the Bardia Ducal House is here to see you. She says there’s an urgent matter to discuss.”
Camilla nearly choked on her biscuit.
Elina? That update-fiend? How did she find her way here!
“Please show her into the living room.”
Lilian responded calmly, as if she had expected it.
Camilla immediately set her teacup down.
“Um, I just remembered there’s something I need to—”
“Ha! Let me see, who do we have here?”
Before she could finish, the living room door, which Shuang had just closed, was flung open. Elina stood at the entrance in a dazzling Western dress, her blonde hair slightly tousled and her violet eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Rice Muncher! You’re here too!”
Like a beast who’d discovered prey, Elina pounced. Camilla hadn’t even had time to dodge before she was knocked onto the sofa, the back of her head hitting the soft cushion.
“Wait, wait, wait! Miss Elina, can’t we talk properly? Don’t get so close…”
Camilla wore a look of horror, using all her strength to try to push the Elina pressing down on her away,
“I am talking properly. As for why I’m so close—heh, it’s just that I haven’t seen you in so long, I want to get intimate with you…”
Her words were abruptly cut off.
Because a blue, bouncy slime had somehow leaped onto her head, sticking itself to her face with a splat.
“Pujii!”
Rimlu let out a warning, secreting a viscous liquid—not harmful, but uncomfortable enough.
“Mmff! What is this?! Get off me!”
Elina released Camilla and scrambled to pry the slime from her face.
Camilla took the chance to scramble up from the sofa, fixing her ruffled collar, which still carried a faint unfamiliar girlish fragrance.
“Rimlu, come back.”
Rimlu reluctantly bounced back into her arms, waving a little tentacle at Elina in a show of defiance.
Elina wiped the slime from her face, her cheeks flushed with anger.
“You! You actually had your summoned beast attack me!”
“You attacked me first.”
Camilla pointed at Elina.
“Rimlu was only protecting its master.”
“I was just—”
“All right, all right, please calm down first, Elina.”
Elina had just started to protest when Lilian interrupted, grabbing her shoulders.
“Elina, according to the previous bet with Miss Ophelia, you’re not allowed to interfere with Camilla’s Literature Creation Process anymore. Besides, she’s my guest now. For you to suddenly barge in and attack my guest—isn’t that a bit rude?”
“Guest?”
Elina looked from Camilla to Lilian, confusion and puzzlement filling her eyes, as if to say: When did you two become so close?
Weren’t we supposed to be best friends?
“Yes, guest. We have shared interests in alchemy.”
Lilian explained in a gentle tone.
“She’s here this afternoon at my invitation. Elina, if you have something to discuss, why not sit down and talk?”
Elina bit her lip, clearly weighing her options.
In the end, she sat down on a single-seater sofa, though her eyes never left Camilla, the emotion within more tinged with jealousy than usual.
The Lady thoughtfully brought a fresh cup of tea. The atmosphere in the living room grew subtly tense.
“So.”
Lilian spoke first, breaking the silence.
“Elina, is there something you needed to discuss with me?”
Elina took a deep breath, forcing herself to pull her attention from Camilla.
“It’s about next month’s practical assessment. Your Highness should know the teams are randomly assigned, but students can form their own groups—as long as there are no more than four, the academy will do its best to put them together.”
“I’ve heard of that rule. So Miss Elina, you’d like…”
“I want to team up with Your Highness.”
Elina said bluntly.
“Your Highness, your major is alchemy. Fighting may not be your strong suit, but I’m a Sorcerer—my ultimate move, Thunderclap: Rose Burst, is nigh unbeatable. I can protect you.”
Lilian didn’t answer immediately. She raised her teacup, gently blowing away the steam, her pale golden gaze sweeping between Elina and Camilla.
“A very tempting offer, but… I already have someone in mind.”
“Who?”
Elina frowned, an uneasy feeling creeping up.
Sure enough, Lilian smiled at Camilla.
“Camilla has already agreed to team up with me, and she said she’ll try to invite her sister, Ophelia Veillette, to join.”
Camilla tilted her head in confusion.
“…When did I agree to that?”
“Just now.”
Lilian blinked.
“I said, ‘If only we could be in the same group.’ You didn’t explicitly agree, but you didn’t object, did you? As for Miss Ophelia, I think she’d be happy to team up with her own sister.”
Camilla opened her mouth, but couldn’t find a retort.
Elina’s expression turned dramatic; she looked from Lilian to Camilla, then drew a deep breath.
“Then… count me in. Four people, just right. I may have some personal grudges with Rice Muncher—no, with Camilla—but that’s another matter. The assessment is the assessment, I won’t let my feelings affect the team. And—”
She fixed Camilla with a complicated gaze.
“I have to admit, your bastard sister does have some skill. And you… well, you’re a decent person.”
That was probably the highest praise Elina could give.
Lilian thought for a moment and looked at Camilla.
“What do you think, Camilla?”
Facing Lilian’s question, Camilla quickly calculated in her mind.
Lilian was an alchemist, great for support and logistics, and she could use her dragon bloodline as a meat shield. Elina was a Sorcerer, strong in both offense and control, nearly invincible in the early stages. And if she added her sister Ophelia, the magic swordsman powerhouse…
This lineup was beyond luxurious—even the original main cast couldn’t put together something so overpowered. Barring any surprises, sweeping the freshman assessment would be a breeze.
Besides, teaming up with Elina might help smooth things over, so she wouldn’t keep scheming to lock her up for writing marathons.
“…I have no objections, but I should check with my sister first. She probably won’t refuse, though.”
“No problem.”
Lilian smiled, and so it was more or less settled.
The three chatted for a while longer about assessment details. Elina still didn’t have a pleasant expression towards Camilla, but at least didn’t get physical. By the end of afternoon tea, the sky was already dim.
After politely declining Elina’s offer of a ride, Camilla hurriedly fled back to the academy.
She failed to notice that the woman called Shuang had been quietly watching her the whole time.
“So this is the one the boss said we need to pay special attention to?”
Shuang muttered to herself, then closed the door without noticing anything out of the ordinary.
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