Kays Translations

Chapter 433: Charging Headlong

“This is Master’s compounding room!”

“No, it isn’t. This is the compounding room Marquis Mulan prepared for you, Leon-sama.”

This was already going badly. His assumptions were completely distorted. I needed to do something about that.

I had intended to greet everyone in the salon first, but Leon insisted on seeing the compounding room, so we came here before anything else.

Tea was apparently being prepared for us in the meantime. Marquis and Marchioness Mulan watched Leon with troubled expressions, while Lady Hilda and Caro shook their heads in exasperation.

Was he always like this? Marchioness Mulan’s warning that he became “too passionate” had evidently been neither a joke nor an exaggeration.

“Master, is this a distillation apparatus? I’ve never seen one shaped like this.”

“It’s merely a modified design that collects distilled water more efficiently.”

“This is a revolution in distillation!”

What an exaggeration. I had simply added a cooling device to the steam outlet. The compounding room at House Ambert used the same arrangement. I didn’t think it warranted such amazement, but Leon clearly disagreed.

Leon continued inspecting every device and tool in the room with boundless excitement. Even Fabienne’s eyebrows lowered in concern as she watched him.

“He’s extraordinarily enthusiastic. He must truly love making magic potions.”

“It certainly seems so. As his teacher, I’m pleased, but compounding also requires calm judgement. That worries me somewhat.”

“I’m sure he’ll become calm once he begins the actual work.”

Eventually, a servant came to summon us to the salon. Getting Leon to leave proved remarkably difficult. In the end, Lady Hilda arrived and dragged him away by the ear. I was beginning to suspect that the road ahead might be rather rocky. Hopefully, that was merely my imagination.

Marquis and Marchioness Mulan were waiting for us in the salon.

“Honestly, Leon is as restless as ever. If he continues like this, he’ll make a serious mistake one day.”

“I thought the Royal Academy might calm him down, but has he actually become worse?”

“That isn’t true! I attend every class properly, and I compound magic potions correctly as well!”

Leon protested indignantly, but the entire Mulan family looked unconvinced. Hang in there, Leon. Rebuilding their trust would apparently be our first task.

“By the way, Leon-sama, do you know Giovanni-sama?”

“Master, please call me Leon. You needn’t speak so formally to me either.”

“Even if you say that…”

I glanced at Marquis and Marchioness Mulan for assistance, but they merely shook their heads. It seemed they were leaving this matter to me.

Was Leon truly all right? His parents hadn’t given up on him, had they? I would feel terrible if his obsession with magic potions was the reason.

“Giovanni-sama gives us a compounding lesson once a month. His methods were completely different from what we had learned in ordinary classes, so I became curious and went to ask him about them.”

“Oh my! You didn’t force your way into the Royal Magic Pharmacists’ Corps, did you?”

“Eh? N-no, of course not.”

He clearly had. Everyone present must have reached the same conclusion. Judging by their reactions, Marquis and Marchioness Mulan hadn’t known either. Marquis Mulan silently looked towards the ceiling.

That reaction was understandable. What student would enter the royal castle and seek an audience with the commander of the Royal Magic Pharmacists’ Corps? Normally, no one would even consider such a thing, much less actually do it.

“Still, I learned many things from him. Giovanni-sama told me that the methods he taught us were techniques you had taught him, Master, so I decided to become your disciple.”

That decision had been remarkably swift. More importantly, why had Giovanni-sama revealed my involvement? We were supposed to keep it secret. Had he yielded to Leon’s enthusiasm, or decided that Leon could be trusted as an ally? I truly did not need additional followers.

“You haven’t told anyone else, have you?”

“Of course not. I promised Giovanni-sama that I would never reveal it. I even signed a blood oath.”

“A blood oath…”

At Marquis Mulan’s murmur, the atmosphere froze. I had never expected anyone to actually sign one—least of all House Mulan’s second son.

He was undoubtedly going to receive a severe lecture when his parents summoned him later. Still, this wasn’t my fault.

“Leon, why don’t you tell us about life at the Royal Academy? Caro will eventually attend as well, so she would like to hear about it. Isn’t that right?”

“Y-yes! I’d love to hear about it!”

Sensing the dangerous atmosphere, Lady Hilda swiftly changed the subject. Caro understood her intention and joined in. Leon was undoubtedly House Mulan’s problem child.

The tension gradually eased. Realising that he was in trouble, Leon desperately began describing his life at the Royal Academy. He seemed to live like an ordinary student most of the time, but whenever magic potions were involved, he acted without considering the consequences.

I could accept Leon as my disciple, but I would need to handle him carefully. First, I had to teach him to remain calm. Then I had to make him stop and think before acting. I only wished someone had taught him those lessons sooner.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter