Kyran was too absorbed in teaching Oded and Yalen his concoction thod that he did not notice people watching them from the dication room's two-way mirror.
Apart from Cyneah and Nahir, Azikh, Gidan, and the matron also went to the infirmary.
Nahir initially wanted to enter the dication room, but Cyneah stopped him after noticing Kyran, Oded, and Yalen were in the midst of concocting potions and pills.
If they entered while the concoction was ongoing, there was a high chance they would contaminate the air inside the dication room, affecting the efficacy of the herbs still on the table.
Because of this, they settled in watching the three and waited until they were done before calling Kyran over.
While watching them, Nahir's brows had knitted to a dangerous depth. He had wanted to censure Kyran and tell him that only their qualified healers were allowed inside the dication room and concoct dicines. But after watching for a few minutes, Oded opened the cauldron with the solution, and Nahir noticed their strange color.
The color was different from the ones Nahir was accustod to, yet he sensed how potent the solution was even when only seeing it from the two-way mirror.
Soon after, a powerful dicinal sll wafted out from inside the dication room, and they all felt rejuvenated. This shocked Nahir and the others. It should be noted that the dication room was sealed off to ensure the dicinal herbs prepared inside would not be contaminated by foul energy. For them to still sll the newly concocted dicine was a testant to how potent it was.
Even the matron, who already knew how potent Kyran's potions and pills were, was equally shocked.
It was not really that surprising because although she had seen Kyran's potions and pills, the few tis she saw him concoct them, he was working with Cyneah. The matron was convinced that the potency of the potions and pills was due to the Saint. The sa went with the dicines he gave the first ti he visited the Infirmary. The matron thought they were potions and pills made by the Saint beforehand. Witnessing soone else, other than the Saint or even the Abbot, concoct such potent potions and pills shocked the matron.
But her shock was a good thing. In her opinion, having more dicine with high efficacy benefited them.
Ultimately, Nahir could only wait until the three were done before calling Kyran over. He might dislike outsiders acting all pompous in their territory, but he at least recognizes talent.
Nahir admitted that Kyran was indeed talented. On their way there, he heard much about the latter from Azikh and Gidan. His first impression of Kyran was that of a kid who could not wait to flaunt his strong points.
An arrogant kid who wanted to show off.
Nahir believed Kyran was doing all this to show off in front of Cyneah. Judging from what he heard from Azikh and Gidan, he guessed Kyran harbored deep feelings for Cyneah— sothing that Nahir would never tolerate.
Nevertheless, he appreciated the kid's enthusiasm. After all, he did save them twice.
anwhile, Cyneah was silently observing what was happening inside the dication room. She could not see them clearly, but at least she could see their silhouettes moving about. Apart from Kyran, whom she could barely discern, she saw Oded and Yalen's excitent after successfully concocting potions and pills with high efficacy.
But while she was observing them. her expression had turned unreadable, especially as she watched Yalen interacting with Kyran and Oded.
However, the more her expression turned unreadable, the more Gidan sensed her restlessness. As soone who had been watching over her for four years, he was already familiar with her changing moods.
Gidan could not help but feel conflicted. He looked at Cyneah in silence. But as he did, he caught sight of Nahir looking over at her, too, before frowning and looking at Kyran again.
It seed Gidan was not the only one already familiar with Cyneah's change in mood.
'Alas,' Gidan could not help but say inwardly with a sigh. He anticipated this complication when he realized Cyneah's feelings for Kyran and vice versa. Although the two did not seem to be aware of it, the fact that Cyneah was already betrothed to Nahir complicates things.
'Whatever,' Gidan thought. He had no intentions of ddling with such a complicated subject. Besides, Cyneah and Nahir's engagent was official unless Nahir agreed to rescind it. It would never be broken.
"Thank you for teaching us your thod, Nar. With this, our dicines would be more effective, and our people's suffering will lessen," Yalen thanked Kyran after they finished their potion and pills.
"True," Oded agreed with a smile. He looked at Kyran and added, "Can this thod really be used on other recipes?"
Kyran nodded, "Yeah. However, this thod is best used for replenishing potions and pills."
"Do you have another thod that can improve dicinal efficacy?"
"Master this first," Kyran told them. "Once you've mastered this thod, the other thods will be much easier to understand."
"Yes!"
The two replied enthusiastically.
Right after that, they heard a knock; only then did they realize that people were watching them from the two-way mirror.
The two-way mirror would normally obscure the people watching on the other side of the lights in that room were turned off. Since it was on, they could also see others on the other side.
Kyran imdiately noticed the young man standing close to Cyneah. He knew at once that this was the Abbot's son, Nahir.
During one of their conversations, the old man told him his son's na. Looking at the man, Kyran also saw his semblance to the old man. The only difference was that the old man had a gentler aura around him, while his son had a more stern look.
When Nahir saw Kyran looking at him, he gestured for him to step outside.
Seeing this, Oded and Yalen tensed. For so reason, the way Nahir looked at Kyran did not seem pleasant.
Kyran thought nothing of it as he told Oded and Yalen to continue. The two initially wanted to warn him of sothing but stopped because there was no way they could be subtle about it, with Nahir watching them from the other side of the two-way mirror.
Kyran noticed Oded and Yalen's apprehension but only smiled at them in assurance. He then stepped outside and followed Nahir, who already made his way out of the infirmary.
This ti, the matron did not follow the group. She stepped inside the dication room to help Oded and Yalen with the remaining dicines they needed to concoct.
Nahir led Kyran into one of the huddle rooms. Azikh and Gidan also accompanied them.
Frankly, Nahir had told Cyneah she did not need to join them. But she pretended not to hear him and followed them. Her behavior only further added to his dislike of Kyran.
Cyneah had always been docile, for her to suddenly act out of character just because her 'friend' had co annoyed Nahir.
The huddle room was smaller compared to the main eting room. But it was enough to accommodate all five of them.
Nahir sat at the head of the table.
Although, to be honest, it was hard to determine where the head was given the table was round with five chairs around it.
Cyneah initially wanted to sit close to Kyran, but Nahir pulled the chair beside him, making her hesitate. In the end, she sat beside him to avoid worsening his already foul mood.
Kyran wore an indifferent expression all this ti. But he was silently observing Nahir and how he treated the others. The more he watched, the more he realized the latter differed greatly from the old man.
They might share so semblance physically, but none with their character.
When all of them were seated, Nahir started asking Kyran questions.
Most of his questions were things Azikh and Gidan already told him, which was why the latter two had a strange look on their faces.
Cyneah also frowned, but she did not say anything.
On the other hand, Kyran answered Nahir's questions concisely.
Nahir frowned inwardly. By questioning him, he had wanted to gauge Kyran's character and possible hidden motive. Ultimately, the young man's answers conform to what he already knows. He also noticed that the young man's expression and emotions remained 'flat.'
For short, Nahir was unable to glean anything from Kyran.
"I heard your suggestion," Nahir started after a few minutes.
Kyran did not respond and only tilted his head, waiting for Nahir to continue.
"I must say, I agree to your thinking."
Kyran closely.
"Of course," Kyran responded.
Hearing Nahir's thoughts, Azikh was surprised.
"But, Lord Nahir—."
Nahir raised his hand at Azikh, stopping the older man from continuing.
"That is not to say that I don't have my reservations," Nahir continued, looking at Kyran closely.
"Of course," Kyran responded.
"You do know why, don't you?"
"More or less."
"Then why did you still propose it?"
"Because your people had the potential to pull it off."
Nahir raised his brows. He did not expect Kyran to answer in such a way.
"Potential, huh," he repeated.
"However, I won't deny that currently, your people are still lacking," Kyran continued. "Which is why, as much as possible, I want to teach them."
Nahir chuckled, "You talk as if you have the qualification to teach my people."
Kyran did not respond. He only looked at Nahir indifferently.
"I know my people more than you could ever know. I heard from Gidan what you are teaching them, and in my opinion, you are only confusing them."
A tense silence ensued after that.
Finally, a small smile tugged at the corner of Kyran's lips as he said, "It seems to you are the one who doesn't know your people at all."
Nahir's eyes narrowed, "What did you say?"
"Tell , Lord Nahir, why do you think your side is on the losing side of this war?"
"Obviously, it is because—."
"It is because of people like you who think they know better but then ends up making things worse."
Nahir turned livid after being interrupted and told off like that.
"You are only an outsider with a questionable background, don't say my father asked you for your assistance because, for all I know, you are only here to confuse my fiancée."
"Nahir, what are you even—."
"Do not interrupt, Sisi. We are talking here."
Kyran's expression finally showed a change; he looked at Nahir coldly and said, "I see. Apart from being a wiseass, you're also soone who doesn't listen."
"What did you say?"
When Kyran said the word 'wiseass,' he had spoken in human language, which was why Nahir did not understand him.
"Do you dare make a bet with , Lord Nahir?"
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