The ride to the academy had beco surprisingly normal over the past few days.
Every morning I would climb aboard one of the wagons heading toward the greenhouse construction site and, without fail, Lillith would end up attached to my side.
Today seed no different.
At least at first.
As we approached the rear gate, I was already preparing myself to greet the knight normally stationed there.
Then I noticed sothing was wrong.
The usual guard wasn’t alone.
A whole group of knights stood around the gate.
Their armor was different.
More ornate.
More expensive.
And engraved upon their chests was a symbol I imdiately recognized.
The royal crest of Valenore.
The wagon slowly rolled to a stop.
Silence followed.
Every knight present was looking directly at .
A particularly decorated knight stepped forward.
Even among the others he stood out imdiately. His armor carried additional markings and dals while the sword at his waist looked more ceremonial than practical.
His eyes locked onto .
"Are you Leon Aldric?"
I blinked.
Then nodded.
"Yes."
The knight’s expression remained unreadable.
"You are to co with us for questioning."
For several seconds my brain completely failed to process what he had just said.
Questioning?
Why?
Then the knight answered before I could ask.
"You are currently the primary suspect regarding the death of Adrian Eirvale."
My mind went blank.
For a split second, the conversation from my dream resurfaced.
Adrian.
I imdiately shook the thought away.
No.
That had been a dream.
A weird dream.
Nothing more.
Before I could respond, movent beside caught my attention.
Lillith had stopped leaning against .
Then she jumped down from the wagon and calmly walked toward the knight.
Very calmly.
Far too calmly.
"What are you doing with my Darling?"
The knight t her gaze.
"I am carrying out royal orders."
Lillith’s eyes narrowed.
"So you’re trying to take Leon away from ?"
Several nearby knights visibly stiffened.
I imdiately climbed down from the wagon and grabbed her shoulder.
"Lillith."
She looked at .
Still annoyed.
"It’s fine."
"It isn’t."
"It’s fine."
"They’re taking you away from ."
I sighed.
"I didn’t kill Adrian."
"I know."
"Then it’ll be fine."
Lillith still looked unconvinced.
Very unconvinced.
For a mont I genuinely thought I might have to stop her from attacking the royal knights.
Eventually, after several minutes of persuasion, she finally relented.
Reluctantly.
Very reluctantly.
But before leaving, she pointed directly at the decorated knight.
"If Leon cos back with a scratch on him, I’m channeling all my wrath on you."
The knight visibly paled.
I decided not to comnt on that.
Instead I turned toward my workers.
The greenhouse was nearly finished and there was no point stopping everything.
After quickly delegating responsibilities and giving instructions for the day’s work, I watched them head into the academy grounds.
Only then did I follow the royal knights.
A while later I found myself seated inside an interrogation room within the royal barracks.
The decorated knight sat opposite .
A wooden table separated us.
The room itself was plain.
No windows.
Stone walls.
One door.
Very stereotypical.
The knight folded his hands together.
"Did you kill Adrian Eirvale?"
Straight to the point.
"No."
The knight remained silent.
I continued.
"In fact, this is the first ti I’ve heard he’s dead."
The knight studied my face for several monts.
Then he began explaining.
According to him, Adrian’s body had been discovered during the early morning hours alongside two other individuals identified as low B-rank mages.
My expression slowly beca more confused the longer he spoke.
Three dead people.
In the middle of the capital.
Including Adrian.
That alone sounded insane.
Then the knight described the condition of the scene.
I frowned.
That definitely didn’t sound like anything I had done.
By the ti he finished, I was genuinely bewildered.
Who in the world could have done sothing like that?
The knight eventually finished speaking and looked at .
I leaned forward slightly.
"First, I didn’t kill Adrian."
Then I pointed toward myself.
"Second, even if I had wanted to, that’s not how my weapons work."
The knight remained silent.
I continued.
"My rifle wounds people by punching small holes through them."
I tapped the table.
"That’s what it does."
The knight nodded slowly.
I could tell he already knew that.
"There wasn’t a single wound matching that description."
"Exactly."
For several monts neither of us spoke.
Then the knight stood.
"Wait here."
I sighed.
Of course.
What followed was approximately the most boring period of my life.
Eventually the door opened again.
The knight returned.
This ti his expression looked considerably less severe.
"We’ve confird your account."
I raised an eyebrow.
The knight nodded.
"Multiple witnesses verified the nature of your weapon."
Relief imdiately washed over .
"You are free to go."
That was wonderful news.
I wasted absolutely no ti leaving.
A short while later I arrived back at the academy.
The usual rear gate guard greeted imdiately.
Apparently news of my temporary detention had spread surprisingly quickly.
After a brief conversation reassuring him that I wasn’t actually a murderer, I headed inside.
The greenhouse site ca into view shortly afterward.
And honestly—
The timing couldn’t have been better.
The structure was essentially complete.
The fra was finished.
The glass panels had been installed.
The heating system was operational.
Only final testing remained.
The rest of the morning disappeared in a blur of inspections, adjustnts, and safety checks.
By the ti lunch arrived, everything was finally done.
I stepped back and looked over the completed greenhouse.
Not bad.
Actually—
It was probably one of the better examples I’d built so far.
Then suddenly sothing slamd into my back.
Arms wrapped around .
I didn’t even need to look.
"Lillith."
"I’m glad you aren’t in prison."
I laughed.
"Thanks."
She tightened her grip.
"I was already planning how to get you back."
I stared ahead.
"I’m almost afraid to ask."
"You should be."
That answer sohow didn’t reassure .
Eventually she released and moved around to stand beside .
I smiled and patted her head.
"Thank you for your concern."
She imdiately looked pleased.
Then I rembered sothing.
"Actually."
Lillith looked up.
"Do you know where the botany teacher is?"
She blinked.
"No."
A pause.
"I don’t even know what she looks like."
That seed about right.
Then another voice spoke up behind us.
"I do."
Both of us turned.
Clara stood there holding her lunch tray.
She smiled.
"I can take you to her."
I imdiately brightened.
"Perfect."
anwhile Lillith looked deeply offended that sobody else had been more useful than her.
Clara ended up leading us across a different section of the academy than I normally visited.
The greenhouse sat near the outer grounds while the botany departnt occupied a quieter area closer to several gardens and cultivation fields.
Even during lunch there were students wandering around carrying pots, watering cans and notebooks filled with sketches of plants.
Eventually Clara stopped in front of a wooden door covered in small carved vines.
"She’s in there."
Lillith peeked at the door suspiciously.
"How do you know?"
"Because she’s always in there."
Clara imdiately knocked.
A few monts later a gentle voice ca from inside.
"Co in."
The three of us entered.
I imdiately froze.
The office was less of an office and more of a miniature jungle.
Plants occupied almost every available space.
Several vines hung from the ceiling while flowers grew from pots stacked upon shelves lining the walls.
One corner contained a small glowing blue tree no taller than my waist whose leaves gave off a faint magical light.
Nearby sat a carnivorous plant with deep purple petals surrounding a mouth full of sharp teeth.
Lillith imdiately walked over to it.
The plant opened its mouth at her.
Lillith opened her mouth back.
The plant slowly closed itself.
I wasn’t entirely sure what had just happened.
Along another shelf sat dozens of smaller magical plants. So produced tiny sparks of mana between their leaves while others changed color every few seconds.
The entire room slled surprisingly pleasant.
Fresh.
Almost like a forest after rain.
The botany teacher sat behind her desk smiling at us.
She looked to be in her late twenties and wore simple green robes with dirt stains near the sleeves.
"Clara."
She nodded.
Then toward Lillith.
"Lady Nightbane."
Finally her gaze landed on .
"And I assu you’re Mister Aldric."
I sat down.
"That’s ."
Lillith imdiately sat beside .
Very close beside .
Clara sat on my other side.
The teacher’s eyes briefly drifted between the two girls before returning to .
I decided not to acknowledge it.
Instead I reached into my bag and pulled out the docunt given to by the Valare Corporation.
"I was wondering if you could sign off on the greenhouse project."
The teacher accepted the paper.
After reading through it for several monts she nodded.
"Of course."
She opened a drawer and removed a small seal.
A mont later—
Stamp.
The docunt was officially approved.
I imdiately felt relieved.
One more job completed.
I carefully stored the paper away.
Then another thought entered my mind.
The sapling back ho imdiately ca to mind.
Normally it would take years before a rubber tree matured enough to beco truly useful.
Years I didn’t want to wait.
I looked toward the teacher.
"Can I ask sothing?"
She nodded.
"Of course."
"Can magic be used to accelerate plant growth?"
The teacher looked surprised.
Then interested.
"It can."
I imdiately leaned forward.
"How difficult is it?"
"It depends on the plant and the caster."
That was already promising.
I quickly explained my situation regarding the rubber saplings growing in Aldric territory.
The teacher listened carefully before nodding.
Then I asked the important question.
"Would you be willing to visit the territory and help mature them?"
The teacher imdiately laughed.
Not mockingly.
More apologetically.
"I’m afraid not."
My shoulders slumped slightly.
The teacher smiled.
"I already have enough responsibilities at the academy."
Fair enough.
Then she tilted her head.
"Though..."
I looked up.
She pointed toward Clara.
Then toward Lillith.
"I could teach them."
Both girls blinked.
"The spell itself isn’t difficult."
Clara imdiately looked interested.
"I don’t mind helping—"
"I’ll do it."
The interruption ca instantly.
Lillith crossed her arms.
"Leon doesn’t need Clara."
The room fell silent.
anwhile Lillith looked completely serious.
Clara puffed out her cheeks.
"I was just trying to help."
"I know."
"Then why can’t I?"
"Because I’ll do it."
The teacher covered her mouth to hide a smile.
I sighed.
So things never changed.
Eventually I reached over and patted Lillith’s head.
"Thanks."
Her expression imdiately softened.
The teacher laughed.
"Honestly, the spell is simple enough that I could probably teach either of them before lunch ends."
That got my attention.
"Really?"
She nodded.
"It’s one of the first plant related magic techniques students learn."
That was significantly easier than I expected.
The teacher then handed my approved paperwork back to .
I carefully stored it away before reaching into my bag again and producing the small instruction manual I had written for the greenhouse.
"This explains how everything works."
The teacher accepted it curiously.
"Thank you."
I smiled.
"If you’d like, I can show you the heating system after lunch."
Her eyes brightened imdiately.
"I’d appreciate that."
anwhile Lillith had wandered over toward another shelf filled with strange magical plants.
Then she suddenly asked a question.
"If plant magic can speed up growth..."
The teacher looked over.
"Yes?"
"Can it work in reverse?"
The room beca silent.
The teacher blinked and then thought about it deeply.
After several monts she slowly nodded.
"I don’t see why it couldn’t."
Lillith’s smile widened.
Sothing about that smile imdiately concerned .
The teacher didn’t seem to notice.
Clara didn’t seem to notice.
I definitely noticed.
Because I’d spent enough ti around Lillith to recognize that particular smile.
It was the smile she made whenever she had an idea.
And whenever Lillith had an idea—
Problems usually followed shortly afterward.
I slowly turned toward her.
"What are you thinking about?"
Lillith imdiately looked away.
"Nothing."
That answer sohow made even more worried.
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