Home/The Peaceful Academy Life of a Magic Potion Professor/ch31

Chapter 31

Unexpected.

Lamiya thought to herself. Perhaps because she'd thought of him as a guardian, she'd unconsciously assumed he was older. But then she remembered Media, who was the guardian of her twin siblings, and realized this wasn't so unusual. She nodded.

"Ha, I often get told I look more mature than my age."

Edward said, scratching his head with one hand as if embarrassed. Lamiya realized he'd misunderstood and corrected him.

"No, it's just that I know someone even younger than you who acts as a guardian. And she's very mature. It was my own bias. I was the one being rude, being surprised by your age."

At that, Edward's eyes widened slightly.

"Ah..."

For some reason, he suddenly became much quieter. Lamiya found it odd but continued guiding him along the path. She arrived at the building containing the Headmaster's office in exactly thirty minutes. Though one might expect the Headmaster's office to be near the faculty laboratories, it was actually located on the top floor of the main academic building—the building where students attended classes. (Of course, there were other offices the Headmaster used elsewhere.) Apparently, this was so he could observe the students coming and going and check on their well-being. As a result, the area was bustling with parents who had come to see their children and parents who had come to meet the Headmaster. Everyone seemed quite excited, seeing their families in this new setting.

"Brother!"

At that moment, a figure came running across the corridor.

"Ray."

"?"

For an instant, a question mark flashed through Lamiya's mind. What had that arrogant brat, Prince Raymond, just called him?

"Eddie!"

Brother? Prince Raymond, with his fiery red hair and noble silver eyes, wore a bright, innocent smile that Lamiya had never seen before, and threw himself into Edward's arms.

"Have you been well?"

Edward gently patted Prince Raymond's head, as if this were a familiar routine. Lamiya's mind briefly grew complicated at the sight of the two strikingly similar men, but she quickly found her answer and murmured quietly.

"Then... the Crown Prince...?"

Hearing an unwelcome voice, Prince Raymond turned his head and pointed at Lamiya.

"Wh-why are you with my brother?!"

Edward, seeing his younger brother's hostile reaction, forgot even his gentle smile, looking taken aback.

"Ray?! What is this—"

"Why are you with my brother! Ah, are you trying to suck up because my brother is the Crown Prince?"

Prince Raymond's aggressive eyes—perhaps because the Crown Prince was his brother—immediately shifted to an arrogant and confident demeanor. Disgustingly so.

"Or are you finally starting to regret that incident?"

"..."

Lamiya gazed silently at Prince Raymond. Her lack of reaction only made him angrier.

"What! Say something!"

"R-Ray!"

Edward was stunned by this situation he'd never imagined. Though his parents had raised Raymond indulgently, he'd never known he could be this out of line.

"No, not at all. The match was fair."

Lamiya spoke quietly. Even in the noisy corridor, both Edward and Raymond could clearly hear her distinct voice.

"But... you're not very talkative, are you?"

"What?"

"I remember the school rules stating that all students at Mariposa Academy must respect their professors and treat them accordingly. I heard you're top of the swordsmanship class—it seems you really only know swordsmanship."

"Yo-you...!"

Raymond shouted, unable to contain his anger.

"You?"

Lamiya said quietly.

"How dare you speak to me—!"

"How dare?"

She repeated.

"I won't let this slide!"

"Won't let it slide?"

"What are you doing—Gasp!"

Only then did Raymond realize he'd been speaking informally to Lamiya, a professor. And in front of his brother Edward! Seeing that woman next to his beloved brother had stirred up memories of his defeat, and he'd momentarily lost his composure.

"Br... Brother..."

Raymond turned around, his face bright red. Edward's expression was frozen hard. The warmth from moments ago had vanished, replaced by an icy gaze that seemed capable of killing.

"What... is this?"

"Brother... that's... it's a mis-misunderstanding..."

"It doesn't look like a misunderstanding."

It seemed an interesting scene was about to unfold, but Lamiya, remembering that the Headmaster was waiting, regretfully set aside her curiosity. To her, Headmaster Kamirgold—who provided her food, clothing, and shelter—was more important than the Crown Prince.

"Lord Edward, perhaps we should see the Headmaster first."

At Lamiya's suggestion, Edward finally recalled the part of his reason that had temporarily fled. He'd nearly caused a major scene in front of the parents. He bowed politely in apology.

"Professor Lamiya, allow me to apologize on behalf of my brother."

"Brother...!"

Prince Raymond looked utterly shocked at this turn of events. But Edward paid him no heed.

"The Imperial Court will prepare an official letter of apology and appropriate compensation."

He looked coldly down at his brother.

"Just you wait until we get home."

"!"

And so, Lamiya and Edward left the stunned Prince Raymond behind and headed to the Headmaster's office.

Even as they entered, Edward kept apologizing to Lamiya. She accepted the apologies calmly—she saw no reason to refuse. Prince Raymond was indeed in the wrong. At the same time, Lamiya thought: though the two brothers might look alike, their personalities were nothing alike. She was surprised, but soon lost interest.

"I don't need an imperial apology—just let me live in peace and quiet, please."

After finishing the Headmaster's request, Lamiya continued with her remaining interviews.

"Hello. I'm Lamiya, the magical potions professor."

"Hello, Professor. I'm Melanie, Peter's mother."

So that's who Peter got his blue eyes from. Lamiya flipped through Peter's student record, which had been compiled since his first year. Father not listed...

Raising a child alone couldn't have been easy, yet Peter's mother had a remarkably girlish and delicate presence.

"Peter's grades aren't bad... The magical potions students don't study much, but he's top of the class. And—"

Clasp.

"?

Lamiya froze, as if malfunctioning. Had she made a mistake? She slowly looked up from the documents. Her empty hand was tightly held by Peter's mother. Her face combined a warm, gentle smile with glistening eyes.

"Thank you, Professor."

"...Pardon?"

Lamiya's eyes involuntarily flickered in confusion. Anyone who'd only seen her usual impassive demeanor would have been shocked at her expression now.

"You saved our Peter..."

Ah, she must have heard about Loki's gang. Lamiya shook her head and answered plainly that it was a natural thing to do, and that Peter had done the real work. But Melanie shook her head.

"I was always worried. I even tried to come to the Academy. No matter how busy I was, how could I not know my own son was in that state? Peter is my only precious son. When he couldn't get into the magic department and was assigned to magical potions, he was devastated. It had been his long-time dream—he wanted to become a mage and take care of me. I just wanted him to grow up healthy; I didn't need anything more."

"..."

For some reason, Lamiya couldn't pull her hand away from Melanie's.

"But after he came to the magical potions class, he was in that condition... I told him not to come to the Academy, that it was useless, that he just had to hold on a little longer until graduation. I said we shouldn't make a big deal of it. Actually, I came to see the professor in charge a few times in secret, but they just said it was a dispute among friends. They never listened to me."

Her body seemed frozen, unable to move.

"How much despair must he have felt? I couldn't help him at all."

Melanie gave a bitter smile. Lamiya thought that at least home wasn't a hell for Peter—that was a relief.

"He would have... probably overcome it even without me."

She was saying something uncharacteristically hopeful. It felt strange.

Melanie's sad expression soon brightened into a radiant smile.

"It's thanks to you, Professor. That's why I came to thank you! Peter has no visible wounds now, and when he comes back from the Academy, his expression isn't gloomy anymore. He's even started reading books about magical potions—he's actually interested. Maybe magical potions can do what magic couldn't..."

Lamiya's eyes widened.

"But seeing you today, I think I understand why he said what he did."

"...Pardon?"

She, who was supposed to be conducting the interview, was giving short answers like a parent. What was going on? She couldn't fully grasp what Peter's mother was saying. All she'd done was help a student she saw being bullied and treat his wounds—yet Melanie spoke as if she'd done something remarkable...

"Please continue to take care of him, Professor."

Seeing Lamiya's utterly bewildered expression, Peter's mother simply smiled.

After a moment of mental paralysis, Lamiya collected herself. She concluded that though Peter's mother Melanie seemed girlish on the outside, she was strong on the inside.

The next interview time soon arrived. Unlike other classes, with fewer students and many absent parents, everything seemed to be wrapping up early.

Knock, knock.

At the sound of the knock precisely on time, Lamiya quickly cleared her mind of lingering thoughts.

"Yes, come in."

The laboratory door opened and a person entered. Lamiya's eyes widened. It was someone she'd never expected to see here.

"Lord Blanchard?"

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