Chapter 81

It had been a few days since Elvira started visiting during the training sessions. Since then, it had settled into a routine where either Iris or Basilio would teach Elvira the art of potion-making, while the other would guide me.

Elvira's training sessions alternated between morning and afternoon, and today, in the afternoon, it was Iris's turn to take charge.

"Elvira, you're putting too much force into it!"

"But it's not mixing at all!"

"You're so impatient!"

As Elvira forcefully ground the herbs, Iris laughed out loud beside her. Watching them, I noticed a similarity between Elvira and Iris. Though their fields were different—Elvira in potion-making and Iris in magic—both were child prodigies. Elvira's high pride and aloofness were easily bypassed by Iris's innocent smile. While keeping an eye on the two, who seemed like sisters, I was guiding Basilio at another workstation.

"Ah..."

My ears caught Basilio's voice, which seemed to slip out involuntarily. When I looked at his face, which was slightly lowered, it was clearly pale.

"Basilio? Is something wrong?"

"A, ah, no..."

Basilio, startled by my question, quickly tried to cover it up. But he soon lost his smile and, with a voice that sounded choked and pained, said:

"No, it seems I've made a mistake..."

Basilio gave a thin, self-deprecating smile. He showed me the container he had been awkwardly shaking in his hand. I examined the "failed" healing potion he mentioned. Indeed, upon closer inspection, it had a slightly cloudy color, but it could still be sold in the capital's market.

I sniffed it to confirm there was no harsh odor, then took a sip from the container. The bitterness spread in my mouth, but the potion was originally made from bitter herbs. The result of the mixture didn't seem particularly more bitter than usual.

"Hmm, it's a bit bitter, but the herbs are naturally bitter, so I don't think it's a failure. If I had to say, maybe the heating time was a bit short."

I noticed a red fruit pushed to the corner of the workstation. The fruit itself had no medicinal properties but was very sweet and could be mixed in to reduce the bitterness, often used for those who dislike bitter tastes, like small children. I reached for it and handed it to Basilio.

"If you're still concerned, you could mix in the fruit to mask the bitterness."

I laughed. Basilio's green eyes widened, and then he smiled gently, almost as if he were looking at something dazzling.

***

As soon as the bell signaling the end of the workday rang, Iris took Elvira to tour the herb garden and rushed out of the training room. Since Elvira's arrival, Iris had been particularly enthusiastic and was putting even more effort into her training, which seemed to be a positive influence on her. However, I needed to remind her to clean up after herself. I chuckled as I looked at the workstation Iris and Elvira had used, deciding to re-teach them how to clean the equipment tomorrow. I started tidying up.

"Ms. Laura, I'll help you."

"Ah, thank you."

Basilio's hand reached out to help. He began washing the equipment with careful movements. We worked in silence, a comfortable quiet between us. The silence was broken by Basilio's hesitant, more reserved voice than usual.

"Um, I've been wondering... Elvira is Mr. Arnold's sister, right?"

I was taken aback by the sudden question. I hadn't mentioned Arnold to Basilio and the others, but they must have guessed from Elvira's last name. I stopped what I was doing and nodded.

"Yes, that's right. She's currently staying at the castle... I'm sorry for the commotion."

"No, not at all. It's been fun every day since Elvira arrived."

"I'm relieved to hear that."

While Iris seemed to be enjoying herself, Basilio watched over her with a gentle smile. On the surface, his smile seemed to accept everything, but I was worried that his kindness might be hiding his true feelings. Even if his words were out of consideration, I appreciated that he had expressed them.

I reflected on how fortunate I was to have such a supportive family, seniors, and juniors.

"Actually, I was thinking today... You never get angry when I make mistakes, do you?"

I tilted my head at the sudden question. I recalled Basilio's pale face when he said he had made a mistake earlier. I could guess he was referring to that, but I didn't understand why he brought it up now. Reflecting on the past few months, I realized I hadn't raised my voice at either Basilio or Iris. This was partly because they were both very competent, and partly because I found it difficult to scold others—I didn't know how to do it correctly.

"Do I need to get angry? They say failure is the mother of success, and I think it's important to accumulate patterns of failure."

I remembered the day I had a painful experience trying to create a special medicine for a self-destructive disease. The burning heat inside my body was still vivid in my memory.

Basilio seemed to ponder my words for a few seconds before slowly speaking.

"My mother used to get very angry at mistakes. So, I often spent the whole day just preparing for potion-making to avoid making mistakes."

Basilio's face was shadowed as he spoke softly, recalling the day I met his mother during the announcement of the results.

"But you believe in practical learning, don't you? You provide a lot of reference materials, but instead of sitting at a desk to read them, we learn the key points while making potions..."

I was taken aback by Basilio's observation. Indeed, during the training, we had never spent a whole day on lectures. This was probably because I had been trained that way, and the idea of completing a day of training with lectures alone had never crossed my mind.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up suddenly. I'm not complaining... It's just that, a year ago, I couldn't believe I could make so many potions in one day."

Basilio looked at the now clean equipment with a loving smile. A year ago, he had been afraid of making mistakes and couldn't make potions as he wished. Now, he was making potions every day.

I couldn't say which method was better for Basilio. The careful, step-by-step approach based on solid knowledge was certainly not wrong.

However...

"That's why I'm having so much fun now."

On the day of the announcement, Basilio had said that being a royal alchemist was his parents' dream. Seeing his dark expression then, something had been smoldering in my heart. But now, seeing him so happy and content, I couldn't help but wish that one day, being a royal alchemist would become his own dream.