“Ah, Your Highness the Princess, it's nothing, nothing. I was just strolling through the way and happened to see this young man. I felt an instant connection, so I couldn't help but strike up a conversation.” Upon seeing Isatia, the male student named Anker's expression changed instantly, and he said with a booming laugh, as if a dog was seeing its owner. He even patted Winnie's shoulder in a friendly manner.
“We don't have a connection, thank you.” Winnie brushed off his hand. “Also, who allowed you to get so close? And why do you keep touching me? What are you trying to do? Do you have some unspeakable fetish? Sorry, I'm straight, I'm not interested in men. You've probably got the wrong person, please get at least three meters away from me immediately.”
“Hey, hey, Young Master Winnie, aren't you being a bit unreasonable?” Winnie completely refused to cooperate, and even resorted to calling him gay in various ways. Anker's strained smile was quite scary.
Oh? Is he threatening this young master now??
‘What a joke. It's one thing to tolerate those destined female leads, but who do you think you are, a nobody, to try and scare me, the notorious infamous young scoundrel of Camella Royal Capital??’
If he has to avoid the sharp edge of the destined female leads, does he also have to avoid the sharp edge of nobody? Then wouldn't he be a scoundrel in vain??
"Face? I even gave you face, pie! You bastard, what are you acting all arrogant for? I don’t even know you. You don’t say a word, just come up trying to pick a fight, not even checking yourself first. Do you think you’re some pretty girl? Still expecting someone to spoil you?
Do you ever even check the mirror to see if that huge ugly face of yours fits? Just leave, go as far as your imagination can carry you.” Winnie only rolled his eyes before striking ruthlessly, splattering blood across his head and landing blows to his face
After all, he was just walking completely on the way when some idiot he had no quarrel with stopped him to pick a fight. Wasn't that just asking for a scolding??
He had no kind words for this kind of idiot, just spray and be done with it.
As for this being a public place, with many people watching the spectacle, and Isatia also present?
Tch, what is he afraid of? If you provoke him, does he care who's watching?? Anyway, the more the merrier, he already has this reputation, why would he care about these things?
Mouthy for a moment, always mouthy, always awesome!
'Virtue + 10.'
'Current Virtue: 8944.'
Huh??
Seeing the change in his virtue, Winnie was confused. What was going on? Why did his virtue increase? Who gave it to him? It couldn't be Isatia, could it??
A moment later, Winnie realized. It could only be Isatia. The Princess must have never seen such abusive language in her life, and found it novel.
“You…”
“Anker, why did you come?” Just as Anker fell silent for a moment and was about to say something, Isatia spoke, her tone was calm and gentle. Her noble eyes fell on Anker, exuding an inexplicable sense of pressure.
“Well, Your Highness, as I said, I was just passing by and I saw this young brother, and we seemed to have a connection, so I…”
“It's Ortiz, isn't it?” Before he could explain, Isatia calmly continued her questioning.
“No, I'm just wandering around alone today. It has nothing to do with Young Master Ortiz?” A flicker of surprise flashed in Anker's eyes, but he still chose to stubbornly deny it.
But it was clear that such a statement and acting couldn't deceive Isatia.
“Tsk, flat-faced, I beg you to stop acting. With your terrible acting, this young master can't even watch from the side. And you still want to fool others??” Just as Isatia was brewing something, Winnie suddenly spoke.
Only those who have eaten fine grains understand the difference from coarse grains. Having seen Aesphyra's acting, one understands the huge gap in skill and acting between a student still in the academy and Aesphyra.
Moreover, based on his years of experience enduring the taunts and disdain from Mirexia's suitors, he had also noticed many clues.
“Was that Ortiz fellow who sent you? Let me guess, are you the son of some minor noble family under that Ortiz fellow's family?”
“I don't know about Young Master Ortiz, nor have I met him, but it seems that Young Master Ortiz's family has a considerable noble title, right? Is it Marquis or Duke in the Tyrrell Empire?”
“The reason he sent you is likely because that Ortiz fellow was also in the library earlier, right??” Winnie guessed with amusement.
Isatia, however, had already shifted her gaze to Winnie, remaining silent.
'Virtue + 30.'
'Current Virtue: 8974.'
“Don't spout nonsense.” Hearing this, Anker's expression changed.
“Oh, seeing you like this, it means it's true? Brother, listen to me, I'm not afraid of offending people. There are some things I'll only tell you.” Winnie said with a serious demeanor, as if he was truly looking out for Anker.
“When you go back, tell your fellow Ortiz that he shouldn't do this kind of thing anymore. Really, it's too stupid, and it makes him seem like he lacks despondency and courage.” Winnie pouted.
“Given the situation, I think anyone with eyes can see that Ortiz fellow's intentions. He's probably the only one still pretending and playing coy.”
“But honestly, as the young master of an Imperial Duke or Marquis family, why is he so lacking in confidence?” Winnie crossed his arms and tilted his head.
“I can't understand it. From childhood to adulthood, he had everything he wanted, everyone doted on him, as if the world revolved around him, born under the halo of his family, so why is he so timid?”
“If you want to pursue someone, pursue them openly. Why play these tricks? Not to mention accidentally harming an innocent like me, but does he use these methods to make any competitor retreat and withdraw from the competition? He's so skilled at this, he must have done it before, right??” Winnie's eyes were strange.
“He just resorts to these disgraceful tactics to scare off rivals and secure a win, never considering genuine self-improvement, building real charm, acting with integrity, or openly and sincerely winning girls over. It’s as if all his intelligence is wasted entirely on plotting and trickery, isn’t it?”
"He's timid and pretends to be a gentleman when contemplating, afraid of being seen through. In reality, even a blind person can see his intentions. But when he encounters a competitor, he attacks fiercely, showing no mercy. If you ask me, this kind of person will be stuck like that for life, their ceiling is capped there, you know?" Winnie commented leisurely.
“Tsk, how little confidence must one have to only dare to run on a track without competitors? Such people are unparalleled in cunning and slyness, yet they lack confidence in themselves, act so awkwardly, not like a man, and lack their own despondency and charm. If I were a girl, I'd ignore him!” Winnie shouted passionately, his voice rising.
These words were not only for that Ortiz but also for the son of a certain Dragon Knight Commander.
Not only did Anker freeze, but many of the onlookers who knew who Ortiz was looked at Winnie with shock.
“If I were him, I would show sincerity and my true self when pursuing a girl. If you like me, come to me. If not, I'm powerless. What if you don't like me? There are so many people in this world. It's fate if someone likes me, and I can't help it if someone doesn't fancy me. Who can make everyone in the world like them??”
Isatia remained silent, watching Winnie, her eyes moving.
'Virtue + 100.'
'Current Virtue: 9074.'
Huh? Why did his virtue suddenly increase so much??
Noticing the change in virtue, Winnie was a bit confused.
Was this virtue provided by Isatia? If so, this was truly the most virtue Isatia had ever provided him.
However, had he said anything that might have caused the other party emotional fluctuation just now? No, right?
He was simply outputting his criticism of the clown behind the scenes. Was it because that clown had a good relationship with Isatia, and Isatia was angry??
That shouldn't be the case, right? It doesn't look like it??
“Winnie, have you misunderstood something? I said I was just wandering around the streets alone today…”
“Don't do this kind of thing again in the future, and tell Ortiz not to do it either.” Before the ashen-faced Anker could finish explaining, Isatia spoke again. Although her voice was calm, it was filled with the pressure of royalty.
“Your Highness, I…” Seeing Isatia's expression, Anker opened his mouth but dared not say another word. He also knew that if he didn't leave, things would only get worse. He could only glare at Winnie and leave dejectedly.
“The nobles of the Tyrrell Empire, you've seen their behavior.” Isatia walked over and said coldly.
“It's fine, I think they're quite interesting.” Winnie spoke with an air of leisure.
Once the Camella King of Idea starts, he won't stop. This time, he truly unleashed his verbal fury.
Isatia nodded, then left. After all, both of them tacitly agreed that their relationship was merely that of a human shield and a tutor.
Isatia liked reading and coming to the library, and Winnie happened to be a good candidate for a human shield. Winnie could also benefit from it. They each got what they needed, and that was all.
Before the academy started, Winnie returned to his dorm, had dinner made by Shikondell, and then met up with Fred and the others. They played a few rounds of cards. After all, no matter what, Mirexia needed time to prepare, so for now, they should just do what they needed to do.
However, Winnie wasn't idle during this time. He stayed in the alchemy room provided by Mirexia, transforming into Vanessa to read and study alchemy, focusing on the “Healing Alchemy Potion” and ignoring everything else. He was there for this purpose from the start.
Mirexia knew that Winnie would be refining potions in Vanessa's form, and how serious the consequences would be if he were discovered. Therefore, the alchemy room provided by Mirexia was very safe, and no one else would disturb him there.
This reliable childhood friend handles things quite reassuringly.
Shikondell felt a bit strange, as Winnie had been away all night during this period. Well, even though the classes hadn't started yet, Shikondell still felt it was a bit odd.
Winnie also felt that if he continued like this, Shikondell would become suspicious, so he used the excuse of being increasingly busy with student council work, and even had Mirexia cover for him. The little fool Shikondell quickly believed it.
After some time, Winnie began to refine potions using the medicinal materials Mirexia had transported from the Kingdom of Camella.
During this period, whenever he was free, he would study alchemy in Vanessa's guise. After all, with Winnie's single-core processor, his learning efficiency was something only those who understood would understand; he just couldn't concentrate.
However, Winnie later realized that this was not ideal. Constantly changing forms still greatly affects his learning efficiency. He was surprised to find that he learned many knowledge points when he transformed into Vanessa, but after changing back to Winnie, his rate of forgetting was astonishing, leaving very few knowledge points still in his mind.
Therefore, to avoid learning and forgetting, and forgetting and learning again, Winnie made a decision that went against his ancestors.
He decided that until the official start of classes, he would stay in the alchemy room and study like Vanessa.
Before leaving, he also had a talk with Shikondell, telling her that he would be unable to return home for a long time due to certain matters. Fortunately, Shikondell, as a top-tier destined female lead, was easily convinced, and eventually chose to believe Winnie's reasons.
It couldn't be helped. The reason he chose to keep it completely secret from Shikondell was not because he didn't trust her character, but because he didn't trust her intelligence.
Look, she believed such an outrageous reason. Could he even say it?!
Thus, Vanessa stayed in the alchemy room for a long time. A large part of the memories Elusa bestowed upon her was obscured, to prevent Vanessa from being unable to accept them, so she had to absorb them slowly.
It could only be said that Aesphyra was truly lucky. Among the small portion of revealed and usable recipes, there happened to be the “Blessed Angel's Kiss” recipe, which was also known as a life-saving elixir.
It seemed that this recipe had been lost, but even if it hadn't been lost and was recorded, no one could refine it, as no one could provide the “Blessed Angel's Blood” ingredient.
Moreover, it was imaginable that the difficulty of this recipe was not low, and it was divided into three grades.
They were the Two-Winged Angel's Kiss, the Four-Winged Angel's Kiss, and the Six-Winged Angel's Kiss.
Vanessa didn't know what grade the bottle Aesphyra had given him before was, but Vanessa knew that she could currently only refine the Two-Winged version, because she was only Two-Winged now.
The difficulty of the Two-Winged version was greatly reduced compared to the Four-Winged and Six-Winged, but it was still very difficult, as it was a life-saving elixir.
At the same time, the medicinal power of the Two-Winged Angel's Kiss cannot be compared to the Four-Winged and Six-Winged.
But even with Vanessa's terrifying learning talent, the refinement of the Two-Winged potion still failed repeatedly. Vanessa always failed just before the crucial step of adding the blood essence, causing the cauldron to explode.
Even Vanessa, a peerless genius, kept failing and couldn't grasp the key points to success. She didn't dare to imagine how many years it would take to even barely touch the threshold if she tried to refine it in Winnie's body, and how many precious medicinal materials would be consumed??
Not to mention the time and energy costs, just the cost of the expensive exploding alchemy crucibles and the consumed alchemy materials was something even a wealthy family couldn't afford.
Finally, it was truly the goddess's blessing that succeeded. By then, Aesphyra will have long since turned into nut butter.
If it wasn't for Mirexia, the Princess of the Camella Kingdom, being her backing, she wouldn't even be able to dream of a life-saving elixir like the Angel's Kiss at this stage.
It could only be said that Aesphyra was very lucky. If even one condition was lacking, this matter would have been over.
After that, Vanessa encountered another problem.
Having failed too many times, although she had accumulated and summarized a lot of experience, the materials Mirexia had given her were insufficient, and there were no crucibles left. This kind of potion itself had extremely high requirements for alchemy crucibles. Ordinary crucibles couldn't withstand it, and even higher-grade crucibles' durability was quickly depleted by these precious medicinal materials.
Vanessa sighed.
Fortunately, adding the blood essence was the last step, and she failed at the last step every time. Otherwise, she would have bled to death long ago.
This made her troubled.
It also took time for Mirexia to bring the next batch of medicinal materials. By then, classes would have started, and she wouldn't be able to stay in the alchemy room day and night to continue alchemy.
Moreover, Mirexia wasn't omnipotent. She couldn't just keep pestering her just because she was kind and willing to help her, and was her childhood friend??
She provided all the crucibles, the alchemy room, and the medicinal materials. All these expenses were taken from Mirexia's assets. Regardless of whether this amount of money was considered a lot or not to her, Mirexia had truly done her best to help her.
Vanessa felt too embarrassed to ask Mirexia for more.
But if this were the case, the progress of refining the Angel's Kiss would be stalled.
What should she do? She couldn't change back now.
Even she was a little troubled.