She's Not Our Daughter! Ch 126

SS 2: Hanael's Academy Entrance (2)

[Abel] "Hey, I am not joking!"

Pouting after taking a wrongful blow from her fist, Abel wore a resentful expression.

Feeling awkward, she stepped back.

[Sierra] "Ah, really? I thought you two conspired with my sister."

Also bearing a bump on his forehead, Ezel drooped his shoulders in resentment.

[Ezel] "Do you know how much money we invested in this prep academy to lie like this?!"

[Abel] "Right, Ezel! Ha! Do you know how hard we suffered breaking into this industry?!"

I thought those two didn't get along.

When Sierra stared at them with cold, unimpressed eyes, they continued grumbling.

[Abel] "Ah, we told you we were going to show you something."

[Sierra] "I had no idea it would be a prep academy."

She heard they both collaborated on something, but never imagined an academy prep business.

Making her earlier nervousness meaningless, Sierra crossed her legs comfortably inside the director's office.

[Sierra] "What is this really? Ezel, are you still running the Information Guild?"

No wonder reaching him proved difficult lately; he was selling academy prep lectures.......

He replied nonchalantly.

[Ezel] "I run the Information Guild alongside this. Entrance exams are a war of information."

She let out a dry laugh.

[Sierra] "In my day, everyone entered the Imperial Academy without special information."

Sierra stood as living proof right here. Glancing at her, Abel answered maturely.

[Abel] "That is an old story; information is required now."

She stared fixedly at Abel.

No matter how I think about it, this is fascinating. This watchdog of the Magic Tower collaborated with Ezel on a business...…

It felt impressive yet cute, creating a strange sentiment. She leaned back comfortably against the chair and spoke to them.

[Sierra] "Our Hanael wants to take the Academy entrance exam too. Can you help her?"

Abel tilted his head in confusion.

[Abel] "Huh? Sister, Hanael enters two years from now, right? She is not twelve yet. She passed her tenth birthday recently......?"

[Sierra] "Ah, she wants to enter two years early."

Ezel answered with sparkling eyes.

[Ezel] "As expected of Hanael......"

Abel picked up where Ezel left off.

[Abel] "Hanael was a prodigy in Sufe Village too, so this is only natural."

Those two synchronized perfectly, beating tambourines and castanets together. Understanding clearly why those two became business partners, Sierra brought the situation to order.

[Sierra] "So can you help our Hanael?"

They clasped their hands before their chests, eyes gleaming.

[Ezel] "Of course! We shall assist her with optimal consulting."

[Sierra] "What is the price?"

Ezel shook his hand dismissively and answered.

[Ezel] "Pfft, for our Hanael, it is naturally free!"

These owners are not running this business for charity, are they? I have a suspicion, but as a former Information Guild Leader, he will manage fine......

Besides, free was always right.

She smiled brightly and asked.

[Sierra] "Then how do you conduct the consulting?"

Guilt began creeping in for giving them bumps on the head, thinking she was deceived. She tilted her head while watching their serious expressions.

Ezel handed over a neatly labeled booklet.

An entrance booklet classified into Medicine, Pharmacy, Swordsmanship, Magic, Etiquette, General Knowledge, Literature, and Arts.

Looking at the bewildered Sierra, they spoke.

[Ezel] "We plan to identify which field your child possesses talent in first."

[Sierra] "Oh......"

This is thoroughly professional.

In stark contrast to giving them bumps on the forehead earlier, admiration filled her.

---

A few days later.

Cutting through the eerie darkness, ten men and women dressed in black suits arrived at the Duke's estate. Entering secretly through the side gate in the morning dew, they headed straight into the center of the estate.

Awake without sleep until that hour, the Duchess welcomed them with bright relief.

[Sierra] "You have arrived."

[Instructor] "We greet Her Grace the Duchess of Ideos and His Grace the Duke."

The instructors saw the man towering like a mountain behind Sierra's back. Though these instructors made names for themselves within the Empire, they paled into insignificance before the prestige of Duke Ideos.

Bowing low, they waited for the Duke's command. Before long, a voice sharp as an icy wind echoed.

[Cassius] "Rise."

As the instructors stood up awkwardly, a ten-year-old girl hiding behind Sierra's dress peeked her face out.

[Hanael] "Woooah, teachers! Hello, teachers!"

Hanael wore a happy smile—a radiant smile capable of melting even their rigid, expressionless faces.

Yet business was business. No matter how Duke Ideos' daughter she was, and no matter how adorable she looked, she was now merely a student requiring strict instruction.

The instructors forced their facial muscles into rigid expressions before stepping inside.

---

And almost instantly, their poker faces shattered to pieces

Inside the hall where everyone gathered to test Hanael's skills—

Right when Sierra and Cassius clasped their hands before their chests as if praying, wishing for Hanael's best effort—

The Swordsmanship Academy professor, stepping up first to test her ability, fell to his knees before her lethal sabre attack.

[Professor] "She clearly inherited His Grace's abilities."

Declaring he had nothing left to teach, the professor stated that passing the Academy was a guaranteed certainty before taking his seat.

Wiping away sweat from Hanael's forehead, Sierra spoke affectionately.

[Sierra] "You worked hard."

[Hanael] "Hmph! Swordsmanship is nothing! I will do what I want to do!"

What on earth is she aiming for so eagerly?

Stroking Hanael's hair, Sierra watched silently as the next teacher approached Hanael. An ominous feeling suggested that today would be a long day.

[Teacher] "We shall test etiquette now."

Without even ten minutes of rest after swordsmanship ended, this academy practiced Spartan education.

The etiquette teacher began instructing Hanael. First came tea etiquette, second came walking posture, and third came ballroom dancing.

Sierra worried whether Hanael could adapt properly, but that proved an unnecessary concern. She excelled at absolutely everything.

She stared with her mouth wide open, watching Hanael perform. Cassius, standing beside her, looked so calm it defied understanding.......

[Cassius] "I taught her."

[Sierra] "......W-When?"

[Cassius] "When I played with her every day. She said she wanted to learn."

Playing together as father and daughter without Mom!

A brief wave of betrayal washed over her, but passed quickly as the magic test began right after etiquette.

Because Hanael possessed special mana, Sierra expected a passing score on the magic test. Yet.......

[Hanael] "Do I do it like this?"

A bluish rose formed in her hand. The magic teacher stared with his jaw dropped to the floor. Above all, Hanael approached total genius in magic—likely thanks to the blue mana she possessed.

Teachers approached their side and spoke flatteringly.

[Instructor] "At this rate, she will pass with absolute certainty. She could even aim for top scorer."

Swordsmanship, Magic, Etiquette, General Knowledge, Literature, Arts—Hanael excelled in every field. As tests progressed one by one, she raised her chin shamelessly.

[Hanael] "I know everything because I am Mommy's daughter!"

Sierra nodded. Truly her daughter, she proved extraordinary across all categories.

Finally, a single field remained: Pharmacy.

She will naturally excel at this too. She is my daughter, inheriting my abilities!

Because Hanael displayed outstanding skill earlier, Sierra let her guard down. She leaned back in her chair inside the hall to enjoy the final pharmacy stage comfortably. Yet Cassius acted strangely, his brows furrowing and his lips tightening.

[Sierra] "What is wrong?"

[Cassius] "Mmm......"

As if knowing something, he tilted his brows.

Is something bothering him? I will ask later.

Sierra thought, shifting her gaze away from Cassius.

At that moment, Hanael listened to the instructions for brewing Isol cough potion.

[Instructor] "This is the formula for Isol potion."

[Hanael] "Yup!"

As she answered smartly, the pharmacy instructor whispered affectionately with high expectations.

[Instructor] "Try infusing mana to create the medicine."

She nodded vigorously, wrote the mana formula instructed by the teacher on the floor, and infused the mana from her hand straight into the medicine.

Huh......? That is......?

Just as Sierra panicked briefly......

BOOM—!

A loud, cheerful explosion echoed through the hall.

Taking the bomb-like potion straight to his face, dark soot covered the instructor's face.

[Hanael] "......T-Teacher!"

When she reached out in surprise, the instructor massaged his dizzy temples and muttered.

[Instructor] "......Disqualified."

Wait, how could she mess up such a simple task?

It was a formula she needed only to recite, using precious ingredients. Infusing mana was all it took!

Did she infuse mana in some bizarre way......?

To Sierra, born a genius of pharmacy formulas, this was unthinkable.

[Hanael] "I want to take the test again! Again! I can do well now!"

Hanael bit her lip firmly and stated her ambition to the pharmacy instructor.

She retook the test and surprisingly nearly blew up the entire hall before it finally concluded.

Once the chaos subsided, the pharmacy instructor wiped cold sweat from his forehead and approached Sierra and Cassius.

[Instructor] "She possesses...... no talent for medicine."

[Sierra] "......That is understandable."

Sierra nodded. Excelling in every other subject meant failing pharmacy mattered not at all.

Truthfully, even if Hanael received a failing grade, Sierra cared little. Yet Hanael thought differently. Redness flushed her white, steamed-bun-like face as she clenched her tiny fists, huffing continuously.

[Hanael] "No! I am going to major in Pharmacy!"

[Sierra] "Hanael, you are......"

......devoid of talent in pharmacy.

Swallowing those words inwardly, Sierra smiled awkwardly.

[Hanael] "Hanael can do well! Just like Mommy!"

[Sierra] "Riiiight, my baby. You do well. Mmm-hmm."

She coaxed Hanael awkwardly. Yet those words bruised Hanael's pride deeply.

[Hanael] "Mommy, just wait. Hanael will show you everything!"

Hanael marched inside with determination.

Sierra exhaled a sigh.

[Sierra] "Will our daughter really show us something......?"

Cassius wrapped his arm around her shoulders and answered.

[Cassius] "She doesn't need to show us anything."

[Hanael] "No! Just wait!"

Hanael clenched her fists.

And until the day of the Academy entrance exam, she studied voluntarily in her room for over ten hours a day.

Only Pharmacy.

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