She's Not Our Daughter! Ch 127

SS 2: Hanael's Academy Entrance (3)

A few months later.

Inside Mandant Hall at the Imperial Academy, where entrance exams took place, unseasonable heat burned with intensity.

As the Imperial Academy emerged as the cradle of elite education, even small articles about the top scorer appeared in newspapers.

Today marked the day Hanael, the sole princess of the Ideos family, took her entrance exam, creating media coverage resembling the commotion when the Crown Prince died suddenly.

Naturally, Hanael paid no attention to other people's interests. Only pharmacy formulas filled her mind.

[Hanael] "I will be back!"

Our child is going to school, even though she still stammers her words occasionally!

Clutching her heart, Sierra managed to speak.

[Sierra] "Be careful."

[Hanael] "Yup!"

She bowed politely before scampering toward the door of Mandant Hall.

To prevent parental interference, only children could step inside the hall. Now Sierra and Cassius waited outside the hall, yearning solely for Hanael's results.

I am really worried......

Exhaling a silent sigh, she glanced at Cassius beside her, assuming he worried as well. Surprisingly, however, he lacked any concern. She tilted her head with a puzzled expression.

[Sierra] "How can you remain so calm?"

[Cassius] "Just because."

[Sierra] "......Just because?"

When she questioned him, unable to understand his words, he answered.

[Cassius] "Because I trust her. She will handle it well on her own. She worked hard."

[Sierra] "Ah......"

She learned a lesson from him again today.

Yet......

Sierra nodded, closing her eyes and quietly clasping her hands together. She couldn't achieve an unshakeable mind like his.

Just watching Hanael enter Mandant Hall's front gate with her hair in pigtails made Sierra's heart pound wildly.

She couldn't enter the exam room alongside Hanael, but she could pray. She prayed, wishing inwardly for Hanael's good fortune.

---

Stepping inside Mandant Hall at that exact moment, Hanael acted with utter desperation.

Recently, the Imperial Academy assigned majors based on student ability. Students couldn't choose major subjects directly. Instead, rumors held that the top scorer, who achieved perfect marks across all subjects, could select a major directly.

Therefore, Hanael trained with the goal of achieving perfect scores in every subject. Naturally, nothing else mattered. To her, only pharmacy existed.

I just need a perfect score in pharmacy!

Only the pharmacy subject test dominated her mind.

I will choose the same major as Mommy!

I worked hard, so I can definitely major in pharmacy! Because my Mommy is the coolest in the world!

If I choose the same major, Mommy will love it!

Her heart pounded wildly.

Time passed in anxious anticipation as excitement dominated her body, and her turn arrived.

Stepping into the exam room, she offered a brave greeting exactly as taught.

[Hanael] "Hello! I am Hanael Ideos!"

Examiners observed her with interested eyes. Naturally, not everyone looked favorably upon her. Certain examiners looked down on her for being the daughter of Sierra, a former commoner turned Cinderella. Yet such attitudes exerted no influence on Hanael. Only the exam filled her mind!

Gradually, her exam began. Swordsmanship, etiquette, magic theory.......

[Examiner] "Her sword thrust is absolute perfection without a single flaw!"

[Examiner] "Is achieving a perfect score in magic theory not the first since the Great Archmage?"

[Examiner] "Her etiquette leaves nothing to be desired. I am thoroughly astonished."

As exams concluded one by one, everyone made a wild fuss over the birth of a new genius. Yet Hanael remained composed, holding no interest in such praise. She knew full well that she possessed genius in every area. Yet a single subject remained.

[Examiner] "Now let us conduct the pharmacy exam."

......Pharmacy remained.

Examiners observed Hanael as if gazing upon something rare. Having achieved perfect scores in every subject so far, expectations arose that she would perform well in pharmacy too.

Finally, the pharmacy formula lay before Hanael.

[Examiner] "You may brew Aiconic Potion, a cold medicine."

Having written out the formula, Hanael felt confident. Psyching herself up, she wrote down the formula and began combining ingredients.

She studied this potion diligently through self-study at home. She could do well.

Yes, now I just need to infuse mana into this......!

Mana began flowing into the potion bottle.

And.......

BOOM, POP-POP—!

The potion bottle decorated the hall like fireworks.

She recognized the truth instantly: She ruined it completely.

---

Emerging after taking the exam, Hanael drooped like a sick chicken throughout the day. An aura preventing anyone from daring to speak surrounded her, leaving the Duchy of Ideos walking on thin ice.

Hanael must have ruined her exam......

Enduring the tense atmosphere, Sierra considered cooking delicious food for Hanael when the entrance report card arrived at the estate a few days later.

⌈Magic: 100 / Swordsmanship: 100 / Etiquette: 100 / Pharmacy: 0 / Out of 100⌋

[Sierra] "Every other subject is a perfect score......"

Except pharmacy.

Surprisingly, even intense practice yielded no results.

Hanael inherited none of her mother's genetic traits in pharmacy. Yet, checking the admission letter delivered alongside the report card, receiving a failing mark in pharmacy mattered little to the Academy. That reflected how remarkably Hanael performed in fields outside pharmacy.

Feeling much brighter, Sierra held the report card and admission letter together, knocking on Hanael's bedroom door.

[Sierra] "Hanael, Hanael?"

[Hanael] "......"

She gave no response.

What is wrong......?

Normally, Sierra would not enter uninvited, but today was different. She opened the door carefully and approached Hanael, who sat curled up in a dark corner of the room.

[Sierra] "Congratulations! You received your admission letter!"

Lying face down on the bed, she turned a listless gaze toward Sierra.

[Sierra] "Here is your report card too......"

[Hanael] "Yup!"

Checking the admission letter and report card, she drooped her shoulders.

Hanael received an admission letter to the Imperial Academy with a magic theory major. Confirming that result, she shed tears of deep emotion.......

[Hanael] "This is not what I wanted!"

Not joyful tears, but bitter tears of sorrow.

[Sierra] "What is wrong, Hanael? Don't cry......"

[Hanael] "Hing, I got a failing score, I am so sad......"

[Sierra] "Except pharmacy, you got perfect scores in everything else."

[Hanael] "Mommy doesn't understand my heart!"

Attempting to comfort her, Sierra felt thoroughly awkward.

Right, since I am a pharmacy genius, I really don't understand your heart......

Just as she felt knocked out and Hanael cried until her eyes turned swollen, alarm bells sounded inside her heart.

At this rate, the entire Ideos Duchy will descend into chaos.

Given the nature of the Ideos, where Hanael crying made maids cry, the Grand Madam cry, and passing birds cry, the estate would turn into a house of mourning.

Sierra had to prevent that outcome. As the only person capable of controlling Hanael, she spoke sternly.

[Sierra] "Now, now, stop crying."

Hanael managed to stop her tears, rubbing her swollen eyes.

[Sierra] "You gained admission to the Academy, right? You scored top marks in every other subject, so what if you struggle with pharmacy?"

[Hanael] "Heuuung......"

Yet she continued weeping.

Should I just let her cry......?

As Sierra hesitated, footsteps approached from behind. Seeing Hanael crying, the newcomer froze.

[Cassius] "......Hanael?"

[Hanael] "Daddyyy....... Hiiing......"

Having become an even bigger fool for his daughter than before, Cassius approached the bed with a worried expression as Hanael wept.

I must comfort her properly.

To soothe her, Sierra spoke with a firmer tone.

[Sierra] "Hanael, there is no problem at all. You can enter under magic theory and learn pharmacy as a hobby later."

Yet her words offered Hanael no comfort whatsoever.

[Hanael] "What good is that......"

[Sierra] "......"

[Hanael] "If I...... if I don't major in pharmacy...... I can't do the same thing as Mommy!"

Tears trickled down as she pouted her lips again. Sierra asked, bewildered.

[Sierra] "......Pardon?"

[Hanael] "I wanted to do the same thing as Mommy......"

[Sierra] "Was that the reason?"

[Hanael] "What else would it be...... Heuuung. Hanael is mad. Daddy, punish those bad misters......"

Rattled for once, Cassius patted the back of Hanael's rounded head.

[Cassius] "Yes, Daddy will punish them."

[Hanael] "Hing...... Daddyyy......"

Watching Hanael and Cassius embrace each other, Sierra placed her hand over her heart. Hearing Hanael's words stirred a strange emotion inside her.

[Sierra] "Hanael."

[Hanael] "Uuuung...... Hing."

[Sierra] "Stop crying."

When she spoke sternly, Hanael looked at her with red, rabbit-like eyes. Sierra observed Hanael's swollen eyes and spoke gently.

[Sierra] "Whether you excel at pharmacy or not, you are Mommy's daughter, right?"

[Hanael] "Uuuung......"

[Sierra] "Who is the person Mommy loves most in the world?"

[Hanael] "......Daddy?"

Hearing that, it made sense; Sierra couldn't refute it. Yet she regained her composure with an awkward cough and shook her head.

[Sierra] "No, it is Hanael."

Beside them, Cassius wore a shocked expression, but that mattered little. She spoke quietly.

[Sierra] "No matter your major, even if you rank dead last on the Academy exam, Mommy loves you, and Hanael is Mommy's daughter."

[Hanael] "......"

Hanael didn't answer, silently wiping away tears with the back of her hand. Tears gradually stopped flowing from her eyes.

Then she threw herself into Sierra's arms.

[Hanael] "Mommyyy!"

Burying her face in her chest and smearing tears all over her while shouting, "I love you, Mommy!", what should Sierra do with this little girl?

How long will this Mommy-obsessed phase last......?

Hanael was obsessed with Mommy now, but once she entered the Academy, made friends, and got a boyfriend, would she forget Mommy completely?

Thinking about that brought a faint ache to Sierra's heart.

Still, Hanael seemed to love her most right now. Sierra embraced Hanael in return with a gentle smile resting on her lips.

---

Time passed, and Hanael officially entered the Academy.

During introduction time with new classmates…….

When her turn arrived, Hanael puffed out her belly shamelessly and shouted loudly.

[Hanael] "My Mommy is super cool!"

Told to introduce herself, she boasted about her mother instead. Everyone, including the teacher, wore bewildered expressions.

If Sierra were present, she would have slapped Hanael's back, exclaiming, "Hanael, what is wrong with you!", but unfortunately, she was not here.

Back at the estate, Sierra probably wondered if someone was thinking of her as her ears tickled....…

Thinking of her mother, Hanael shouted loudly.

[Hanael] "My Mommy is a pharmacy genius, super good at etiquette, and smart!"

[Teacher] "......H-Hanael?"

Flustered, the teacher called her name.

[Hanael] "Ah!"

She rolled her eyes, clapped her hands, and spoke.

[Hanael] "I will introduce myself! My name is Hanael Ideos! And I will punch anyone who bullies me with these fists! But if you become friends with me, I will show you lots of fun things!"

Hanael had heard false rumors that the Academy suffered from rampant bullying. Standing among children as small as herself, she clenched both fists and shouted.

[Hanael] "I am super strong by nature!"

As she tilted her chin up shamelessly toward the children, everyone shrank back at her fiery spirit.

The alley boss of Sufe Village, Hanael, had returned.

---

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