Side Effects

However, Flora was not one to worry about not getting a perfect score when she hadn’t even achieved a passing one yet, so she quickly refocused on the present.

The first class in its true sense began.

Flora listened very intently, while Ryan quickly became drowsy.

Ryan had hoped that the potions teacher would give a demonstration, and he would stun everyone, leaving the teacher and others aghast… but, disappointingly, that didn’t happen.

After class, Flora started greeting students she hadn’t yet spoken to.

But soon, she couldn’t help but slow her steps.

Because next in line was a silver-haired girl sitting quietly by the window.

Flora knew her.

Olivia Bradley.

The daughter of the Bradley family, ranked third among the Blue Lion’s affiliated families, known for their utmost loyalty to the main Blue Lion household.

Among her parents’ generation, two of her four paternal relatives had died fighting for the main Blue Lion family, and one was left disabled.

Of her two elder brothers, one had also fallen on the battlefield.

Flora didn’t know what had become of the other.

Nor was she sure what Olivia herself was thinking now.

‘(No, I can’t suddenly become hesitant, nor can I skip her. Just go over and ask normally.)’

Flora immediately walked towards where Olivia was sitting… then stumbled and fell to the ground with a thump.

Clang.

As Flora just began to pick herself up, the silver-haired girl leaned forward and reached out to her.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, thank you.” Flora’s face flushed slightly as she quickly stood up and regained her balance, then greeted her as planned, “My name is Flora Haggia. May I ask your name?”

“My name is Olivia Bradley, but you don’t need to call me anything formal. We’re all classmates, just call me Olivia.”

The silver-haired girl said gently.

This was the kindest student Flora had encountered so far.

‘(Olivia is exactly the same as before, such a good child…)’

At this moment, Olivia was also observing Flora.

Noticing the combination of her blonde hair and azure blue eyes, she paused slightly, but quickly returned to normal.

Such hair and eye colors in Huaxia were not exceedingly rare; she had seen them before. However, the abundance of an unusually striking blue on Flora made her pause.

She couldn’t help but ask:

“By the way, are you also from the Blue Lion family?”

It wasn’t that Olivia didn’t know Flora was the Crown Prince’s attendant.

But as part of the Beastkin Education Department, she was barely considered nobility and occasionally needed to attend ceremonial events.

Because of this, she had briefly scanned the classroom when she entered, then dismissed it, fully immersing herself in her training.

As for the overt and covert struggles happening on campus, she cared even less.

But when someone came to greet her, she couldn’t possibly be impolite, which was why she only noticed and felt surprised now.

Flora had actually registered everyone’s reactions the moment she entered the classroom, so she wasn’t surprised by Olivia’s demeanor.

She shook her head.

“No, I come from a declining baronial family in the north. I am now diligently working under His Highness.”

“The North, huh!” Olivia listened to Flora’s reply.

She gave a different reaction, but soon returned to a calm demeanor. “That must be tough.”

“Not at all, His Highness treats me quite well… Olivia, you’re still busy, let’s talk another day.”

“Okay.”

Olivia also knew Flora was greeting everyone. Although she didn’t care much, she wouldn’t feel offended by the abrupt end of their conversation.

So, she smiled and nodded, returning to her seat to continue her training.

‘(Oh no, I didn’t handle that very well…)’

Returning to her seat after the class bell rang, Flora’s mood grew heavy as she recalled her interaction with Olivia.

Clearly, she had acted somewhat uncharacteristically.

It was rare for someone to be so willing to speak with her, the “Crown Prince’s attendant.”

She knew very well that Olivia’s actions were not entirely genuine.

She should have conversed longer, leaving a good impression, as this was a goal that could earn her royal favor.

Instead, she had acted overly eager, and she should have maintained a more enthusiastic attitude.

But she couldn’t do it.

She was afraid.

It would be more accurate to say that ever since that day, she had been afraid.

That was why she had previously thought of letting Ryan approach Olivia instead.

“What’s wrong with that girl?”

Ryan had initially wanted to ask if Flora had met an acquaintance, but remembering he had to pretend not to know her Blue Lion background, he quickly rephrased.

“That is Olivia Bradley, she is from the Blue Lion family.”

“I think her attitude is very friendly. Before I approached her, she was constantly training, with nothing out of the ordinary…”

But even so, Ryan detected Flora’s subtle approval, which he interpreted as Flora’s desire to avoid drawing attention to her acquaintance.

As for the Bradley family, Ryan also had some understanding…

Although he indeed had prejudices against the Blue Lion family, he wouldn’t condemn everyone.

After all, “that person” and Flora both came from the “dye vat” of the Blue Lion family, and there might well be a third or fourth good person among them.

Moreover, he trusted Flora and those she endorsed.

“Then continue to observe her and interact with her.”

“Mhm.”

Huh?

Ryan suddenly sensed a hint of resistance from Flora.

“An intuition?”

Ryan was a bit confused. Logically, if Olivia was Flora’s acquaintance and of good character, Flora should be very happy to recommend her to him… so why the reluctance?

Of course, without summoning a guardian spirit, his intuition was actually an unreliable “side effect.”

For example, regarding Flora’s current resistance, whether it was because she didn’t want to recommend Olivia, or didn’t want to interact with her, or some other reason, Ryan couldn’t be sure.

‘(It seems I’ll have to interact with her myself.)’

Ryan hadn’t intended to leave all the communication work to Flora. Since this matter made Flora uneasy, he would personally step in.

After half a class break and a bit of lunchtime, Flora finally managed to interact with all the students in the class.

There might have been some omissions among the attendants, but it didn’t affect the overall picture.

Excluding Olivia, among the remaining students, only Flax Mounten and his friends were willing to greet Flora.

However, Flax Mounten’s “friends” clearly resembled the ruffians found in every school.

The difference was that in these three academies, filled with dignitaries, they dared not be too unruly.

They could only pick on Flax Mounten, a baron’s son from the southwestern region, to bully.

“Southwestern region, huh… no wonder.”

The Empire’s territory was vast, but the large river south of the “Mediterranean Sea” consisted mostly of undeveloped, barren lands with sparse populations.

The Iberian region in the southwest was north of the Mediterranean, but that place was the birthplace of Hannibal, the overlord who contended for supremacy with Rowland’s founding emperor, Emperor Tom.

With Overlord Hannibal’s eventual suicide, the Iberian region and various other territories fell into the Empire’s grasp… but unspoken, actual regional discrimination existed.

Currently, the most prosperous areas of the Empire were the capital region and the central parts, followed by the west, then the northwest and north… any region with “south” in its name was considered underdeveloped.

And Olivia’s extravagant family was also in the southwest region, which was why they easily fell into financial difficulties.

In this Royal Academy, filled with nobles from developed regions, Flax Mounten was inherently at a disadvantage compared to others.

Coupled with his somewhat gloomy and timid appearance, it was not unimaginable that he would become the lowest rung of the class, made fun of by others.

But conversely, Flax Mounten was a relatively easy talent to recruit.

As long as they helped him escape poverty and provided some preferential treatment, they should be able to secure him.

“Your Highness Ryan, with such a mindset, you will not be able to win over others wholeheartedly.”