"Well, I call it the Equilibrium Principle, but it's still a theory at this stage. There aren't enough opportunities to test its authenticity," Vaan shortly added.
After Cyrena Ashenborn heard that, she paused in surprise again.
"Mr. Cadieux, are you saying you were the one who came up with this Equilibrium Principle?" Cyrena Ashenborn asked with astonishment.
"Well, if you haven't heard of it before, then it should be true," Vaan casually said, but his casualness confused Cyrena Ashenborn and Hester Thornton.
"What do you mean by 'it should be true,' Sir Vahn Cadieux?" Hester Thornton voiced her doubt, subconsciously addressing Vaan in a more respectful tone again.
"It is as I said; I might have been the one to come up with the Equilibrium Principle theory, but there's no telling if someone else had come up with the idea before," Vaan shrugged nonchalantly and added, "I haven't traveled enough to know everything there is to know, Lady Thornton."
Hester Thornton gaped for a moment before she quickly shook her head. She definitely hasn't heard of the Equilibrium Principle before. Thus, she highly doubted someone else had come up with it earlier.
After all, the Equilibrium Principle would shake the world of potioneers if it was proven true.
"Please, just call me Hester, Sir—No, Teacher Cadieux. I have also benefited from your lecture," Hester Thornton said, placing great importance on Vaan's status as her teacher.
"Even though nothing from my lecture had yet to be proven?" Vaan slightly smiled.
"While it may be true that we haven't proven whether the ingredients you mentioned could be used to substitute the original ingredients, your words were logical and made perfect sense, Mr. Cadieux," Cyrena Ashenborn stated.
Shortly after, Cyrena Ashenborn stood up from her seat to face Vaan and cup her hands together for a bow of apology.
"I apologize for not recognizing your great wisdom and acting disrespectfully to you earlier, Mr. Cadieux. I am convinced that someone of your caliber is more than qualified to be my potioneering teacher."
Cyrena Ashenborn sincerely apologized while fully acknowledging Vaan as her potioneering teacher.
Vaan slightly smiled.
Although he had succeeded in gaining Cyrena Ashenborn's acknowledgment, he could see that she was still a stubborn and prideful person despite her poor environment.
Nevertheless, Cyrena Ashenborn would eventually learn that Vaan was qualified to teach her more than just potioneering.
"Hahaha… I won't just be teaching you about potioneering, Lady Cyrena. I will be covering all your fields of study at the academy, including magic," Vaan claimed, not minding Cyrena Ashenborn's previous misbehavior.
After experiencing such situations frequently, men will eventually become numb to them. Only men with weak minds are easily provoked and offended by the slightest issues.
Nevertheless, the same could also be said for women.
"Now, before you refute me, I just want to say that I don't have complete confidence in resolving your inability to cast magic."
However, since you recognize me as your teacher, even if it's just as a potioneering teacher, I will not give up on you so long as you believe in me," Vaan said seriously, striking Cyrena Ashenborn's weak spot as her eyes slightly welled up with emotions.
Memories of the past flashed across Cyrena Ashenborn's mind.
The repeated diagnoses from famous healers and medicine masters and the repeated disappointment as they all threw down the towel and gave up on her treatment was a sore spot in Cyrena Ashenborn's heart.
Cyrena Ashenborn was forced to bury the dream deep inside her heart.
Although Vaan didn't promise to cure her inability, promising not to give up on her treatment meant so much more—enough to shake her heart.
Nevertheless, Vaan casually planted his seed; he continued, "Anyhow, I will teach you other things another time. Since we are still on the topic of potioneering, we should continue with something more practical."
Shortly after, Vaan turned to Hester Thornton.
"Since Lord Ashenborn promised to provide the resources I need for Lady Cyrena's education, would it be too much trouble for me to request a suitable environment for potioneering with all the ingredients aforementioned, Lady Hester?" Vaan asked.
"Not at all, Teacher Cadieux. I can guide you and Lady Cyrena to the Brewing Chamber right now," Hester Thornton said while feeling strangely excited with anticipation.
"Fortunately, we are only dealing with Rank 1 ingredients. The Brewing Chamber should have most—if not all of the ingredients you need, Teacher Cadieux. However, if you require Rank 2 ingredients and above, I will have to inform Lord Helia and make the arrangements."
"Understandable," Vaan acknowledged with a nod and gentlemanly gestured, "Please lead the way, Lady Hester."
"Of course."
Nevertheless, as they left, Vaan paused his steps and turned his head back to face Cyrena Ashenborn, who had yet to move.
"Lady Cyrena? Are you coming?"
"Ah? Y-Yeah! I am coming!"
Cyrena Ashenborn quickly snapped out of her momentary daze and caught up to Vaan and Hester Thornton with hurried steps.
…
A few moments later, they headed upstairs and left the library from the second floor before making their way to a reasonably large stone chamber reinforced with defensive enchantment spells.
Inside the Brewing Chamber were several large black cauldrons, tables with mortars, and tall cabinets lined up against the walls, filled with hundreds of drawers containing herbs, plants, and common monster ingredients for making potions.
"Rank 1 supplementary herbs and plants for the Rank 1 Pore Stimulation Potion are quite common and easy to obtain, but Zapper Eel's Eye and Darkray's Tail are not as common. Do we have an inventory of those two?" Vaan inquired shortly after admiring the Brewing Chamber.
It was mostly neat and tidy, except for one wooden table in the corner, which still had some unreturned potioneering books from the library.
Furthermore, there was no heavy scent from the various ingredients gathered in one place. They were all tightly stored away in their respective drawers.
"You're underestimating the Ashenborn Household too much, Teacher Cadieux. For a simple Rank 1 potion like the Pore Stimulation Potion, how can we not have an inventory of all the ingredients?" Cyrena Ashenborn replied, revealing her familiarity with the Brewing Chamber.
At the same time, Cyrena Ashenborn tried to suppress her excitement regarding the practical lesson. She was looking forward to confirming Vaan's Equilibrium Principle theory.
Comments