This Heroine's Friend Has the Power of Botany

Chapter 269

Excellent Perception

After Prince Jason managed to separate everyone, Aman left with Koross to attend the third-year meeting in a huff. Ellie followed Duchess Vida, Lady Aria, and Wint, who walked beside them. The 4 of them didn’t speak much, but their every step was watched by many. After all, this group included 2 high-ranking duchesses.

Previously, when it was just Duchess Vida, many people wanted to approach her. However, Duchess Vida didn’t like to socialize, and her lofty demeanor discouraged people from getting close for fear of offending her, leading to their punishment. However, with Duchess Ellie joining the group, more people tried to get closer, as the intimidating aura of the “sole” duchess of comparable age had been erased.

People saw Vida as one duchess and Ellie as another, making them feel they could approach the two. Moreover, approaching Duchess Vida seemed less daunting than approaching Duchess Ellie, who was highly protected by the Setter family and now governed 4 cities.

Aria continued her duties as usual. While Duchess Vida had Aria as her guardian knight, Ellie had Wint by her side. This greatly increased the prestige of the Femon family, who were chosen to protect 2 duchesses simultaneously.

In the future, the Femon family, once just an ordinary noble family, would become the family that inherited the role of the renowned guardian knights. Their descendants would be highly regarded in society, and their power would significantly increase—all starting from this point...

“I heard that in the recent battle, Duchess Ellie prepared defenses so meticulously that it allowed you to hold off the enemy until the eldest young lord arrived, is that true?”

Aria, who had been silent for a while, couldn’t bear it anymore. She was particularly interested in matters of combat, so she wanted to ask more. Although the Femon family had already heard about the battle from Wint, he didn’t know the details of the stratagem preparations. It was Duchess Ellie and the stratagem branch students who managed it. Thus, Aria, eager to learn more, couldn’t help but ask.

“Oh, that was thanks to the stratagem branch students who all helped out,” Ellie said, not wanting to take all the credit for herself. She attributed the success to her seniors and other students in the Stratagem Branch. However, no one truly believed her, not even Aria, who shook her head at this response.

“We just followed orders and didn’t even know what would happen at that time.” As Aria was about to ask another question, a sharp voice interrupted. Everyone stopped and turned to see a small young lady, her head held high in clear displeasure.

If she hadn’t happened to follow them, rumors about the stratagem branch students preparing for the major conflict in the war would have spread inaccurately. Initially, Nadia was pleased that people were beginning to see the importance of stratagem branch students. However, upon realizing that this fame brought her discomfort, she no longer desired such recognition.

Wasn’t it just recently that Prince Joseph visited her family to meet her privately? Despite having a fiancée, he still openly spread rumors of his admiration for another woman, tarnishing the Fernal family’s honor while using them as tools. Seeing danger approach, he began looking for women from other families. Such attention from this notoriety made Nadia quite upset.

Moreover, there were the gifts from the Emperor at Prince Jason’s request. Although they barely spoke while in the same camp, now the royal family’s behavior was causing disruptions that prevented her instructor from dedicating time to her training as before. Other noble families also came to bother them daily. It made Nadia wish she could turn back time.

Frustrated by her lack of progress due to these interruptions, she couldn’t believe hearing Duchess Ellie attribute all the credit to others!

It was understandable that the Ryuger family wanted recognition, but Nadia now craved peace for her training, not wanting any chaos. Thus, she couldn’t help but interject.

“Young lady from the Ryuger family?” Aria raised her eyebrows slightly.

“Yes, I am Nadia. I was also present during the incident. I can confirm that all the plans were Duchess Ellie’s doing. She asked us to help implement them. At the time, we didn’t even know how the enemy would attack. If it weren’t for Duchess Ellie...we would have just made simple stratagems and wouldn’t have been able to handle the poison smoke so effectively.”

“Oh, I thought it must be Duchess Ellie.” Aria’s mouth agape. The more she heard about the entire plan being Ellie’s doing, the more astonished she became.

While Nadia smirked in satisfaction, Ellie was surprised by her words. Wasn’t a proud woman like Nadia supposed to take credit for this achievement? So why was she deflecting the praise onto her? This unexpected behavior left Ellie puzzled.

Of course, Ellie was unaware of the significant changes the Ryuger family had to handle recently. Perhaps if it were Young Lord Gus standing there, he might have just smiled and accepted the benefits to help the family advance further. More benefits for the family meant more to share with everyone. However, since Nadia had always received everything without lacking, she didn’t see its importance.

“Mmm, actually, I must say it was Eldest Young Lord Owen’s idea. He told me to do this,” Ellie said with a slight smile. Even if Nadia didn’t accept the credit, Ellie had someone to pass it on to, knowing that Owen...would remain unfazed by any additional recognition. It wouldn’t change his already immense stature.

“Oh, I see. It was the Eldest Young Lord,” Aria sighed upon hearing his name.

Her excitement waned upon hearing the name of this miraculous person. No matter how hard she tried, she could never match his level. Aria was someone who sought strength, and if she knew how someone trained or developed, she wanted to develop to the same level or use it as motivation to improve herself. It’s no wonder that she was inspired by Duchess Ellie, who came from a poor family and overcame obstacle—her botanic magic power—to become strong. However, the fire within her was extinguished upon hearing the name “Eldest Young Lord Owen.”

“But Eldest Young Lord Owen has shown that fighting is not just about strength or magic power,” Wint chimed in, noticing his cousin’s disheartenment.

When it came to strength and magic power, there were often limits to how much one could advance, despite their efforts. It’s a gradual process influenced by individual talents. However, there was indeed much more to combat than just raw power.

“Hmm?”

“The Eldest Young Lord knew Duchess Ellie had limitations in combat but had other abilities. So, he advised her to plan and manage nearly 200-300 soldiers using her capabilities. This means that in battle, it’s not just about magic power or physical strength. The effectiveness depends on how well one can utilize their own potential.”

Finally, Wint said something that made sense. Ellie was a bit surprised; it seemed that acting as Zoey’s mentor had taught Wint to speak more thoughtfully.

Aria, too, was taken aback, not expecting such an insight from Wint. Nadia, upon hearing this, nodded in agreement. She sighed when she thought about such a perfect man. Whether it was his physical strength or immense magic power, people couldn’t believe they could ever reach his level. But beyond these, he had an excellent perception.

Even though Nadia didn’t know if this eldest young lord truly devised the entire plan, she felt his decision to only looked at Duchess Ellie was a wise one.

While everyone else saw Ellie as just an unworthy commoner, the Setter family and this eldest young lord were unfazed, providing her with support and care. When everyone else thought botanic magicians were weak, they remained unwavering, and even increased their support. As a result, the previously unnoticed girl quickly became significant.

Ellie claimed she followed the eldest young lord’s advice, but it was she who gave orders perfectly, created stratagems by herself to place around the area, and decided to remove the marking flags from the stratagems. This intelligence was her own, wasn’t it?

When everyone thought the soldiers had figured out how to defeat the stratagems, she anticipated it and devised a counter-plan, securing victory. Moreover, her combat prowess allowed her to kill enemies instantly. Heh, heh... If it weren’t for the overwhelmingly powerful Eldest Young Lord Owen, Ellie would be seen as a once-in-a-millennium genius!

“I agree with what your knight said,” Vida glanced at Wint briefly before speaking to Ellie. This was an acknowledgment that Wint was indeed seen as Ellie’s knight. The young man behind her bowed, accepting the compliment, and Ellie did not dispute Wint’s status. At the very least, in recent times, he had indeed been of great help.

After a bit more conversation, they reached the second-year students’ meeting spot, where Professor Regan was already waiting. Nearby was Professor Medik, who looked drowsy. However, upon seeing Ellie, he flashed a charming smile, unaware that his smile nearly caused a nosebleed among the men around him...

Ellie took a seat at the front, in the spot prepared for her. She didn’t want to cause any inconvenience again. If she tried to sit in the back, it might make others uncomfortable. However, after she had been seated for a while, someone who loved to cause trouble regarding seating arrived.

It could be none other than the same old Nara, who walked in with another student from the same branch whose face clearly showed that she didn’t want to be there. It was only because the professor had insisted that they accompany and assist Nara.

Ellie recalled the previous year when she had to follow Nara around and help her with seating issues. She never imagined that even after her role as the "heroine’s friend" was demolished, someone else would take on this duty.

“Let’s sit here,” Nara told her companion with a sweet smile, which looked quite beautiful at first glance. However, the seat Nara chose was right next to Ellie.

Since Vida had Aria as her protector, Ellie let Aria sit next to Vida, and she herself sat next to Aria. This left the seat next to Ellie vacant. As a man, Wint found it inappropriate to sit next to her, so he chose to sit behind her to respect Ellie. Consequently, the seat next to Ellie remained empty. Originally, this seat should have been occupied by a young lady from a well-known noble family. Nara’s desire to sit there seemed truly inappropriate.

“That...We can’t sit there. My status means I should sit in the middle, toward the back. And as for you...well, let’s just find another spot,” Nara’s companion, a young lady from a lower noble family, knew her place and how to act accordingly.

In a world with clear social hierarchies, they were molded from a young age. Although Ellie didn’t particularly like this culture, she adhered to the saying, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. After all, this culture had been ingrained for a long time, in an era with different contexts and social settings.

If this were a peaceful era without the slaughtering of human lives, as if they were mere ordinary vegetables and fish, it might be easier to instill equality among people. However, in dangerous times, where resources had to be acquired at great risk, strict control and hierarchy made management easier. Certainly, there might be better ways, but Ellie didn’t consider herself important enough to change everyone’s lives. Even in the free world she came from, not everyone experienced equality.

There were always people suffering from hunger and hardship. Ellie knew she had to survive and believed that her potential and that of others were not that different. If they wanted a better life, they would have to fight harder.

Back to the present situation, after Nara heard her companion’s objection, her eyebrow twitched in displeasure. She felt that her companion from the same branch, sent by the professor, was incredibly foolish. Allowing herself to be oppressed like this, her friend’s future would remain unchanged.

Reflecting on the time when Ellie was by her side, it seemed much better back then...

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