This Heroine's Friend Has the Power of Botany

Chapter 76

Carter Hart

Silence enveloped the area. Soldiers, apothecaries, and students all waited to hear Ellie’s next words. Except for those with something to hide, no one thought Ellie’s demeanor was unusual.

"So, who did you use your tracking power on?" Celey was the first to break the silence. Identifying the true culprit was the priority. If Ellie knew who the perpetrator was, there would be no need to further interrogate innocent apothecaries, sparing them emotional distress. Thus, Celey awaited Ellie’s explanation.

The thin girl nodded. She had no intention of stalling; she was merely having a bit of fun with those who dared to plot against her. Seeing the fearful expressions of her adversaries made playing the villainous role quite enjoyable for Ellie.

"In this matter, the first person I tracked was a senior from our institution’s fourth year. And yes...it is you, the Young Lord of the Hart family."

Ellie smiled as she spoke, wiggling her finger once. Behind Young Lord Hart, a 1-star level purple mushroom appeared, clinging to the back of his collar. It slowly revealed itself, with a stem about 2 inches wide and standing roughly the height of an index finger. Its size was quite substantial. It was strange that Young Lord Hart hadn’t noticed it.

But that was just others’ perception. The purple mushroom hadn’t started at 2 inches. It began as tiny spores floating in the air, visible only to Ellie. In that case...it would have been odd for Young Lord Hart to notice it.

Ellie simply made the surrounding spores gather together when she decided to reveal the purple mushroom’s form for everyone to see, making it appear much larger.

“W-What is this!” Carter Hart, the fourth-year student from the Hart family, exclaimed loudly as the strange-shaped mushroom suddenly appeared on his collar.

He frantically brushed the purple mushroom away in shock, his face turning pale as he realized the purple mushroom had been revealing his position and actions all this time. This meant everything he had done was under observation. Carter felt a fierce urge to attack Ellie to death, but doing so would only confirm his guilt. However, if he did nothing and Ellie had real evidence, what would he do then!?

Many students who had never seen Ellie’s purple mushroom before were intrigued. She had botanic power that had proven useful over the years. Even the Setter family had given her special tasks, like searching for the Masqueraded Steed. Moreover...this was the first time they had seen a botanic magician summoned their bonded plant. While they were familiar with other elements like earth, water, wind, and fire, it was no surprise they were eager to observe the cute purple mushroom now lying on the ground after being swatted away.

Meanwhile, some students felt a chill run down their spines. They imagined being Ellie’s target and felt their privacy was utterly invaded. After all...who among them hadn’t committed any wrongdoing!?

Many students were intrigued by Ellie’s powers, while others found her ability quite repugnant. After all...no one wants their secrets exposed.

Fortunately, Ellie could only track 2 people at a time. If she had the power to track everyone in the kingdom, it would disrupt the balance of life entirely.

"This is not right. Isn’t it strange to use your power on someone you’ve never met like this!? I feel like you’re just trying to frame me!" Carter needed to find a way out. As a fourth-year student who had gone through a lot of schemes, he could come up with a defense within a few seconds.

"Mmm, I also find it odd. Why did you use your power on Young Lord Hart?" Some students friendly with Carter defended him. Besides, they were curious if Ellie had other hidden abilities and how she managed to track the right person.

"It’s not surprising at all if you consider that I’m friendly with the Setter family. The first people I need to be cautious of are those who might position themselves as adversaries to the Setter family."

"Oh, so you’re saying that the Hart family is an enemy of the Setter family even though we haven’t done anything? Or is it that the Setter family sees us as enemies?" Carter quickly interjected, seizing the opportunity. He stepped forward confidently, as if his imposing stature could intimidate Ellie.

Would Aman allow the girl to be threatened like this? Not only did he step forward, but he also protectively covered Ellie’s small face with his large hand.

"Excuse me, but Young Lord Hart’s actions are truly disrespectful. To look at a woman of the Setter family with such eyes—isn’t that dishonorable?" Hearing this, Carter almost burst out laughing.

How could Aman claim that he was looking at the girl disrespectfully? It was as if he was implying that Carter was falling in love with this plain village girl, despite his face showing nothing but disdain and contempt.

In truth, he wanted to ask why the Setter family was so foolish. Instead of choosing a girl from a powerful family to strengthen their own, they chose this girl with no known background. Wasn’t this a joke on a kingdom-wide scale?

“I apologize for the misunderstanding. I simply want to know the truth. Even though the Hart family is small, we won’t stand for being falsely accused like this.”

“Whether it’s false accusations or not doesn’t depend on our suspicions but on how you conduct yourself, isn’t that right?”

“But there’s a chance I might be framed, Lord Aman.”

“Framed? So, are you saying someone forced you to plan to poison others?”

“Lord Aman speaks as if he’s convinced I am the one who poisoned the potion. Does that mean you knew from the start that there was poison, yet let it happen? What were you risking the soldiers’ lives for? This makes me even more suspicious that there might indeed be a plan to frame me,” Carter retorted brazenly. His logic wasn’t convincing in proving his innocence, but his words were intentionally ambiguous.

He kept insisting he was being framed. By the time the matter was resolved, the Hart family might have turned black into white. This was a common thought among everyone. Family feuds often didn’t end immediately; they were complex and intricate. A loss would mean the entire family would suffer, so no one gave up easily.

However, as Aman had stated earlier, he wasn’t aiming to deal with the Hart family by sacrificing just one pawn. This was his intention from the start. Whether Carter defended himself or not, Aman had no intention of letting the matter end with Carter being the sole perpetrator.

A smile appeared at the corner of Aman’s mouth. Those around them heard Carter’s flimsy defense and felt exasperated. Even if the evidence wasn’t conclusive, Carter’s repeated claims of being framed lacked any proof. So, who was more believable? Naturally, it was the Setter family and Ellie, who were seen as the victims, while Carter was clearly the guilty party in everyone’s eyes.

"Young Lord Hart, you don’t need to worry about us falsely accusing you. Your concern is why I chose you as the target of my tracking, isn’t it?" Ellie looked at Aman, who nodded at her. So, she pressed forward to the next step.

And yes! Poor Carter. If he had admitted that he acted alone, that the Hart family wasn’t involved in his decision, and that he simply hated the Setter family, this might have ended with Carter as the sacrificial lamb of the Hart family. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize that Ellie and Aman had planned much more...

"Yes," Carter felt something was off, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

"In that case...if I told you that I initially tracked you out of curiosity about something else, what would you say?"

"Curiosity about something else?" Carter raised his eyebrows. He noticed Ellie’s cryptic look. At that moment, he recalled who he had conversed with earlier. Carter’s face visibly paled.

"Could it be you..."

"Young Lord Hart, you should know well that a woman’s curiosity is boundless. Initially, I overheard a conversation between you and a certain lady, so I... Ah!!"

As Ellie was about to reveal the truth, Carter suddenly went berserk. His eyes glowed a furious red, and sweat poured out profusely. Just hearing that Ellie overheard his conversation with "a certain lady" made Carter realize who she was referring to. And of course, he couldn’t let Ellie divulge this!

Carter’s sword slashed forward swiftly. If he could just kill her, any punishment that followed, whether it was death sentencing or anything else, would fall on him alone.

However, Ellie had 3 guards standing before her. Did he think they would let him attack her so easily?

Wint, who wasn’t far away, quickly used his shield to block the attack. Carter’s strike, filled with the precision and intensified magic power of a fourth-year student, was sharp and potent. Meanwhile, Wint relied solely on his physical strength. As a result, Wint was sent flying and coughed up blood.

Even so, Carter still faced two top-notch fighters from the Setter family. Aman, being the closest to Ellie, reacted more swiftly. He grabbed the girl and leapt back 2 meters. At the same time, Koross confronted Carter and stopped him with his wind magic. Although Koross was only a second-year student, the training at the Setter family’s Tower of Eternity had propelled their development far beyond others. If he couldn’t even withstand the attack of a fourth-year student, how could he be allowed to ascend the higher levels of the tower?

Carter’s sword was deflected by Koross’ wind bullet, which pierced through the back of his hand, making Carter unable to hold the sword anymore. Only residual magic power remained in his palm, but with just one move, Koross could halt him.

Carter’s face was filled with fear. He knew that the chance to assassinate the sharp-tongued girl in front of him was gone. Nevertheless, he couldn’t let her reveal what had transpired.

Compared to poisoning the soldiers, the consequences of what Ellie was about to say were far more severe. It could mean the downfall of the entire Hart family!

“I-I give up! It was me! I ordered the poisoning! It was all me. So, you don’t need to say anything else. I! I am the one at fault. Do you hear me? I hired someone to poison because I personally dislike the Setter family. It was me who did it!”

Hearing Carter confess to his wrongdoing, practically begging for punishment, left many people bewildered. Even those from the Hart family couldn’t believe Carter would do something so foolish. It was clear that he could have continued denying everything, as the girl didn’t have any concrete evidence. So why was he panicking so much?

"Shut up, Carter! Just a moment ago, you said you didn’t do it. What is going on?"

"Indeed. Were you forced to say this?"

"Brother Carter, I think you don’t need to submit like this. No matter how powerful the Setter family is, the Hart family will not let you be bullied," said members of the Hart family in unison. They didn’t want Carter to give in so easily. However, Carter’s eyes only showed increasing fear.

“No! You don’t understand. I did it. You all don’t need to say anything!!” Carter shouted loudly, cutting them off, catching everyone by surprise.

His behavior, resembling that of a foolish, rabid dog, left everyone around in stunned silence.

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