Chapter 55: I Think It’s Important

Chapter 55

I Think It’s Important

If it weren’t for Ellie’s exceptional abilities, she might have considered Apothecary Celey the best mentor for learning potion-concocting. Celey was meticulous and shared her experiences openly, which greatly benefited Ellie, who had no prior knowledge. However, with Ellie’s extraordinary powers that allowed her to correctly select herbs without understanding their characteristics, these lessons seemed trivial.

After 3 hours, Celey gave Ellie her first task.

"I’ve asked for unsorted herbs to be brought here. While I prepare the detoxifying potions, you’ll sort them out. After the day ends, I’ll check your work before you can go line up for food," Celey instructed before continuing her own potion-concocting.

Thus, Ellie spent the entire day in Celey’s tent, missing out on many interesting events outside.

By evening, Ellie amazed Celey with her flawless herb sorting skill, earning her considerable praise. Celey also mentioned that Ellie might have a great talent for potion-concocting before allowing her to rest, and she would start the next lesson the following day.

Ellie stretched her tired body; although sorting herbs wasn’t challenging, sitting all day had made her back ache.

However, as soon as Ellie left the lodging, she encountered two dirt-smudged young people surrounded by a crowd, undergoing humiliation, and she knew these two quite well.

"People as filthy as you deserve to do such dirty work, hehe," a shrill voice said as the woman sneered at Nara, who was lowering her head and trembling as if crying.

"Hmm? Why is your esteemed priestess so quiet now? Not as talkative as before, are you? Didn’t I just humiliate you? Should I prepare gift and kneel to you again? ...I’m really scared," Aria waved her hand playfully. Clearly, she was mocking. As for Nara, who had previously forced Aria to kneel in apology to her as a priestess, could only clench her fists.

Even though she wasn’t officially a true priestess yet, but just wait, it wouldn’t be long... After she graduated and formally joined the Church, the time would come when she would deal with those who dared to look down on her. And at that point, merely kneeling to beg for forgiveness would not suffice to earn her pardon!

"Enough with those mockery already," Wint, who had been listening, interjected, visibly upset by the ordeal but bound by Professor Regan’s orders to perform to the best of their abilities!

"Enough? What enough, you bastard! This pair is quite fitting indeed—one a lowly bastard, the other a lying priestess! Filthy, both of you!" Aria crossed her arms, looking down on them contemptuously.

"You keep calling me dirty, and you think you’re so high and mighty!?" Unable to endure the repeated insults of being dirty and being called a liar, Nara burst out.

How could she maintain a good image in front of the men around when she reeked of waste? It was clear that none of the surrounding men were willing to help. No matter how pitiful she acted, they likely saw it as just deserved.

Of course, Ellie didn’t think Nara would tolerate such bullying. Whether it’s the Nara she knew after entering the body of a supporting character, or the Nara from the novel—a bright, brave girl ready to stand up for what’s right—she was not someone to succumb to bullying easily. Her most prominent trait, one that all the heroes admired, was her unwillingness to yield. Even if she lacked strength for combat, her intent to never give in to wrongdoing was very apparent.

In the novel, scenes were typically strewn with rose petals whenever the heroine met the heroes, because the heroine, having no power to protect herself, found safety in the arms of these capable and noble men. As a result, when she fought, all 4 heroes were ready to back her up strongly.

This time, however, only Wint the fool was by her side. If asked who the most useless hero was, the answer would easily be "Wint."

He wasn’t the brightest, but he excelled in training and physical strength. Meanwhile, Aman was the cunning one, handling those who would stab the heroine in the back, and the professor was revered for his knowledge. Not to mention the prince, who held the highest position. Anyone who wanted to hurt Nara had to consider the prince’s reaction.

So, could Nara really appear respectable only with Wint by her side?

Ah...It should be mentioned that Nara lost a significant ally like Ellie, thus her current predicament. Otherwise, the initial bullying would have seen Ellie stepping in to defend her, instead of leaving Nara alone with just Wint.

"Oh, are you asking me? The prospective priestess full of lies?" Aria raised her eyebrows, appearing incredulous, though it was just an act.

"If you don’t even know the basics like this, then I don’t think you can truly be a true priestess... Wondering how high and mighty I am? Then ask your companion there, the illegitimate child and the important daughter of the Femon family—see how our nobility compares...And don’t bother comparing yourself, because I fear you might see yourself as nothing more than decaying dung of an animal."

Aria sneered at Nara, who clenched her fists tightly. Everything Aria said was essentially to equate Nara’s status to something as worthless as animal dung in the eyes of high society.

Despite this being harshly true, for someone to be spoken to in such a manner...perhaps being stabbed with a knife would hurt less.

"I pity you for not being able to choose where you were born. It’s your parents’ fault for making you a low-class person. But, well...considering you decided to act so shamelessly with the illegitimate child like this, I think it’s the right choice. At least when your child is born, they will become the child of the illegitimate child of the Femon family. You might even become a servant in the Femon household. A servant’s life in our mansion is still better than a life in the countryside, right?" Aria snickered. Her words were not just a slap in Nara’s face but also a scorn towards Wint’s mother.

After all, Wint’s mother, after struggling, ended up as a lover to his father and eventually got promoted to a female servant in the mansion—truly, from a village woman who missed meals to having stomach filled every day. But how could this thought align with what Wint thought?

Wint clenched his fists, wanting to draw his shield and challenge Aria right there, but he hesitated since she was a woman. If he challenged her—whether the outcome was defeat or victory, it would still tarnish his honor!

"Lady Aria, how can you look down on others like this? Not everyone comes from a noble family like yours, but that doesn’t mean they are lesser to you," Nara retorted seriously. Her words made Ellie have a bad feeling about this. And it turned out to be true.

"You keep saying I do dirty work because I’m from a lower class. Does that mean you don’t see the importance of everyone who works hard at all, Lady Aria...Please look around you. Don’t you see how hard everyone is trying to fulfill their duties? They don’t do it just because they are from a lower class," Nara said while smirking triumphantly.

Actually, it was she who wanted to drag this high and mighty Aria down to the mud!

Nara could have chosen a different path to avoid the area where Aria and Vida were, but she chose to pass by them for this very confrontation.

Throughout the day, working hard, the priest’s assistants treated her and Wint as if they had hated them in a past life, which Nara understood was partly because they were tired of doing such dirty work. Another part was because they had heard about the inappropriate behaviors between Nara and Wint, so the disdain for Nara and Wint was already there from the start. Making them do dirty work without rest was also a form of harassment.

But would Nara let this continue indefinitely?

Huh! Let the fools keep at it! For her, who was intelligent, changing their attitudes was inevitable!

So, all day long, Nara worked hard without a single complaint, showing them how good and diligent she was. Even if it was against her will, her acting skills weren’t bad at all. Nara was confident...

After that, it was about making them realize that they were on the same side. And what could make everyone accept that? It meant finding a scapegoat for the situation, and who better than Aria with her loose tongue?

And yes...from beginning to end, Nara had planned it all. She let Aria insult her extensively just so Aria would spit out every unpleasant word. After that, Nara would throw those unpleasant remarks back to those who had been working there all along.

What would happen if they became the affected group? The dissatisfaction, the feeling of being underestimated, and all the hidden sentiments...Nara would fight for them herself.

She didn’t believe that after showing her sincerity like this, everyone would still hate and want to harass her...

"I think everyone is equal as long as they work hard. No one is meaningless, you know? The dirty jobs that Lady Aria talks about are necessary too. What would happen if everyone doing those jobs were gone? How would the patients stay healthy if their bodies were still filled with filth? I wish you would reconsider, Lady Aria," Nara insisted on her words. If this were a manga, maybe golden rays would be shining down on the heroine right now.

The gaze of those who work hard began to shift. Initially filled with hatred and dislike for Nara because of what they had heard about how she behaved, it seemed now they saw a girl who understood them and respected even the work they themselves viewed as worthless.

"Especially since Lady Aria belongs to the upper class, I think you should understand this better than anyone," Nara pleaded with her eyes, as if she was asking the high-born lady to understand those who work hard.

Her unselfish demeanor and concern for others’ feelings completely won people over. Aria, suddenly seeing Nara’s image turn from black to white, was stunned and speechless. She had only been scolding Nara and Wint, so how did it suddenly involve everyone?!

But of course, with her upper-class pride, Aria could hardly understand the lower classes. The more that Nara was the one who brought up the issue, the more Aria felt compelled to make everyone understand their own status.

In all of Aria’s actions, it was just like in the novel—countless times Aria had been used as a tool to elevate the heroine. Born and bred with an upper-class mindset, she knew neither retreat nor flexibility because, in the past, just using her power was enough to suppress everyone.

Just by opening her mouth, Ellie could see through her thoughts!