Chapter 74: The Joy of Having Someone Backing You Up! Director Nerinette Gets Her Moment!
Chapter 74 – The Joy of Having Someone Backing You Up! Director Nerinette Gets Her Moment!
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“Huh?”
Nerinette’s face twisted in disbelief. Of all the times for trouble to strike, it had to be during a delivery.
She strode straight toward the commotion, the lenses of her black-rimmed glasses flashing coldly. Her brows drew together, forming a stern line between them.
“I’m the director here. What do you want?”
“Oh? So you’re bold enough to come out yourself.”
That made things much simpler.
Montoya let out a low, satisfied chuckle as he sized Nerinette up. His contempt was almost theatrical—a perfect caricature of a haughty noble.
“So, the Imperial Capital Magic Academy dares to snatch medicinal supplies from the Holy See? You people are braver than I thought.”
He sneered, waving his hand for the guards behind him to step forward.
“Since you’re in charge, you can take responsibility for what happened yesterday. Come with us.”
To a noble, dealing with commoners was like swatting flies. Even if this was the Imperial Capital Magic Academy, he could still intimidate her—for now.
This was what commoners were supposed to do before the nobility: bow their heads and submit.
“Take responsibility?”
Nerinette snorted. “What does stealing medicinal supplies have to do with you?”
“Are you out of your mind?”
Her sudden outburst stunned everyone into silence.
Nerinette—never one to hold back—stood for a moment, then realized what was happening. She didn’t hesitate to let loose, her notorious “Chosen Worker” temper flaring for all to see.
“The front lines are desperate for supplies, and I’m already working my people half to death to get everything ready—and you dare show up at the Academy just to mess with me? What’s wrong, did your mother die young so you’re starved for attention? Want someone to yell at you so you’ll feel loved, is that it?”
“Where’s your mother anyway? Do you even have one? Coming here just to pick a fight—there’s something seriously wrong with your head!”
Hands planted on her hips, Nerinette unleashed a torrent of invective that left her opponents frozen in place.
No one could blame her for losing her temper—she was already drowning in work, and now someone had the gall to come stir up trouble.
If she didn’t give this guy a proper tongue-lashing, it would be a disgrace to her title as Head of the Alchemy Department.
“You… You, you, you—!”
Montoya was left utterly speechless, dumbfounded by her barrage. Never in his life had he suffered such humiliation—certainly not from a mere commoner.
This wasn’t just an insult. It was a deliberate affront to his noble status!
“Damn, Director, you’re something else.”
Even Lin Wei stood rooted to the spot, shocked. He’d always suspected Nerinette was a force to be reckoned with, but he hadn’t expected her to be this fierce.
And from the sound of it, had she really stolen supplies from the Empire itself?
This woman was even more of an outlaw than he’d imagined!
He’d thought he’d get his moment to step in, but there was no chance to get a word in edgewise.
“You vulgar commoner! How dare you speak to a noble like me in such a manner? Are you courting death? Killing you on the spot would be justified!”
It took Montoya a long moment to recover, his mind finally clearing after the onslaught. The bluntness of her insults left him so livid his nose seemed to twist sideways, and now he was locked in impotent, quivering rage.
“I’ll see just how long you can keep that mouth running! Guards, seize her! Let’s see how this commoner fares after I teach her a lesson!”
He jabbed a finger at her, shrieking with all his might. But the high, reedy pitch of his voice only made the scene more ridiculous—if anything, it made everyone want to laugh.
“Just try it!” Nerinette shot back.
Chaos erupted instantly.
Nerinette stood her ground, utterly fearless. Montoya—now thoroughly enraged—bellowed orders, while the guards began to close in. The Alchemy Department office, already bustling, now resembled a marketplace on the verge of a brawl. Even the busy potion assistants paused their work to gape at the scene.
A few of the friendlier alchemists even gripped anti-demonic potions behind their backs, ready to ambush the guards the moment things got ugly.
“Enough! That’s far enough!”
Suddenly, a wave of energy swept through the room like a silent hurricane, forming an invisible barrier that halted the guards in their tracks.
“Hm?”
Nerinette, who’d braced herself for a fight, frowned in surprise.
She turned and saw Lin Wei—her trusted assistant—standing calmly before her, his expression unflappable. A faint magical aura shimmered at his fingertips. It wasn’t overwhelming, but it was more than enough to block the guards’ advance.
“And who are you supposed to be?” Montoya snapped. “Are you planning to defy the Empire? Don’t think I won’t have you thrown in a cell along with her!”
Were all the people from the Magic Academy this arrogant? Montoya was so furious he could barely think straight—his eyes practically burned with rage.
“Calm down, Viscount. I have no intention of defying the Empire,” Lin Wei said with an easy smile, waving his hand dismissively. Honestly, Montoya should be grateful they’d run into him during the day. Otherwise, there might have been another nameless corpse on the streets of the capital by morning.
“I’ve been curious since the start—who exactly sent you here to cause trouble for Director Nerinette? You introduced yourself as someone in charge of court etiquette, didn’t you?”
“This doesn’t seem like it should be part of your job description. And as for this supposed ‘theft’ of medicinal supplies, could you explain what actually happened?”
Lin Wei wasn’t the type to play the hero for no reason. The commotion just happened to remind him of something Veya had mentioned yesterday.
Never mind that Montoya’s role was court etiquette and had nothing to do with alchemy—since when could a noble just barge into the Academy with a squad of guards? And after all this time, not a single staff member from the Academy had come to investigate? If that wasn’t suspicious, nothing was.
Was this connected to the same faction that had pressured the useless Pope yesterday?
If so, this was the perfect opportunity to probe their intentions.
“They just wanted the same batch of medicinal supplies I bought first. The palace didn’t pay or reserve them, and I got to the stall before they did.”
“And now they’re saying anything the palace wants automatically belongs to them, and that my buying those supplies was an insult to the Empire. Even the old fossils in the Potion Hall wouldn’t dare talk to me like that!”
“And you think you have the right to arrest me?”
It felt incredible having someone backing her up!
With Lin Wei stepping in on her behalf, Nerinette—who’d been ready to throw down just moments before—stood tall, jabbing her finger right in Montoya’s face.
After all, Mr. Lin Wei was affiliated with the Holy See and under the protection of Saintess Yalis. Did this little viscount really think he could touch him?
“Th-this…”
Montoya, now fully realizing what was happening, froze. He was so used to bullying commoners by announcing his full title that he’d nearly forgotten the real reason he’d come here today.
Damn it—why did I have to blurt out that I’m in charge of court etiquette? That’s practically a death sentence!
“I see... No wonder Director Nerinette is so furious. You’re clearly in the wrong—and now you’ve barged in with an entourage to stir up trouble?”
By now, the truth was painfully obvious.
Lin Wei grinned, fixing Montoya with a knowing stare. In just a few moments, he’d already pieced together most of the story.
“And you just stormed into the Imperial Capital Magic Academy and tried to detain someone. Tell me, Viscount, did you file the necessary paperwork for this little operation?”
“Or maybe you’re not here about the medicinal supplies at all. Maybe you’re just looking for an excuse to target the Alchemy Department?”
“Could it be you’re trying to sabotage our potion production—plotting something behind the scenes?”
Right then, Nerinette caught on as well. Something was definitely off.
Yeah… Even if the palace was upset, they wouldn’t just snatch people off the street. And why hadn’t any Academy staff shown up by now?
Especially now that Viscount Montoya, who’d been so arrogant a moment ago, was suddenly stammering and sweating bullets.
If there’s nothing suspicious going on here, then I’m a monkey’s uncle!
“If you don’t explain yourself, I’ll have to assume you’re an impostor—or worse, a threat to the Academy. And I’ll have no choice but to take you down!”
“You dare? Seize him!” Viscount Montoya shrieked, veins bulging at his temples as he ordered the guards forward. But in the very next instant, his expression twisted in horror as all his fully armed guards collapsed to the floor like dominoes.
A strange scent lingered in the air. Nerinette stood there, waving a small potion bottle smugly.
Her grin grew ever more devilish, like a demon crawling up from the depths of hell.
“You came to the Alchemy Department to cause trouble and didn’t even bother with magical defenses? We have plenty of special concoctions that’ll put you right to sleep, you know!”
“Well, Viscount Montoya—would you like to try it yourself?” Nerinette’s voice dripped with mockery, her smile wicked. “Imagine it: a dignified imperial noble stripped and tossed out as a suspicious intruder… That’d make quite the front-page headline tomorrow, wouldn’t it?”
“So, what do you say?”