The Herb King

After his deal with Brian, Aethelwolf went back to where he spotted the second prince. When he arrived there, he noticed that there was a woman with bob-cut brown hair chatting with the prince. She looked dazzling in her tight white dress.

"Oh? Sir Aethelwolf! Come here! This is Madam Jade Kristine of the Singler Household. She is the aunt of Michael Singler, the participant who came second in the battle competition." Prince Calvin was overly enthusiastic for some reason and his eyes kept on darting towards Jade Kristine's beautiful face.

'Hm? Is there something going on here?' Aethelwolf revealed a look of interest when he saw this. He thought that Prince Calvin was interested in Samira, but it seems like the guy prefers mature women more.

"Nice to meet you, Sir Aethelwolf." Jade Kristine smiled at him.

'She would be useful in the future since she has a high position in the Alchemy Tower.' Aethelwolf put on a gentlemanly smile as he said. "You look lovely, Miss Jade Kristine. How have you been?"

Jade's smile deepened when she heard the compliment. "I'm doing great. Michael got the second place in the battle event so I'm in a good mood. Though he is still a long way ahead compared to your student, Janrose. By the way, where is she? Did you not bring her with you?" Jade looked around, searching for Janrose.

Aethelwolf chuckled upon hearing this. "She is here. Do you want me to bring her here?" He asked.

Jade shook her head gently. "There's no need to trouble you for that." She then turned her head to Michael who was standing behind her. "Go and look for Janrose."

Michael nodded his head and left.

"Sir Aethelwolf, please sit here beside me. I have a lot of things to ask." Jade Kristine patted the seat next to her.

Prince Calvin felt a sense of jealousy when he heard this, but he didn't show it to his face. He sighed and chatted with the other people who were seated with them.

"Thank you." Aethelwolf said as he sat down. He then took a puff on his cigar and exhaled a breath of honey-scented smoke.

Jade stared at his side profile with narrowed eyes. 'This man is dangerously charming.' She thought.

"I heard that Janrose can already summon her Pill Fire. When are you planning to let her take the Alchemist exam?" Jade asked while pouring wine for herself and Aethelwolf.

"She can summon her Pill Fire, but she is still practicing how to make an herbal paste. I'll let her take the exam once she is confident in making a pill by herself. Besides, I also plan to let her take the exam together with her friends. You see, she's not the only student under my tutelage." Aethelwolf answered as he took the cup of wine that was handed to him.

Jade Kristine looked at him in surprise. "You're also teaching others?"

Aethelwolf nodded his head. "In fact, my first student isn't Janrose. She is my second student. Before her, I took a child as my student. You might haven't heard of him yet since he just came to Lion City. Other than him, there's Samira and Anna." He then took a small sip of wine after saying those words. He didn't tell her that he was teaching Johann because it might cause unnecessary trouble for him.

"Is that so?" She leaned closer to him and whispered. "Actually...I want to invite you to our mansion. You see, I'm practicing to refine a 4th-Grade Pill. I was hoping that you would give me some pointers."

"You can already refine 4th-Grade Pills? I thought you were only a Level 3 Alchemist?" Aethelwolf stared at her in surprise. He heard that she was only a little older than forty years old, and now she's saying that she is practicing to refine 4th-Grade Pills. If what she said is true, then her talent in Alchemy might have surpassed the Supreme Director of the Alchemy Tower!

Jade Kristine moved her body closer to him and it almost looked like she was hugging him. She then muttered. "I'm still not confident that I can refine 4th-Grade Pills, but I can already summon a Golden Pill Fire. I don't want the others to know about this yet so I hope that you can keep it between us."

Aethelwolf stared at her in confusion. They weren't even friends before this conversation started, so why was this woman so trusting of him? Was it because of the handsome shell that he possess? However, she didn't seem like the type of woman who was gullible enough to fall for someone she just met.

Jade Kristine noticed the weird look he was giving her so she immediately explained herself. "Supreme Director Karman is planning to step down from his position so the Administrators are becoming restless about who will get his position. I want to become the new Supreme Director, but I don't want to expose myself for now. The other Administrators might do something once they get wind of this. You're the only person who can help me, Sir Aethelwolf." She looked at him with sincere eyes.

Aethelwolf let out a smile. "Oh?" He tapped his fingers on the table and remained silent as he looked at her. Helping Jade Kristine was beneficial to him, but he would also offend the other three Administrators if he openly supports her. "I guess the Supreme Director already has a suitable candidate in his mind..."

Jade Kristine's eyes widened when she heard this. "How did you know?"

Aethelwolf chuckled. "You wouldn't hide your prowess if he hasn't decided yet..." He added. "Alright. I'll help you, but my schedule is full within the next three days so I will visit your mansion after dealing with everything."

Jade Kristine's eyes lit up.

"Sir Aethelwolf, Aunt!" Michael's voice interrupted their conversation.

Aethelwolf and Jade turned their heads and saw Michael bring a group of people. They were Janrose and the others who came with Aethelwolf.