Realm of Myths and Legends (WN)
Chapter 1246: Power Struggle

"I have personally reviewed Elder Brukan and Elder Juria’s treatment methods for the Holy Maiden several times over. There were a few minor adjustments that could be made; however, there were no glaring faults. This woman—she must have known that the Holy Maiden’s condition was not simple and wanted to use the failure from the Wall of Pills as an excuse to temporarily drive Elder Brukan and Elder Juria away from the Apothecary Guild. But, I won’t let such simple tricks get in the way of our plans." Shateur thought to himself.

First Elder Brukan and Fourth Elder Juria—these two held a good amount of power in the Apothecary Guild. Naturally, the Duvelle family benefited from this greatly.

However, after being away from the Apothecary Guild for so long, Shateur had lost his main eyes and ears within the Apothecary Guild. He had no idea what the Apothecary Head Varuu was up to. Nonetheless, Shateur was well experienced with the ways of the world. He knew what lies he could and could not cross in the eyes of others as a noble of Amaharpe. Therefore, as long as he walked steadily, Varuu could do nothing but act as an observer.

As for his statement earlier—Shateur’s goal was simple. In truth, even he was not absolutely confident in resolving the Holy Maiden’s issue. That is why, in front of all the observers and young Apothecaries, Shateur mentioned that even someone like Apothecary Head Varuu might not be able to cure the Holy Maiden.

While he spoke in a respectful and elegant way on the surface, in reality, Shateur was basically saying, "You punished the Elders of my family for failing, but can you even succeed?"

More than that, if Varuu did cure the Holy Maiden, it was just something that would be expected by others. However, if she failed, Shateur could take what was originally a disadvantage and turn it into something beneficial. After all, if even the Head of the Apothecary Guild failed, she would have no choice but to acknowledge her mistakes for punishing Brukan and Juria. This would undoubtedly weaken the grip Varuu had over the Apothecary Guild.

All of a sudden, a small smirk formed on Varuu’s lips as if she had been waiting for this exact moment.

"Family Head Shateur, in light of more recent events, I believe that my punishment for the two Elders were rather mild. You said that the Holy Maiden’s issue is too unique? If that is the case, then why was it resolved by a grade five Apothecary?" Varuu said with a sharp gaze.

"Impossible..!" Shateur exclaimed with furrowed brows.

When those words left Varuu’s mouth, Shateur was momentarily shaken. He was ready to call Varuu out about how she was speaking nonsense; however, he was reminded of the response he received a couple of days ago from the Order of a Thousand Blossoms.

In order to fix Brukan and Juria’s mistakes, Shateur contacted the Order of a Thousand Blossoms and promised to do whatever was in his power to help the answer to the Holy Maiden’s problem. This was the second part of his plan to get a step ahead of Apothecary Head Varuu and outshine her by being the first to resolve the Holy Maiden’s issue.

However, when he tried to contact the Order of a Thousand Blossoms, they rejected his help without giving him a clear reason.

Initially, he thought that because he was from the Duvelle family and two of their members had already failed twice, the Order of a Thousand Blossoms would be wary about trusting another Apothecary from their family. But, how could he be compared to the others in his family? Plus, from what he heard, the Order of a Thousand Blossoms was not in any state to turn down outside help with their Holy Maiden’s deteriorating condition.

"I have invested a lot in crafting the Cosmic Trinity Pill. If the Holy Maiden has been cured, I would have wasted 10% of our family’s resources with nothing to show in return..!" Shateur thought to himself.

The ingredients for the Cosmic Trinity Pill were extremely rare and it was a difficult pill to craft. And, even though he did also fail in crafting it, Shateur managed to succeed.

With the Cosmic Trinity Pill at the core, Shateur was 80% confident in curing the Holy Maiden.

That said, Shateur found Varuu’s statement to be too much. Did she truly want him to believe that a mere grade five Apothecary had succeeded where the Elders, two grade eight Apothecaries, of his family failed? Was this her way of trying to add on to their humiliations publicly?

"Apothecary Head Varuu’s words are too much. Are you trying to say that the a five star request on the Wall of Pills was solved by a mere grade five Apothecary? Surely, Apothecary Head Varuu is not trying to purposely tarnish my family’s reputation in front of others?" Shateur said with a darkened expression.

"Perhaps Family Head Shateur has time for senseless games; however, I assure you, I do not. That is why I have made the decision to place First Elder Brukan and Fourth Elder Juria on a probationary period. Should they fail to meet the requirements I set by the end, they will be stripped of their status as First and Fourth Elders of the Apothecary Guild." Varuu stated calmly.

"What nonsense!" Shateur said as the aura around him burst outward.

He then continued, "Apothecary Head Varuu is intentionally targeting the members of my Duvelle family! Do you think I will sit back and allow this injustice?! I will take this to the Noble Court if I have to!"

"Apothecary Head Varuu, what have we ever done wrong besides serve the Apothecary Guild? Is this how you treat those loyal to the Apothecary Guild?" Brukan questioned with a frown.

"I have never known Apothecary Head Varuu to be unfair and reckless. It is best to take the time to think again before making such a big decision." Juria stated coldly.

The atmosphere in the promotion test room became heavy and intense. The observers had long since ceased their recruiting attempts as they watched the spectacle unfold before their eyes.

’The Apothecary Guild looks stable on the surface, but they have their own matters to worry about. That said, Apothecary Head Varuu is no pushover. For the Head of the Duvelle family to behave this way in front of her—how fast would he flee this place and let go of all troubles if he knew that he was facing a true dragon?’

Izroth had a good guess as to why Varuu was keeping the fact that she was a true dragon a secret. And, he had no plans of revealing her identity to others.

Though he did not expect to become one of the core reasons behind the two sides’ current argument. Of course, Izroth understood that everything happening was just a powerplay from both sides. While he was technically on neither side, Izroth leaned more toward Apothecary Head Varuu.

For one, his first impression of the Duvelle family was from Pierce. That kind of sneaky and sly person who would smile to your face and then later on stab you in the back—Izroth had met too many of them to count.

Another reason was that Izroth would need the Apothecary Guild’s help in the future if he wanted to expand on the plans he had in mind.

Of course, the fact that Varuu was a true dragon also helped. Izroth was fortunate enough to meet Kayn, the third young master of the Dragon Palace, during the second team’s selection on the Sky Palace and leave on good terms.

Meeting a true dragon was already an incredibly rare occasion; however, meeting one that liked humans are even more rare. There was also the complicated relationship that Varuu seemed to have with the Dragon Palace that caught Izroth’s attention.

’It should not be long now until Kayn sends someone to contact me. Currently, I do not know much about the Dragon Palace. Although the chances are low, it’s possible I can gain some information from Varuu. I’m just not sure how she will react if I show her the Dragon Palace Token. Will she see me as an ally or enemy? Either way, since she is using my accomplishment to make things difficult for the Head of the Duvelle family, she must be aware of my connection to the Holy Maiden. If that’s the case, at the very least, she won’t outright attack me if something goes wrong.’

"This place is the Apothecary Guild—you dare to act wildly when I am right here?" Varuu said coldly as her aura burst forth like a tidal wave, immediately dispersing and suppressing Shateur’s aura.

Shateur’s face lost some of its color as he had no choice but to take a step back under the overwhelming pressure.

Being placed on a probationary period as Elders of the Apothecary Guild was a great shame. Shateur also knew that Varuu would not make things easy for the two Elders of his family.

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