Ch 34: Lessons Learned - Part 1

"This stupid shit…Ugh, it got in the ceiling…it is a double-stories room with a high ceiling. How will I get that off there?"

Layla heard the professor complaining as she walked into the room.

"Young Miss, maybe we should leave Professor Ragnarock alone. He doesn't look like he is in his right state of mind, and I am afraid he would hurt you somehow."

Mary spoke softly, but not softly enough not to be heard by the professor. 

The elf finally took notice of the new company he had, and he breathed out heavy sighs to calm himself down.

"Don't step inside. My potion blew up, and some of its parts are stuck on the roof now. I fear an incident will occur if you step in here now."

The elf warned, showing that he had some compassion for Layla because she was a child.

Just as he said, the pile of potions stuck to the ceiling fell, corroding the table.

It did not end with the surface, and soon, the table wobbled, causing the potions on top of it to break as they fell.

Layla did not even want to think how much money had been wasted because of what happened. But Professor Ragnarock was not worried about money.

*Sigh*

"Looks like my lab is unavailable for lessons. Today's lesson will be held outside and will be about potion plants I have grown. I was going to wait a little before easing you into this topic, but I guess we have no choice."

Professor Ragnarock looked to be in physical pain as he sighed. He carefully walked through the pile of poodles on the floor before he reached the other side.

"Are you not going to clean this all up?"

Layla asked as she saw the destruction happening in front of her eyes. But the elf only shrugged.

"I don't fancy getting my hand burned by this acid. I will give it some time to cool down before scrapping it. But, if someone wants to take over this duty and do it for me, they are more than welcome to."

The elf looked at Mary when he said that. He wanted Mary to assist him in this.

But Mary only smiled back at him without speaking, letting the elf know that he was on his own here.

...

Despite the destructive morning, the rest of the day was quite peaceful. Layla learned as much as she could from her master and then returned to her room to read more.

The rest of the few days followed suit, and finally, on the morning of the fourth day, no explosion was heard outside.

Mary was nowhere to be seen, and Layla had no intention of trying to track her servant down. 

Instead, Layla went outside and watched as the elf sat at his potion table, staring blankly outside. He looked lost in his thoughts, and Layla felt it would be bad to call him.

But it turned out that she did not even need to do that. The elf noticed her presence, and he was the first one to address her.

"I never expected one of the Lockhart's to show this much effort and will to live. Whenever I looked at anyone in your family, you all looked like a bunch of stuck-up snobs who thought that everyone else was better than them.

Why did you have to come here and prove me wrong?"

The elf asked in a calm voice. 

He sounded neither angry nor happy. He just sounded…resigned. He even looked like someone who had discovered a secret he never wanted to know, and now, he no longer knew what to do with himself.

"Everyone works hard to make something out of their worthless lives. I hope you don't expect me to apologize for living my life as best as possible because I do not intend to do that.

If you feel conflicted, bear with it for a few more days. I will be out of your hair by then. I do have most of the basics down by now."

Layla assured the elf, and she watched as he bit his lip hard again.

His feelings were written clearly on his face, invoking a hint of sympathy inside Layla.

But the female quickly crushed it so it no longer bothered her.

"Everyone struggles, but that does not explain your existence. You are a monster with how quickly you grasp things. I almost thought that you were not human at one point. But everything else except your intelligence and willpower points to you being a regular human child.

It confuses me. It makes my instincts see you as an abnormality but a child simultaneously. Even I can't tell why I am so distracted by all this."

The elf questioned as he clutched his head, and Layla chose not to answer.

"Since this was the case, and all my feelings were torn up, I decided what to do now. From this day forward, I will stop seeing you as a child and a Lockhart. I will simply think of you as an assistant.

This will be your last chance to back out because things will get much tougher from now on."

Loyad Ragnarock warned Layla that this was her last chance to back down. But Layla had no intention of backing down.

"I cannot back down now. I came here to learn and will benefit from this opportunity."

As soon as Layla finished speaking, she saw Loyad's sadistic smile. Her instincts told her she was making a mistake and that there was no need to go this far.

But Layla needed to push past it for a better future.

"Good! I like how resolute you are. Hopefully, you will keep the same attitude by the time we are done next week. Ah, just a reminder: I will not take it easy on you because you got tired. You should get ready to go through the worst training of your life."

That was what Layla was told. And two days later, she had to admit that the elf was holding up to his words.