Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 337: The Tri-Academy Exchange Arc (Part-29)

"Don’t worry. It won’t affect anything." Zora waved her hand lightly. Her internal injuries were not serious, and as for the external wounds, she could endure them. Tomorrow’s finals would not be a problem.

Seeing how firm her tone was, everyone finally felt at ease. If Zora couldn’t fight in the finals, it would truly be a shame.

"Zora, rest well. We won’t disturb you anymore," Tiffany said, concern clear in her eyes. The pale color on her face made it obvious that her condition wasn’t perfect. Staying any longer would only delay her recovery.

Tomorrow was the finals, and the time left for her to recuperate was extremely limited.

"You’ve had a tiring day. Go rest early."

"Zora, I won’t bother you today either. See you tomorrow." Reesa blinked playfully before closing the door behind her.

Once everyone had left, Zora was just about to lie down when the door opened again.

Harold walked in slowly.

Seeing him, a faint ripple of surprise appeared in Zora’s eyes. "Why are you here?"

"You don’t seem very happy to see me?" Harold asked with a light smile.

Zora shook her head. "Not really. Neither happy nor disappointed."

Toward Harold, she only felt that they had known each other for quite some time. She had always felt that he wasn’t a simple person, yet she had never found anything wrong with him. Perhaps it really was just her overthinking.

"I came to check on you," Harold said casually as he sat down beside her. "I wanted to see if your injuries were serious."

"I’m fine," Zora replied with a small smile. "Nothing major."

"I heard you’re already married," Harold said, his tone relaxed. "Why didn’t your fiancé come with you this time?"

At that, a trace of longing unknowingly appeared on her face/

It had been over a month since she left. She didn’t know how things were on his end now.

Before Prince Kael left, he hadn’t known that she would come to the Leon Empire for the academy exchange. If he rushed back to the academy, only to find her gone, it would probably take some time before the two of them could meet again.

She realized that she had grown accustomed to Prince Kael’s presence, to his lazy smiles and teasing manner. With him gone, there was an unfamiliar sense of absence.

Harold narrowed his eyes slightly at her expression.

Before Zora could reply, he flicked what seemed like a medicinal pill into her mouth. On the Holy Mystic Continent, pills are often considered a concentrated form of potion but carry the same effects. However, not many people would bother purchasing pills, as even from ancient times, alchemists didn’t prefer to make pills, as it is extra hard work. Only the alchemist of the Eastern Continent would bother producing them.

As such a pill melted in her mouth, Zora’s eyes widened slightly. "Harold, you—"

"The effect of this pill is excellent," Harold said calmly, a faint smile on his lips. "It will help you recover much faster."

He looked at her steadily. "Since your husband isn’t here, I’ll take care of you for the time being."

A strange light flickered in Zora’s eyes.

As an alchemist, she knew the moment the pill dissolved what it was.

A fourth-rank peak recovery pill. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Using such a precious pill for her current injuries was undeniably extravagant.

What surprised her even more, however, was Harold’s attitude.

The fact that he thinks giving her a fourth-rank pill didn’t seem excessive at all slightly made her uncomfortable.

After a brief silence, Harold then continued to speak, "Zora, Zion Blackstar has already reached the fifth level of the Scarlet Realm, you know. His strength is extremely formidable. He is also very different from Ragnor Blackstar. Zion has always faced his opponents head-on and conducts himself like a true gentleman."

He paused briefly, then continued in a steady tone.

"But a gentleman also has principles he will not yield. No matter how his relationship with Ragnor Blackstar truly is, what you did today undeniably damaged the dignity of the royal family. I believe Zion Blackstar will try to reclaim that dignity in the finals."

"Of course," Harold added, "he will do so in an upright and honorable way."

Zora listened intently as he went on.

"Not only that, Zion Blackstar has a contracted beast. Its strength is equivalent to a fifth-tier Scarlet Realm cultivator. Among Thunderclap Academy, his overall combat power is the strongest."

His gaze sharpened slightly. "If you meet him in the finals, you must be careful. That said, your own beast companion will not be weaker than his. If your Beastmaster were more mature, you could easily suppress him. As things stand now... the outcome is still uncertain."

As Harold spoke, the surprise in Zora’s eyes deepened.

Even the Imperial academy instructors had not gathered such detailed information about Zion Blackstar, yet Harold knew it all with startling clarity.

Only then did she truly realize that his visit tonight had not been solely because of her injuries. The other reason was to pass on this crucial information.

After learning Zion Blackstar’s exact cultivation, the unease that had been weighing on her heart finally eased.

Knowing what kind of opponent she would face was always better than stepping onto the arena blindly.

"Thank you," Zora said sincerely.

She did not know why Harold was willing to help her to this extent, but she truly appreciated it.

Harold smiled faintly. "Get some good rest. I’ll come see you again tomorrow."

Zora nodded. "Take care."

After Harold left, she lay back on the bed, her body finally relaxing.

The earlier battle had drained her greatly, and a dull pain still lingered in her wounds. However, the effects of the fourth-rank recovery pill were undeniable. Since taking it, the pain had eased significantly, and even the external injuries were healing at a visible pace.

The higher the rank of a pill, the more miraculous its effects. This was precisely why high-level alchemists were so revered.

After changing into clean clothes and rewrapping her wounds, Zora finally rested.

Later that night, however, news arrived.

The finals had been postponed to three days later. Tomorrow, instead, the alchemy competition would be held.

When she heard this, a trace of curiosity appeared in her eyes. "Why was the schedule suddenly changed? Previous academy exchanges never did this."

"I heard it was Zion Blackstar’s request," Reesa said, eyes wide with disbelief. "He said that since you were injured, holding the finals tomorrow would be unfair, so it was postponed by three days."

Reesa clicked her tongue. "Just one sentence from him, and the entire academy exchange schedule changed. That’s terrifying."

"So that’s how it is..." Zora murmured softly.

Harold’s words echoed in her mind once more. Zion Blackstar was indeed a gentleman, unwilling to take advantage of an injured opponent.

But she also understood that there was another, deeper reason.

Zion Blackstar wanted to restore the royal family’s dignity.

And he intended to do it by defeating her openly and honorably, under the brightest light.

Zora did not feel much emotion about this outcome. Three extra days of rest were not a bad thing at all. Although her injuries were not serious, having more time to recover would only make the finals more secure.

The next day, Zora and the others headed toward the venue for the alchemy competition.

Among the three academies, there were not many alchemists, yet this round attracted no less attention than the martial contests. To ordinary Spirit Warriors, alchemists always carried a veil of mystery. Being able to witness the refining process with their own eyes was a rare opportunity, and naturally, no one wanted to miss it.

As they walked, Marcus suddenly lowered his voice, his expression filled with disbelief.

"Zora, I heard that after Ragnor Blackstar went back yesterday... he somehow died."

His words were like a thunderbolt.

"What did you say?" Reesa exclaimed, her voice rising involuntarily. "How is that possible?"

The news was simply too shocking.

Although Ragnor Blackstar had been badly injured the day before, it was nowhere near life-threatening. For him to suddenly die overnight was far too strange.

Zora was equally startled. She understood Ragnor Blackstar’s injuries better than anyone. He had suffered internal damage, yes, but with proper care, he would have recovered in about a month. There was no reason for him to die.

For a fleeting moment, a thought crossed her mind.

Could it be that the humiliation he suffered yesterday was too much, and he could not bear it...?