BRRC CH 44

Chapter 44 – The Abner Academy’s First Invention

Around that time, the Imperial Academy of Alchemy proudly announced a new invention—
a chemical that could kill weeds.

Its name is herbicide.

Thanks to the perfectly timed release of this miracle product, Lubarin grass quickly vanished from the southern regions.
People searched every mountain, field, and even cracks in rocks to find the weed and destroy every last seed.

Since most people in the South were farmers, the Lubarin Eradication Project spread like wildfire.
The nobles—including the Longtern family—provided large amounts of herbicide to the commoners and encouraged them to continue.

Of course, their motivation was simple: money.

The fewer weeds, the more crops.
The more crops, the more profit flowed into the nobles’ pockets.

The situation in the North was similar, though the climate there made things easier.
Lubarin grass couldn’t survive the cold, dry northern weather.
so the nobles and peasants didn’t even need to work together—
The weeds simply died out on their own.

“But somehow, I found it still growing here—in the Abner greenhouse!”

In one corner of that greenhouse stood an old cabinet filled with seed jars and dried herbs.
A few weeks before I was injured, I’d found five shriveled Lubarin grass seeds hidden deep inside.

‘I almost screamed when I saw them.’

That same day, I planted them in a corner of the greenhouse.

Only one sprouted—probably because they were so old—but that was fine.
True to its reputation, the weed grew fast and strong.
Soon, it began spreading on its own.

I started visiting the greenhouse whenever I could to collect its seeds.
If you split the stem between the leaves, there was a thick seed pod.
and that was the only place the seeds could be harvested from.

I also made sure to pick and dry a few leaves, just in case.

‘I was planning to use them later—around the time I turned seven.’

But after the attack, I had to change my plans.

“So I asked Lulu and Tom to pick leaves for me every day. When they’re dried, just chewing the powder can prevent infection.”

It tasted absolutely terrible, and I had to chew a ton of it—but it worked.

Owen couldn’t take his eyes off the sea of Lubarin grass covering the greenhouse.

I poked his back and asked, “If you look closely, doesn’t it remind you of the Florentia flower?”

“Now that you mention it… the leaves.”

“The seed pods look even more like the Florentia buds.”

It might sound arrogant, but honestly, the history of Imperial alchemy could be divided into two eras:
before and after the discovery of lubarin grass.

“In my previous life,” I continued, “around when I was fifteen, another kind of weed spread across the South.”

“…”

“So, while trying to make a stronger herbicide to kill it, I accidentally discovered the truth—
That Lubarin grass, the plant everyone thought was extinct, was actually an incredibly valuable medicine.”

“So what you’re saying,” Owen asked, “is that while I was gone, you used this weed to heal yourself?”

I nodded proudly. “Yup. I ate a handful every day. It tasted so bad I thought I’d die, but it worked.”

“You could’ve just asked the maids to brew it for you—or the doctor.”

“What?!”

I stared at him in shock, then narrowed my eyes.

“Master.”

“What.”

Lubarin grass.
A priceless herb that didn’t need to be mixed with anything else and could prevent infections on its own.
And right now, everyone thought it was extinct.

“Are you an idiot?!” I snapped. “Even if you trust Miel and Soya, why would you show this to a doctor? This stuff is way too valuable!”

“…”

“Do you know how much we can do with this?”

In my past life, I had been the one to discover Lubarin grass’s true value.

When Duke Longtern found out, he was ecstatic.
He called it a once-in-a-lifetime treasure and ordered me to find a way to restore it—and monopolize it.

***

“Improve the seeds?” Owen repeated.

I nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! And I already know how! Once it’s done, we’ll report it to the Imperial Palace—under the name Abner Academy!”

“Abner Academy? Does such a thing even exist?”

“It does now! I just founded it. Current members: you and me.”

Owen looked utterly dumbfounded.

But I calmly went on.

“Why did people misunderstand Lubarin grass? Because it killed other plants, right?”

“…”

“And because it spread uncontrollably and smelled awful. But when we improve it, we’ll remove all those bad traits.”

Owen gave a half-laugh of disbelief.

But I wasn’t finished yet.

“And one more thing—the seed pods.”

He squinted. “What about them?”

“We’ll remove them. The new version won’t produce seeds at all. That way, no one can collect and replant it.”

In short, we would make a non-reproducible version of Lubarin grass.

‘I worked so hard to uncover its true potential last time,’ I thought bitterly.
‘I’m not letting someone else profit from it again.’

“The only fertile seeds will belong to us.”

“My student, you…”

“And no one will even dream of stealing them!”

I had promised Duchess Sharon Abner that I would help the Abner family rise again.
That promise would last until I grew up enough to stand on my own.

‘In my last life, all I did was make the Longterns rich.’

Thanks to me, Duke Longtern had become unimaginably wealthy.
The Longtern Academy gained fame across the entire continent.

And yet, I—the person who had done all the work—was credited as nothing more than “Hyana and 37 others.”

But this time would be different.

“Of course, we won’t just grow it. We’ll make medicine, too—because that’s where the money is. So, Master…” I grinned slyly.
“Are you ready?”

“R-ready for what?” he stammered nervously.

Still hanging on his back, I whispered, “To become the inventor of the Empire’s most widely used medicine.”

***

“Alright, all done,” said Miss Anne, fastening the last button on my dress.

I hopped off the bed, light as air now that the bandages were gone.

“Those miracle herbs made the wounds heal quickly,” she said softly, “but they still left scars.”

Her voice carried a hint of sadness.

I smiled up at her, trying to reassure her. “It’s fine.”

“Fine? Lia, you were bedridden for nearly two months!”

I glanced at my reflection, turning slightly to check my back.
The scars were hidden under my clothes anyway.

“I’ll make a salve soon to fade the scars. So it’s fine!”

Miss Anne blinked in surprise, then laughed helplessly.

I smiled back and hurried out of the room.
My steps grew faster with excitement until I reached the underground lab.

I pushed the door open with both hands.

“I’m here!”

Owen immediately looked up from the workbench.

There was a reason I’d run straight here after removing my bandages.

“Arwyn said it’s finished, right?”

Owen had finally succeeded in improving the Lubarin seeds.

For weeks, both of us had barely slept.

“I mixed the formulas you gave me,” Owen said, “but all I got were weird mutations.”

“The more mutations, the better!” I said eagerly. “We just pick out the best ones and refine them again and again until we get what we want!”

While sitting in bed, I had analyzed each variant and created new improvement formulas.
Owen used my notes to select the most promising results and re-bred them repeatedly.

Finally—

“Yes,” he said, his voice trembling with excitement. “It’s done. At last.”

We had created a new breed.

‘In my previous life, just bringing Lubarin grass back from extinction had taken forever,’ I thought.
‘But this time, with the Abner greenhouse full of it, everything went so much faster.’

“Honestly,” Owen said with a nervous laugh, “I didn’t think it would actually work. But now that it has… my heart’s about to burst.”

I couldn’t hide my own excitement either.

Because my heart was pounding just as fast as his.