The staircase led out into a small corridor leading around the building that was framed by a row of connected arches. The main entrance was a gate in the same style directly opposite the last step. Beldia walked over, squared her shoulders again, and poked her head through the opening to peer into the garden behind.

The garden looked similar to the building: At first glance, you couldn’t tell the age. There were several rows of plants in orderly patches, each of them separated by a path made of stone slabs of the same color as the blocks used for the walls, all of them in pristine condition. The most impressive down here was the last row of them that was climbing up the walls themselves, making this place seem like it had come alive.

The actual highlight was the slope in the middle of the building though. From outside, it always seemed like the top of the hill was flat and a house had been built on that plateau. But actually, calling this a 'house' might be an exaggeration. It was more of a wall surrounding the actual top of the hill. There was even just a small part that had a roof and that looked mostly like a pavilion had been built into a courtyard.

Anyway, there was a gentle slope in the middle of whatever the Arcademy had built here. A set of old stairs was leading up on the side where Beldia had entered and, once again, there was a row of arches erected at the top, framing the actual top of the hill.

Whether it was the staircase or those arches, they had been created with the same blocks as the building. Contrary to outside, they were a little worn out though. The arches were overgrown with plants the potion makers were probably using for their creations. Well, it wasn’t wrong to say that, in this place, every single inch was used to its fullest, making sure that they would have enough materials for all the students.

Beldia currently couldn’t care less about the efficacy of the Arcademy. She looked around, panic grabbing her heart when she couldn’t spot Jadvyga immediately. Had she gotten things wrong again? Was Jadvyga not here? Could it be she was currently at the other side of the complex or even the whole Arcademy? Would she miss the last chance to actually confess to her?!

Just then, a movement at the edge of the platform atop the staircase caught Beldia’s eye. Looking up, she heaved a sigh of relief when she realized that this was a person. That could only be Jadvyga, right?

She clenched her hands into fists, trying to keep calm, and then took a step forward, gingerly climbing up the stairs. Suddenly, there was no speed-walking anymore, no taking two steps at once. Now, only the fear remained that once again, she would mess things up.

She had tried to confess to Jadvyga so often over the past five years but every time, something had gone wrong. It felt like she was cursed or as if this relationship she hoped to start was that of two star-crossed lovers, simply not meant to be. Otherwise, why would it be so damned hard to simply confess her feelings?!

To be honest, by now, it was getting harder and harder to bring herself to actually even come over and appear in front of Jadvyga. She couldn’t help but feel like the other witch had to be thinking that she was a lost cause already. She might even think she was crazy. And that was the last thing she wanted Jadvyga to think about her.

When it came to the potion makers, they were clearly some of the most down-to-earth people among the students of the Arcademy. If Jadvyga thought of her as somebody who wasn’t like that at all, who knew if she would like her? Her chances at actually wooing her had probably gone down with every attempt at confessing to her.

Beldia’s steps slowed down further and further until she hardly dared to set a foot onto the next step. Really, what was she doing here? It would probably be better to just turn around before Jadvyga could spot her. At the very least, she might still leave her with a half-decent impression. If she went up now and did something wrong again, she might ruin it completely.

At the top of the staircase, Jadvyga had indeed been gathering materials for her upcoming exam. As she was collecting one of the vines growing on the arches, she couldn’t help but notice that somebody was standing on the stairs.

She looked over and raised her brows at the familiar person. "Beldia, what led you here? Did you finish your exams already?" She smiled at that and shook her head. "I hope they didn’t go that awful." With how scatterbrained Beldia usually was when they talked, she wouldn’t have been surprised if they did. But then, the spell caster had apparently made it through the first six years successfully. Surely, she would not fail at the last step.

Beldia froze where she was but at the very least, the idea of silently slinking away was off the table with that. Her gaze darted around but she walked up the rest of the stairs, stopping a few steps away from Jadvyga. "I finished the last one three days ago. I’m just packing up my things to move out next week after the graduation ceremony."

"Oh? Then I take it you did manage to pass everything. That is great!" Jadvyga smiled brightly, happy for her. potion-making was something you could learn if you just put in enough effort but spell casting was different from what she knew. You needed genuine talent. That, and you had to be hyper-focused on your task. So that Beldia had managed to pass all of her exams was indeed something to celebrate.

Beldia nodded. "I did. It wasn’t that bad actually." She scratched the back of her head, wondering how she was supposed to transition over to her confession. She had never planned for this part!

She had always thought that she would walk directly up to Jadvyga, do her spell, and then say the words she had wanted to say for so long. Who could have known that Jadvyga would spot her first and then start a conversation already? Ah, she really didn’t know what to do.

Her gaze still darted around, roving over the plant that Jadvyga had just cut and the ones around them. The plan had said to turn an ugly twig into a beautiful flower. She could still do that! Well, she might not have a twig but those vines next to them looked plain enough. If she could make them blossom, the effect should still be the same.

Beldia turned to the side, grabbed onto the nearest stem, and froze.

Jadvyga’s eyes widened in response. "What are you doing?!" She threw the plant away she was holding and switched to a clean pair of gloves before grabbing Beldia’s wrist and pulling. Unfortunately, the witch didn’t let go of the plant. "Let go of that! It’s poisonous!"

Actually, this warning came a little too late. Beldia’s hand had already turned red and was only a few seconds away from swelling up. Jadvyga didn’t know what to do with her. She didn’t have a potion here to dispel the poison and somehow, the other witch didn’t seem to want to let go. At the very least, she was still holding onto the vine with a death grip.

Beldia was staring blankly but panicking inside. Not only had she missed the opportunity to start the conversation, she had also picked a poisonous plant to turn into a pretty flower and was now turning red in front of Jadvyga. In short, she was showing off just what kind of idiot she was. That was to say, there would be no confession happening today.

Jadvyga finally managed to pry Beldia’s fingers off the plant, looking her hand over with worry. "This looks nasty. You shouldn’t have touched that without gloves." She let go of her hand and took off her gloves, rubbing her forehead. "I don’t have a potion here to deal with that but it should be tended to as soon as possible. My final exam starts in a couple of minutes so I’m afraid I won’t be able to take care of it. Do you know the way to the infirmary?"

Beldia immediately nodded, not wanting to seem like more of an idiot even though she had no idea where it was.

"Are you sure?" Jadvyga’s gaze was a little doubtful. She glanced toward the sky, wondering if she would be able to bring Beldia over, get back here to gather the last ingredients, and then make it in time for her exam. Unfortunately, she didn’t think so.

Beldia nodded again, putting even more fervor into the gesture. She wasn’t an idiot! She’d swear that on her mother’s name! It was just that … she always got nervous around Jadvyga, especially when she thought of confessing, and even more so after the first attempts had failed so spectacularly. That was why … things tended to get out of hand.

Jadvyga felt relieved when Beldia seemed so sure. "Alright, then you should go over immediately. Don’t leave this for too long or it will only get worse."

Beldia nodded for the third time and then mechanically turned back to the staircase.

"Ah, wait! Your book!" Jadvyga crouched down to pick up the book, her gaze brushing over the title before she handed it over.

"Oh. Thank … you." Beldia hurriedly pressed it up against her chest, inclined her head, and then walked down the staircase one step at a time, her head lowered. The book had probably fallen down when Jadvyga was trying to pull her back. She hadn’t even noticed. Thankfully, it hadn’t opened up or who knows what she would have seen? Well, not that it would matter. Things had gone wrong already anyway.

Ah, she had prepared for so long, mapping out the territory, writing several confessions, finally memorizing the one that she had figured expressed her feelings while not being overly wordy so that she could mess things up. And then, she had almost managed to carry out her plan until she got cold feet and everything derailed from there. If Jadvyga hadn’t thought she was an idiot already, then she would do so now. She had really lost her last chance.

Reaching the foot of the staircase, Beldia stopped in her steps and reached up, rubbing her face. Great, just great! Now, it really was over. She shouldn’t even have tried anymore when she realized that things had gone off track again. Now, the worst scenario had happened.

Well, she couldn’t change it anymore. It was already over and done. She could only decide how to go forward. Which, well, there wasn’t that much to decide either. The graduation ceremony would be next week and she didn’t think she’d have the courage to try again until then. So that chapter was closed now. Actually, she wanted to go back to her dorm room, grab her luggage, and then leave without waiting for the ceremony.

She sighed, and then left the garden at least, making her way back to her dorm. Ah, today had been supposed to be such a beautiful day, and now this! She’d need some time to get over this disaster.

While Beldia left, Jadvyga hurriedly gathered the last ingredients she would need for her exam, storing them away in her material bag before she turned to leave as well. Just when she wanted to take the first step, she noticed something on the ground and bent down to pick it up.

It was only a small piece of paper, like the kind that some of the first-year students would use to try and cheat on their exams before they found out that there was always a spell on the room whenever they were writing one.

She almost wanted to laugh that somebody had even managed to lose theirs when she realized that the words written on it were definitely not some kind of recipe for a potion or even a spell in case somebody from another branch of the Arcademy had come here to study.

"A beautiful flower of a beautiful lady? What’s this? Some kind of love confession?" Unfortunately, there was no name mentioned so she had no idea who this was about. Or, well, she couldn’t be completely sure but she did have a hot guess.

Jadvyga looked to the entrance and then folded the piece of paper up, putting it into the pocket of her dress. When it came to confessions that never made it to the final stage, there was only one person she could think of.

Unfortunately, it was time for her exam now so she couldn’t go and ask about it but Beldia had said that she intended to leave next week when everything else was over so she didn’t need to hurry. There would still be enough time after her exam.

Thinking of that, Jadvyga left the garden, going over to the hall where her exam was going to be held. Anyway, she wasn’t worried about this. When it came to potion-making, she had never had a problem with it. The exam wouldn’t be that much more difficult than whatever she had been doing in the last few years at the Arcademy.