Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 38: Luna at the Store

Even Rosemund, after studying under Garreth Light for so many years, was only a refining apprentice and couldn’t even stably refine a single potion.

Zora had lived inside the General’s Residence for over a decade without even stepping into proper cultivation circles. How could she possibly refine Potions?

Impossible.

Absolutely impossible!

The siblings forced their way through the crowd. At last, they saw the newly prepared shelves inside the clinic.

White porcelain bottles were placed neatly in rows.

Every single one contained round, plump, shimmering medicinal Potions.

And in the most prominent position—

Strength-Boost Potions.

So many of them.

Luna and Icarus’s pupils both shrank violently at the same time.

They had begged, schemed, humiliated themselves, and still failed to obtain even a single Strength-Boost potion.

Yet here—

They were displayed openly on shelves.

Dozens of them.

Their hearts shook uncontrollably.

A storm of jealousy, hatred, disbelief, and unwillingness surged violently within Luna’s chest.

Why?

Why could the woman she once trampled beneath her feet now possess everything she desperately desired?

Her nails dug deep into her palms.

Blood nearly seeped out.

"Sister..." Icarus lowered his voice, suppressing the shock in his eyes. "Should we... buy two?"

No matter how deep their hatred ran, the Royal Hunting Tournament was approaching fast.

At this stage, pride meant nothing.

Only strength mattered.

Luna’s gaze locked tightly onto the Strength-Boost Potions on the shelf.

Her heart wavered violently.

And in that hesitation—

A faint, cold smile quietly curved across someone else’s lips behind the counter.

But then in the next moment...

The faint, cold smile behind the counter vanished as quickly as it appeared, replaced by the calm, gentle expression everyone had grown familiar with.

Zora stood there in simple white robes, her sleeves light, her posture relaxed. Her gaze swept once across the crowded hall, lingering for just a breath on the two figures standing stiffly amid the crowd, before drifting away again as if she had seen nothing at all.

To her, their presence was no more than dust in the wind.

But to Luna, that single fleeting glance felt like a blade sliding coldly across her skin.

So it really was her.

Not a rumor. Not exaggeration. Not illusion.

The woman she had once trampled into the mud was now standing above the entire imperial city’s medicinal market, calmly controlling a tide that even Apollo Apothecary could not suppress.

Icarus swallowed hard. "Sister... she really has Strength-Boost Potions."

Luna said nothing.

Her throat felt as if it were stuffed with sand. Dry. Bitter. Unswallowable.

At this moment, pride, hatred, panic, and inevitability tangled violently in her chest. Every instinct screamed at her to turn around and leave. But her gaze would not move from those porcelain bottles. The Strength-Boost Potions inside were like glowing stars in a pitch- abyss.

Stars she desperately needed.

The Royal Hunting Tournament was no longer just about glory.

It was about survival.

It was about proving she had not fallen.

"Sister..." Icarus hesitated again, his voice lower than before. "If we don’t buy them... We’ll be left behind."

Those words pierced straight through Luna’s remaining resistance.

Left behind.

Crushed.

Trampled like the very woman she once trampled.

Her jaw tightened slowly.

"Buy," she said at last, her voice stiff. "We buy."

Each word tasted of blood.

They squeezed forward through the living wall of buyers. Noble heirs, clan elders, wealthy merchants all crowded around the counter as if pulling a net tighter and tighter. The closer they got, the heavier the pressure became.

When Luna finally stood before Zora again, the contrast was brutal.

One stood calm and composed.

The other stood rigid and burning.

"Two Strength-Boost Potions." Luna forced the words out, her voice tightly controlled.

The assistant behind the counter hesitated, then glanced toward Zora.

Zora did not even look up. She was calmly recording something in the ledger.

"Sell," she said lightly. "As long as they can afford it."

The casualness of that sentence cut deeper than any insult.

Luna’s fingers trembled as she placed the prepared gold notes onto the counter. The amount was staggering. Every note felt like a piece of her flesh being sliced away.

The assistant carefully counted them, then placed two fine brocade boxes onto the counter.

Inside, two Strength-Boost Potions rested quietly, their surface smooth and faintly glowing with medicinal light.

For an instant, Luna felt dizzy.

She had done it.

She had finally obtained what she had failed to secure through begging, scheming, and humiliation.

Yet there was no joy in her heart.

Only an aching heaviness.

Because she had bought them... from her.

Just as Luna reached out to take the Potions, a calm voice drifted down from above.

"Wait."

Everyone froze.

Luna’s heart slammed violently as she looked up.

Zora had finally lifted her head.

Their eyes met.

One pair, calm as an autumn lake.

The other is burning like a collapsing flame.

"For Strength-Boost Potions," Zora said slowly, "there is a purchase limit beginning today."

The hall erupted instantly with murmurs.

"Limit?"

"How many can one person buy?"

Luna’s face tightened. "What limit?"

Zora’s lips curved faintly. "One per person."

Silence crashed down like a hammer.

Luna’s hand stiffened in midair. "We paid for two."

Zora’s gaze shifted lazily to the gold notes. "One potion’s price. One potion’s worth."

Her tone was gentle.

Her meaning was merciless.

Icarus burst out angrily, "You’re cheating us!"

Zora looked at him at last.

Just one glance.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop.

"Do you think," she asked softly, "that I lack buyers?"

No one dared speak.

All around them, dozens of pairs of eyes were watching greedily. As long as Luna failed to take one, someone else would snatch it instantly.

Luna’s entire body trembled.

She understood.

Perfectly.

This was not about money anymore.

This was punishment.

This was humiliation.

This was silence being turned into a blade.

Slowly, terribly slowly, she withdrew one of the brocade boxes.

Her fingers clenched around the remaining one as if gripping her final lifeline.

"Fine," she said hoarsely. "One is enough."

The assistant immediately swept the other box away.

The moment Luna turned to leave, Zora’s voice drifted after her again, light as falling snow: "Oh, right."

Luna stopped.

"Today’s Strength-Boost Potions," Zora said, smiling gently, "are the lowest-grade batch."

Her pupils constricted.

"The better ones," Zora continued, almost kindly, "will be sold... tomorrow for a mere 1000 gold coins."

The words fell softly.

But to Luna, they exploded like thunder in her skull.

"A mere thousand gold coins?" A faint, mocking smile curled at the corner of Luna’s lips, but the chill flickering in her dark pupils was impossible to hide. "Zora... you really are miserly to the extreme."

She deliberately enunciated each word of that name, as if chewing on it with hatred.

The moment that familiar name rang out, the surrounding chatter instantly quieted. All eyes gathered toward the center of the scene.

Zora lifted her gaze slowly. Her expression was calm, her eyes clear and unruffled, as though the venom in Luna’s voice had no power over her at all.

"This is merely a place for you to resell Potions," Luna sneered coldly. "So tell me, why won’t you sell them to us directly?"