Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Soon after, the starship smoothly arrived at the capital planet, docking at the Medici family's private terminal within the starship port.

Having traversed billions of light-years, they had departed during the early autumn of a medium-sized planet and arrived in the late spring of the capital planet.

However, seasons held little meaning on such a highly technologically advanced planet. Here, it was perpetually spring-like. The central system operated around the clock, meticulously managing the planet's temperature, humidity, and other data to ensure it remained in the most habitable state.

Lorca was picked up by the Oliver Family at the starship port, while the remaining Medici children boarded shuttle vehicles adorned with the clematis emblem in groups, returning to the main family's estate.

Seated in the comfortable, high-end hover car, Eve curiously observed the novel sights she had never seen or heard of before.

Outside the window, the capital planet was abundant with fragrant flowers. Data streams, swaying gently like jellyfish tentacles, blended with natural evergreen plants to form the avenue trees of this new world. Soft glows of sky light and cloud shadows lingered quietly on the walls of buildings. The temperature and humidity were at their most pleasant levels. Pedestrians strolled leisurely here and there on the streets, all well-dressed and exuding a sense of ease cultivated by a life of affluence.

The Medici family owned its own private enclave on the capital planet, where every inch of land was precious. Its size was comparable to a continent in the world Eve had known before crossing into the book. As they passed through an invisible protective barrier—only visible as a faint blue shimmer when hover vehicles entered or exited—the group officially entered the family's domain.

After crossing vast plains and hills that seemed almost wasteful in their expanse, the hover car fleet slowly came to a stop before an elegantly designed, tall white gate. The gate frame was intricately carved with the signature clematis patterns, and beyond it lay a seemingly endless stretch of palace complexes.

Attendants dressed in black-and-white uniforms bowed in unison, saying, "Welcome home, Second Steward, young masters, and young ladies."

Eve had been so astonished since boarding the car that she hadn't even closed her mouth. She thought she had seen her share of the world, but after half a lifetime of experiences, she still felt utterly overwhelmed by the extreme power and wealth of the elite.

None of these country bumpkins from the branch families fared any better; all were wide-eyed and dumbfounded. Dick, who followed Eve out of the car, was startled by the two rows of well-trained servants suddenly bowing at the entrance. He jumped behind Eve, only his head peeking out, and murmured, "Good heavens, the main family is incredibly wealthy. Luckily, this immense fortune has now come to me."

Grace nearby nodded in deep agreement. "I feel like I've become the protagonist of a drama."

Among the group disembarking from the hover cars, the only one who remained composed was Sandro Medici. He turned to see the teenagers once again looking as awkward and nervous as they had at the beginning, let out a laugh, and tapped his cane on the jade-paved ground, signaling everyone to look at him.

"Alright, little flower buds, this will be where you live from now on. Stop drooling over your own gate pillars so embarrassingly. Straighten your clothes, line up as I taught you before we came, and get ready to follow me in to meet the family head."

At these words, Eve's expression sharpened with focus.

It was here! The first plot point related to her mentioned in the book—the moment the villainess first entered the main family, which also marked the beginning of her tumultuous life.

In the Medici main family, Eve awakened her Spiritual State, successfully competed to become the fiancée of the next heir, frequently moved in the upper social circles of the capital planet, built connections with the powerful, and simultaneously gathered her own small circle of influence, fully preparing herself to later make things difficult for the female lead, providing her with experience points and faces to slap.

She needlessly smoothed her already wrinkle-free clothes, took a deep breath, and wore an expression as resolute as if heading into battle.

Eve swore to herself.

This time, she would not repeat the original villainess's mistakes! She would steer clear of the male and female leads' turmoil, use the Medici family's resources to continuously strengthen herself, and do everything in her power to amass power.

The original body's experiences had been a wake-up call for Eve: she must never rely on others to live. Otherwise, even as the heir's fiancée, her life and death could be decided with a mere flip of the hand by those in power.

On the way, Eve had seriously considered the hints Sandro had given her earlier. She thought Sandro truly lived up to his role as the Second Steward of the Medici family, seeing things with remarkable clarity.

There was a barrier between masters and subordinates, and in the eyes of those in the Medici main family, the original Eve might not even qualify as a subordinate—because subordinates could at least serve the family, while Eve, immersed in jealousy and rivalry, only drained the family's resources.

She had been too obsessed with using power to bully others, forgetting how many tearful nights she had endured to obtain the power she now squandered so freely.

In the end, the reason the original Eve could command a modicum of respect in upper-class circles was not because of her own abilities but out of regard for the Medici family behind her. Yet this very respect trapped Eve, blinding her to the fact that her position had long been precarious.

Thus, when the fallout came, it ended in tragedy.

You can't always count on your backer; only what was held in one's own hands could truly belong to oneself.

With her aqua-blue eyes, Eve carefully scanned the magnificent and solemn building before her. Every detail was exquisite, every part full of design. This was not only proof of the ancient family's immense wealth and superior taste but also a great symbol of human civilization in the Interstellar Era.

Ambition unconsciously gleamed in the girl's eyes, burning her heart like wildfire. Standing before this architecture that symbolized both civilization and power, she could almost hear the thumping of her heart in her chest, making her blood boil and her hands and feet tremble with excitement.

If originally Eve had only wanted to change the plot and strive for self-preservation, standing before such a hugely tempting mansion made her rethink everything.

Eve deeply, deeply desired to own this majestic estate and the ancient, powerful Medici family within it—as its master.

She also bore the name Medici. Though from a branch family, she had pure, bright silver hair that rivaled the main family's, a clever mind, exceptional talent, and foreknowledge of the future.

Since she had all this, Eve thought, why couldn't she become the ultimate master of this family?

When Sandro turned around, he happened to miss Eve's ambitious gaze, only seeing her determined, almost martyr-like expression. He couldn't help but feel puzzled. "My dear Little Forbidden Fruit, why do you look so serious all of a sudden?"

Eve exhaled a heavy breath and said gloomily, "The main family is like a battlefield. I'm mentally preparing myself."

The horn of struggle had sounded; how could she remain stagnant?

She must become the head of the Medici family, and she would make the Medici great again!

Sandro: "..."

Wasn't that a bit exaggerated?

Sandro twitched his mustache slightly, unsure whether to speak up or not. In the end, he decided to keep quiet.

Having such awareness was a good thing. The internal strife within great families never ceased, though it was well concealed, often resolving without bloodshed. Eve's readiness to fight would only benefit her development in the main family.

...Even if this sudden combat fervor was a bit too intense.

For some obvious reasons, Dick and Grace were also at the front of the line and could overhear Eve's words. Somehow, when they looked at the intricate and luxurious main family mansion again, they felt things were no longer simple. A sense of gravity settled over them.

Dick sighed. "Ah, great families. Ah, strife. Ah, stormy conflicts."

Eve said with calm composure, "This is fate, and the gifts of fate always come with a price."

Grace comforted the other two. "Dear, let's be open-minded. While conflict objectively exists in everything, it is also the driving force of development. We should learn to face struggles head-on to better ourselves."

"You're right. So I need to adjust my mindset and strive for my dream of becoming the First Steward."

"Hey, you stole my line ahead of time?" Grace exclaimed in mock anger. "Then when it's my turn to make a bold statement, won't I have to say my dream is to become the Second Steward?"

The current Second Steward, standing nearby and hearing everything: "..."

He raised his cane and bonked each of the three children, who were taking turns performing a comedy routine, on the head.

"Such three noisy little flower buds," Sandro said, grinding his teeth somewhat ungentlemanly. "Get inside, all of you."

The three of them giggled and scampered back to the front of the line.

Thanks to this playful interlude, Eve managed to ease her nerves a little. No matter how the future unfolded, setting foot inside the Medici mansion and entering the family's central power base would be a huge turning point in her life.

She turned her head to look at her two companions.

Though they had only known each other for a few days—Grace had even introduced herself just that morning—Eve felt as familiar and close to them as if they had met long ago.

In the original story, their endings were vastly different. After Eve's death, Grace was chosen as the successor fiancée for the Medici heir, but she refused the family's arrangement and was exiled from the capital planet's core power circle. Fortunately, Grace's refusal won the admiration of the First Steward. With that lady's mediation and after gaining experience on subordinate planets, a more mature Grace was given another chance to return to the capital planet. After the reshuffling of family power following the war with the Insectoids, she successfully inherited the position of First Steward.

As for Dick, he fell in love with the young lady of the main family and desperately helped her conspire to seize the family head position. Ultimately, due to a failed internal coup, the young lady was placed under house arrest, and her faction, including Dick, was sent to the Insectoid battlefield, their fates unknown.

Eve let out a soft sigh, thinking to herself that these were potential allies she could win over.

The interior of the Medici mansion was just as magnificent and luxurious as the exterior. The color scheme, dominated by gold, white, and blue, did not appear vulgar. The indoor space was vast and lofty, with a circular dome overhead inlaid with stained glass. Sunlight filtering through the glass cast colorful patterns on the pristine white floor. There were also canals around; as they crossed an ornamental stone bridge, Eve noticed the water in the channels was flowing.

The entirety exuded unparalleled luxury, with even the finest details crafted exquisitely and meticulously. In short, the entire Medici main residence screamed one thing: money!

Before they even approached, the crowd could see a middle-aged man seated on a pearl-and-gold throne built like a king’s. To his left stood a boy and a girl around fifteen or sixteen years old, similar in age to the children from the branch families. Behind the throne stood a tall figure shrouded in a silver-gray robe, their gender unclear, with only a chin visible, giving off an air of mystery.

Among those whose faces were visible, all had silver hair and blue eyes, with the men handsome and the women beautiful. The only drawback was too much white in the visual color palette. After staring for a while, Eve felt a faint ache in her eyes.

Sandro walked to the steps, knelt on one knee, and said respectfully, "Good day, Lord Sparti, First Steward, and my noble and beautiful young master and lady. Your radiance, as always, shines like the moon, illuminating the glory of the Medici family."

"I’ve successfully completed my task and brought the children with Psychic abilities above Class B to the main residence. There are seventeen in total, including three who have reached Class A Psychic."

"Well done, Sandro," the middle-aged man on the throne said gently.

The elegant and handsome middle-aged man was the current patriarch of the Medici family, Sparti Medici. The mysterious figure in the silver robe behind him was the elusive First Steward of the Medici family. At this moment, Eve paid no attention to anyone else, her gaze fixed on the young man and woman—or more accurately, on the young man.

These two were Sparti’s children, indeed extraordinarily beautiful, almost otherworldly. The daughter was named Luo Lin Medici, and the son was Cecil Medici—the same fiancé from the original story—Eve’s fiancé.

Disliking Eve, Cecil often made things difficult for her during their time in the family, frequently humiliating her. After entering the First Empire Academy, he openly pursued the heroine Alice, dragging Eve’s pride through the dirt.

Unable to oppose the engagement arranged by his father, Cecil took out his frustrations on Eve. Eventually, upon obtaining evidence of her poisoning attempt, he acted first without permission, promptly poisoning Eve to death.

Eve glared with dark eyes at Cecil, who looked arrogantly unaware, then took a deep breath and deliberately shifted her secretive gaze away.

Beside her, Grace seemed to sense her emotional turmoil. Her lips parted slightly as she whispered quietly with a hushed tone of concern, "What’s wrong, Eve? You look a bit unwell."

Eve shook her head slightly. "I’m fine."

Eve was now certain: this young master, who had ultimately killed the original Eve in the story, was just luckier—his backing was stronger.

In an instant, a thousand revenge plots flashed through Eve’s mind. She lightly bit the tip of her tongue and quietly devised the most fitting retribution for her future fiancé in her heart.

A house cat won’t survive once it’s thrown out. She would make Cecil suffer the same fate as the original Eve—losing his power and then getting destroyed by that same power.