Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"You're saying you actually stayed by that crystal ball and even managed to catch Cecil?"

Ludwig had just finished visiting his brother late at night, taken a comfortable bath, and was about to go to sleep when he received word from his subordinate that the Grand Alchemist had something to report.

Now, sitting in a high-backed chair in his bedroom, wearing dark green pajamas, he rested his head in one hand while glaring displeased at the brown-haired alchemist bowing respectfully before him.

Unfortunately, the alchemist failed to notice his young master’s unhappy expression and continued eagerly, "Yes, young master! This is truly a lucky break!"

"Sigh…" Ludwig rubbed his temples, realizing for the first time that extreme speechlessness could actually make one laugh. He asked coldly, "But what does any of this—whether it’s Cecil’s brand-new fiancée or his feuding with his sister—have to do with me?"

"Huh?"

The alchemist was stunned. Wasn’t his young master always the most eager to gossip about the various great families?

How come he didn’t seem very happy hearing such juicy gossip today?

He stole a glance at Ludwig’s expression and suddenly found it hard to read his young master’s mood.

Seeing his subordinate’s foolish look, Ludwig felt compelled to give him a clue. "Steve, do you know why, even though you’re a Three-Star Grand Alchemist, you haven’t been promoted all these years and are still stuck being my errand boy?"

His brows furrowed gloomily, betraying a sense of boredom and irritation as he suppressed his temper. "I do enjoy interesting stories, but look what time it is. You dragged me out of bed just to tell me things that have absolutely nothing to do with me. I really don’t get it—what difference would it have made to tell me this tomorrow morning? If you keep failing to read the room like this, out of respect for our master-servant relationship, I might just have to help you by gouging out your eyes."

Steve turned pale at these words, sweating profusely, and immediately dropped to his knees, stammering, "S-sorry, young master! I wasn’t thinking clearly!"

Seeing his subordinate shaking like a leaf only annoyed Ludwig further. Impatiently, he kicked out. "Understood? Then get out! Get out now, and come see me tomorrow morning after you’ve cleaned up your act."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Steve scurried out of the room as quickly as he could while still maintaining a semblance of respect, leaving Ludwig alone in his chair, letting out a slow, heavy breath.

"How can my subordinates be so stupid? It’s hard to believe I keep people like this around me. It’s so degrading," he muttered to himself, rubbing his temples. "Maybe it really is time to bring in some new blood around here."

The next morning, Grace and Dick were just as clueless about the shattered crystal ball. Eve thoughtfully twirled a strand of her hair near her temple. "So, the crystal ball must have broken sometime after you two fell asleep but before I returned?"

***

"Then it was probably done by one of the other children in Cloud Residence," Dick guessed.

At night, aside from the children who lived there, only a few servants stayed in Cloud Residence to care for the young masters and misses. By evening, the servants had already returned to their own quarters to sleep and were forbidden from entering the upper three floors where the family lived unless summoned.

Even the stewards couldn’t break this rule, which was why Luo Lin had previously told Eve she could come find her in the library or alchemy lab at night—during those hours, the Fourth Steward wasn’t by her side attending to her.

The time Grace and Dick returned last night definitely fell within the forbidden hours for servants. Each of the upper three floors had its own access permissions; the permissions for other branch family children ended below their floor. The only ones who could access this floor and above were the two main family children.

Eve was certain Luo Lin had a good alibi, but the other two didn’t know that.

She didn’t disclose Luo Lin’s whereabouts that night, only stating firmly, "I can guarantee Luo Lin didn’t have time to mess with anything last night."

"Then it must have been Cecil," Grace shrugged, looking annoyed. "If it was the young master, it’s not hard to understand. He’s the type to stir up trouble for no reason. Casually breaking something is pretty normal for him."

"Honestly, just breaking something without making a huge scene that kept me and Grace awake is already him holding back," Dick added.

Eve stared at the shattered pieces of the crystal ball for a while longer, then shook her head. "I’m afraid it might be more serious than that."

If Cecil had wanted to cause trouble, given his personality, he wouldn’t have stopped at just breaking an expensive crystal ball. At the very least, he would have caused some other disturbance or disrupted the sleep of others on this floor.

Although it was possible he had done just that, and an exhausted Grace and Dick had slept through it. Eve instinctively felt it was safer to assume the worst of Cecil—to think of him as more nasty and shady—since it likely wouldn’t be wrong.

But the worst-case scenario was that their young master’s curiosity was unfortunately too strong, and he had used the crystal ball. Because the instruction manual placed beside the silver base, though carefully returned to its original position, had clearly been moved.

They had initially placed the manual first and then the base, with one corner of the manual tucked under the base. But now, the manual lay flat and smooth on the table, with no creases from being pressed under the base.

What could Cecil possibly have asked? Eve didn’t know, but that guy happened to know quite a lot.

If the crystal ball really was strange—for example, if it could transmit the user’s thoughts—then Eve could only hope Cecil was as airheaded as he appeared and hadn’t leaked any critical family information.

When she entered the classroom later, Eve immediately made eye contact with Cecil, who then deliberately looked away a bit too quickly.

Damn it.

Eve’s heart sank with clarity, feeling genuine annoyance toward this perpetually troublesome young master for the first time.

Why did Cecil always have to cause problems for others?

She felt a wave of anger but didn’t want to let her emotions take control. Instead, she quickly walked to her seat, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

Don’t get angry, don’t get angry. Getting angry only hurts yourself, and no one will take your place.

Rather than fuming uselessly, it was better to calm down and think carefully about what to do next, given the situation.

After taking several deep breaths, Eve finally calmed down. Her eyes shifted slightly as she thought of a solid plan to find a reasonable excuse to temporarily leave the Medici family within a year.

According to the interstellar education system, to enter university, students not only had to pass entrance exams but also complete a practical learning project, usually conducted on a nearby resource-poor planet.

Great families were no exception. Although their children either received elite training within the family or attended expensive private aristocratic schools, their practical projects were generally conducted under the guidance of family elders, accompanied by senior family members.

Since these were barren planets, most were located in the uncharted territories of the star system. If the plan went smoothly, Eve could use the practical project to deliberately "fake her disappearance," then take a starship to Black Star and make contact with the Oliver Family through the Alchemist Association there.

But there were some issues with this—how to evade the Medici family’s subsequent pursuit, how to maintain communication with the family while away, and how to smoothly return afterward. Although Eve had a rough idea of how to handle these, there were still some logistical issues that needed preparation.

Although Black Star also had an Alchemist Association, due to cost and resource limitations, it only offered certification exams for Three-Star and above. Moreover, the exams were more difficult than on regular planets, meaning Eve would need to reach at least the level of a Grand Alchemist before she could begin her plan.

If she was lucky, she might even get to meet the female lead, Alice, ahead of the plot at the Oliver Family.

In love triangle/polyamory Mary Sue novels, the first male lead to appear was usually either the main love interest or the most unhinged among all the suitors.

The novel "Empire’s Exclusive Darling" was no exception—the first suitor to appear was the craziest of them all, Ludwig Oliver.

According to the plot, after the female lead escaped her original family, she took a cargo starship to a large Black Star, where she accidentally obtained the legacy of a miraculous deceased Grand Alchemist, studied on her own to become a Three-Star Grand Alchemist, then aced the Alchemist Association’s exams. Coincidentally, Ludwig was checking on his family’s businesses on that planet, took an interest in her at first sight, and brought her home. At the Oliver Family, the female lead revealed her S-level spiritual power and Spiritual State. After signing a three-year work contract, she was nominally adopted as a foster daughter, receiving the family’s resources and careful nurturing.

Eve didn’t dislike the female lead Alice—on the contrary, she had liked her a lot while reading the book. As mentioned before, although this was a Mary Sue novel, the female lead was a kind, hardworking, and upright girl. Her success wasn’t entirely dependent on the resources provided by the male leads and suitors; it was undeniably tied to her own efforts.

Although, in comparison, the novel’s writing of the rival girls was somewhat sloppy.

Eve was also curious—if she didn’t actively cause trouble for the female lead this time, could they get along well?

After all, in the original work, whether to highlight the female lead’s friendly nature or to contrast the female antagonist’s two-facedness, Alice had been quite impressed and fond of this ice-cold rival at their first meeting.

Moreover, since Alice was the object of Ludwig’s crush, building a good relationship with her would undoubtedly benefit Eve’s future life laying low at the Oliver Family, serving as a double insurance.

The first insurance was Lorca. If worst came to worst and the alchemy formula couldn’t save him, if he still ended up killed off by the plot, then Alice would be her final safeguard.

Thinking about the inevitably busy year ahead, Eve couldn’t help but sigh softly.

"Eve!"

The instructor for mechanical engineering class today was a guest lecturer highly skilled in mechanical structures. From the start of class, this temporary teacher had noticed Eve’s daydreaming. After tolerating it for most of the class, seeing that she was still half-present and half-elsewhere even as the class was about to end, he angrily called her name and ordered her to come to the front and label the key parts of the mech diagram he had just explained.

"Yes, teacher."

Suddenly called upon, Eve instinctively responded first. She stood up and carefully examined the projected mech schematic. Fortunately, she had done the reading in advance—this was just the most basic X-101 combat mech in the interstellar curriculum. She cast a reassuring glance toward the worried Grace and Dick, then slowly made her way to the podium.

As she passed by, the guest lecturer eyed her suspiciously several times, unsure whether the girl was putting on a calm front or if he had misjudged her—perhaps she had been paying attention after all.

But all he received was an easygoing smile from Eve as she walked past. He raised his eyebrows sternly and put on a serious expression: "Cut the grinning."

Eve: "...Okay."

A little exasperated, she quickly labeled the mech's structural diagram. Originally, the teacher had only expected her to mark out major sections like the control room, power room, and weapon systems. To his surprise, she even detailed the capacity of each compartment, the specific installation and removal of weapons, and even some replaceable utility rooms. Once finished, Eve said confidently, "Teacher, I'm done."

Teacher: "You weren’t zoning out in class?"

Eve coughed lightly and shamelessly replied, "Teacher, I may have looked distracted, but I was actually listening carefully."

Teacher: "But the utility rooms you labeled are content I haven’t taught yet—that’s for next class."

Eve: "...I previewed the material!"

The mech instructor, who looked like an immortal old Taoist master with a stern, no-nonsense aura, his long eyebrows twitched and he snorted. It was unclear whether he believed Eve or not, but in the end, he let her return to her seat.

Eve: QAQ