Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Two weeks of training had begun to show results—she still had energy to spare even while pushing both a person and a wheelchair.

Midway through, Lorca realized it might not be appropriate to have a young woman still in high heels push his wheelchair. He considered standing up to lighten Eve’s load.

Eve was quite surprised; she had assumed Lorca used a wheelchair because he had limited lower-body mobility. "You can actually stand up?"

"Yes, I’m just too physically weak to walk for long periods," Lorca replied, coughing twice and pulling his thick cloak tighter around himself. "I should be fine standing for a bit."

Eve’s eye twitched at his use of "should be fine." She weighed the consequences of exerting herself a little more against the risk of the Oliver family’s eldest son passing out at the Medicis’ and decided it was better to err on the side of caution. She’d rather work a little harder than take that risk.

She placed a hand on Lorca’s shoulder and firmly eased him back into the wheelchair. "Don’t worry about it; just stay seated. I can manage."

Lorca’s cloak was made from some unknown exotic animal fur—soft, warm, and incredibly pleasant to the touch. It took all of Eve’s self-control not to give it a little rub.

Standing behind him, she gripped the wheelchair handles and, with a light and skillful lift, maneuvered it effortlessly. A faint, subtle fragrance drifted from the girl’s movements behind him, lingering briefly. Before it could fully dissipate, he was already back on the path.

Glancing down, Eve noticed Lorca’s face was slightly flushed. "?"

She glanced at her own strapless cocktail dress, then at Lorca bundled up tightly in his layers, and for the first time felt the stark contrast in their attire.

The Oliver family’s eldest son was dressed in a full, formal suit underneath, wrapped in a furry cloak, with a ribbon tie fastened all the way up to his chin, leaving only his pale, bloodless face exposed.

She had been about to suggest that he didn’t need to bundle up so tightly if he was warm, but she held her tongue.

Better to let someone that frail bundle up.

They were in the garden behind the banquet hall. Through the straight, tall trees, the glittering lights of the front hall were faintly visible, and waves of music washed over them like tides.

With no one else around for the moment, Eve decided to finish her good deed and slowly pushed Lorca back. But after just a couple of steps, she remembered that Lorca preferred quiet environments. His solitary appearance in the deserted secluded garden was likely to escape the noise of the front hall. She hesitated.

Sensing her pause, Lorca mistakenly thought she was concerned about him overhearing her earlier conversation with Cecil. He softly reassured her, "Miss Eve, I arrived late and didn’t really hear what you and Cecil were discussing. There’s no need to worry."

Eve responded with an "Oh," casually adding, "It’s fine; it wouldn’t matter if you had."

"I was just thinking that you might not like the noisy environment in the front hall. Why not text your brother and have him come pick you up?"

She was also in a hurry to get back to find Grace and the others.

"Ludwig isn’t here today. He’s been away from the capital for the past few months, overseeing the family’s businesses on other planets," Lorca apologized before suggesting, "But my cousin is here. I can wait for her. If you have other matters to attend to, you can go back first. I’ll be okay here alone."

His cousin? Who was that again?

Eve stared into space for two seconds before suddenly remembering—Lorca’s mother was from the Luo family.

The step she was about to take away immediately turned back. Clearing her throat lightly, Eve pretended to be concerned. "Then I’ll wait here with you. With your health so fragile, I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving you by yourself."

As if seeing through her motives, Lorca let out a soft chuckle. Eve pretended not to hear and stood steadfastly behind the wheelchair, her expression unchanged.

Her nails lightly tapped against the alloy handles, producing crisp, delicate sounds like subtle urging. With the other person silent and Eve herself not skilled at initiating conversation, only silence passed between them, conveying their moods.

Meanwhile, the perfume carefully selected for Eve by her maid before the banquet gradually wafted into the air.

Lorca, with his poor health, usually kept his distance from overpowering scents or sounds—he disliked noise, was unaccustomed to intense foods, and avoided strong perfumes.

Tonight was the first time he had been so close to a woman’s perfume. To his surprise, it wasn’t as rich as he had expected but carried a light floral scent. For a moment, he felt his breath catch.

When the click of Luo Wenqing’s high heels approached from afar, both of them sighed in relief almost simultaneously.

"Look at that relieved expression on your face. Are you that happy to see me?" Luo Wenqing had always gotten along well with her frail younger cousin and teased him right away.

Mrs. Luo had diverted considerable resources from her maiden family to treat her eldest son, so Luo Wenqing had actually interacted more with Lorca than with Ludwig. And she had always had a fondness for beautiful things, holding a favorable impression of this handsome, gentle cousin.

Hearing this, Eve glanced at Lorca again. What did he mean by "relieved"? Was it so uncomfortable to be with her?

If she had known, she would’ve left him in the ditch earlier.

After taking over the wheelchair handles, Luo Wenqing noticed that the person accompanying him was Eve. It was like finding something by chance after searching far and wide. Though unsure how the two had ended up together, she reacted quickly and immediately took Eve’s right hand, smiling. "Hello, I’m Luo Wenqing. Thank you for taking care of our little Luo tonight, Miss Eve. I must treat you to a meal sometime. How about we add each other as friends now?"

Lorca’s coughing suddenly became violent, startling Luo Wenqing. It took him a while to recover before he helplessly said, "Sister Wenqing, we’re still at the Medici family’s estate."

He knew his cousin’s style all too well.

When Lorca first followed his mother to the Luo family as a child, Luo Wenqing happened to return home. Seeing an exquisitely beautiful unfamiliar child in her house, her eyes lit up instantly. Even Luo Wenzhou following behind couldn’t stop his appearance-obsessed older sister. Luo Wenqing strode over, took Lorca’s hand, and began bombarding him with questions: "Dear brother, how old are this year? What’s your beautiful name? Where do you live? Are you engaged?"

As she got carried away, Mrs. Luo had to deliberately cough twice from upstairs and helplessly call her name: "Wenqing, this is your cousin Lorca. Please tone it down a little."

Now, Lorca used the same helpless tone to call her. Luo Wenqing clearly heard the warning in his words but pretended not to notice, still smiling and holding Eve’s hand without letting go. "Well, what does Sister Eve think?"

Eve was amazed by Luo Wenqing’s rapid shift from "Miss Eve" to "Sister Eve" in just three sentences. Though something felt off, getting to know the Luo family’s eldest young miss could only benefit her.

Saying "Sure," she immediately opened her personal terminal on her wrist, and the two quickly added each other as friends.

Lorca on the side: "..."

Luo Wenqing gleefully looked at the new friend’s name on her terminal. Adding friends was good—she wished she could add every beauty across the stars. Then she remembered what Isabella had told her and added, "By the way, Sister Eve, do you know the eldest young miss of the Cavendish family? Isabella Cavendish. She’d like to meet you too. Can I share your contact with..."

Lorca finally seemed to have had enough and interrupted her somewhat urgently. "Sister Wenqing, we should head back."

He then advised Eve, "My cousin can be rather unrestrained in social matters. If her requests make you uncomfortable, Miss Eve, feel free to refuse directly. There’s no need to oblige."

Rarely seeing the idealized figure act without his usual grace, Eve’s eyes couldn’t help but show confusion.

She knew Luo Wenqing liked beautiful things but hadn’t made the connection to herself, so she didn’t quite understand Lorca’s urgency.

Luo Wenqing was displeased. "How can you say that about my new friend? Give me some face."

"Your personality is well-known throughout the capital. What face is there left to save?" Lorca said flatly.

Seeing she’d been exposed, Luo Wenqing had no choice but to sulkily push her cousin’s wheelchair away. Before leaving, she blew a kiss to Eve and said enthusiastically, "Sister Eve, I really felt like we hit it off at first sight! Let’s hang out sometime!"

Eve replied without changing expression, "Sure, I’ll look forward to our date, Sister Wenqing."

Hearing this, the woman under the streetlight laughed, swaying like blooming flowers.

By the time Eve returned to the front hall, the banquet was nearing its end. She slipped in through a side door and found only Grace still lounging in her seat, looking somewhat bored. Puzzled, she asked, "Where’s Dick?"

"Over there."

Grace pointed at the boy weaving through the crowd like a happy little fish and shrugged. "He’s the social butterfly. He stayed with me until the banquet officially started before running off to chat with people. But Eve, where were you earlier? Cecil came back way before you, and he looked upset when he returned. I thought..."

She made a throat-slitting gesture.

Eve touched her hair, not really wanting to bring up Cecil right now, and proactively changed the subject. "It’s not that bad. Speaking of which, do you remember the Oliver family’s eldest son?"

"Of course. The Second Steward took us to pay our respects to him on the starship," Grace mused for a moment. "Very good-looking and cultured, just doesn’t seem very healthy."

Eve thought it might be more than "not very healthy"—more like as frail as a reed. She recounted what had happened in the secluded garden to Grace, who couldn’t help but laugh.

Grace asked with great amusement, "So, did Luo Wenqing end up giving you Miss Isabella's contact info?"

"No, Lorca was rushing his cousin to leave quickly," Eve said curiously. "Why are you only asking about Isabella and nothing else?"

"Because while you were away and Dick was busy socializing, the Head called me over. She told me that next month we'll have a field project on one of the Cavendish family’s planets. After all, they have the most planets with military bases. If any of us want to go into the military in the future, it's better to start building connections early."

Grace added, "Isabella was there too, but she seemed quite aloof. She only exchanged a brief greeting with me at the beginning, then stood to the side with her arms crossed, just listening quietly."

Eve remembered that Grace was always obsessed with machinery and mechas. She raised an eyebrow, getting it. "You want to go into the military."

"Smart!" Grace snapped her fingers. "I don’t like politics, and after Commander Maria, the Medici family’s influence in the military has been weakening. Now they can only hold on to the Sixth Army. If I want to join the military, the Head would probably support me."

"The Head does indeed intend to expand into the military," Eve said.

In the novel, Sparti originally disapproved of Cecil falling for a common girl and making a big fuss in the family. But after learning that the female lead had already made progress in the military, he immediately changed his attitude and supported Cecil’s pursuit of love.

Now it seemed that Sparti didn’t really care who Cecil liked. He was just eyeing the female lead’s future prospects in the military and using his son’s pursuit to get close to her early on.

Eve rolled her eyes up thoughtfully. "But now that you mention it, I’m not sure what Miss Isabella is thinking either. At most, I can help you get her contact info. After that, it’ll be up to you to handle her."

"No problem," Grace replied confidently.

-

As soon as she got back, after taking a shower, Eve saw that her newly added friend was constantly sending her messages, ranging from random questions like "What are you up to?" to asking how she felt after coming to the capital planet.

She played along with Luo Wenqing’s rambling small talk for quite a while. Both of them seemed to be waiting for the other to bring up something else, creating a super awkward vibe. In the end, Eve admitted she was no match for beating around the bush. After waiting for a long time without Luo Wenqing mentioning Isabella again, she had to ask for Isabella’s contact info herself.

On the other end, Luo Wenqing, seeing that Eve couldn’t keep up the act any longer, laughed so hard she rolled around on her bed big enough for thirty people. She tapped on her terminal to reply to Eve.

Luo Wenqing: So after chatting with me for so long tonight, you just wanted Isabella’s contact info?

Luo Wenqing: That’s so mean, just using me like that

It seemed like her fake-sweet tone had caught the other off guard. It took a while before a slow reply came through.

Eve: So, Wenqing, are you going to refuse me?

She’s flirting?

Luo Wenqing was shocked, feeling like she’d finally found a worthy opponent tonight.

Luo Wenqing: Of course not! If you asked me for the stars or the moon, I’d even fire a star rail cannon to shoot them down for you. What’s one Isabella compared to that?

Luo Wenqing: But, I do have a condition

Eve: Oh… what condition?

Luo Wenqing: No classes this weekend, right?

Luo Wenqing: How about we hang out?

A moment later, Luo Wenqing looked at the new "Okay" that appeared in the chatbox and quickly sent Isabella’s contact info over. Then she opened another chatbox and sent a message with a smile.

Luo Wenqing: Mission accomplished