Chapter 73

Chapter 73

The black velvet cloak brushed against the low-lying plants. From the silhouette, it was clear that the person who had just emerged from Louis's Alchemy Tower was a woman.

Rustle, rustle.

She walked at a leisurely pace, her movements radiating an innate grace. Midway, she narrowed her eyes and glanced up at the sky. The sunlight illuminated a dignified and elegantly mature, unadorned face—it was Mrs. Luo.

After she left, a thick tree trunk not far away trembled slightly. Eve was perched on it, her form concealed by a Luna Butterfly. Having witnessed Mrs. Luo's entire departure from the Alchemy Tower, she thoughtfully rubbed her chin.

She had slipped out of her room moments earlier, hoping to learn something from Louis. As a Five-Star Alchemist, he undoubtedly knew much about the inner workings of the Oliver Family, and with his weak magical defenses, approaching Louis seemed like a shortcut.

But Eve hadn't expected Mrs. Luo to visit Louis as well. Though unsure of her purpose, Eve instinctively hid herself and quietly observed from the shadows.

The woman should be far enough away by now.

Eve lightly touched the ground with her toes, landing silently on the crunchy bed of fallen leaves. She stepped forward and knocked on the door of the Alchemy Tower, calling out in a lowered voice, "Is anyone there?"

There was no response from inside.

Something was wrong—extremely wrong. The alchemical array in front of the door still glowed faintly, meaning it was fully functional. Normally, anyone approaching the door would automatically trigger the array, alerting Louis inside the tower that someone had arrived.

It shouldn’t be like this—after several knocks, there was still no movement from within.

Eve placed her hand on the door and, without further hesitation, pushed open the heavy door.

The interior of the Alchemy Tower was as mysteriously still as she remembered. All items were neatly arranged on the shelves, and there were no signs of a struggle. Frowning, she skirted around the long table and moved further inside.

As soon as she stepped in, Eve froze.

The alchemist in dark green robes was slumped over the table, head down, unconscious. Eve moved silently closer and lifted the upper half of his face. As expected, it was Louis Oliver.

Eve checked his breathing—he was alive, but faint, and his complexion was poor.

She didn’t think anyone could harm the Oliver Family's only Five-Star Alchemist right under their noses, yet the evidence was undeniable: Louis had indeed been knocked unconscious, and the most likely culprit was Mrs. Luo, who had just left.

But why would Mrs. Luo target Louis?

Eve felt no sympathy to spare for him. She pressed her fingers to Louis's brow, and her cold, sharp psychic energy invaded his mind like frost. Louis let out a weak cry and woke up, but his eyes remained dazed and confused—Eve had forcibly roused him only to interrogate him, with no intention of helping him beyond this.

After all, if Mrs. Luo had indeed targeted him, helping Louis would mean opposing Mrs. Luo.

Louis's eyes were vacant, his unseeing eyes now shadowed as if by nightmares under her control. His lips trembled, as though he were mumbling something.

Eve leaned in to listen but caught only broken phrases: "They made me do it," "I'm sorry," and at times, his expression turned fierce as he muttered, "I did nothing wrong." She listened for a long time but couldn’t make sense of his incoherent ramblings.

She had come here specifically to ask Louis about the incident involving Mrs. Luo's poisoning. The toxin contained some components that couldn’t be analyzed, and based on her analysis, Eve believed they originated from a living source.

Although understanding this might not change the final outcome, she instinctively felt it was a crucial piece of the puzzle.

Beyond that, Eve also wanted to delve deeper into the Oliver Family's poison techniques.

Poisons and Alchemy differed in many ways. For instance, poisons had no special skill required—anyone could create a potent poison with the right steps and ingredients. Alchemy, however, required specific alchemical processes and had a higher barrier, making poisons more clandestine and harder to detect compared to alchemical potions.

Of course, while poisons were clandestine, their effects were also often less refined. In the face of Alchemy, which could achieve near-miraculous results, countering poisons was almost straightforward.

Throughout the empire, only the Oliver Family's poisons were an exception. Famous even among alchemical families, their poisons were exceptionally potent, far exceeding the limits of ordinary alchemical potions. This was another reason Eve had come to the Oliver Family—she wanted to learn their poison arts.

Unfortunately, these were truly secret techniques, rarely taught to outsiders. So Eve had come here to test the waters and see if she could learn what she sought.

She pressed down on Louis's shoulder, and as her psychic energy invaded and scoured his mind, he gradually calmed down. She then said, "Alright, settle down—no more mental resistance. Now, answer my questions."

-

Luo Yunyi, drawing her cloak around herself, gracefully returned to the main castle, where a maid who had been waiting there removed her cloak. She wore a pearl-grey gown underneath and, after smoothing her hair, entered the castle through a side door.

Muffled voices, raised as if arguing, came from the front hall.

She signaled the surrounding servants to remain silent and walked over to see what was happening. Outside the main door, two young men were speaking in low tones, standing slightly apart. One had golden hair as bright as the sun, the other silver hair tied back, as pure as moonlight. They made a handsome pair, though the atmosphere between them seemed far from harmonious.

The golden-haired young man, leaning on the railing, appeared displeased with what the other was saying, his expression stormy. It was her usually willful younger son.

Ludwig, already irritated about his brother's called-off engagement, suddenly noticed a familiar figure approaching behind Cecil. He tilted his head and, recognizing Mrs. Luo, called out, "Mom."

Luo Yunyi acknowledged him with a hum.

Cecil also turned around and greeted Mrs. Luo with a respectful nod, saying, "Good day, Mrs. Luo."

When interacting normally, Cecil's striking appearance alone was enough to win everyone's goodwill. So when Mrs. Luo approached, she affectionately took his arm and said, "Oh, it's little Cecil, our handsome little clematis. How rare! What brings you here today?"

The Oliver Family and the Medici family weren’t particularly close, only growing familiar after the verbal marriage agreement between the two families.

However, Luo Yunyi shared her niece's temperament—always willing to be indulgent to those with good looks.

Ludwig clearly knew his mother's tendencies and said awkwardly, "Mom, he's here to..." He glanced around; people occasionally passed by, and the thought of what Cecil had come to discuss stoked his irritation. He pushed Cecil irritably and said, "Forget it, let's talk inside."

Cecil merely scoffed, aware that Ludwig was embarrassed and upset about his brother's rejected engagement.

He didn’t deign to argue. In his view, since he was here representing the Medici family today, there was no need to stoop to Ludwig's level as a "junior."

Cecil naturally offered his arm to Mrs. Luo and, as they walked inside, explained his purpose. Of course, he deflected everything to his family's arrangements, portraying himself as a mere mouthpiece, while Ludwig followed behind them, arms crossed and expression dark.

Mrs. Luo handled the situation far better than Ludwig. Even as Cecil all but voiced his disdain for Lorca, she merely nodded understandingly without committing to anything, saying lightly, "Congratulations to Miss Luo Lin on her breakthrough. However, this matter is significant—there’s no need to rush a decision."

What did she mean by that?

Cecil felt a twitch of unease in his eyelid.

He probed jokingly, "It was only a verbal agreement between our families. What’s so significant about it? Or perhaps you wouldn’t mind Brother Lorca entering into a matrilocal marriage?"

Luo Yunyi lifted the hem of her skirt, her gaze briefly sweeping over her younger son's angry, anxious face. She sighed almost imperceptibly before turning back to Cecil with a tolerant smile, looking at him as though he were a misbehaving child. She said cheerfully, "Why would I mind? Luo Lin is a wonderful girl. If marrying her means Lorca has to join your family, he’d still be coming out ahead."

"Besides," she added, "things in your family aren’t fully settled yet, are they? Young people tend to speak too absolutely and too recklessly."

Luo Yunyi paused, her gentle eyes resting on Cecil like a skinning knife, as if she had seen right through the scheming beneath the siblings' concerned facade. He felt inexplicably uneasy, his cheeks tightening slightly.

"Since you’re now the heir apparent," she said meaningfully, "you shouldn’t say things like 'it’s just a verbal agreement.' Otherwise, others might think you’re easily fooled."

She added pointedly, "Alright, you can stop escorting me here—I’m not so old I can’t walk. Little Cecil, you rarely have the chance to visit the Oliver Family, do you? Since you’re here, why not stay a couple of days? Though I worry you might not find it to your taste, given how reluctant you seem to be related to us."

"...How could that be?" Cecil replied stiffly, sweat beading on his forehead as he forced a polite smile.

Mrs. Luo patted his hand, signaling him to let go, and left with a light, "Take good care of your Brother Cecil," to her son. Cecil felt a heavy weight on his shoulder—Ludwig had slung an arm around him, deliberately pressing down hard. His angelic face showed clear hostility and malice, a smirk playing on his lips as he forcefully pulled Cecil toward the door.

"Let’s go, Brother Cecil," he sneered. "Take a good look around. After all, I doubt you’ll dare go back these next couple of days."

"..." Cecil shot him a glare.

Mrs. Luo's words tangled up his thoughts, but upon closer reflection, it seemed she hadn’t actually said anything definite.

He was now worried that failing to handle calling off the engagement would disappoint his family, while also feeling uneasy about Mrs. Luo’s ambiguous tone. She appeared thoroughly satisfied with Luo Lin, and he couldn’t tell whether her remark about accepting Lorca marrying into the family was sincere or just a joke. Even after she left, he stood frozen in place.

Ludwig understood what Cecil was anxious about and somewhat looked down on his nervous demeanor, but unable to defy his mother’s orders, he could only let out a cold laugh. He steered the stiff, wooden-like Cecil forcefully outside.

-

"Please pass this paper to that person."

Eve handed the paper in her hand to the bartender behind the counter.

She had returned to the bar that served as a secret meeting place for alchemists.

Before leaving last time, Gu Zhaoxi, taking into account Eve’s special circumstances within the Oliver Family, had specifically instructed her that if she needed to communicate anything under normal circumstances, she could write in Alchemical Cipher on paper and have the bartender pass it along. This bar was, after all, opened by one of her students, so communication with her remained smooth.

But while guidance in Alchemy was one thing, consulting on other matters would cost extra.

Eve wasn’t there to buy information—she was there to verify it.

Louis had not been in his right mind during her interrogation. After some investigation, Eve discovered he had been injected with a short-term mental toxin. Though not as vicious as the one used on Lorca, long-term use could still cause confusion and immense suffering. That was why his answers to her questions had been disjointed and incoherent. Not daring to take them at face value, she had wrote it down and now asked Gu Zhaoxi to verify the details.

In truth, she could have simply asked Gu Zhaoxi to disclose everything directly, but the cost would have been too high—more than she could afford. So she settled for the next best thing: painstakingly gathering information herself and seeking authentication.

Still, the actions of the previous generation of the Oliver Family… were far too sinister.

"Certainly, ma’am. Please wait a moment."

The bartender placed the note into a specially designed metal tube, asked Eve to wait briefly, then went to the back to check with their superior about the expected response time.

While the bartender relayed the request, Eve sat at the edge of the bar, propping her chin in her hand. Beside her seat was a one-way window overlooking the dazzling, bustling capital outside.

Suddenly, something unusual caught her eye.

In the alley sandwiched between two department stores across the street, a figure shrouded in a black robe was hurrying toward some destination, moving furtively with a sneaky vibe. Strangely, this person was also highly perceptive; even through the one-way glass, they seemed to sense they were being watched. A sharp gaze shot straight toward the bar.

A normal person would have averted their eyes out of respect, but Eve was no normal person. She only slightly toned down her direct stare and continued observing out of the corner of her eye.

In that brief moment when the robed figure looked up, though cautious, a glimpse of their face was visible beneath the hood. Dark eyes, a silver mask—Eve had only ever seen one person dressed like that, aside from herself.

—The lady's maid of the Cavendish family’s eldest daughter, she vaguely recalled her surname was Qin.

Eve had only met her once and remembered her distinctive attire more clearly than her full name.

But wasn’t she a lady's maid? What was she doing here alone?

Or was Isabella nearby as well?

Eve tapped her knuckles twice on the table. Hesitating for less than two seconds between "waiting for the bartender’s message" and "risk following her," she quickly made a decision.

"Please let the bartender from earlier know that I have to step out for a while. I’ll be back later—no need to cancel the request."

"Ah... Ma’am, you—?"

The words flew past like the wind. The bartender covering the shift looked up in surprise, only to see a figure in a distinctive black-and-white outfit disappear through the door.