Chapter 77

Chapter 77

"Arrange personnel for her?"

Ludwig was leaning back in his boss chair, legs crossed, looking at Eve with clear doubt. Perhaps due to his shorter stature, he had a particular fondness for elevated seating. "She stays home all day anyway—what danger could she possibly face? Why does she suddenly need personnel arranged for her?"

He naturally was unwilling to give.

The personnel primarily cultivated by family head Oliver were alchemists. Although they had established numerous enterprises on Black Star and could readily hire mercenaries when needed, their strength inevitably fell short compared to the other three great families.

Yet Eve specifically requested individuals with exceptional combat skills—precisely the type of personnel the family lacked most.

As for the previous training ground sparring match, since family head Oliver wasn’t the one getting beaten, even with holographic replays, it was impossible to fully recreate the intensity of the situation. As the victim who had been soundly beaten, Ludwig firmly believed nothing could threaten Eve in terms of combat prowess.

The two people he might send might not even be as skilled as she was.

He casually picked up a document from the desk, using it to shield his face. His sarcasm practically seeped through the black text on white paper report as he said irritably, "I’m not giving her anyone. If you ask me, just give her an advanced mecha instead. Relying on others is worse than relying on yourself!"

Eve couldn't be bothered to bargain with him. She simply turned her gaze to the other authority figure present. Without saying a word, her dark eyes gazed intently at him, filled with a mix of defiance, anticipation, and subtle encouragement—enough to make family head Oliver feel the pressure. He rubbed his temples and said helplessly, "Lud, no one can predict unexpected situations. Besides, I already promised Lu Qing beforehand. Breaking contracts is improper behavior."

"But—"

Family head Oliver’s tone grew more serious as he sternly said, "Ludwig!"

After a brief standoff between father and son, it was the son who eventually yielded. Ludwig reluctantly said, "Fine, I’ll assign them. But let me be clear—people with high combat effectiveness and speed are rare. Agile-types are naturally few in number."

"I only need two," Eve interjected.

"What can two people possibly accomplish?" Ludwig scoffed, now even more convinced she was just causing trouble. "Suit yourself. I can afford to give that many."

The optical printer smoothly produced a new document. Ludwig quickly scribbled out the order, stamped it with his personal seal, and handed it to Eve. "Take this to the personnel department to assign the people. I specifically picked skilled ones for you—don’t say I deliberately made things difficult for you later."

Since Ludwig had agreed and family head Oliver was still present, Eve wasn’t worried about him playing tricks. She smiled, accepted the dispatch order, carefully tucked it away, and said, "Thank you, then."

Ludwig snorted coldly, couldn't be bothered to expose how she usually addressed him by name directly. He simply found her hypocritical and fickle.

The two people assigned to Eve were indeed elite—Ludwig hadn’t cut corners there. After watching the supervisor in the personnel department playback recordings of their recent training sessions, Eve nodded in satisfaction.

Their only shortcoming was their lack of actual battle experience; they were still relatively new. But that didn’t matter, because Eve hadn’t sought out speed-oriented individuals for their fighting prowess. If she wanted combat effectiveness, why not just ask the family head for a Mythological Mecha and handle things herself?

What she needed was their good awareness and speed—no unnecessary actions, just timely information delivery.

The day after securing the personnel, Eve returned to the bar where alchemists gathered. It happened to be a Saturday, and though it hadn’t been long since her last meeting with Gu Zhaoxi, since the Saturday appointment hadn’t been canceled, Eve showed up as usual.

Both acted as if their previous brief conflict had never happened. Gu Zhaoxi even greeted Eve initiatively when she arrived, seemingly having completely forgotten that not long ago, she had prepared an Alchemical Cipher at the same table to deal with her.

But Gu Zhaoxi had always acted on whims. Eve considered it even payback for previously snatching her work badge during their first encounter and didn’t bother holding a grudge.

Today, Eve wore simple pants and a shirt, forgoing the flashy dressing up from before. As a regular now, there was no need to put on appearances.

As soon as she sat down, Gu Zhaoxi looked with interest at her new ear accessory. "Changed your earring?"

Eve’s black hair had grown slightly longer recently, tied neatly behind her head, making the slender pendant on her earlobe clearly visible. Made of ordinary titanium, it was densely engraved with functional arrays composed of Alchemical Ciphers. Written using special solutions, the entire earring shimmered with an orange-gold glow.

"Much more high-end than the previous one," Gu Zhaoxi remarked. "Finally looking somewhat like an alchemist with some status."

Eve touched her earring but didn’t respond. Instead, she opened her notebook, preparing to list the questions she’d encountered that week for Gu Zhaoxi to answer one by one.

Her aptitude for Alchemy was remarkably high. Perhaps because she had started learning from Cionanado’s manuscripts, her foundation was exceptionally solid. The deeper she delved, the more evident her conceptual clarity became.

Gu Zhaoxi glanced at the questions—there were nearly half fewer than she had anticipated under the best circumstances. Even the questions presented were accompanied by meticulous personal annotations. The neat and tidy handwriting revealed the girl’s diligent efforts.

Gifted, hardworking, well-resourced, and, most importantly, young.

Gu Zhaoxi sighed sincerely. "Honestly, you might just become the first in over a decade to successfully advance to Four-Star rank. If word of your talent gets out, the alchemy world might think the one in the Divine Realm has finally found salvation after endless suffering and abandoned his rebellious disciple to take on a new student."

Eve: "...In a way, that’s not entirely wrong."

Unintentional words struck a chord. She had almost forgotten that detail.

Somewhat guiltily about benefiting from a special advantage meant for someone else’s disciple, Eve rubbed her nose and changed the subject. "So, all these years, no one has successfully advanced to Senior Alchemist? Is it just the Empire, or is it the same outside? Have you looked into it?"

"We have, but nothing unusual came up. It’s just that no one has met the promotion requirements," Gu Zhaoxi said. "In any case, this has contributed to an excessive worship around the one in the Divine Realm. Ever since he disappeared from public view sixteen years ago due to his conflict with Agnes, some have pessimistically claimed that the gods have abandoned alchemists—and the current situation seems to reinforce that."

"But that’s complete nonsense. The fools in the alchemy world are used to worshipping him as a god. There’s no hope for them."

Gu Zhaoxi patted the table, smiling kindly at Eve. "Let’s ignore those discouraging words. I think you have the potential to break this curse—come on, let’s continue your studies."

Eve: "......"

She had no reason to refuse Gu Zhaoxi’s sudden teaching enthusiasm. Respectfully, she accepted the notebook with both hands. "Yes, Senior."

Before heading out, she had another appointment. Once the day’s lesson was nearly complete, Eve organized the guidance and her thoughts before saying, "Maybe we should end here for today."

Gu Zhaoxi took a sip of honeyed water to moisten her throat, her pale green eyes fixed on Eve. "Do you have other matters?"

Eve nodded. "I have another appointment."

"Quite the busy schedule," Gu Zhaoxi waved dismissively; she had no interest in others’ private affairs. "Then we’ll stop here. Bye."

Eve adjusted her mask, expressed her thanks, but didn’t leave the bar.

The powerful silencing array Gu Zhaoxi had used last time left a deep impression on her. Before leaving, Eve had carefully observed and noticed that nearly every table was engraved with sound-proofing arrays. Though not as potent as Gu Zhaoxi’s, they were more than sufficient for confidentiality.

Satisfied with the privacy of this venue dedicated to private transactions among alchemists, Eve had chosen it as the meeting spot.

A woman wrapped in a black raincoat sat in the corner. Perhaps finding it too odd to keep her hood up indoors, she had lowered the wide brim and swapped her full-face mask for a half-face mask, revealing sharp-eyed and sharp-browed features.

Her black hair was tied up high, and her hands were clasped in front of her abdomen. Her posture had a subtle blend of noble composure and the wariness of a wild animal straying into human society.

Eve pulled out a chair and sat across from Qin Mengde, greeting her warmly first. "Good afternoon."

Qin Mengde disliked small talk and got straight to the main topic. "You called me here—is there something you need?"

"There are indeed matters we didn’t have time to discuss last time. That’s why I asked you here today—to confirm something."

Eve lightly crossed her hands, resting her chin on them. "When do you plan to return to the royal family? And does the Cavendish family know about this decision?"

The answer seemed simple, but it affected her subsequent plans. Although eager to befriend Qin Mengde, she had no intention of fully offending the Cavendish family.

She still didn’t know if Qin Mengde would follow the original story’s path this time. It would be best to stay on good terms with both sides. If not, she didn’t want to be implicated by the other’s actions.

"Soon. The royal family wants me back before I come of age," Qin Mengde fell silent for a moment before adding quietly, "They already knew."

Eve was taken aback. She knew "they" referred to the Cavendish family, but Qin Mengde’s visibly somber mood made her heart skip a beat.

What did they know? That Qin Mengde was leaving soon, or... that she was originally of royal blood?

The original novel devoted little ink to supporting characters. Even the antagonist, Fourth Princess, was primarily depicted for her misdeeds and the protagonist’s countermeasures. Her background, mindset, and past were scarcely mentioned, leaving Eve to speak with Qin Mengde with apparent confidence while mostly guessing and inferring.

"They knew from the very beginning that I was a royal child."

Fortunately, Qin Mengde wasn't one to keep people in suspense and straightforwardly conveyed the entire sentence to Eve. However, this was merely a courtesy as a potential partner—she disliked complaining and had no intention of elaborating further on other matters.

Eve understood this well. She turned her head slightly, thinking that it was indeed as she had suspected.

The reason the Cavendish family allowed someone as peculiar as Qin Mengde to stay by Isabella's side was undoubtedly because they had thoroughly investigated Qin Mengde's background.

Unlike the Oliver Family, background checks fell under government jurisdiction. The Cavendish family controlled military-level information systems, making it exceedingly simple to investigate anyone. Even if the person grew up on a garbage star, they had ways to dig up everything about their family going back three generations, including full names and origins.

Correspondingly, having already read the original novel, Eve was well aware of why the Cavendish family—which had produced an empress and a crown prince—would still be backing Qin Mengde.

"Alright," Eve said, "you'd better get these matters sorted out soon, because I've already figured out how to put you out there."

"So quickly?" Qin Mengde was somewhat surprised by the other's efficiency.

Eve smiled proudly: "Of course. In war, speed is everything. But I recall you should have fairly high permissions in the Cavendish family's system, right? Before you leave, could you do me a favor?"

"What favor?"

"Help me look up someone in the military simulation combat system," Eve said. "Her name is Maria Medici."

As soon as these words were spoken, Eve knew it might very well expose her true identity. However, military regulations were excessively strict, and after all this time, this was the closest she had ever gotten to the heavily guarded gates of the military. She absolutely could not miss this opportunity to leverage it.

When she left the Medici family back then, she had mostly tidied up all affairs, leaving few doubts behind. Among them was the commander constructed from data stacks in the simulated combat system.

The figures in the system were all synthesized from genetic blueprints left behind by senior experts, combined with technological means, so it wasn’t strange for them to feel real. But Maria was not among them—there was an allure about her.

At the time, Eve’s understanding of this world was still too unclear, and she underestimated the mutual attraction between possessors of the same type of Spiritual State. She merely regarded this impulsive yearning as admiration and reverence for Commander Maria’s charisma. But after three months apart, she began to notice something was off.

There was indeed an attraction between Maria and her, but the attraction between Spiritual States is built upon two living Spiritual States.

...She truly had doubts about this.