Chapter 86

Chapter 86

"So you couldn't find me again?"

As she spoke, Eve quickly glanced at Family Head Oliver. She wasn't sure why she felt the need to sneak a peek at his reaction—perhaps it was the innate power dynamic of a client over a contractor. Being called out for skipping work in front of the paying boss made Eve feel particularly mortified.

But in that brief, stolen glance, Family Head Oliver's expression proved even more complex than her own.

For an instant, surprise, curiosity, speechlessness… a myriad of emotions spread unevenly across his face like an overturned palette, finally settling into a look that was almost unbearable to witness.

"All of you, leave," he turned away, seemingly unwilling to look at them, and said calmly with his back turned, "Before you go, call those two in. After all, I still have to clean up the mess you've made."

Eve: "......"

She really wanted to correct him—it was his youngest son’s mess to clean up. She hadn’t been the one to order the killing of the Medici family's Third Steward.

"Forget it," she finally decided it was better to let the actual culprits explain themselves, and instead suggested, "If you find it difficult to handle, you could drag the Luo family down with you. The Cavendishes are better left out, though—they’re not easy to provoke, and they’ve always had good relations with the Medicis."

Family Head Oliver readily accepted her suggestion and promptly decided to drag his in-laws into the mess.

This goes to show that marriage alliances between great families are rather fragile.

So Lorca watched Eve stand up and walk toward him. She looked somewhat helpless and let out a soft sigh as she approached.

Alice had initially wanted to continue clinging to Eve like a helpless koala, but when Eve asked why she was holding an Alchemy textbook but hadn’t attended class, she stammered and eventually slunk away.

One troublemaker dealt with, one more to go.

As the group walked back to the Alchemy lab, Eve crossed her arms and casually asked the young man beside her, "So, what's bothering you today? If you tell me it’s because you stayed up late, I swear I'll hit you."

Lorca lowered his eyes, looking at the three long shadows cast on the ground—who knew if Qin Mengde was just naturally bad at reading the room? Even now, she was following Eve like a ghost, never leaving her side.

So he pursed his lips unhappily and said, "My heart feels uncomfortable."

"From staying up late," Eve said coldly. "Didn’t I tell you to sleep early and keep a regular schedule before I left?"

"......" Lorca had to add, "It’s not a physical heart problem."

Hearing this, Eve finally turned to look at him seriously. Lorca wore a simple white shirt under a light gray fleece jacket, his pale face full of submissiveness and vulnerability. She couldn’t help but pause.

She pulled over Qin Mengde’s bloody, roughly treated hands and held them out in front of Lorca, saying seriously, "Young master, technically, the Oliver family hired me, so I should be responsible for all your health issues. But that definitely doesn’t include your psychological problems. Don’t think you can use the same fake excuse to call me over and order me around. If you want to get my attention, you’d need to be at least this badly hurt."

Lorca’s eyes flickered slightly. Perhaps that was too direct. After a moment’s thought, Eve added, "Of course, I’m not saying you can’t look for me. I just hope you’ll value your health..."

"So," Lorca said with a subtle tone, "as long as I’m injured to this extent, I can look for you?"

"......"

Eve looked at him quietly. "Don’t force me to actually drag you to see a psychologist."

Qin Mengde’s hand was still being held by Eve. Her gaze shifted between the two, and she raised an eyebrow slightly.

Something’s off, she thought.

Originally, she had assumed that what Family Head Oliver said in the office was just a theoretical 'honey trap' (?)—though coming up with such a method was still impressive, she didn’t think it was very feasible.

After all, her partner seemed so hard-hearted, showing no mercy even toward the famously handsome young master of the Medici family. And back when Qin Mengde worked alongside Isabella, she had met the young master of the Oliver family a few times—his temperament wasn’t much better than the Medicis’.

Based on her understanding of Eve, she figured Eve was the type to respond better to sweetness than pressure. At first, Qin Mengde had only laughed off Family Head Oliver’s suggestion.

But after meeting Lorca, she suddenly realized things weren’t that simple.

This person... seemed quite skilled at the soft approach.

In the lab, so quiet you could see dust particles floating in the air, Eve checked Qin Mengde’s hands and then pointed out a few materials, starting to make a potion for limb recovery.

"Your hands were injured down to the tendons and bones. To avoid affecting your dexterity in the future, you’ll need an Alchemy potion to reconnect the tendons and bones."

Her time working in the black market had made Eve extremely familiar with healing remedies. As she placed materials into containers, she instructed, "After drinking the potion, don’t leave right away. Stay in the lab for observation. Once the tendons and bones have healed, go see the family physician for proper treatment and management."

"I understand," Qin Mengde said, maintaining a straight face while enduring a clearly hostile gaze from a certain someone.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the young master of the Oliver family sitting at another table, holding a book as if everything was peaceful, but in reality, he had been quietly watching the interaction between Eve and Qin Mengde. His gloomy expression was like a venomous snake lying in wait in a corner, filled with displeasure and faint hostility at the invasion of his personal space.

Unfortunately, Eve was completely unaware of the tension between these two. After tidying up the equipment, she washed her hands, took her notes, sat down properly, and continued with her own tasks.

She looked like she was advancing her Alchemy research, but in reality, she was secretly using a communication device disguised as an earring to contact Luo Lin.

Cecil had caused such a huge disaster—the Medici family wouldn’t just let it slide. She needed to be the first to know the inside news from the family.

Besides, the Zerg extract that Eve had asked Frank to bring back had already been taken by Gu Zhaoxi’s people. Since this matter had to be handled discreetly away from the Oliver family, she couldn’t use anyone they knew she had contact with, including Qin Mengde and Alice.

After much thought, she decided it was most convenient to ask Gu Zhaoxi’s people for help.

Gu Zhaoxi already knew Eve was investigating the Zerg extract, so there was no need for secrecy between them.

Moreover, the recent series of incidents targeting Louis Oliver had put her on alert. Now that Eve proposed investigating the Zerg extract, whether to find leverage against the Oliver family or out of pure interest, it meant her attention would temporarily shift away from Louis.

And since Gu Zhaoxi intended to protect Louis, she was both relieved and willing to help out, agreeing to all of Eve’s requests.

Lorca sat there for a long time, pretending to be reading his book, but Eve never initiated conversation with him again. He began to feel restless. His green eyes shifted slightly, focusing on Eve, who was sitting under the curtains, half-hidden in shadow.

He noticed she seemed to enjoy nesting in quiet, hidden places like this—seemingly unassuming, yet capable of doing things that threw everyone for a loop.

Eve was like an owl in a story that always took flight at dusk. Before she spread her wings, just looking into her calm black eyes, no one could tell whether this cunning girl was plotting evil schemes, harboring silent wisdom, or simply spacing out and slacking off.

Since he couldn’t focus on the book anyway, he put down the black leather notebook and instead propped his chin in his hand, studying Eve closely.

The gaze was so intense that even Eve, deep in thought while connected to Luo Lin, couldn’t help but look over with a puzzled expression: "?"

"Is something wrong?" Eve asked kindly.

Lorca blinked and said, "You’re wearing a new necklace."

She instinctively touched her neck, feeling a hard ring-shaped object through her clothes, and then remembered—it was the mecha space button she’d taken from Cecil.

After taking it, she realized it wasn’t convenient to wear on her hand, so she found a string to hang it around her neck.

The silver-white ring-shaped space button and the sapphire-like Mirage were hidden under Eve’s collar—both were her secret trump cards.

She had taken Hecate’s space button intentionally, to leave clues for the Medici family to follow later.

Sparti handing over Cecil’s affairs to Luo Lin was within Eve’s expectations. Fortunately, she had left hints about her identity, allowing Luo Lin to "investigate" and find her naturally.

"Just a necklace I bought on a whim," she said dismissively. Since Cecil had openly worn Apollo and Hecate while staying at the Oliver residence for a time, she wasn’t sure if Lorca would recognize them, so she made up an excuse. "Nothing to worry about."

Qin Mengde glanced over suspiciously at this. Eve hadn’t deliberately hidden taking the space button from Cecil, so Qin Mengde knew it wasn’t some casually bought necklace.

But she didn’t expose the lie, quickly composing her expression. Used to a life of wearing masks, she wasn’t quite accustomed to having to control her expressions every moment.

Eve didn't want to say more, and Lorca clearly noticed. He paused mid-sentence, a pang of gloom settling over his heart, yet he maintained a gentle smile on the surface. "Alright, I understand."

His words made things awkward. It was unclear how the parties involved felt, but Eve simply hummed vaguely in response and fell silent.

Qin Mengde avoided everyone's gaze, feeling as though her very presence had become superfluous. After toughing out the long wait until the bones in her hand had fully healed, she immediately held out her hand toward Eve and asked, "May I leave now?"

Eve leaned in to examine it, confirming that the broken bones had properly realigned and healed, then nodded to signal that she could go. But noticing the hint of relief on Qin Mengde's face, she couldn't help feeling a bit puzzled and asked, "Do you have something else to do? You look like you’re in a hurry."

Qin Mengde's ease vanished from her face less than three minutes later. She had nearly forgotten that she no longer had a mask to hide behind.

After a moment of silence, she replied, "No, I just need to take care of my hair and such."

Eve said understandingly, "Oh, right. You must have a lot to attend to."

Even after the door closed, Lorca remained lost in thought. Seeing him wrestling with his own thoughts, Eve asked, "Are you curious about her identity?"

"Her face already says a lot," Lorca forced a smile before pursing his lips and adding, "Besides, even if I asked you, would you necessarily tell me?"

Eve: "......"

It was hard to say. She couldn’t very well say behind someone’s back, "Oh, that so-and-so is an illegitimate child," as if she were gossiping.

Moreover, upon reflection, Eve felt that she and Lorca weren’t exactly the type to share everything with each other.

"Her name is Qin Mengde. As for her specific identity, it’s not really something I can discuss with you," Eve finally said. "But you don’t need to pay her much mind. We’re just partners in certain matters. She needs to stay at the Oliver Family residence due to some circumstances, that’s all."

No sooner had Cecil left than another Qin Mengde showed up?

And what did she mean by "you don’t need to pay her much mind"? Did he not even have the most basic right to know in Eve’s eyes?

Lorca felt immediately unsettled. He frowned and said ambiguously, "Then if Alice asked you this question, would you tell her?"

The way he phrased it... Eve’s hand trembled, and she accidentally sent a half-finished message to Luo Lin. She finally realized where the problem lay. Ignoring the question marks from the other side, she sat up straight and looked seriously at Lorca, asking with genuine curiosity, "Why are you comparing yourself to her?"

"I was just asking."

"But the two of you are completely different," Eve remarked, as if she had discovered something astonishing. Her eyes widened slightly, and she chuckled. "She is my teammate, partner, and ally. The nature of her asking me is different from you asking me. I have a responsibility to inform her of the truth."

"Why is it different? I don’t understand," Lorca insisted. "Do you provide such good ongoing support to all your former partners? If we’re being technical, we’ve collaborated before too—back at the Venom Fang..."

Eve cut him off. "Are you referring to the collaboration built on a foundation of mutual deception?"

"……"

Lorca fell silent at once. His green eyes stared at her blankly. He couldn’t even bring himself to say that he wouldn’t deceive her anymore, because just today, he had told another small lie.

After a long while, he asked in a low voice, "Then what exactly are we now?"

Calling it a doctor-patient relationship seemed too cold, and besides, the person before her looked as though he might fall apart. Eve could understand his feelings. After all, having someone who had tirelessly revolved around him suddenly expose the true nature of their relationship was deeply hurtful. After some thought, she decided to phrase it gently.

"Friends," she used a rather ambiguous term to define the complex, gray-area relationship between them, full of hidden agendas and mutual use. "We should be considered friends, right?"

But Lorca still looked wounded. He retorted, "Just friends?"