Chapter 117

Chapter 117

“I brought a classmate here,” Eve said dryly. “She overexerted her spiritual power and fainted.”

Lorca had already emerged from the medical room, now sitting beside Eve with a box of medicine in his arms. Hearing her, he couldn't help but chuckle. “So you were kind enough to bring her here just like that?”

“There were other reasons too… It happened during our duel.”

The more she spoke, the more suspicious she sounded. Eve abruptly stopped, deciding to change the subject. “So why are you at the school hospital at this hour? Don’t you have to guard the arena?”

Wasn’t he the Department Chief? Why did he seem so idle?

As she asked, her brows furrowed, clearly displeased. Lorca laughed again, almost maniacally, before leaning subtly against Eve’s narrow shoulder. He showed her the medicine box in his hands. “The Vice Chief is watching the arena. I arranged with him—he guards today, and I’m out getting medicine for the teacher that’ll be needed in a few days. Tomorrow, it’ll be my turn.”

“Your Investigation Department’s guarding system is quite different from the Mecha Department’s,” Eve remarked casually. Each department had its own policies, so naturally, their assessment and election methods would differ.

She reached out and idly poked the silver-blue box in Lorca’s arms. On the outside, it was simply labeled “Pato Coagulant-ε9 Type,” with no other instructions. The other boxes had similarly concise labels.

“What are these for?” Eve, unfamiliar with such things, asked instinctively. But as soon as the words left her mouth, she caught herself. “Can you tell me? If it’s inconvenient, never mind. I’m just curious.”

Lorca took her hand as she tried to pull it back. Lowering his lashes, he replied casually, “Of course. These are special marking solutions. They’re colorless and odorless, undetectable by instruments. But when mixed in different ratios, they turn into marking solutions with various colors and scents. We learn how to mix them in class, and what each color signifies.”

“It’s nothing inconvenient to talk about. I only came out to get medicine as an excuse anyway. My Spiritual State went missing strangely not long ago, so I had to have the Vice Chief cover for me in today’s arena battle.”

When he said “very proper,” he even gave Eve’s fingers a gentle squeeze. She was about to pull her hand back, but upon hearing about his missing Spiritual State, she froze in embarrassment. After a moment, she finally withdrew her hand and glared at Lorca. “…Stop touching me. And your Spiritual State wandered off on its own. I just took it in for the night.”

So it stayed overnight.

Lorca’s gaze, with a half-smile, swept over an unnatural shadow in his sleeve. The “shadow” remained perfectly still, as if it were truly just a soulless silhouette.

“But if you ask the Vice Chief to guard the arena, he just agrees?” Eve pondered for a moment, still finding it strange. “He listens to you that well? Aren’t you afraid he’ll usurp your position?”

“He won’t. He’s too lazy to handle the Chief’s pile of paperwork. That guy only wants to enjoy the privileges without putting in any effort. Besides, there’s still tomorrow. I can always put him in his place later.”

As he spoke, Lorca extended a hand to Eve, smiling softly. “How are you feeling now? Any better? If you need to go back, I can escort you on the way.”

“The Mecha Department’s dormitory area and the Investigation Department’s teaching and dormitory areas don’t seem to be on the way, do they?”

“You actually…” Lorca seemed surprised that she’d paid attention to his department’s affairs. His expression hovered between surprise and delight, his lips quirking up before settling.

He cleared his throat as if to conceal something and whispered, “You can just pretend it’s on the way.”

Eve raised an eyebrow.

She looked at Lorca, then at his outstretched hand. The young man avoided her thoughtful gaze somewhat guiltily, but his hand remained steady, fingers long and unmoving.

After staring for what felt like ages, just as Lorca was about to lose his composure, he finally felt another hand—soft and warm as a feather—land in his palm.

“Fine,” Eve said with a light snort. “Since you have so much energy, you can take a longer detour. For example, take me back to my dorm first, then head to the Medical Department.”

…So that’s what she was thinking.

Lorca breathed a sigh of relief, though a faint sense of disappointment lingered in his heart. Still, he smiled and said, “No problem.”

-

Overexerting her spiritual power was nothing new to Eve. Ever since awakening her abilities, she had always believed in using her abilities to their fullest, never holding back in a fight. Especially after working with Qin Mengde, the frequency of her engagements had multiplied.

The number of assassination attempts on the princess’s estate wasn’t excessively high compared to other nobles, but it wasn’t low either, given the Fourth Princess’s sensitive position. Some saw her as a tool to be used, while others feared getting their hands dirty. Initially, the attacks were aimed at Qin Mengde herself, but gradually, some of the focus shifted to Eve—some believed that if they couldn’t touch the Fourth Princess, cutting off her right-hand woman would suffice.

Especially when Eve went to inspect assets on subordinate planets, the assassination attempts increased exponentially compared to those in the capital. Eventually, whenever she traveled, Eve stopped using her dedicated transport. Instead, she carried a black cane with a silver head, inside which was concealed a fine steel sword.

In some ways, Eve was quite conscientious about following rules. To avoid causing a scene in the city, she would conceal herself upon leaving and deal with particularly persistent followers one by one. The downside was that her Luna Butterfly was almost constantly active, leading to significant spiritual power consumption over time. Even her spiritual world had been tempered and expanded through this ordeal.

So, although she had been completely exhausted from her confrontation with Jessica, after sitting on the bench for a while, she had mostly recovered.

But Lorca seemed eager to help. Eve looked at him like a puppy who thought it was cleverly disguised. No one would refuse a puppy with apple-green eyes circling around them. After a moment of silence, she placed her hand in his.

Just a barely adult kid, she mocked inwardly.

…But it wasn’t unpleasant.

This was the first time Lorca had personally seen Eve’s dorm, though he was the one who had arranged it.

The yard was filled with exotic flora of varying heights and vibrant colors, mostly transplanted from the Oliver Family. The quality was excellent, with both visual appeal and fragrance. Transparent tempered glass allowed sunlight in while strictly separating the fragrant interior from the outside world. Pushing the door open, a rich, sweet scent washed over her.

It was hard to say whether Eve’s appreciation for beauty surpassed that of the Luna Butterfly. As soon as they entered, the Luna Butterfly detached from Eve and settled on its favorite moon orchid. Eve, however, walked straight through the courtyard without looking around, changed into slippers at the door, and had taken only a few steps before realizing something was missing.

She turned around to see Lorca standing properly under the eaves, bent over and carefully observing the Luna Butterfly’s antics as it rolled around in the colorful flowers. His gaze was so focused and tender, it was as if he were watching his own child rather than someone else’s Spiritual State.

“…” Eve had to call his name. “What are you doing?”

“Observing the activity level of an S-class Spiritual State,” the young man replied calmly. “Observation indicates it’s in a very good mood.”

Had studying driven him mad?

Eve was skeptical. She rubbed her temples, too tired to delve into what he was thinking, and turned away. “Don’t stand outside. This is the girls’ dormitory area. It’ll look bad if someone sees you. Come inside.”

Would it really be better for his reputation to enter a girl’s dormitory rather than stand outside?

Lorca raised an eyebrow but followed her inside, casually remarking, “Do you care about gossip?”

“Not really, but it’s troublesome,” Eve replied without turning around.

The answer was very much like her. Lorca’s cheek twitched as if he wanted to laugh but held it in. “Has anyone else been to your dorm?”

“Hey, it’s only been a few days since school started. It’s not a party. Everyone’s busy. Who would have time to come here?”

So he was the only one, aside from Eve herself, who had ever been to her dorm.

Lorca no longer needed to hide his smile.

Eve headed straight upstairs as soon as she entered. She needed to do some disguising before going to the Medical Department. Before closing the door, she tossed out a perfunctory, “If you need anything, ask the robot. Otherwise, make yourself at home,” with no hostess manners whatsoever.

With her permission, the housekeeping robot slowly rolled over, its blue electronic eyes blinking rhythmically. “Honored guest, what would you like to drink?”

“A glass of warm water, thank you.”

The robot rolled away. Meanwhile, Lorca carefully sat on the sofa. The excitement from earlier gradually faded as he sat on the soft couch, quietly observing the small room filled with personal items. His handsome face flushed slightly.

The sofa he was sitting on had been shipped from a planet known for its high-quality sponges. The rattan chair by the living room’s floor-to-ceiling window was crafted by the Tree People, skilled weavers. Even the dining table with its beige wood-grain cloth placemat, every set of utensils in the kitchen, and the bright flower garden outside had been carefully selected by him and arranged under Luo Wenqing’s name.

Beyond that, the casually folded jacket on the chair back, the half-full crystal glass on the coffee table, and the handwritten memos stuck on the walls and desk—all these imperfect, personal touches belonged to the dorm’s true owner.

It felt peculiar, as if this little villa had two owners. Lorca felt strangely lightheaded, as if he’d been thrown into a pot of hot water. The scorching heat pressed in from all sides, burning him with waves of both fear and longing.

The witch with moonlight-silver hair stood outside the pot, holding a large wooden spoon, and asked, “How are you feeling now?”

“…I want to get out,” he whispered. “I need to calm down.”

He was almost reaching his limit.

Snap!

A crisp snap near his ear jolted Lorca out of his drifting thoughts.

“You came all the way here just to drink plain water? Trying to save me money?”

Eve’s hair had been temporarily dyed back to black with a color that would fade automatically in three hours. Wearing all black, she adjusted her mask while glancing briefly at the other cup of hot water on the table—untouched since it was brought—then said with disinterest, “Let’s go. I’m ready. Time to head to the Medical Department.”

Lorca went along willingly, standing up and then taking Eve’s warm hand from behind. At this point, he didn’t bring up the escort excuse again.

He wasn’t blind; Eve had recovered quickly and remarkably—at an almost superhuman pace. But Lorca had only been looking for an excuse to get closer to her.

Outside, night had long since fallen, though the academic district remained brightly lit, with students gathered there to watch the buzz around the Department Chief election. Only a handful had returned to the dormitory area to fetch things, and with lights flickering unevenly and barely anyone around, Lorca wasn’t sure if anyone could see him secretly holding Eve’s hand on the other side of the path.

The cool breeze brushed against his face, and Lorca felt the warmth in his cheeks dissipate slightly. He couldn’t help chuckling.

“Something funny?” Eve asked abruptly.

He hummed in agreement. “I was thinking about how back when you were still the Chief Alchemist—wherever you went, I followed. I never thought it’d be so long before we saw each other again. Running into you today by chance… I’m really happy.”

To laugh out loud just from walking together—was he really that happy to see her?

Eve found it a bit corny, but she kept that thought to herself and simply replied, “I’m happy too.”