Chapter 127

Chapter 127

In a way, Qi Ying is quite a single-minded person.

When Lorca invited him to a meal, he came without overthinking it. Aside from chatting with Eve briefly at the beginning, he spent the rest of the time head-down eating—eating and more eating, as if he hadn’t eaten properly in eight hundred years. It got to the point where Eve felt too awkward to compete for food with him and eventually put down her chopsticks, sitting quietly with Lorca to watch him eat.

"Has he... had a tough time these years?" Eve’s expression was complicated; for a moment, she even felt the urge to call Frank and complain—those two were so busy building their careers abroad that they probably forgot to send their little brother living expenses!

Though she said that, to make sure Qi Ying didn’t go hungry, she secretly ordered more dishes midway. Amid the clinking of porcelain plates, Lorca whispered, "He’s always been like this..."

"My memory of him is still stuck in the time when Eugene would smack his hands with chopsticks for skipping meals to play games."

"Kids always grow up," Lorca took it in stride, "especially after starting university."

"......"

The meal, during which the flavors went largely unnoticed, finally ended. Qi Ying wiped his mouth and steered the conversation back to what Eve had mentioned earlier: "Which princess’s estate are you working at now?"

"Fourth Princess," Eve was taken aback. Though she knew Qi Ying likely didn’t pay much attention to the power dynamics on the capital planet, she hadn’t expected him to be this oblivious.

Worried he might not recall who that was, she added, "The one who was just granted the title a few years ago, Chris Otto."

Qi Ying nodded and asked, "Got it. I’ll check the cipher/key when I get back. Once it’s confirmed, I can start working. How closely do you want me to monitor?"

"From 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. If anyone slacks off for more than thirty minutes, give a warning the first time and and record it the second time. I’ll hand it over to HR at the end of the month for standard processing."

The stoic young man’s expression instantly became indescribable. "Your princess’s estate has such strict attendance rules?"

"If you knew how high the salary I’m offering is, you wouldn’t say that," Eve stood up and showed a number with her fingers. Perhaps because money was involved, her smile seemed particularly sly. "I don’t keep idle people under me. Oh, and while you were eating just now, your first month’s salary has already been deposited into your account."

Qi Ying: "......"

He suddenly felt the money in his pocket burning hot.

"Alright, don’t look at me like that. No matter how strictly you monitor, the people in the estate will still find ways to slack off. So don't take it too much to heart."

Eve picked up her coat and stood. "I have other things to attend to, so I’ll take off first. If anything comes up, you can contact me directly. Alice is a freshman in the same year as me, in the Command Department. She probably doesn’t know you’re also at the First Empire yet, so reach out to her when you have time."

There wasn’t much catching up to do between her and Qi Ying, anyway. Besides, she had to prepare to deliver the military report on behalf of Qin Mengde at the palace. She was pressed for time, and really needed to hurry back.

Seeing this, Lorca also followed her out. "I’ll see you home!"

The previously lively dining room was now left with only Qi Ying. He stared blankly at the leftover dishes and cold soup on the table, his expression no longer as aloof as before, softening into something more peaceful.

He couldn’y quite understand why Eugene wanted him to find opportunities to get close to Eve.

—After all, Alice was closer to her.

-

Since there was no military training on weekends, the first day after the Department Chief selection happened to be the last day of the first week of military training.

The Department Chief selection was considered the first major event of the new academic year. Even the instructors were quite interested. Breaking from routine, Instructor Lin Ke didn’t start roll call sharp early in the morning. Instead, she tucked the roster under her arm, crossed her arms, and asked the students with a smile, "Have you finished your Department Chief selection? Who was elected as the Department Chief in the end?"

She had grown quite familiar with the students in just a few days, so a student in the front row boldly asked her, "Instructor, didn’t you go watch the event?"

"I did, but not your Mecha Department’s," Instructor Lin Ke gave a light laugh, pulling her instructor’s cap down to shield her eyes from the direct sunlight. She answered with complete nonchalance, "I was in the Melee Department back in my day, not your Mecha Department. Of course, I went to watch my home department’s Chief selection."

"What a pity! This year’s selection in our department was so exciting!"

"Yeah, yeah, it was definitely more interesting than the Melee Department’s!"

"Instructor, since you’re now training our Mecha Department, you’re one of us. How can you be physically here but mentally elsewhere? We condemn this!"

Lin Ke gave each of these chattering students a light knock on the head. "Cut it out. You’re exaggerating. So, who’s your Chief now? A second-year or a third-year?"

As soon as she asked, the students below fell into an unusual silence.

"Hmm?"

The young men looked at her with eyes shining, their expressions filled with unconcealed pride and satisfaction. Finally, someone couldn’t hold back a chuckle—it was the girl standing next to Eve.

The instructor’s gaze shifted over, and the other students made way almost instinctively. The girl raised the hand of the person beside her and announced loudly, "Neither! The new Department Chief and Vice Chief are both from our year!"

"Student Eve is the new Department Chief!"

Her voice was clear and resonant. The surrounding classmates could no longer hold back their laughter, seemingly viewing the surprised look on Lin Ke’s face as a victory over the drill instructor. They burst into laughter.

"Instructor, don’t look down on us. Why can’t the Chief be from the freshman year?"

"Besides, Student Eve is really amazing. Instructor, you should definitely find time to watch the match recording when you’re free!"

The surrounding cheers rose and fell like waves. In the center of the whirlpool, Eve helplessly rubbed her nose. Meeting Instructor Lin Ke’s scrutinizing gaze, she didn’t avoid it but met it directly.

Her wrist was still held by the classmate beside her. In that position, she curled her lips at Lin Ke and said generously, "I owe it to my classmates' courtesy."

Though her words were modest, her expression was utterly natural, clearly indicating she hadn’t considered any other department members as competition from the very beginning.

—This was the strategic leader behind the princess’s estate, the right-hand woman of the Fourth Princess, the Medici family's invested candidate.

Lin Ke’s eyes deepened. She raised her chin at Eve and said with a bright tone, "Seems like you’re quite capable."

......This made her someone who now had to be dealt with.

The topic of the Department Chief was quickly moved past. It was just something the instructor asked out of curiosity. Compared to that, Jessica’s absence was more noticeable.

Instructor Lin Ke noticed the absence of the burgundy-haired princess as soon as she arrived. Given the other’s status, she chatted casually with the other students for nearly half an hour. When Jessica still hadn’t arrived, she finally grew impatient. With a wave of her hand, she decided to start roll call and deduct ten attendance points from the absent student.

Though Jessica wasn’t present, her retainer arrived on time. After completing ten sets of military boxing drills, the instructor announced a break. The retainer then made her way over to Eve, who was drinking water.

Sweat formed a light sheen on the silver-haired girl’s neck. She didn’t sweat much and was only drinking to stay hydrated. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a somewhat familiar face. "?"

"Do you need something from me?" Eve twisted the cap back on her bottle. After a moment of observation, she suddenly understood. She pointed to the north entrance of the field and said thoughtfully, "That entrance is closer to the teaching building. If you need to use the restroom, you can leave from there. I’ll explain it to the instructor for you."

The retainer: "......"

Her awkward hesitation vanished instantly. She glared at the other speechlessly, finally understanding what her princess meant when she said this beautiful Medici young lady had a knack for irritating people.

With that in mind, the next words came out more easily: "Her Highness said she hates you."

Eve was puzzled, Eve was confused, Eve remained calm. "Oh."

The little princess was having another fit. It was best to just get used to it.

"You just said ‘oh’?" The retainer was shocked. "Aren’t you even concerned about why Her Highness couldn’t make it to training today?"

"Because she held the challenge arena the entire time yesterday and exhausted herself."

Eve expressionlessly placed her water bottle back in its spot, turned, and pressed the retainer’s shoulder, holding back the words "outmatched." She could say that directly to Jessica but didn’t want to comment on Jessica’s abilities to others.

She turned away and said casually, "Luckily, she held out in the end, saving me a lot of effort. Please tell her later that I’ll try my best to honor the weekend appointment we mentioned earlier."

This was actually inspired by the incident when Lorca asked Qi Ying for that favor. Since they were going to work together as the department's Chief and Vice Chief from now on, there was really no need to make their relationship too tense.

Eve patted the petite girl's shoulder and walked away with a mysterious look.

Instructor Lin Ke, as usual, wore an angelic smile while putting the students through hell. Just as the session was ending, Sophia sent a message saying she was already waiting at the academy's side gate.

On weekends, the government was on break, and only cabinet members and some military and government ministers would be on duty at the palace. The premature awakening of the Insectoids was a matter of great significance. Eve had originally planned to report to the palace over the weekend. After the report circulated among the highest echelons and was confirmed to be issue-free, it would then be disseminated layer by layer.

This wasn't her first time entering the palace, but in the past, it was mostly due to invitations from the empress to attend court banquets or private inquiries from the emperor—occasions that were relatively casual. This time, however, she was representing the Fourth Princess and the Princess's estate to report on official matters. Therefore, before entering the palace, she needed to return to the Princess's estate to make some necessary preparations.

Her simple everyday clothes were taken off and replaced with solemn, elaborate formal attire; her hastily tied braid was undone and firmly pinned up with jeweled accessories. Additionally, all weapons and potentially controversial items had to be removed. No recording or video devices were permitted, and even the Alchemy earring that had almost become a part of Eve was taken off.

Sophia had previously attended the National Day military parade, so she was quite familiar with the formal requirements for reporting at the palace. Early the next morning, as the sky was just beginning to lighten and the golden sun had not yet fully risen from the horizon at the edge of the city, she barged into Eve's bedroom at the Princess's estate with two ceremonial attendants and dragged her out of bed.

"This, this can't be brought," the maids fumbled around while listening to her pointed instructions. "That tie is too dark in color and doesn't match the age of the executive. Change it to another one."

Eve, like a soulless puppet, silently followed the girls' commands to "raise your hand" or "turn your head." After enduring for what felt like an eternity, she saw that Sophia not only showed no signs of stopping but was becoming even more meticulous, spending half the day choosing just a hair accessory, as if intending to waste the entire morning on such trivial matters.

She couldn't take it anymore and swatted away the hand rummaging through the jewelry box. Relying on her limited sense of aesthetics, she randomly picked a hairband with pure white crystals dangling at the end and shoved it into the maid's hand. "Use this one. White goes with everything."

"......"

Sophia hesitated to speak but ultimately said resentfully, "You're going to see His Majesty. Could you put a little more effort into your appearance?"

"First, I don't need him to reimburse me for the gems, and second, I'm not his wife. Why should I bother being so meticulous?" Eve grumbled irritably. "Working on the weekend is annoying enough. Washing my face is already showing enough respect."

Sophia thought she was just venting and snatched away the seemingly versatile white hairband that looked like it was for a funeral. Instead, she picked a blue hairband embedded with ice-blue gems and handed it to the maid, complaining, "You're showing far too little respect for His Majesty."

Eve didn't want to say much more to someone so deeply entrenched in feudal imperial mindset.

By the time all the fuss was over, the sky was already bright. Under the clear daylight, a high-end hovercar carved with roses and a sword discreetly exited through a small gate of the Princess's estate. Like an arrow shot from the depths of fate, it headed straight into the lofty, imposing palace.

At the same time, another incident abruptly erupted on the front lines of the military. A first-level emergency military report, marked in blood red, swiftly arrived at the cabinet's desk on the capital planet from a stellar fortress millions of light-years away.