Chapter 217

Chapter 217

Eve had initially worried that if Agnes witnessed her using the Spiritual State during the league, it might trigger endless follow-up schemes. To her surprise, Agnes had vanished from the very beginning.

Where had she gone? It didn't seem like she had many acquaintances left. With Gu Zhaoxi and Long Quan both away at the Five-School League, Eve couldn't help but wonder if Agnes had taken advantage of the lack of supervision to wreak havoc somewhere.

Eve couldn't decide whether to feel relieved at having dodged a bullet or anxious about the unknown whereabouts of this non-human. Still, from the start, she never expected someone of Agnes's status—a distinguished Five-Star Alchemist—to remain as a long-term instructor at the First Empire Academy. Such a role wasn't just an underutilization of her talents; it was practically an insult. Honestly, based on Eve's past experience as her assistant, she was surprised Agnes hadn't flipped the table in anger at the academy's students.

Could she have actually gone to assassinate Louis because of their nominal master-disciple relationship? It wasn't entirely impossible, but that had nothing to do with Eve.

"What did she come all the way to the capital planet for?" Eve pondered, unable to make sense of it. "And who let her into the school in the first place?"

Unfortunately, as one of the empire’s highest-level academic institutions, the First Empire Academy had no overlap with other power structures. Whoever arranged Agnes’s false identity and insertion into the academy must have held exceptionally high status in this domain. Even if Eve tried to leverage the influence of the Medici family, it would likely be impossible to get to the bottom of it.

Well, since Agnes was no longer at the academy, there was no point dwelling on it for now.

She casually dismissed the tracking report on Agnes from her mind, and a holographic projection, burning like real sparks in mid-air, quickly turned to ashes—a symbolic destruction of the information file.

Next were the invitations Sophia had prepared for her in advance. Since the league ended, every student who had performed exceptionally well received a flood of invitations. In these turbulent times of the Zerg resurgence, talent was more precious than ever. Sincere letters of engagement fell like free snowflakes from the empire’s upper echelons. Even the hereditary nobles, who usually looked down on everyone outside the capital planet as if they were mere insects, reluctantly bent their proud backs to warmly build connections with these promising young individuals.

After repeated disciplining, Sophia had become much more meticulous in her work. Not only did she help Eve sift through the numerous invitations to identify the most valuable and unavoidable ones, but she also made extra inquiries about the number and sources of invitations other participants received. Aside from a few extremely covert high-ranking nobles, what surprised Eve the most was that Lu Qing had received the most invitations among them.

She only made a slight splash in the second round of the league—how could so many people be interested in her? However, compared to students from prestigious backgrounds, someone like Lu Qing, who came from an ordinary family and was temporarily affiliated with a certain faction, was actually more sought after. Besides, most Alchemists were under the control of the Oliver Family. What you can't get is always best—the harder they were to secure, the more outsiders wanted to poach them.

Among those who extended olive branches to Lu Qing, the most notable were the Imperial Research Institute and the Cavendish family. The latter, with its high status and formidable influence, was extremely flamboyant in style and action. Not only did they send an invitation to Lu Qing, but they also targeted several other high-born students. Rumor had it that even Murphy received an invitation from the Cavendish family... not afraid of being impeached at all.

As for the Imperial Research Institute, it was even more unusual. In Eve’s understanding, this organization had always been very mysterious. As the highest academic institution, the shadow of power struggles hadn’t completely vanished from its hallowed halls—instead, it operated in more covert ways. There were even rumors that the institute had always looked down on Alchemists, viewing them and their practice of Alchemy as outdated superstitions that belonged in the past.

Under normal circumstances, Eve wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to sneak into the institute, and indeed, she couldn’t bring herself to decline this one. She had originally planned to maintain an air of mystery to subtly elevate the status of her alternate identity. Although she burned the invitation from the Cavendish family, she held onto the one from the institute at the last moment.

It wasn’t that she necessarily wanted to join, but visiting the institute under the pretext of evaluating a future employer with the invitation in hand couldn’t be considered unreasonable, right?

With this thought, she placed the electronic document bearing the emblem of a branched apple into a folder labeled "Pending" with a clear conscience.

As for the remaining invitations addressed to Eve Medici, mixed in with data from other students, there weren’t many, but the senders were all prominent figures. Aside from subordinate nobles and cabinet supporters trying to curry favor with the Medici family, the rest were individuals standing at the very top of the empire’s power circle. All four great families were included, along with several high-ranking marshals and governors from the military, as well as royal family members closely related to the current emperor, all sending warm and courteous invitations. Even Sophia didn’t dare casually discard these personal letters from such dignitaries.

However, a few of the letters were clearly too deliberate, obviously having someone else behind them giving instructions. Eve glanced through them and promptly picked out and discarded those. As for the rest, she sat cross-legged on her dorm bed, opening each one carefully and reading them one by one. After some thought, she selected a few from individuals worth befriending—those with reasonable conditions—and placed them in the "Pending" folder. The rest were destroyed.

It was necessary to maintain her value. To gain a firm footing in the empire’s most undercurrent-filled circles, the first step was to ensure she moved steadily upward, never devaluing herself for trivial short-term gains.

"You’ve already made your choices?" In the three-dimensional holographic projection, Sophia looked surprised as she flipped through the invitations Eve had kept. "You didn’t keep a single one from the royal family members? You could’ve at least given them some face."

Eve firmly refused: "No. Giving them too much face will only fuel unrealistic fantasies. Since we know they’re doing this because Anthony is behind it, there’s no need for unnecessary courtesy."

"Alright then. There are still quite a few invitations left. I’m not sure when you’ll participate in the next league—should I arrange meeting times for you?"

Sophia counted the letters—eight in total. They weren’t all from renowned families, but the senders were all high officials holding substantial positions. More cleverly, among these eight letters, exactly half were from those within the Medici family’s sphere of influence, while the other half were from neutrally aligned individuals.

"I don’t have that much time," Eve said, slightly raising her chin with a touch of pride. "Go back and tell the Second Steward to find an excuse to host a banquet at the Medici family estate. I’ll take care of all eight people's matters at the banquet."

Even if she accepted the invitations, she would never put herself in a passive position. The girl who once had to choose patience due to lack of power was a thing of the past. Now that she held the advantage, it was only natural to take the initiative!

Besides, her time was precious. Negotiating and bargaining one by one, exchanging correspondence—such inefficient and insecure communication methods were nowhere near as convenient as face-to-face discussions.

-

When it came to matters of power, the Medici family was like hungry sharks scenting blood, eagerly planning their hunt. As soon as Eve’s instructions were received, everyone from Sophia to the Second Steward to the main household operated with remarkable fluidity. In just two days, an impromptu masked banquet was held at the Medici family estate.

The masks weren’t Eve’s idea but an inventive addition by the Second Steward. This old gentleman, who still adhered to certain peculiar Old Era customs, often sneakily incorporated his personal preferences while impeccably handling official matters.

Fortunately, the mask arrangement didn’t disrupt Eve’s original plans, so she let it be.

The Medici mansion, resembling a lunar palace, was once again adorned with dazzling lights, beautiful like a starry river stretching across the earthly realm. High-end hovercars bearing various emblems streamed into the Medici family’s territory, their protective energy barriers rippling like water disturbed by falling stones, expanding and contracting in ceaseless layers of pale blue.

To obscure the true purpose, this banquet not only invited capital planet dignitaries but also extended invitations to outstanding students from the Five-School League. The social gathering the organizing committee owed these students was unexpectedly realized here. Even with elaborate floral masks, the banquet atmosphere remained tangibly harmonious.

"Look at this down there. What should be a proper banquet is looking like some matchmaking event. Students chatting with each other, adults mingling, even students and adults engaging in conversation—it’s astonishing how everyone seems so satisfied," Eve remarked, holding a slender crystal glass as she leaned against the third-floor balcony railing, sighing with mixed emotions to the Second Steward beside her. "I asked the family to host a banquet, and in the end, Sparti used it to build personal connections for himself."

Sandro responded with a low chuckle: "It’s not very proper to address the family head so directly, Little Forbidden Fruit. Be careful he doesn’t hear you speaking ill of him."

"I was actually complimenting his cleverness in a roundabout way," Eve said playfully, winking at Sandro even though she knew invisible Alchemy surveillance cameras were present in the room. "And I’m sure you’re not bored enough to report such trivial matters to the family head, right?"

"You seem much more cunning than before, or perhaps it’s more accurate to say you’ve shed your well-behaved disguise," Sandro laughed. "The small bud has finally blossomed into a clematis bearing the family’s honor. I’m glad I didn’t bet on the wrong person from the start."

"You haven’t aged much though, still the humorous gentleman you were when we first met," Eve raised her glass to clink with his. "Though your words do betray your true age a bit."

Did he think she didn’t know the average interstellar lifespan reached three digits? A mere few years were but a blink for someone of the Second Steward’s caliber—why sound so wistful?

"Ah... young ones never understand how precious each passing year is. You’ll understand when you reach my age."

"Let’s not go there. Someone like me, lacking artistic genes, will never grasp the sentimentality of mourning spring’s passing or autumn’s decline. You must have been away from me for too long, forgetting those 'precious' memories of me infuriating you in art appreciation class," Eve’s aqua-blue eyes shifted slightly, noticing the message from her subordinates—the vehicles she had sent people beforehand to watch had arrived at the Medici mansion. "My guests are about to arrive. I probably won’t have time to reminisce with you further. I must take my leave now, Steward."

She placed the empty crystal glass on the table, adjusted the extravagant feathered mask on her face, and picked up her gown to leave. Just before exiting, the Second Steward called out: "Wait."

"Is there something else?"

Eve immediately halted, turning back curiously, only to see the Second Steward frowning as he approached. He personally adjusted the sapphire accessory in her hair—after spending time on the balcony, the wind had slightly tousled her originally neat bun. Under his careful combing, it returned to its pristine, noble appearance.

After finishing the adjustments, Sandro stepped back, satisfiedly examined Eve’s current appearance like an antique appraiser admiring a timeless treasure selected by his discerning eye.

"The family head said he won’t interfere with your affairs tonight, but the individuals you invited may seem well-behaved on the surface—in reality, each is more formidable than the last. So, you must pay extra attention to your appearance, leaving no room for them to find reasons to look down on you," he smiled and nodded at Eve. "Go forth, little moon of the Medici family. Use your bluffed perfect radiance to bewilder those foolish mortals."