Trish knocked on a village house's door. Not long after, a yellow-haired woman opened it from inside.
"You…." The woman widened her eyes when she saw the military uniform Trish was wearing.
"I use this because it makes it easier for me to move anywhere. I won't be questioned by officials, men will hesitate to approach me, and I'll have priority for riding carriages." Trish explained to her former adventurer friend. "Hi, Lyra. Long time no see. Your cheeks are getting chubby."
A few seconds later, a man with dark green hair appeared behind Lyra. He was as shocked as the yellow-haired woman.
"Hi, Leonard." Trish held up a basket filled with bottles of wine and ale. "Sorry, I'm crashing into your house. My department has been suspended, leaving me with nothing to do. I'm reluctant to stay at my boss's house, and I'm too lazy to go home to my house. My dad will forbid me from drinking alcohol."
"What the fuck!?" Lyra squeezed her head. "You never mentioned your job in the letters you sent us!"
Leonard was no less hysterical. "How can you join them!? You always say that you don't like this kind of life! You dislike the government officials as well! You said they were unfriendly and rude!"
Trish rolled her eyes as the husband and wife continued babbling. "Please, can I come in? I won't stay here for free. I brought money for living expenses with you."
"And how dare you say you'll pay to live with us!?" Lyra pointed at the female warrior's chest. "You think we won't accept you!?"
"Great!" Trish smiled as she spread her arms. "So, can I come in? My butt is sore from the long journey."
"Then get your ass inside." Leonard snorted. "Today my wife will cook for you because you are tired. But don't forget to cook for us later."
"Of course!" Trish spread her arms again in annoyance. "Give me a way so I can go in!"
***
Lance couldn't concentrate on designing mechs. So, he installed a lighting system in Arthur's Moryet second house instead.
While the engineer was installing a light bulb in the front yard of Arthur Moryet's second house, Ruth looked at Ashe, who was raking leaves.
Lance's mother muttered. "You add a wonderful woman to your potential harem, Lance. She's an elf, but I approve of her."
Lance, walking up the stairs, was about to argue. But he remembered the times when women wore bunny suits. So, he just answered, "Whatever, mom."
Ruth turned her gaze to her son. "So, what are you going to do? I can't imagine you working at the stable again."
"Maybe I'll make something else that's not related to the military." Lance still found it hard to say that. "Things that are more useful for everyday lives."
"Maybe you marry one of them and give me grandchildren?" The mother shrugged.
Lance was in a bad mood, but he chuckled at his mother's words. "Do you want four grandchildren at once?"
"That doesn't sound bad, to be honest."
Lance stopped what he was doing. His mother sounded so serious, prompting the engineer to think she really wanted him to have more than one wife.
"Miss Evelyn!!!"
The scream caused Ashe, Ruth, and Lance to freeze. They exchanged glances and ran into the house.
***
Eve lay pale in her room. Her eyes were closed like someone who was fast asleep.
A healer pressed the girl's chest with a glowing palm, while the maid stood and looked on the verge of tears.
Eve fell when walking in the hallway and was unconscious.
"Lance, follow me." Ruth whispered to her son.
Lance followed his mother into the kitchen.
Taking a deep breath, Ruth sat down in a chair. "You should be prepared to let Eve go, Lance."
The engineer's brow furrowed. "What do you mean, mom?"
"I do not know where to start." Lance's mother massaged her forehead. "When I started working here, Sir Arthur came with his pregnant wife. I saw her stomach was quite big. At that time, I thought she sought peace by giving birth in this place. That's why he brought a team of midwives and healers."
"Did Eve have an illness she was born with?"
Ruth shook her head. "It's more complicated than that…. One day, Sir Arthur spent a long time in the lower room. When I clean the room after he finished, I found traces of a magic circle…. Look, I'm a witch too. I don't have high-level abilities, but I read books I find interesting, especially about forbidden spells. This place has many books like that."
Lance's heartbeat crept up. He could already guess the direction of this conversation, and he didn't believe it. "Tell me, Mom. What spell is that?"
"Many people urged Sir Arthur to marry someone else because his wife couldn't get pregnant, even though Sir Arthur was the last heir of the Moryet family. They are an influential wizarding family in this kingdom. So, a successor is a must. But Sir Arthur loved his wife so much he wouldn't touch another woman," Ruth continued. "That's why people rejoiced when Sir Arthur's wife became pregnant."
Lance felt a chill down his spine. "Are you saying that the pregnancy is fake? That there was no baby in Sir Arthur's wife's womb? That she was just pretending?"
Ruth looked at her son's face. "I think Sir Arthur has sacrificed many lives to create one individual named Evelyn Moryet."
"The magic circle you saw was to create an artificial human, the homunculus?" Lance didn't even expect the words to come out of his mouth.
Ruth closed her eyes and didn't answer, while Lance sat in another chair. He is overwhelmed by this information.
"Homunculus' maximum age is eighteen…. Eve has lived for over 18 years. Perhaps Sir Arthur used some methods to prolong her life." Lance guessed. "Perhaps Sir Arthur also hoped to find a way for Eve to live longer during her eighteen years of life."
"Eve's nineteenth birthday will be in four days." Ruth wiped her tears. "It's a miracle that Sir Arthur could keep her alive for almost a year. But I'm not sure if he found a way to keep her alive much longer... Eve's internal organs must have been deteriorating."
Lance remained silent.
"Oh, Evelyn." Ruth sobbed. "I took care of her when she was a baby. Sir Arthur's wife doesn't want to touch her…. Her body was tiny at that time, much smaller than yours when I gave birth to you, Lance."