Having seen the experiments Ariane was working on, the person following her stopped.
"Do you enjoy taking risks, Lady Ariane?"
"What are you planning to do about it?" Ariane retorted.
If there were an outside observer present, they would surely remark that an immense pressure engulfed the room.
But that pressure was instantly swept away when she replied,
"Nothing. It's not at a stage where I need to do anything."
"Hmph."
"Maybe I should cross the line. I'm very curious to see what would come of it."
"Come now, Lady Ariane, didn't you have something interesting to share with me?"
Ariane smiled innocently. It was so refreshing that one might think she was truly a child.
"Yes, that's right. Let's hurry."
They walked across the room and reached a junction. There were several doors, but they entered the one at the far end. Inside, there was a device similar to an incubator, but large enough to fit three people.
The room was spacious, yet it was so cluttered with books and various scattered items that it felt smaller.
To cut off any comments, Ariane took the lead. She glanced at the person to her right.
"When you've lived as long as I have, you develop your own sense of order. Don't misunderstand, I know exactly where everything is. It's faster this way.
I know you were going to say something, but look at this instead."
Inside the incubator was an egg, with several cables connecting it to its surface.
"You managed to set all this up. I wouldn't have expected any less from you."
"Hehe." The girl spun around in four directions, making a victory sign with her fingers.
"Of course! There's no need to flatter me. I even had time to draw some conclusions," she said, blushing slightly.
The person observed her without moving, simply shifting their gaze. Ariane's expression was equally serious as she observed the person. Their eyes met.
"It's a human," Ariane continued.
"Hmm."
"I suspected as much. It wasn't just a matter of appearance."
"Tell me, lazybones, after examining the egg, did you introduce your magical energy to analyze it?"
"Yes, and nothing happened. This thing doesn't have any magical energy. Have you discovered something?"
The two of them now observed the incubator. Ariane clasped her hands behind her back.
"Yes, you're right. But it's not entirely accurate—it's not that it doesn't emit magical energy. It simply doesn't possess any. I couldn't find a single trace of matron."
"Really?" The person's voice was slightly surprised, but they quickly composed themselves. "A perfectly pure organism. But wait—what about the universal matron?"
"Curious, isn't it? How does this organism remain perfectly pure in an environment saturated with magical energy?"
"Well, I tried introducing magical energy too, but I noticed it was erased upon contact with the organism."
"Impossible. I would've sensed it if my magical energy was being absorbed."
"Hmph, don't talk nonsense, lazybones. What was the amount of energy used for this analysis? Considering the immense magical reserves that freaks of nature like you possess, with the rate this organism erases energy, you wouldn't notice a thing."
"I had to use specific instruments to realize it."
"I see. So, it has no magical energy, can't absorb it from its surroundings, and can't store it—it vanishes instantly."
"That's a crude summary, yes."
She moved around the room, pushing aside books and random objects.
Ariane shouted, "Stop! Stop, lazybones, don't make a mess here!"
Finally, she grabbed a chair near a desk buried under countless documents.
She dragged the chair in front of the incubator and sat down.
"You should consider tidying up," she said, observing Ariane. The latter had a tear at the corner of her eye.
"Can we make it hatch?"
"You've probably noticed, haven't you? The incredible vitality of this thing."
"..." The person stared at the incubator.
"Well, that energy is continuously escaping. I think that if it hatches, the energy will dissipate even faster. I estimate it would function for about three years post-hatching."
"A fleeting life… But there's something else, isn't there?"
"I tried accessing its mind."
"...And?"
"Well, I couldn't. More precisely, I couldn't understand anything."
A silence followed.
"Even with your innate abilities?"
"..."
"Pfft." She stifled a laugh, then burst out laughing.
"Haha! To think that Lady Ariane Mistus Nil Eva Erzebet, the original bloodline, couldn't read the mind of an egg. Haha! That's… that's too funny."
She tried not to fall off the chair from laughing, though she twisted herself into odd positions to avoid losing the little grace she had left.
Ariane's face turned red with embarrassment.
"You…"
But she couldn't say anything. At that moment, as an original bloodline with unparalleled abilities to probe minds, and holding the title of researcher—this damn lazybones, I'll remember this. And where did their so-called respect go?
"I'm going to kill you, you scum," she muttered under her breath.
Seeing that Ariane was on the verge of tears, the person changed the subject.
"So, what did you do instead?"
She suppressed her laughter as she shifted the topic. How humiliating. I'll get my revenge.
"Memories!"
"Memories?"
"Yes. I discovered an anomaly. There's too much active information, which is unusual for an infant. If we make it hatch like this, it'll be unstable."
"Too much information… Don't tell me…"
"Yes, the Scarlet Lineage."
The Scarlet Lineage is a state that only a few can achieve. It allows one to awaken the memories of their ancestral lineage, but it must be controlled, or it poses great risks. When the information spans multiple generations, the subject often dies, their mind and brain unable to process all the data.
It's called "Scarlet" because the head turns that color due to ruptured blood vessels. Most of those who've awakened the Scarlet Lineage suffer from aftereffects, such as dementia or memory loss.
But not everything is grim; others inherit ancestral arts, innate abilities, or ancient knowledge.
"Maybe that's why I couldn't read its mind…"
"I doubt that."
"IT'S DAMAGED!"
"There's no need to shout, Lady Ariane. Are you going to cry over this?"
"I'm not crying," Ariane retorted, clearly irritated but maintaining a neutral expression. If only the tears streaming down her face didn't give her away.
The person sighed.