Chapter 202: The Lecture
“Huh? Dad, you said… you’re taking me to meet a teacher?”
Rachel still had a piece of steak in her mouth, steak that Armand had just cut for her. After chewing and swallowing quickly, she wiped her mouth and spoke in a surprised and muffled voice.
“Of course,” Armand replied casually, as he continued to share the food on his plate with Rachel, just like always.
“You said you wanted a teacher, right? A few days ago, I heard from some friends in the knights that a great teacher is giving a lecture in the capital today. So I asked Carle to get us three tickets. We’ll all go together.”
“Woooah—!”
Rachel’s eyes lit up with excitement after hearing that.
If Armand was really going to help her find a teacher, then she’d be one step closer to her real goal, getting her original adult body back and leaving this place.
Rachel didn’t have any evil plans. She just wanted alchemy materials so she could build a new body and escape. Sure, having a child’s body made it easier to slip through small places, but once she escaped, what could a little kid even do?
So, her plan was to create a grown-up body for herself, make a soul stone that could store and transfer her soul temporarily, and when everything was ready. She’d find a chance to let this “Rachel” body die and secretly switch out.
Oh, and while she had a rich “dad” around, she also needed to save up some spending money.
Armand saw her as just a normal child. Usually, he only gave her toys and snacks, but sometimes he bought her little trinkets too.
Even though those little accessories looked like cute things for kids, Armand only bought the real, high-quality stuff.
Rachel was an alchemist, she could tell a gem’s value with just one glance. She picked the small, easy-to-carry ones that weren’t too flashy or expensive and saved them. The rest, the ones she didn’t want or couldn’t wear, she gave to the maids and staff around the house. That way, she built up both her connections and her emergency funds.
All she needed now was a teacher, and her plan could start.
Whether the teacher actually knew alchemy didn’t matter. Rachel was confident she could steer the conversation in that direction. After all, most great teachers loved learning new things they didn’t already know.
“I’m going too, Armand?”
Hearing Armand say “the three of us,” Evelia, who was sitting on the other side of the dining table, looked up.
Just a moment ago, she had been busy giving her own food to Armand, since he kept secretly passing his food over to Rachel while they chatted.
Evelia noticed these small details very clearly. To make sure Armand didn’t eat too little, she gave him her own share to make up for the food he gave away.
But there was no need to worry about Evelia not getting enough to eat. Armand, even though he didn’t eat much himself, was always generous. The food at the estate was always more than enough.
“Of course,” Armand answered with a smile. “Something like a child’s education is something both parents should be involved in.”
He said it while still naturally moving extra food from his own plate into Rachel’s.
“I see…” Evelia looked thoughtful, but her hands didn’t stop moving as she continued giving food to Armand. “Since I’m one of Rachel’s guardians too, that means Mr. Armand and I are…”
“Basically, husband and wife,” Rachel cut in.
That was exactly the kind of thing Evelia wanted to hear. But unfortunately, it came from Rachel’s mouth instead.
Rachel naturally followed up on that comment, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she felt Evelia shoot her a sharp glare.
‘…Jeez, I just said what you two were too embarrassed to say yourselves…’
But Rachel could only silently complain in her heart while still chewing her steak.
“We’re both Rachel’s guardians, so we should go together,” Armand said, smoothly changing the subject after Evelia’s glare. “But I might arrive a bit late because of work at the knights. I left the tickets with the butler, so you two can walk around the city first. When it’s time, just head to the venue. I saved myself a seat and I’ll enter from the back door.”
Armand didn’t directly explain his relationship with Evelia, but he also didn’t deny anything. Instead, his response left things purposely vague, almost like a silent agreement.
After all, since they were both acting like her parents, calling themselves a couple wasn’t really wrong. The issue was just that Evelia, even though she was very straightforward, had been waiting for Armand to admit it himself. But Armand wasn’t the kind of person who liked to say things too clearly or directly. So the two of them had been stuck like this, even though their feelings were obvious.
Rachel could sense this tug-of-war between them too, but she didn’t know how to help them move forward.
She just wanted to make their lives a little better before she left, even though Evelia had once been tasked with killing her.
But for Rachel, what she truly feared wasn’t death itself, but a meaningless death.
As an alchemist, she had always gambled with her life in her experiments, especially with ones involving body modification and soul transfer. The fact that she used herself as the subject without hesitation showed she wasn’t actually afraid of dying.
She just didn’t want to die for nothing.
Being silenced by the second prince over money, that would probably become the biggest stain on her life.
“Okay, I understand, Mr. Armand,” Evelia responded.
She had been hoping for a chance to go out with Armand alone, but when she heard that he would only arrive at the last moment, she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.
Still, more than being disappointed that Armand would come late because of work, what really bothered Evelia was that she could’ve had some alone time with Armand, but now she had to bring Rachel along too.
…Even though the whole outing was supposed to be for Rachel, and she was the main reason they were going to the lecture.
But Evelia still felt that it would be better if they could "optimize Rachel out" of the plan. After all, she was just a kid, what was she going to understand from a lecture anyway?
“Alright, then it’s settled,” Armand said. “I’ll finish up my work as soon as I can. See you at the lecture.”
As he spoke, he quickly stuffed the last piece of fruit on his plate into his mouth before Evelia could give him more food. He chewed it and swallowed, then stood up and glanced at Rachel’s plate, which still had enough food for three people.
“Mm, we’ll be waiting for you,” Evelia replied.
She saw that Armand’s plate was already empty and that hers didn’t have much left either, so she didn’t try to stop him. After seeing him off to work, she returned to her seat and casually played with a cherry tomato on her plate.
…Having kids is such a hassle.
Evelia muttered this to herself in her mind.
If she had too many kids in the future, she probably wouldn’t have any alone time with Armand…
How many children should she bear for Armand?
…Maybe just one would be enough…
Hmm…
Is one enough? Probably, right?