Chapter 267: The New Room
There were already many empty rooms in Armand’s mansion, so giving Rachel her own room only required someone to clean up one of them.
At first, the maids in the mansion wanted to decorate Rachel’s room like a little girl’s princess bedroom. But clearly, that kind of decoration was not Rachel’s style. She had long passed the age of liking pink and frilly things.
Knowing the maids probably wouldn’t understand her preferences, Rachel decided to do it herself. After getting Armand’s approval with the words, “It’s your own room, make it look however you like,” she began decorating her own ‘secret base.’
After several days of effort, Rachel’s room was finally ready.
Even though she wanted the room to be a secret base where others wouldn’t bother her, this was still Armand’s mansion. Even if Evelia, who played the role of “mother,” didn’t come to check it out, Armand, as the mansion’s owner, definitely would.
“Hmm…”
When Armand stepped into Rachel’s room, he made a strange sound and then took two steps back to double-check the sign on the door. Once he confirmed this was indeed the room he gave to Rachel, he joked.
“I thought this was some kind of mad scientist’s room.”
“Haha…”
Rachel could only give an awkward laugh in response.
Armand’s comment wasn’t baseless. It was because Rachel, who called herself a “genius alchemist,” simply had this kind of taste.
Someone her age usually wouldn’t choose such decorations. Instead of using fancy items that collect dust, she preferred clean and simple walls and floors.
Her cabinets were all square and serious-looking, like official filing cabinets. They looked plain, but they were very practical.
The main color of the room was gray, like a cement room that had barely been painted. The curtains were dark to block out light as much as possible. If one had to describe it, the whole room gave off a serious and mature vibe that didn’t match Rachel’s cute appearance. It felt more like a room an old government worker would live in.
As for all the bottles and jars used for alchemy in the room, Armand had already approved them. He was quite understanding of Rachel’s needs. After all, the things she asked for were just common plants, minerals, and herbs that were even used in everyday cooking or medicine.
When Rachel handed Armand a crookedly written “material list,” Armand even smiled, thinking it was like a child playing house seriously.
But this was definitely not playing house.
Every ingredient had its purpose. Every item could be used through special alchemy methods to extract what she needed. She just made the whole thing look childish on purpose so Armand wouldn’t pay too much attention to what she was doing, even the messy handwriting was part of her act.
Before, because of the limits of her current body, Rachel couldn’t use her full strength. But since this body was made with alchemy, it was still better than a normal human body. After quietly practicing for so long, she could now hold things normally, which was a big breakthrough for her. As long as her hands were steady, she wouldn’t make too many mistakes.
Yes—her only goal now was “don’t mess up too often.” Compared to her peak abilities in the past, she was still far behind. She just hoped she wouldn’t waste too many materials by making mistakes.
As for the materials, she had already made plans.
To avoid drawing attention, she had spent time walking around the mansion “playing in the garden,” making several rounds. All her current alchemy formulas were based on things found in and around the mansion. Sure, wild grass and basic ointments from the infirmary weren’t as good as proper alchemy ingredients, but—
A genius alchemist must be able to overcome this kind of challenge!
After all, alchemy is all about finding endless possibilities in nature. And someone who calls herself a genius alchemist like Rachel, there’s no way she’d be beaten by something like this!
“Is this the style you like?”
Armand stood at the door and looked around. Although the room seemed a bit "unique" in style for a young girl, it still had everything needed to live comfortably.
And to be honest, this was just “Rachel’s room.” The mansion was huge, and there were many spare rooms. If Rachel suddenly wanted to decorate another room in a different style someday, Armand could make that happen too. And if needed, she could still stay in Evelia’s room.
To Armand, this room felt more like a “playroom” than a bedroom.
“Yes, Dad. I decorated it exactly how I wanted. This is the style I like!”
“Hmm… not bad… It’s a good thing to have something you like.”
Rachel had always seemed a little more mature than kids her age, so it wasn’t strange for her to like this kind of room.
Besides, Armand had said earlier that Rachel could design her room however she wanted. Even if the style was unexpected, what mattered most was that Rachel liked it.
Having something you love, or being brave enough to go after what you love, is a good thing. Armand had believed that in the past, and now he understood it even more deeply.
So while Rachel still had the freedom to choose the things she liked, he wanted her to enjoy it fully.
Seeing Armand looking around the room, Rachel, who didn’t plan to do anything suspicious at the moment, decided to distract him before he noticed anything strange. She started introducing the layout of her room and the materials she used, hoping to ease any doubts in his mind.
She invited Armand to sit on the sofa, pushed some snacks in front of him like an adult would, cleared her throat, and began her “presentation.”
Rachel started explaining why she decorated the room this way, though most of it was made up.
She figured a kid wouldn’t normally think too much about room design, so most of her explanations were things like, “That’s what they did in the stories I read!”
As for the alchemy materials, her explanation was even simpler. She just said they were normal everyday items. As long as she made it sound like she was only playing, Armand wouldn’t take it too seriously.
“Also, Dad, this is—”
When Rachel pulled out a book called “Alchemy Apprentice: Beginner’s Guide”, a children’s book with more pictures than words, she turned around to show it to Armand, only to find that he had already fallen asleep.
He was leaning quietly against the sofa. Even while sleeping, his posture stayed upright. His breathing was steady, and his face looked calm as usual. A ray of sunlight came through the window. But unfortunately, it missed him and only brushed past.
“...Dad?” Rachel called softly, but he didn’t respond.
She knew that the medicine Armand was taking included a sleeping agent. After all, she’d seen Evelia secretly kissing him at night plenty of times. But it was just around noon. Did he already take his medicine?
Maybe since he wasn’t working today, his schedule was more relaxed? Or maybe something at the knights’ headquarters had made him tired? It made sense that the commander would feel exhausted sometimes.
...She decided not to disturb him.
Rachel carefully set the book aside. Since she wasn’t tall enough, she dragged a small blanket from the bed, bundled it up, and gently placed it over Armand’s legs. Then she quietly sat next to him and watched him sleep.
“Yawn…”
Sleepiness is contagious. After just a short time sitting beside Armand, Rachel yawned too. She hesitated for a bit, then scooted closer, lifted a corner of the blanket, and curled up beside Armand like a little kitten, sharing the same blanket.
Snuggled there, she took a small sniff and caught a familiar scent.
That Evelia woman… she must’ve hugged Armand again last night.
The perfume scent on Armand was strong enough that even Rachel could clearly smell it. Some of it came from alchemy-based fragrant ingredients, which made her extra sensitive to it.
Maybe she could sneak a bit of Evelia’s perfume to use as alchemy material too?
But if she got caught, it’d be game over… That “Red Crow” wasn’t someone easy to fool.
Thinking about her little schemes, Rachel lay quietly there next to Armand. In that moment, she seemed to understand why Evelia always snuck into Armand’s bed.
There was something about him, some natural feeling of peace and comfort, that made people want to be close to him.
The sun slowly rose higher in the sky. The light that had missed Armand earlier now spread across the room and finally landed warmly on Rachel.
Thanks to him, she was probably going to have a very nice nap today.