Chapter 315: Broken Moonlight
“Dad? Why are you here?”
Rachel was in her room doing an experiment when Armand suddenly burst through the door. She was so startled she jumped. She hadn’t expected him to come looking for her at this time. When the door slammed open with a loud bang, she instinctively began hiding the things on her table, tools and items that were definitely not meant for kids.
Luckily, she had already finished setting up her alchemy seal earlier. Now, all she needed to do was control the seal and send everything into it, so she didn’t have to panic too much while cleaning up.
“...?”
Even though Rachel was clearly flustered and cleaning up in a rush, right in front of his eyes, Armand didn’t seem to notice her actions at all. After opening the door, he just stood there, wrapped in a blanket, looking confused as he stared at her.
“Ah... I went to the wrong room,” he said after a few seconds. Armand gave an awkward smile.
“Dad, are you okay?” Rachel asked instinctively.
Actually, she noticed more than anyone else that something was very wrong with Armand.
“No... I’m fine. Sorry,” Armand replied. He shook his head a little, turned around, and left. Before leaving, he even helped close the door behind him.
Rachel bit her lip as she looked at Armand’s distracted and lifeless back.
It was clear something was seriously wrong with him. Even though he was trying hard to act like everything was fine, so his “child” wouldn’t worry, nobody had told her what was really happening. They still treated her like a little kid and used the same old “everything is fine” lines.
But Rachel was an alchemist. She understood very well how bad Armand’s condition was.
That cut on Armand’s hand? Rachel was the one who made it.
Armand had been getting worse day by day. Evelia’s expression was also becoming more serious each time Rachel saw her. At first, everyone had been looking forward to a happy future, but Armand’s illness had made everything fall apart.
The illness came so suddenly. Evelia had once told Rachel that Armand had said it was nothing serious, and that he would be fine if he just pushed through. But Rachel, who had become an alchemist in order to save people, couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.
She didn’t want to see Armand, who used to be strong and full of life, slowly being taken over by sickness. She also didn’t want to see Evelia, who had finally found hope, now looking even sadder than before.
Understanding feelings is like a double-edged sword. When you learn what it means to love someone, you also learn how painful it is to lose them.
If Evelia had never come to understand human emotions, if she had never fallen in love with Armand, maybe she wouldn’t be so sad right now. Maybe she would even think, “My mission is almost done,” now that her target was weak and fading.
But things had changed. Evelia had a heart now, a heart that everyone helped her build. From the moment it began to beat, she started to feel like a real person. She could feel joy… and also pain.
As her creator, her observer, and her companion, Rachel couldn’t take it anymore.
Even though she spent most of her time in her “lab,” Rachel actually lived in the same dorm as Evelia. One day, when she was tired and just wanted to rest, she came back and accidentally saw Evelia curled up in the corner of the room.
Armand used to be the one who gave her a sense of safety. But now, that safety was completely gone. All that was left was despair, creeping in little by little.
At first, Armand had only forgotten things up until before their engagement party. Even though the real date had long passed, his memory still stopped at that point.
Rachel had once believed that if everyone worked hard, things would get better. Winter would pass, and spring would come. One day, they’d all see the flowers bloom together.
But now… she couldn’t see the end anymore.
Back then, Evelia was curled up in a corner, as if she were afraid of the moonlight. She hid in the shadow beside the table, away from all the light. It looked like she had been holding that blue rose, a rose that still bloomed thanks to alchemy, for a very long time. The vase was covered with the marks her fingers had left behind.
At that time, Armand had already forgotten about the engagement.
He wasn’t busy anymore, and he no longer asked Evelia over and over what day it was. He stopped marking the calendar with countdowns. He didn’t talk about the future with her anymore.
Evelia didn’t dare ask where his memory had stopped. She was too afraid he might have even forgotten the day they confessed their feelings to each other.
That’s when Rachel walked in and saw Evelia like this.
She was hiding in the corner of the room, surrounded by objects that looked pale and cold under the moonlight.
She was trying so hard to help Armand get better, but she realized there was nothing she could do except stay by his side.
She wasn’t a doctor. She didn’t know how to treat him. She didn’t even know what was wrong with Armand, what she was supposed to do, or what he might become in the future.
All she could do was sit there, full of worry, and hope that Armand would still remember her the next day.
Rachel saw all of this clearly.
She walked through the moonlight and gently hugged the poor girl who was curled up in the corner.
That’s when she made her decision.
This alchemist who had once planned to run away… changed her goal.
If she was going to run, it would have to wait.
She wanted to see Armand and Evelia together, so she would wait until Armand got better.
Even though Armand said this was just a “winter reaction” and things would improve by spring, winter comes every year. How many more winters could Armand survive?
Evelia, being an artificial lifeform made through alchemy, had a much longer life than normal humans. How could someone like her bear the pain of being alone for so long in the future?
That’s why Rachel decided she would save them.
Just like how a responsible alchemist offers “after-sales support” for their creations. Since she created “Evelia”, she would take responsibility and help her live a happy life.
—Even if Evelia once cut off her own head.
Phew. But that’s what it means to have a bigger purpose!
Rachel might be a bit timid and afraid of trouble, but since she was the only one who could do this, then she had to do it!
So, Rachel secretly drew Armand’s blood again. While he was resting, she made a small cut on his finger.
This time, with better tools, her research was much easier.
As for where she got the equipment, she had to thank her rich little friend, Salana.
Armand was in no state to notice what Rachel was buying, and Evelia didn’t care about such things. The old butler was too busy and stressed out because of Armand’s condition.
Salana told her that Carle, worried sick about his best friend Armand, was swamped with year-end paperwork for the knights and didn’t have time to notice anything else. So with perfect timing and luck, Rachel was able to buy all the materials and tools she needed.
And now that she had alchemy seals, it was even easier. She could just toss whatever she bought into the seal. No one would notice a thing.
“...Whew.”
Rachel wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and started bringing out the materials one by one.
She had been studying Armand’s blood. In fact, she hadn’t just taken it once, every few days, she secretly took a few drops.
The results of her tests were clear. The poison in Armand’s blood was becoming more active every day. It was spreading fast, too fast.
Even though this kind of poison naturally became more active in the cold, something had changed. Armand’s blood didn’t just contain the original poison anymore. There were now a few strange new compounds inside, very small amounts, but they were acting like catalysts.
These new elements made the poison, which had once been manageable, much stronger and harder to control. As a result, Armand’s condition was getting worse, and might even show new symptoms soon.
If no one stopped it, Armand would just keep getting worse.
Sure, things might improve a little once winter passed, but only a little. And more importantly... could he even survive this winter?
But the most disturbing part was...
This special catalyst only reacted with the poison in Armand’s body. It had no effect on anyone else. That meant it was made specifically for him.
Who had managed to get a sample of Armand’s blood?
Who had created something like this?
And how did it get into his body?