Chapter 327: A Past Encounter by Chance
While Evelia was fully focused on checking Armand’s condition, Rachel was still fiddling with that completely broken pocket watch.
Even though it was basically just a piece of metal that had been enhanced through alchemy, the key point was. It had been enhanced by alchemy.
Different materials often have strange reactions with each other, and an alchemist’s job is to make those reactions more obvious. Right now, what she held in her hands was one of the “keys to success.”
Who would’ve thought that a material originally used just for experiments would now turn out to be part of the ingredients for making a Soul Stone?
Sure, a pocket watch is just an object, and a soul is something living, but in alchemy, everything is treated the same. The alchemy engravings made from alchemical materials on the watch could strengthen its durability. In a way, with the right transformation, the same method could be used to strengthen other things as well.
Thanks to the alchemy engraving she had once embedded into her own finger, Rachel didn’t need to sneak into her little lab this time to collect materials. All she had to do was take out some sandpaper she had prepared earlier, scrape off a bit of the engraving, and soak it in a test solution.
While Evelia stepped out to prepare some hot water for Armand, Rachel got busy with her tools.
"Phew… Well, I am a genius alchemist after all. No one understands my own stuff better than I do."
Judging by Evelia’s reaction, this broken pocket watch clearly wasn’t something she brought with her. If she had to guess, it probably belonged to Armand.
It’s possible the item had been resold later on, but if Armand had something with her personal alchemy engraving on it, then he must’ve gotten that watch while still inside the organization.
The scene back then had been far too bloody, and Rachel still remembered it clearly. The kid who took the pocket watch was a boy with short reddish-brown hair. That hair color was rare enough that it stood out in her memory. In fact, she’d even taken time at the fight scene to analyze the contrast between the reddish-brown hair and the bright red blood.
That boy didn’t seem special in any way. He looked alright, kind of delicate, but because of malnutrition he was really thin and small. Rachel had been shocked when he managed to defeat a much bigger and heavier boy. Despite the huge difference in appearance and strength, he had won in an almost one-sided way.
Because of that, Rachel had watched him for a while. That quiet, withdrawn boy kept catching her attention during that time. Not because she wanted to experiment on him, she was just curious.
Later, she noticed there was an older teenager often around that boy, someone who looked about ten years older. It seemed like this older one was teaching the boy how to survive inside the House of Nightingales.
Compared to the boy, the older one was much better at hiding his appearance. He always wore a plain black cloak with no decoration, and often stayed hidden in the shadows. That behavior actually made him easier to notice, like some kind of ghost. The one thing that stood out was the big black sword he always carried. That sword was clearly way too heavy for him. Rachel often wondered if, when he fought, he was swinging the sword, or being dragged around by it.
He always kept his hair messy on purpose. Even when he took off his hood, all you could see was the long black hair covering his eyes. Rachel had never even heard his voice. She had never seen him speak a word. Maybe he was bad at talking, or maybe he just didn’t want others to hear his voice.
Rachel only remembered that he was always very close to that boy. Both of them gave off an unfriendly, "don’t come near me" kind of feeling, but when they were together, they seemed like real brothers.
It also looked like that older one was favored by the former master of the House of Nightingales, who was also the mother of the Second Prince and the former Second Queen. Because of that, no matter what he did or how he dressed, the Second Prince would always turn a blind eye.
But maybe he was too favored. Because in the end, he was one of the first people chosen to be strapped to the experiment table and used in the “Engraving” experiments. Of all the test subjects, Rachel remembered him most clearly, because she had always wondered what he looked like under that cloak.
Thanks to that experiment, Rachel finally saw his face for the first time. Even though he spent most of the time in pain because of the engraving process, she still remembered clearly how he had glared at her. Those dull, faded blue eyes full of anger and hatred. His stare was so intense that in the end, she couldn’t even remember what the boy looked like anymore. She only remembered those cold, blue eyes.
Rachel didn’t know whether the experiment back then was a success or not. She only knew that the young man was taken to the House of Nightingales’s treatment room after the "surgery." Maybe because both of them got busy afterward, they never saw each other again. That’s why Rachel felt like she had survived a close call. After all, just one look from him had told her how strong his killing intent was. If they met again, and no one around could stop him, her life as an alchemist might have ended early.
As for that boy with short reddish-brown hair…
“...!”
Suddenly, Rachel realized something.
The memories she least wanted to think about collided with this moment, and a familiar figure slowly appeared in her mind.
Her thoughts jumped to earlier this year, to just a few days before her head was removed.
When the Second Prince found her, the one standing beside him was the "Red Crow," who was about to be "reborn."
At first, "Red Crow" didn’t remove his cloak and kept a mysterious appearance. But during the surgery-like body modification, there was no way he could stay covered up. That’s how Rachel became one of the few people who knew Red Crow’s true appearance.
Now that she thought about it, Red Crow was a young man with short reddish-brown hair. He had neat features and a handsome face. His build wasn’t especially tall or strong, but thanks to years of training, he still looked better than most men. Maybe because he was an "assassin" and not a "warrior," he had that slim-but-fit look. Not the kind of person who looked like they could use a door as a shield.
Just a side note, Rachel used to imagine that legendary assassins like Red Crow should also have brute strength. So when she was reshaping his body, she gave extra attention to his strength stats to make sure that, once he got used to his new body, he could also rely on that power.
As for his appearance, Red Crow’s original looks were exactly like that.
Almost exactly like the boy from her deepest memories. If she calculated the time, the boy would be about that age now…
No, it’s more than just that.
She should know by now, it wasn’t just a coincidence.
If the boy from back then was Evelia, and this pocket watch was the "trophy" from that day, then how did this thing end up in Armand’s hands?
We already know Armand might have once been part of the House of Nightingales. That engraved marking was from the very first batch Rachel personally carved. And Armand also has similar hair color and blue eyes like that young man who stayed close to the "little Red Crow"…
Then—
No. Maybe it’s just a coincidence?
After all, black hair and blue eyes aren’t that rare. The brown-red hair of “Grey Dove” is much more unusual. Also, the black-haired young man and the Armand of today are clearly different. They even feel like complete opposites. Their eyes, though both blue, carry totally different feelings. Rachel really couldn’t imagine those two being related.
So what exactly is going on now...?
Rustle.
While still deep in thought, Rachel was suddenly brought back to reality by the sound of the pillow brushing beside her ear.
She instinctively looked toward the source of the noise.
She had wanted to casually start a chat, and then subtly tell Armand that as long as she was here, there was still hope for him to recover.
“—”
But in the very next second, before the word “papa” could even come out of her mouth, she was frozen by Armand’s gaze.
She swallowed all her words in fear. Her heart raced. Cold sweat gathered in her palms. She nervously wondered if her little movements just now had been noticed.
Those familiar blue eyes were still there, but the look in them was no longer the one she knew.
Maybe the version of Armand that woke up this time… didn’t carry the memories she was familiar with.
Those blue eyes were like a deep, lightless ocean, staring straight at her, like they wanted to drag her down into the depths.
That moment, the moment their eyes met, the old fear in Rachel's memory suddenly came rushing back.
Just earlier, Rachel had been thinking Armand couldn’t possibly be the same person as that black-haired young man.
But now—
She might have to rethink that conclusion.