Chapter 6: 6 – Private Matter

"I'm thrilled that Cecil can work for you, Miss Moryet!" Roger Fairchild laughed. The bald man walked with the others towards his brother's workshop. "That way, it opens up opportunities for that good-for-nothing daughter!"

"Dad, I always help you with work." Cecil snorted. "And you still call me good-for-nothing?"

Roger laughed even harder. "Yeah, yeah. You are indeed clever at forging, but you don't have any other skills."

"Please, don't tease your daughter, Mr. Fairchild." Evelyn responded. "Even before this project started, she helped me a lot by suggesting the materials needed."

Meanwhile, a woman with a face similar to Cecil's focused on Evelyn's body.

"She's your type, Lance?" That woman whispered. "With a tiny waist?"

Lance sighed. "I've told you many times, Mrs. Fairchild. I don't see her in that way. We are just colleagues working on a project. Nothing more."

Cecil's mother's eyes narrowed at that young man. "I won't forgive you if you hurt Cecil's feelings."

"It's okay, Mrs. Fairchild." Lance answered. "I won't hurt your daughter."

"Welcome to the house where I grew up!" Roger Fairchild stretched out his arms in front of a large gate. "Where my beloved father always beats me and my brother! That's why I moved in with my wife and my brother went to the city! This place holds terrible memories, but you don't need to be afraid..."

"There's no need to do a monologue." Mrs. Fairchild walked past her husband. "We better get to work."

She opened the door with a key, and a gust of dust hit their faces. They coughed with watery eyes.

Lance sensed they would do a lot of work even before they started the project.

***

Despite having five people, two bodyguards, and a maid, it took them an entire day to clean the place.

"Not sleepy yet, Eve?" Lance found the witch waving her magic staff in a room. A book on the table moves, following the staff's motion.

"You should be home, Lance." She then wrote something on paper at another table.

Lance glanced at the letters on the paper. "You want to make the inscription for movement magic smaller? I heard making a magic inscription from a spell is particularly difficult, especially when it needs to be small.

"But I have to do it, so we can write this in the armor's frame." Eve lifted the paper, tapped it with her magic staff, then swung it. The inscription was lit up, but the book on the table was only flinched a little. "Not yet."

As Eve revised her inscription, Lance observed her beautiful face. She showed no change in expression, even though she had done the experiment many times and failed. It's not the first time this has happened. The witch never laughed, smiled, or even frowned.

Lance couldn't guess what she was thinking.

"Is it possible to create an inscription in normal size, then channel its magic effect into the joints?" Lance asked.

Evelyn stopped what she was doing, then looked at Lance. "What do you mean?"

"That magic staff." Lance pointed at that thing with a smile. "It can channel magic and release it, right? We just need to install material similar to the magic staff, starting from the inscription on the wide area on the armor, then connecting it to the joints."

It was similar to power cables. They supplied electricity to the mech's motors and joint sensors. However, this time it's about 'movement magic' instead of electricity.

"How do you combine them into a frame made of metal?" Eve studied her magic staff. "There are metal weapons that can channel magic, but it limited to elemental attacking techniques. For example, burning slash, or shooting chunks of ice."

"I have some ideas on how to attach those materials to our armor frames." Lance raised a hand before Eve could reply. Widening his smile, the young man said. "I'll explain that in the morning. So, the sooner you sleep, the better. You can wake up early to listen to my explanation."

After a moment of silence, Eve walked away. "Sure."

"But before that, I want to ask one thing, Eve." Those words made the witch stop. "You said you wanted peace while working on your project, so you bought this Fairchild family's house and workshop. Sorry, but I believe there is a bigger reason for that."

Eve could have asked her father to build a workshop in the Moryet family's second house. It would be more comfortable for Eve, because the house was bigger and had more facilities. This place can barely accommodate Eve, two bodyguards, and one maid.

"Sorry, I can't answer your question." Eve continued her steps again.

Lance shrugged. "It's fine."

As soon as the witch's footsteps vanished, Lance took the inscription papers and looked at them. Eve has made so many of those things in a short time.

Lance had a reason to ask about a private matter like that. The Moryet family has a complicated history. Lance wants to identify things that could disrupt this project, then find a solution.

If Arthur Moryet disagrees with this place, Lance will negotiate with the aristocrat to ensure they stay here. Or Lance could persuade Eve to move into that second house. Lance doesn't want any prolonged conflict that could threaten this project.

By knowing why Eve wants to be here, Lance can strengthen his argument.

After eighteen years, he can pursue his dreams again, albeit in a different form. He didn't want to lose this opportunity.

Unfortunately, this doesn't seem like the right time to dig deeper.

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