"I've been doing well lately, work has been smooth. You probably won't believe it, but I just got involved in a time anomaly event a few days ago and turned the tide!"

"Impressive, right? Promotion and pay raise are just around the corner."

Palmer picked up the microphone and excitedly recounted his recent fantastical adventure to the other party.

"Most importantly, my vacation request was approved, I'm now figuring out a day to go back and see you."

"Hey, is there anything you want? I'll get it for you. My bonus is quite substantial this time, I'll cover all expenses."

"What? Got everything at home already, don't need anything, huh! Damn! Vasilina, I'm out there risking my life, and you're just lounging on the sofa watching TV, aren't you!"

"Alright, alright, let's talk when I get back."

Palmer hung up the phone, his face still radiating satisfaction, but his beautiful fantasy was interrupted by the voice from next door.

"Was that your fiancée?"

Palmer's expression froze for a moment before he yanked open the curtain, "Boss, eavesdropping on others' calls isn't good!"

"I didn't intend to listen, but your voice was so loud, it was hard not to hear."

Lebius lay on the hospital bed, a bed table set up in front of him filled with various documents. Most bizarrely, there were two exquisite mechanical hands beside the bed, quickly processing documents under Lebius' control.

Palmer looked at Lebius helplessly, then sighed, "Yes, she is my fiancée."

Geoffrey's injuries weren't serious, he was discharged after staying at Border Sanatorium for a few days, and Bologue was the same. His undying body was truly convenient.

After the two left, only Palmer and Lebius remained in the ward, and they temporarily became roommates.

Sharing a room with your boss is stressful enough, let alone living together for a while.

During these days, Palmer's mental stress was pushed to the limit, but after hitting that limit, he became relieved and instinctively ignored Lebius, amusing himself.

Lebius said seriously, "Hmm... Even now, I find it hard to imagine that you have a fiancée."

"Boss, I know you're trying to joke, but could you at least change your facial expression when doing so?" Palmer had gotten used to Lebius' various reactions, "Your cold expression is truly terrifying!"

Thanks to his time with Bologue, Palmer applied the experience he gained from him to Lebius.

One could say Lebius and Bologue were somewhat similar, both extremely cold, efficient, and professional. But unlike Bologue, who occasionally went off the rails and revealed his fierce or humorous side, Lebius was different; he seemed to have only one persona, living by it.

"No, I'm serious," Lebius wasn't joking, continuing to browse the documents, "Is it a marriage alliance between families? You are, after all, the heir of the Clarks family, many families might desire your lineage."

Lebius paused, "If it's not, then that's quite surprising. It's hard to imagine someone like you attracting romantic interest."

Palmer got anxious, "Oh God, boss, just how unworthy am I in your eyes!"

Lebius recalled Palmer's file, even though he thought highly of Palmer, the experiences directly pulled out really were unremarkable.

The atmosphere in the ward fell into an eerie silence, only the smell of disinfectant wafting between them.

Palmer got even more anxious, "Say something! What's with the silence!"

"How did you two meet?"

Lebius clumsily shifted the topic.

Palmer frowned seriously, "I'm just unlucky, not stupid. That was too clumsy a way to change the topic!"

Lebius looked at him expressionlessly.

"..."

"We've known each other since childhood, a bit of a free romance, and somehow got engaged all the way till now."

Palmer obediently sat by the bedside, hands on his knees, recounting his simple emotional journey to Lebius.

One thing worth acknowledging is that both Lebius and Bologue possess a peculiar magic; when they silently gaze at you, you'll feel psychological pressure like never before, as if facing a friendly psychopathic killer.

Under such pressure, Palmer chose to abandon thinking.

"That's it?"

"What else?"

Lebius's eyes, rarely, showed some other emotions, like... disappointment.

"What did you imagine? A playboy? Constantly indulging in different women's arms?" Palmer proclaimed loudly, "I'm the heir of the Clarks family, am I that kind of person?"

Lebius replied calmly, "I didn't say anything."

Palmer kept shouting, "Your eyes were saying too much already!"

After venting, Palmer mumbled, "How should I put it? As the heir of the Clarks family, having a fiancée means I must take responsibility, absolutely can't mess around, right?"

Lebius coldly said, "If you didn't mention it, I really couldn't associate you with being the heir of the Clarks family."

"Boss, you..."

Palmer was about to lose his temper but was interrupted by Lebius raising his hand, "I suggest you take your vacation as soon as possible, no one knows what tomorrow holds, right?"

"Oh... I'm planning to decide when to go back after I'm discharged and move into a new home," Palmer recalled something, "Also, I have the Prayer Believers promotion ceremony coming up, I'll deal with that first."

On reflection, Palmer realized he truly had a lot going on, various tasks filled his schedule, making it overwhelming.

Palmer's gaze drifted to the documents on the bed table, among sheets after sheets of paper, he saw a familiar photograph.

"How is she?" Palmer stood up, walked to Lebius's bedside, "Bologue rarely cares about someone like this, he must be quite concerned."

"She's doing alright, these are the inspection reports from the Sublimation Furnace Core," Lebius didn't hide anything, directly handed Aimou's file to Palmer, "You can take a look."

"She's a very interesting case."

Hearing Lebius's words, Palmer flipped through the records, a strange reality gradually emerged line by line from the data and annotations.

"As an Alchemy Puppet, she possesses human consciousness and even received the Devil's blessing. You could say she is now a living human being."

Lebius sighed at the conclusion from the report.

Palmer shook his head, "But this requires sacrifice of the soul."

"No, her soul is still intact, not one of the Debtor."

Lebius gave a shocking answer, upon hearing this Palmer widened his eyes in disbelief, thinking he heard wrong.

"The sacrifice was made by Teda, Aimou is the beneficiary of the wish... Odd, isn't it? But that's the reality, her soul remains whole but she received the Devil's blessing."

Palmer took a few minutes to digest this magical conclusion, then muttered to himself, "Knowing this news, Bologue should be quite happy."

"If everything went smoothly, Belli should have already informed Bologue, he cares about this more than we do," Lebius said.

"And afterward? Where does Aimou go? Teda is dead, and the Alchemy Workshop is destroyed, nothing's left."

Palmer spoke with some sadness, Aimou gained new life but was genuinely homeless.

"Was she planning to reside in the Sublimation Furnace Core? Belli should take good care of her, right?" Palmer thought of Belli again, at least Aimou still has her senior sister.

"The Sublimation Furnace Core proposed this to Aimou, but she refused."

Lebius continued flipping through files, "She said she likes being with Belli, but she feels she has already freed herself from Teda's constraints and should pursue something she likes."

Aimou doesn't particularly enjoy Alchemy, she studied it diligently just to please Teda."

"So what's Aimou planning to do?"

Lebius didn't answer Palmer's question but rather focused on gazing at the file in his hands, a personal dossier detailing the target's information.

Name: Aimou Yazhede.

Action Group: Rupert's Tail.

Status: Employed.

Lebius picked up his seal, pressing a red mark onto the "Employed" status location.

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