Chapter 696
"Yes, Lord Shaer." Tara gave a slight bow and hurried down the stairs. However, halfway down, she quietly glanced back at Shaer, only to quickly avert her gaze and continue to the first floor.
Was it just her imagination? Why did it seem like Lord Shaer was limping a bit as he walked... Had something happened while she was asleep? Was Lord Shaer injured in a fight?
Shaer sat in the study, eyes closed, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. A few minutes later, Tara returned with her white shadow, carrying several trays into the room.
One tray held the blank manuscript paper and ink that Shaer needed, while another contained tea, coffee, and the pastries that Shaer liked, to help her think and replenish her energy.
After arranging everything neatly in front of Shaer, Tara picked up the last tray, which held a blanket, knelt beside Shaer, and draped the blanket over her legs.
"Thank you." The thoughtful gesture from Tara prompted Shaer to express her gratitude.
"Um... Lord Shaer, I noticed you seemed a bit uncomfortable while walking just now..." Tara looked down at the floor, her voice barely above a whisper. "Would you like me to massage your thigh or apply some ointment?"
Massage... ointment...
The mere mention of those words seemed to stir up some unpleasant memories for Shaer, sending a shiver down her spine and raising goosebumps on her arms.
"Ahem... that's not necessary. Just wait over there." Shaer politely declined Tara's kind offer.
Though she knew Tara meant well, Shaer really didn't want anyone touching her right now...
She had a bit of a shadow hanging over her.
Sipping the warm red tea that Tara had poured for her, Shaer gradually felt her mind settle, replaying all the experimental records she had seen in her simulations.
"Fundamentals of Flesh Alchemy" — Witch
She wrote down the title, signing it simply as "Witch."
With a title in place, Shaer had a clearer idea of what she wanted to write.
She began to write quickly on the blank paper. Initially, she intended to draft the entire manuscript in Chinese, but that would render it meaningless to anyone else who couldn't understand it.
So, she left some key materials and steps blank, ensuring that even if someone stumbled upon the manuscript, they wouldn't be able to complete the flesh alchemy experiment without her guidance.
Time ticked by, and numerous drafts were crumpled into balls and tossed aside, while Tara diligently collected them, keeping the workspace tidy.
It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that Shaer finally set down her pen.
Before her lay a thick stack of manuscripts, nearly two fingers wide.
This was after Shaer had intentionally omitted some crucial steps; if she had written everything out completely, the number of manuscripts would have doubled.
She put down her pen and stretched her shoulders and neck, feeling a pang of hunger.
Compiling all this information had been quite a mental workout, and Shaer felt a bit drained. She decided not to engage in any more mentally taxing activities for the rest of the day.
With the other servants dismissed, Tara was left to handle all the chores in the villa, which was one reason she couldn't get a proper rest.
Perhaps it was time to consider finding a few more "ascetic" nuns from the Goddess of Salvation Church to help out; it could count as part of their "asceticism."
At noon, Shaer, for the first time in a while, decided to cook for herself, preparing some simple home-cooked meals to fill her stomach.
Tara strongly opposed Shaer cooking, insisting that she should rest in the dining room while Tara took care of the cooking... but Shaer dismissed her objections.
Shaer vividly remembered the mushy disaster she had seen in the kitchen when she had left Tara's house after killing Qiangyin... Tara was great in many ways, but her cooking skills left much to be desired.
Letting her cook? Shaer would rather go out to a restaurant.
In the face of Shaer's insistence, Tara had no choice but to follow her lead and lend a hand.
Though it had been a while since she last cooked, Shaer's skills hadn't dulled. Before long, she had prepared a few simple dishes and a beef and potato stew.
At the dining table, Tara eyed the food with barely concealed anticipation, swallowing hard. Shaer heard the slight sound clearly.
Thinking back, it seemed Tara hadn't eaten anything substantial since yesterday.
"Come sit and eat with me," Shaer said, gesturing to the chair across the table.
Tara froze for a moment, then shook her head vigorously.
"No, no, no... Lord Shaer, I can't sit at the table..."
Before Tara could say more, Shaer interrupted, "Eat."
Hearing Shaer's calm voice, Tara didn't dare argue further and carefully took a seat at the far end of the table.
Shaer looked at Tara's position and felt a bit exasperated.
Tara was sitting at least two meters away from the food; it wasn't like she could use a two-meter-long fork and knife.
"How are you going to eat from over there..." Shaer said, a bit incredulous.
"But... I can eat," Tara replied, picking up the fork in front of her. With a delicate motion, her slender white shadow reached out, spearing a piece of meat from the platter and placing it on her own plate.
Eating at the same table as Lord Shaer...
Tara didn't even realize her eyes had narrowed in delight, her joy so palpable it needed no words to express.
She took a bite of the stew, the flavors of potato and meat bursting in her mouth. After going so long without a proper meal, the taste nearly brought tears to her eyes.
In that moment, Tara felt an unparalleled sense of happiness; nothing could compare to the joy she felt right then.
Meanwhile, Shaer watched Tara's expression with a hint of helplessness.
Just a piece of meat made her this happy... If an outsider saw this, they would surely think she was a cruel employer mistreating her underage maid.
After they finished eating, Tara cleared the plates while Shaer stepped outside to the small garden in front of the villa.
The midday sun warmed her skin, and a gentle breeze carrying the scent of flowers brushed past her. Shaer couldn't help but open her arms, tilting her head back to gaze at the sky, squinting slightly.
She had lost track of how long it had been since she felt this kind of tranquility...
This very lifestyle was what she had once dreamed of back in Bole City.
Yet now, her reality had strayed far from the peaceful life she had initially sought...
And her mindset had shifted beyond return.
Lowering her arms, she squinted at the surrounding buildings.
Ansu City... had already been "cleansed" by Shaer multiple times... Even if she went on another killing spree, it wouldn't yield her any more destiny points.
Not just Ansu City, but the entire continent had lost countless lives to the crimson bacteria during the previous simulations, rendering any further "cleansing" efforts practically worthless.
Killing Imogen was at least a break-even option.
With only a few days left, Shaer didn't have enough time to devise a cross-continental plan...
The tone for the next simulation had already begun to take shape in her mind.
It would be a true speedrun.
Quickly going through the process to find Imogen and negotiate, then... kill her.
To conserve mental energy, Shaer could even commit suicide after killing Imogen, leaving the simulation without needing to preserve anything for the next run. The more she did, the more likely her intentions would be exposed.
Most importantly, she needed a very suitable "future" or "past" simulation time that would allow her to strike first without her subordinates being able to evade.
This meant that to select the right time, Shaer might have to quickly and repeatedly go through several rounds of simulation.
Of course, the prerequisite was that each future or past simulation couldn't exceed 100 days, as Shaer couldn't guarantee she would always earn at least 100 destiny points each time she entered a simulation. If this continued, her points would eventually run out.
In the time that followed, Shaer returned to the study.
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