"You should have killed her."

The younger brother placed a colander on the delicate edge of the teacup and carefully placed two sides of granulated sugar. He watched happily as the tea poured out. The sugar cube gradually melted and collapsed, the wrinkles on his face widened, and he couldn't help but let out a happy chuckle. With nowhere to escape from the last bit of sugar left, it finally fell into the dark tea soup.

"Miss Sophia is not a problem." I say.

Stewan was angry, and he waved his hand vigorously in the air: "Not yet, but what about later?" Sister, there will be problems with being willful. He looked up at me and asked, "Before the house burns down, you'd better blow out the sparks first, right?" ”

"I've already spoken to the secret agent of the Abinac family——。"

"That's between you spies. What I'm saying is that if she betrayed her family, she deserves her life—"

"There will be a day." I tried to relax my tone: "But I've agreed." Adambert will make sure she doesn't get into trouble. She's in his hands now. ”

That's all I have to say. Stivan leaned back in his chair, the expression on his face reluctant, but accepting. He picked up the woolen blanket on his leg.

"That man, he should have used another pair of eyeballs on his head." Stivan snorted softly. In his opinion, it doesn't matter how things are resolved, what matters is always the result. For my younger brother, my tinkering has really been able to eradicate many of the problems in Pitney. And he rarely thinks about how many dilemmas there are behind those decisions.

I picked up the teacup in one hand and absentmindedly slid the other to the outside of my thigh, stroking the hook winch with ease. Nor is Stivan's idea entirely wrong. The results were naturally good, but I value the process of chasing more.

I looked at Stewan through the mist of tea. His lips were closed, as if he had made up his mind. The pressure made his cheeks pale, and age spots could be clearly seen creeping up his neck from under his silk scarf.

"You're still in business." I say.

"Am I that obvious, sister?"

If it weren't for his fragile pulse, I guess he would have blushed. He smiled wryly, and took out a folded piece of paper from the desk drawer in the middle, along with a string of rosaries. Stivan coughed hard as he tilted his wheelchair backwards. Then he wrenched the small handle on the wheelchair, and the gentle movement moved the small gear, which in turn pulled the bigger gear. The clockwork mechanism pushed the wheelchair, and he, who was in the wheelchair, moved towards me.

"Aside from the short-lived marriage contract of the eldest lady of the Abino family, there is something else in that mess." He said. "When we cleaned up the scene, we found this on one of the Baron's men."

I put the teacup back on the snow-white tray and took the pieces of paper and rosary from him. I adjusted my center of gravity, and the tip of the blade pierced a few more points into the expensive carpet.

The corners of the paper were charred, and the irregular edges showed a slightly greenish hair. The owner of the rosary cherished this object: the glass beads were rubbed to a smooth and smooth color, warm as jade.

"Camille."

My brother would only call me by that name when he was very serious, or maybe he asked me for it. I unfolded the paper, and a spicy smell from Zaun hit me, unpleasant. The paper is painted with thick lines, well-organized graphics, and smooth and fine handwriting. The Craftsman's Seal caught my eye, and Stivan's words confirmed my suspicions.

"If Nedri comes back—"

"Hakim Nedri is gone." I blurted out, subconsciously.

As our family's chief mechanic, that crystallographer has served us for many years—a lifetime, I should say.

Stewan had already figured out the next step: "Sister, you know what this thing is. ”

"Of course." I looked at the scrap of paper in my hand, which depicted a hybrid device of machinery and crystals. It was beating in my chest.

I'm holding a blueprint of my heart in my hand.

"We thought it was all destroyed. But if this one is still there, maybe the others will too. I can finally get rid of this chair. He said, "It is the duty of the head of the family to move freely in my big house." ”

"Perhaps, it's time for someone else to take on the responsibilities of the head of the house." I say.

Stewan hadn't walked around his hall in years. The children and grandchildren are constantly reminding him of his disability. I have more than just a piece of paper and a rosary. In Stivan's eyes, it was a map to eternal life.

"It's just a device." I continued: "It seems to you that if we can retrieve the remaining blueprints of Nedri, our mechanics will be able to restore his work. But we also have to figure out how to drive—"

"Camille, please."

I looked at my brother. Time showed no mercy to him, who was born weak. But his eyes, even after all these years, are still the same as mine, rippling with the blue of the Philos family, which cannot be diluted by illness or age. His eyes, like the Hex crystal lamp that illuminates the picture in my hand, shine with the same brilliance. He looked me straight in the eye, his eyes full of pleading.

"You and I, both of us have led this family to unprecedented achievements, achievements that my mother and father could never have dreamed of." He said. "If we can reproduce your augmentation surgery, this merit – our merit, Camille, will live on forever. This family is the future of Piltover. We can even ensure the evolution of the whole Valoran, there is no doubt about it. ”

Stewan is very good at making a fuss, which, combined with his weak physique, makes it difficult for his parents to refuse any of his requests.

"I'm not the spy in charge of all of Valoran. I may not find anything. ”

Stephen breathed a sigh of relief: "But you'll be looking for it, right?" ”

I nodded and returned the drawings to him, but left the rosary. I wrapped the beads in a ball and stuffed it into my pocket, turned and left the study.

"By the way, Camille? If he's still alive, if you find him—"

"Same as before." I interrupted, not letting him talk more about the past. "My responsibility, from beginning to end, is for the future of this family."

Although it was approaching dusk, the North Wind Exchange was still a crowded scene. Everyone is busy with the raves of Progress Day. They all had energetic expressions on their faces, and they were all looking forward to the annual novelty festival in the city. However, it was not them who were being watched, but a drunken foreign merchant.

"The she-bear's frozen ** hey," the merchant cursed as he couldn't stand the crowd. Someone stopped to help him, but he pushed him away. "Don't help me."

The people of Leather City crowded around us noisily like worker bees, except for a blonde girl at the edge of the square. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched her as I leaned down towards the merchant.

"Then get up." I told him.

The Freljord looked up at me, then in a fit of rage, reached for the ivory dagger at his waist. I met his gaze. His eyes went all the way down, and finally he saw the Hex crystal on my chest, and then a pair of bladed legs. His hand let go of the hilt.

"That's a good boy. Let's go, get out of the way. I said.

He nodded dumbly, then took a few steps back, and the merchants of Leather City spread out and gathered around like a swarm of insects, staggering away in his circle. Only my "tail" stood still, hiding behind a booth far away and staring at me.