"Ophiuchus."

"I'm here."

"My lord wants to know, how the [Blackstone Monsters] that were sent to you a few days ago were dissected, and whether they have collected enough valuable information?"

"What ...... this?"

After hearing Virgo's words, Ophiuchus wrapped in a white sterile gown stopped what she was doing: on the operating table in front of her, there were the only remaining remains of the [Black Stone Monster] in Virgo's mouth.

"It's up to you to understand it."

"How?"

Virgo raised an eyebrow, and in front of her, Ophiuchus unhurriedly unfastened his gloves and rummaged through the filing cabinet not far away for a moment.

"Although the bodies of these monsters look very rough and rudimentary, they actually use a lot of very novel technologies, which belong to the kind of strange products that seem to be backward, but they are very high-tech in their bones, and it is technically difficult to imitate them in a short period of time."

"You know, Ophiuchus, adults don't want to imitate these creations, they make her sick."

"I understand, but as a researcher, I'm just explaining these technical issues to you, and this is what I have to do, even if it's an absolute heresy according to traditional ethics and ethics, but for the sake of adults, I'll do it."

Ophiuchus's words made the genogenetic maid raise her eyebrows, and she looked at the novel [kind] in front of her quite carefully, but only saw a kind of coldness and silence that was difficult for her to accept, which was contempt and arrogance for all the morality in the world, which made Virgo feel emotionally uncomfortable.

And when Virgo thought about it and realized that she had just been born ten years ago, and she was also practicing such thoughts, she felt some kind of inexplicable fear, like oozing ice water lapping on every inch of her skin.

But on the other hand, she had to admit that Ophiuchus was right: the purpose of their existence as star maids was to help their mother clear the obstacles, and in this process, the observance of the so-called [ethics] was basically a negative factor.

But if that's really the case......

And why should mothers let them have these emotions?

Are you even willing to admit that these daughters of theirs?

“……”

For the first time, in Virgo's heart, a question that she couldn't answer was crossed, and in the next second, the Spider Empress's most trusted maid did not hesitate to choose the most correct way to solve the problem.

Don't think, don't think.

She closed her mind and no longer cared about these doubts, and after a brief period of anguish, her scarlet pupils regained their former sobriety, listening intently to the words from Ophiuchus and recording them carefully.

In front of her, Ophiuchus did not find any clues about Virgo, and she was intoxicated by the results of her research.

"But what I can tell you is: Virgo, it is always easier to destroy than to create, and although I don't know how to imitate these creations, I have figured out how to [kill] them as quickly as possible: the methods are here, please leave them to your lords."

Virgo took the book and nodded silently, a rather serious warning from the researcher.

"There's another point that you need to explain to adults, Virgo: according to my research, these monsters seem to have some kind of collective will in their brains, and they seem to be puppets driven by a higher authority, and they also have the power to drive a higher level."

"Node creatures?"

"Yes, the technology is crude, but it's a miracle to be able to achieve this step."

"I see: I'll make adults pay extra attention to this, so you can continue to research."

After a brief farewell to Ophiuchus, Virgo walked briskly out of the laboratory with the thick research record in her arms, and at this moment, the question just now resurfaced in her mind.

Virgo's face was a little melancholy, and she could barely resist the urge to think.

She couldn't help but wonder: if her mother created her only to get a group of unscrupulous right-hand men, then why did she get emotion again?

What exactly does a mother want? What was she expecting from them?

Is Ophiuchus wrong? Or is it actually her Virgo who is wrong? Was she herself straying from the path set by her mother? Is it that she shouldn't have these useless emotions?

“……”

Virgo knows that these are questions that she is not qualified to and does not need to think about.

But......

Sure enough, I still care about it.

——————

“……”

#侍女前进中#

#侍女推门中#

"Bang-"

“？！”

As soon as the door opened, Virgo saw Morgan playing Conrad.

The Spider Queen's heavy paper slammed through the air in a graceful arc like an elegant cannonball, smashing from her palm all the way to the Nostramo Book Fortress, or overhead.

Conrad's gaze flipped back and forth between the slowly falling cannonball, the wonder of his books, and the indifferent face of the Spider Empress not far away, and he took about a second to think very seriously, and then he stood up, intercepted the Spider Queen's anger, and raised his hands in the air.

"I think there may have been a misunderstanding."

The French bat grinned, trying hard to make his countenance look honest and reliable: but it seemed to be counterproductive.

[You only got five of the fifteen multiple-choice questions right, and I don't think there's any misunderstanding in that, Conrad: If there's a misunderstanding, it's just that I haven't communicated with you for too long, and you've had some misunderstanding about my power, haven't I?] 】

[What, do you want to turn back into your midnight ghost?] 】

“……”

Virgo could clearly see that the Nostramo man's throat rolled twice, apparently seduced by some fragment of Morgan's words, but soon, he raised his hands and intercepted the second wave of anger from the Spider Queen, arriving himself in a loud voice.

"From a technical point of view, it's not me who is the problem, Morgan: you said you would only test the two books I studied today, but the content you checked included the books from the previous days."

The Spider Empress looked laughed at her blood kin, her words slow and coherent, but as always, they occupied the highest point of logic, leaving Conrad speechless.

[Conrad, my pathetic little parasite brother: When did I say that I would only check today, I just told you that I would do a spot check, but I didn't say the content. 】

“……”

Conrad blinked: it seems like this is really the case.

He seems to have been put on the issue of speech by his own carrion blood relatives.

[Besides......]

Before Conrad could react, the Spider Empress seemed to think of something, and the nameless fire in her heart burned in an instant, sending chills down the spine of Virgo and Nostramo Fruit Bat in front of her.

[What I learned the other day! You won't remember it today! Are you still reasonable?! 】

Wrapped in the wrath of the Spider Empress, another unfortunate folder came straight into Conrad's face, as fast as a meteor, the Nostramo swallowed, did not dare to take it hard, but ducked to the side, allowing the folder to collide with the wall with a tooth-aching roar.

The Night King whispered.

"Some knowledge is useless after all......"

[What do you say?!] 】

“…… No, nothing was said. ”

The Spider Empress glanced at Conrad, but instead of releasing her monstrous rage, she leaned back and fell back in her chair, gasping heavily, gradually dissipating the anger in her pupils.

[Pick things up.] 】

Morgan closed his eyes and ordered.

The Nostramo man did not dare to continue to babble in this state, and he was very diligent enough to pick up the folders that had been smashed all over the floor by the Spider Queen, and after carefully sorting them out, he carefully walked to Morgan's desk and placed it on it: next to the notebook of research results placed by Virgo, who had arrived at his desk early in the morning.

Morgan watched this scene quietly, looking at the rare meekness on Conrad's face, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh deeply.

[Tell me, Conrad.] 】

Her voice was more like an emotion.

Why do you resist them? Why have you been reluctant to learn this? Why are you so disdainful of them? 】

"I don't have ......"

The Nostramo retorted to Morgan's words in a low voice, but when the Spider Queen's calm and indifferent gaze shifted, Conrad could only grit his teeth and squeeze out an explanatory word with great reluctance.

"I don't need them, Morgan."

"The vast majority of the things you have asked me to learn: mathematics, logic, philosophy, or statecraft, are not what I need, and I am not born with any knowledge in these fields, and they are useless to me."

[No knowledge is useless, Conrad, the only difference between them is that some knowledge does more good than good, while others do more harm than good, so a distinction needs to be made: I don't feel that the knowledge I have selected for you will do more harm than good to you. 】

"They take up a lot of room for me to think: that's doing more harm than good."

【……】

The Spider Queen's fingertips twitched at an irregular frequency: she looked like she had broken something, right now.

Raising her head, Morgan narrowed her blue-blue pupils slightly, her voice like both an unquestionable sentence and a visceral question, indistinguishable.

[We've talked about it many times, Conrad, and every time I say it's the last time, but now, I have to ask you: Why can't you learn this knowledge, do you think you learned it for me?] 】

[The ultimate beneficiary of learning is you. 】

Conrad lowered his head.

Conrad didn't speak.

Conrad looked completely untouched.

【……】

Morgan looked away, she reached out and touched the Virgo's hair, and shook her head as if she were sighing silently.

The quiet breath lingered between the two genoplasms for a moment, until the Nostramo man seemed to have finally adjusted his thinking and logic, and spoke to Morgan in a low voice.

"That's just the way it is, Morgan."

"It is impossible for me to learn all the things you have arranged: I do not need them, whether it be mathematics or logic, whether it be Plato or Demosthenes, and what does they have to do with the vocation that my father has given me?"

"Even if I did memorize them: it would be useless."

[It's not useless. 】

Morgan shook his head.

[I still say the same thing: no matter when, knowledge is valuable, you and I are both genetic prototypes, we are no different, you don't have to find a reason for me here, I know what you can do, I know that you can't remember them at all, you just don't want to remember. 】

“……”

Conrad was silent for a moment, and then, he even laughed.

The Lord of the Night sensed that, just as the tides that came up on a full moon night would retreat in great stride the next day, after the sudden anger had dissipated, his carrion blood relatives seemed to fall into a more integrated and compromising attitude.

——————

This is an opportunity.

Conrad has been waiting for a long time.

He had something he wanted to talk about.

——————

"So what?"

The Nostramo people spread their hands.

"Even the Midnight Ghost who belongs to Nostramo doesn't make every Nostramo a well-educated man: at the end of the day, everyone has their own place and vocation, and he just needs to master the relevant content."

"Even the Midnight Ghost is not an exception: yes, Morgan, you are more powerful than I am, and even know more about how to master the value of fear, then you should know this better than I do, not everyone needs to be omniscient, for the Midnight Ghost to bring fear and order is enough."

Conrad stretched out a hand and expressed his sincerity to the Spider Empress: there was no longer any ill-willed and self-indulgent contemplation in his countenance, but a rather prosaic sincerity, a real sincerity.

[Father asked me to teach you ......]

"Then you just need to teach me what I need, right, that's a good thing for you and me, if you can't, you can even let me learn it myself, I think I still have the right to learn independently, right?"

On the face of the Nostramo man, a smile with sarcasm appeared.

"All men are created equal, Morgan."

"I remember this sentence."

"If it were Vogrim who taught me, he would have done it, he wouldn't have been so brutal and arbitrary like you, he would have listened carefully to my needs and respected my ideas and freedoms: he would have done that, and that's something you'll never be able to do, Spider Queen."

【……】

Morgan leaned back in her seat, she crossed her legs, and looked at Conrad in front of her, at the smiling Nostramo man with an unprecedented, indescribable gaze, and was silent for a long time, so long that it seemed that the river of time had fallen into silt at this moment.

[Your words are weak, my poor Conrad. 】

"I didn't expect to convince you: you're the Midnight Ghost after all, are you?"

Conrad was in an exaggerated manner, and he glanced at the clock, and the sarcastic smile on his countenance turned into a most pompous gesture of astonishment.

"Oh......"

"Class is over."

"I guess I shouldn't bother you?"

【……】

The Spider Empress snorted, and she casually pulled out a stack of books and shoved them in front of the Nostramo man, a cold smile in her voice.

[Take it, today's homework: I'm sorry to inform you that there is still a lot of useless knowledge in this. 】

"Can I make a mistake on purpose?"

[No one has the right to make mistakes on purpose: at least with me, you certainly don't. 】

"Ah...... What a pity. ”

Conrad sighed dryly, his two slender fingers pressed against his temples, and then smiled, waving a series of fancy goodbye gestures towards the Spider Queen.

"Don't worry, I'll work hard to complete them, Mr. Morgan."

【……】

"I hope so. 】

Before Morgan's indifferent response could land, the Night King's chuckling figure had already swept over his exaggerated joy and disappeared into the Spider Queen's office: before leaving, he deliberately turned to his desk and touched the half-read "we" by him.

Morgan watched coldly.

Morgan had nothing to say.

——————

"Every once in a while, he's going to have to put on a scene like this, Mother."

After Conrad left, Virgo skillfully prepared juice for her mother.

[Nothing. 】

Behind her, the Spider Queen twitched the last of the completed documents with her fingers, yawned lazily, and threw herself on the back of her chair in a lazy posture.

[My parasite brother is just telling me in this way: he is still not tamed by me, he still has not yielded to my rules, he is still him, he has left me, he is still the midnight ghost. 】

"Do I need to tell you any of these things?"

[It is also saying to himself that he will continue the independence in his eyes with timely resistance.] 】

“……”

Virgo nodded, and she couldn't help but have a thought:

Whenever her mother and her Nostramo cousin appeared in her field of vision at the same time, a strange sensation popped up in Virgo's young brain: Morgan and Conrad's relationship did not seem to be a teacher and a student, or a simple blood relationship.

It's like: a human being, and a ...... Man's best friend.

However, this [friend] still looks a little wild and untamable.

Virgo suppressed her thoughts, brought a glass of apple and peach juice to her mother's side, and the Spider Queen happily took her drink, and then, frowning.

[Why did you change to such a small cup this time, Aniah?] 】

"Keeping your calorie intake above is good for your body, my lord, and a glass of apple juice contains the same calories as a kilogram of pineapple pie, and if you drink all the apple and peach juice in the warehouse, the calories you consume are equivalent to eating your biggest son into a fried meat bento."

【……】

[I don't care about calories, I care if I can soothe my tired heart and equally tired spirit with a drink: remember to change it to a big cup next time, Aniah.] 】

“……”

"Next time, definitely."

The smile on Virgo's face made the Spider Queen feel a little suspicious, and before her doubts could continue to expand, her good daughter had already pulled out the electronic board and asked a question to the genotype.

"However, there is a question in my Minerva array right now, Mother: why, you and His Excellency Conrad continue to engage in such meaningless ......"

【Cat and mouse game? 】

“…… It can be described as such. ”

[You also think that my education of Conrad is wrong?] 】

"No, I think the same as you, but I'm just a little puzzled: why are you so obsessed with being a midnight ghost in front of Lord Conrad, and Lord Conrad seems to care the same?"

【……】

Morgan curled the corners of her lips, and instead of responding immediately, she took a sip first.

[Do you think Conrad has changed now compared to a few years ago?] 】

"It's a big change."

"At least when he first arrived, he would never have come out of his mouth these philosophical and historical words, or [technically] the kind of words that he disdained at first, but now he uses them in his discourse."

"Although I still feel that he has no sincerity in the slightest about the content of his words."

[That's not what we should be thinking about now, what we should be thinking about is another question, Aniah: Why, did Conrad go from bloody barbarism at the beginning to the way he now knows how to use words, advances and retreats with evidence, and even learns to compromise? 】

[Although he has not changed in his bones, his ability to do this on the surface represents his recognition of the value of these actions: it would have been unthinkable a few years ago. 】

"Because...... Learn? ”

【……】

The genoplasm was amused.

[You also saw it, Aniah: Do you think it will be the reason for learning?] If I hadn't pressed him, he would have been able to take out these priceless books and use them as wallpaper to glue the walls. 】

“……”

That's true.

"What's the reason for that?"

[Because of the Midnight Ghost, my sweet silly daughter: because of the power of the name Midnight Ghost.] 】

A glint flashed in the Spider Queen's pupils, and she gently lowered the precious wine glass in her palm, her hands crossed.

[We must realize one thing, Aniah: no matter how filthy and terrible the Nostramo is, from the moment this parasite brother of mine opens his eyes, he is the world's top predator, he is a superior being, he is undoubtedly strong, and he can impose his will on others. 】

[He himself thinks so: and the Midnight Ghost is a sign, a sign that Conrad has specially made for himself, which is equivalent to the sign of might and truth. 】

[So, I'm going to take the name of the Midnight Ghost from me, and I'm going to be the Midnight Ghost between me and Conrad: because as soon as Conrad loses it, he will realize a reality.] 】

[In me and in him, he is the weakling, the unfortunate one who has to face power and domination: and it is only when he finds himself in the position of the weak that he begins to think, there are questions about the weak. 】

[And only when he becomes a weak person, will he understand the true value of certain things, such as rules and words, such as compromise and forbearance, these things that he can ignore and knead wantonly when he is strong, now they have become his lifeline, so that he has to pay attention to and learn these concepts. 】

[This is the most effective study for my lovely Aniah. 】

[After all, even if we grabbed Conrad's ears and yelled at him a thousand times to consider the situation of the weak, it was far from being able to make him really a weakling: it is better to read ten thousand books than to travel ten thousand miles, and that is the case. 】

[There are some things that he will only understand and change if he has experienced them himself: as he does now, who would have thought that Conrad would know how to use the power of language and rules to defend and attack, he used to be quite dismissive of these things. 】

“……”

"But, Mother, in spite of this, he is very resistant to your teachings, and is very attached to the midnight ghost in his bones, and has not completely changed."

[Do you think a guy like this can be done in a few years?] 】

[The emperor has given me enough time, and now is only the first step: I have lassoed this beast with a rope of violence, and now, although he still fantasizes about the wilderness, he also knows that he cannot resist my power, and can only passively be contaminated with the breath of civilization, but despite this, it will take a long time to turn him into an ordinary person. 】

"You seem to have a good idea of taming animals?"

[After all, it's not the first time.] 】

“？”

Virgo blinked, she looked at her mother with her eyes closed, but there was a trace of worry for her creator in her heart, and there was an inexplicable hatred for the enemy.

"But! Mother: Even if you take so much pains to teach him and spend so much time with him, he still can't do you any good, just look at what he just said, he doesn't appreciate you. ”

【……？ 】

Morgan opened his eyes and looked at his eldest daughter, a little confused.

Why do I need his gratitude? 】

"But ......"

The Spider Empress laughed.

[My Aniah, as you just heard: If I really want Conrad's gratitude and love, then I just need to be like Fogream, as long as I follow him in things, let him make trouble, don't force him to study hard, and I can still live in harmony between Conrad and I. 】

[But I'm not going to do that: in my deal with the Emperor, I'm going to present a healthy Conrad, and the Fogham-style obedience is obviously not going to make this little bastard grow up healthy, and if I really do that, Conrad probably won't learn anything.] 】

[Therefore, I forced him to learn these useless knowledge in his eyes, forced him to accept the way of thinking of the weak, forced the madness and bloodlust in his bones, and ordered him to learn to overcome and endure, otherwise he would have to meet my sword: because only in this way can he barely become a normal person. 】

"But he'll hate you, Mother."

[Ah, that's random: when I finish my education and give over to my father a Conrad who has become an ordinary person, or something like an ordinary person, my relationship with him will end, and he will hate me, complain about me, and die of old age. 】

"I don't care. 】

[What I want is never his gratitude: what I want is his growth. 】

——————

“……”

"But Mother ......"

[Farewell, Aniah. 】

“…… What's wrong? ”

【……】

【……】

[Lana is coming, and his steps are in a hurry. 】

"Put your things down, my Aniah, and follow me to the throne room.] 】

"Understood."

——————

"This is a communication from the Dark Angel Legion, Mother, through the highest level of secrecy transmission channel, relayed and encrypted from Holy Terra, and sent a total of ten times before and after, to ensure that it can be conveyed absolutely."

Rana respectfully handed the electronic board in his hand to his genetic mother, and after realizing the urgency of the situation, the chief of the Praetorian Guard did not even dare to open it for inspection, lest he miss something.

And just as he guessed: when the Spider Queen's gaze swept over the electronic board with a brief message written on it, her face instantly became a little strange: first an imperceptible memory and emotion, then a soft smile, and when she put down the electronic board in her hand, it was obvious that she had made some kind of decision in her heart.

【Lana. 】

"I'm here, my lord!"

[You know, when I was first reunited with you, I made a promise to one of my brothers: it may have sounded like a joke at the time, but apparently my blood relatives took it very seriously. 】

[And I don't intend to break the contract.] 】

[My Janissary Commander, I command you, in the name of the Lord of the Second Legion and the Lord of Avalon, to inform the Legion Council, as well as every company commander under my command, every ally, every fleet capable of conducting an expedition, mobilize. 】

[Mobilize all our forces, and be able to devote all our forces to the expedition.] 】

"Understood."

Rana instinctively complied, but soon, he raised his head and asked questions about his genetic mother.

"My lord, you mean, the power of the Gothic Expedition before it......"

[No, Lana. 】

The Spider Empress laughed, the glint in her pupils that made the famous Praetorian Guard steward dare not look at her.

[I mean......]

【All!】 】

[Do you understand? 】

“…… Yes, sir! My lord! ”

——————

"You made a promise, Mother?"

When the figure of the chief guard disappeared into the corridor, the chief maid of the original body, who had been flipping through her memory array but never to fruition, could only look at her creator and mother in frustration.

[Yes, a promise.] 】

Morgan smiled, she soothed the electronic board in her palm, and two slender fingers gently rubbed the fingertips, causing a burst of nameless blue-black flames, and she burst out.

In the Spider Queen's almost eternally cold pupils, the flames left traces, giving the eyes of indifference, with the deepest void and darkness, a trace of eternal warmth.

——————

"What kind of promise is that, Mother?"

【……】

[Morgan, will definitely respond to Johnson.] 】

[Whenever, whatever it is.] 】

When he needs me, I will be with him. 】

"Or vice versa?"

The corners of the original body's mouth are hooked.

"I hope so. 】

(End of chapter)