บท 40: Chapter 40: Viral

"You… you care for me?"

"Yes."

And with Lucian not even hesitating for even a millisecond to answer that, Charlotte's ears instantly turned red, and the only thing they could hear now was the sound of her stuttering breath and the pounding of her heart.

Throughout the weeks, Charlotte has actually been trying her best not to show it — but she was a really big fan of Lucian. Of course, she already told him that when she confronted him, but she did not even tell half of it.

When Lucian disappeared, she cried for almost an entire month. And it did not help at all that her father was a conspiracy theorist and was telling her that they killed Lucian because of what he could do.

And now, for her idol to tell her that he cares for her… her mind and body were practically going through shock.

"What… what about your wife? What about… Malenia?" Charlotte could not even look at Lucian as she stuttered, "If… if you care for me, then—"

"I care for you because you take care of my family, Ms. Hall Master."

"Oh… of course," the ringing in Charlotte's head quickly died down as she just started walking away, "Well… well then — I'll… see you again tomorrow, Dr. Lucian. Good… good night."

"Hm?" Lucian tilted his head to the side before looking up, only to see the sun still actively shining down on them, "G—"

"B—by the way!" Charlotte raised her voice before Lucian could say anything, "About what that bitch—about what the woman said earlier about your pills not selling, it's… it's not your fault, Dr. Lucian."

"I know."

"It's because we can't really market it properly and—oh," Charlotte just stopped as she realized what Lucian said, "Well… yes. The… the fault is on our side. But you don't have to worry, just one… we only need just one to believe it and it will go off!"

"W—" And once again, Lucian could not even say anything before Charlotte just quickly rushed away and entered their mansion. As for Lucian, he walked to the other house beside the mansion — it was a guesthouse, but Charlotte and her father made it Lucian's house for now.

"Ah. Master Lucian, welcome back."

And as soon as he entered the house, he was greeted by a woman in a white robe; bowing her head, letting her long brown hair just slide from her shoulders before smiling brightly at Lucian with her slightly pink lips and fair face.

"Thank you, Ms. Caretaker," Lucian only glanced at the jolly woman before continuing to walk through the house — its entrance way, already bigger than his apartment. The interior of the house did not look at all; in fact, it was quite modern with all the blocky aesthetic and wide spaces. There was a large TV in the living room — and although Lucian had already moved in the house for a few days, he still had not actually been to the living room at all, no.

The only rooms he has been in the house were the bathroom, the kitchen, the laboratory, and Maeve and Malenia's rooms — he hasn't even bothered going to his own room and just opted to place his clothes in the large bathroom, which was close to the laboratory.

"Master Lucian, please — just call me Hannah," the smile on the caretaker's face did not disappear at all as she followed behind Lucian, "It feels… awkward that you are treating me with such respect. I am a servant of the Lotus Pharma sect and the 6th Elder, you are an esteemed guest that even Lady Charlotte treats with respect."

"Hm…" Lucian only glanced at Hannah as he made his way to the kitchen.

"Ah! Right, we are out of protein, Master Lucian!" Hannah then walked ahead of Lucian as she quickly rushed toward the refrigerator, "I used the last of it for your breakfast. I was going to buy groceries, but…

…Lady Charlotte told me that you get your meat from a specific butcher?"

"Yes," Lucian also approached the refrigerator, placing his large insulated bag next to it.

"Ah! Could that be it!?" Lucian was about to open the bag, but Hannah did not let him at all as she and opened it herself, "Master Lucian, please — let me handle this. I was told to give you as much time as possible!"

"Okay…" Lucian blinked a couple of times as he watched as Hannah really only put some of the human meat in the refrigerator.

"I am going to put the other in the large freezer we have in the basement, Master Lucian," Hannah slightly struggled to lift the insulated bag, "We should prevent it from spoiling since there's so many. That's… alright with you, right? You don't mind your protein not fresh?"

"I do not mind at all, Ms. Caretaker," Lucian shook his head.

"Okay," Hannah let out a small and very friendly giggle as she walked away; a little bit of bounce in her steps, "Ah, by the way, I already bathed Madam Malenia and Young Lady Maeve. I've also checked their vitals and changed their sheets, their IV bags, and I have also cleaned their rooms, and the rest of the house."

"You… have cleaned everything?" Lucian just once again blinked as he heard Hannah.

"Yes," Hannah nodded several times, "You do not have to worry about anything, Master Lucian — the only thing I have not cleaned is your laboratory, since Lady Charlotte told me not to enter it. I have also prepared some clean and completely sterilized clothes for you in the bathroom!"

"Then…" Lucian looked to the side, "...I suppose I will just go straight to the bathroom before heading to the laboratory, Ms. Caretaker."

"Yes, and I will have a meal ready for you by the time you are done, Master Lucian."

Charlotte did not lie at all — he promised Lucian that he would have all the time he needed for his experiments without having to worry about Malenia and Maeve at all. Although he was a little weirded out that his routine changed just like that, he did not mind at all as he could spend more time in the laboratory, and then just check on Malenia and Maeve after he was done.

And that is what he did, he spent the entire day and night inside his laboratory — but as has been ever since T1A, he seemed to be getting far and far away from the cure.

A cure for the Rot, in truth, should have been the easiest thing for him to ever make. In fact, he got it in the first trial with the T1A, if it wasn't for the… mysterious and sinister side effects, then it could have already been considered to be the cure.

"Perhaps the T1A itself is preventing me from figuring out a cure," Lucian continued to record his findings as he just looked at the dozens of screens in front of him. The laboratory Charlotte provided for him is filled with all the new apparatus and machines he would ever need — he was like a kid inside a candy store… an extremely focused kid, that is. He could even walk around now while recording,

"The behavior of T1A, after all, is similar to that of a Parasite. Its main function is to preserve itself, and by extension, me, its host. This is proven by T1A's ability to adapt to any suppressant I make — If that is to be the main case, then it is highly probable that it controls my subconscious and is preventing me from creating the cure to the Rot, as it knows…

…that I plan to immediately terminate myself after."

Lucian then let out a small sigh as he turned off his recorder, just staring at the monitors for a few more seconds before walking out of the laboratory. He was about to take a bath to get ready for the Academy, but before he could do so—

"Master Lucian, Lady Char—"

"Dr. Lucian!? Did I wake you!?"

—his ears were almost deafened as Charlotte's voice reverberated throughout the entire house. Lucian did not mind, however, as he just watched Charlotte rushing toward him with a very excited look on her face; her hand, waving a cell phone.

"Dr. Lucian… our pills—your pills…

…it went viral!"

"Viral…?" Lucian blinked,

"...It became a virus?"

"What…? No!"