Chapter 235: Life in the Mansion
Chapter 235: Life in the Mansion
Honestly, Liam was very curious about Alice's father. He couldn't fathom what kind of person could make his daughter both hate him with a passion and love him madly.
Alice saw the confusion in Liam's expression. "I can feel that my father truly loves me, even believing that I am as important as his life. I'm also proud of his achievements in alchemy."
"But ever since I can remember, he's been constantly traveling for work, and I hardly see him more than a few times a year. He's also always worried about my safety, so he doesn't allow me to leave here when I'm alone." Saying this, Alice looked a bit dejected.
"Wait a moment, I can find you a companion." Liam suddenly had an idea and said, "But I'll need to leave for a bit."
"It's fine, I can read a book." Alice took a book from a nearby shelf and started reading. Liam quickly opened a portal and went to the Radiation World to fetch something. It took him about half an hour to return.
When Liam emerged from the portal, he saw Alice with the book still open on her lap, though the untouched pages revealed her tension.
Hearing the commotion, Alice looked up and was surprised to see a large cardboard box standing next to Liam.
"What is this?" Alice put the book down and walked over, curiously examining the box.
"Inside is Handy." Liam pointed to the large box, which his subordinates had found during a search of an underground warehouse. "It's a robot that can do household chores and keep you company, similar to an alchemical automaton here. In our world, they are often used as household servants or nannies."
With that, Liam waved his wand, and the box automatically opened. A robot with three eyes and an octopus-like appearance emerged.
"Let me check the manual." Liam pulled out a small booklet and began guiding Alice on how to activate the robot. After all the verification procedures were completed, the robot activated its jet propulsion and hovered in the air.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Alice. I will be your most loyal companion. You can call me Helen." The robot greeted Alice in a soft female voice.
"The accent reminds me of Curie", Liam thought, looking at the French-speaking robot.
"Can I really be friends with her?" Alice asked Liam after chatting with Helen for a while. "To be honest, I've never had a friend who looks like a round, octopus-like creature."
"Of course, friendship is about the connection of hearts, not appearances. I have a similar friend myself." Liam pulled out a photo, showing Alice a picture of Curie and him in her laboratory in the Plants vs. Zombies World.
"See, this is my friend. She's an excellent doctor, and once she's less busy, you might even get to meet her. She's very curious, and knowing me, she'll probably come to check out this new place."
"That's amazing, but isn't it a bit selfish of me to keep Helen here?" Alice asked uncertainly.
"You're such a kind-hearted girl, but you don't need to worry about that right now. These robots don't have independent souls to begin with. Only after they spend a long time interacting with humans do they start to recognize themselves and develop their own souls. For example, my friend is over 200 years old, and her soul formed because her three previous owners spent their entire lives communicating with her, helping her understand what love and self are."
"Oh, I see." Alice nodded. "I once heard my father say that many top-tier Alchemical Automatons are created with incomplete souls. Only by truly immersing themselves in human life and understanding what it means to be human can they gradually complete their souls and become true Lives."
As she spoke, a grumbling sound suddenly came from Alice's stomach. Liam looked over and realized it was coming from her. It was no wonder; Alice probably hadn't had much appetite since she fell ill, and even though the nutrient injection had provided her with sufficient nourishment, her empty stomach was now growling after such a long conversation.
"Ah, I'm so sorry." Alice, born into a noble family, felt a bit embarrassed, her face turning red. "Right, it's time for dinner. Liam, why don't you join me?"
Following Alice to the Great Hall, she took out dish after dish from a nearby ornate Copper Enamel Box, each one perfectly warm. Seeing Liam's surprised gaze at the box, Alice puffed out her chest with pride. "This was specially invented by my father for me. It can keep any dish fresh for a year, and the food comes out exactly as it went in. Whenever my father returns home, he brings me all sorts of delicious treats from different places."
Liam smiled politely, thinking to himself, "Alice's father really loves his daughter, but he's not very good at taking care of her. How is this different from rich families ordering takeout from hotels every day? It's a miracle that Alice has managed to stay so kind and pure in such a situation."
Soon, the table was filled with plates. This was a standard classical French grand meal, consisting of 13 courses. However, Alice, for convenience, had brought all the dishes out at once, disregarding the traditional serving order.
"Ah, sorry about that." Alice stuck out her tongue. "I'm used to doing it this way when I eat alone at home."
"Don't worry about it. I'm not a noble; I don't care about such formalities. But in the future, you can tell the robots like Helen. Once you show her once, she can do it for you."
When Liam sat down, he realized the French grand meal was for him. After placing the plates, Alice opened the door to leave. Noticing Liam watching her, she smiled and said, "My father told me not to eat too much fatty food when I'm sick, so these past few days, I've been boiling potatoes and eating them with yogurt."
No wonder she couldn't move much in bed; pneumonia combined with malnutrition would have made it impossible for her to recover. Thinking of this, Liam took out his wand and cast a Warming Charm on the dishes, then stood up. "I'll go to the kitchen with you."
Soon, the three of them arrived at the kitchen on the first floor (Helen had followed them). Liam saw several large bags of potatoes piled in the corner and asked, "Is there no other vegetable?"
"It's winter, after all. There's really no other vegetable. The vegetables my father stored are already gone." Alice said, a bit puzzled. In her memory, there were indeed no vegetables in winter. Liam looked out the window, through the uncovered glass, and saw a white, snowy landscape. The trees and ground were covered in thick snow.
He then remembered that Alice's father was an alchemist, not a Druid. It was normal that he hadn't grown winter vegetables, especially in the time of Louis XV, when fresh vegetables in winter were a luxury. It was understandable that people living in this era hadn't thought of such things.
"Eating only potatoes won't do. I'll go find some vegetables for you." With that, Liam opened a portal and traveled to the Plants vs. Zombies world.
(End of Chapter)
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