Changing Prospects

She smiled a bit, startling her father, who noticed his daughter's fluctuating emotions.

"Eyrie, what you say we finish up dinner and head to my office for a chat?" Mr. Rochester was pensive. He must not delay the meeting any longer than he needed.

"Hmm." Eyrie nodded wearily. She understood that this was probably what her father had in mind from the start.

Without a word, she put down her utensils and wiped her mouth with a napkin. After doing so, Eyrie stood up and followed behind her father, who had followed the same procedures she did.

Before she left the room though, she first spun around and said farewell to her sister, who was still sitting at the table. "See you later."

Carol forced up the corners of her mouth weakly and reciprocated the farewell.

As she looked at her family's fading backs, her smile slowly disappeared.

"Miss Carol, would you like to continue eating?" The butler that stood by her asked carefully.

"No." She shot a glare his way, causing him to lower his head.

Despite what she said, however, Carol remained in her seat and did not seem to have the slightest intention of leaving.

The butler didn't do anything else either, he continued standing, gesturing the servants around him not to move.

As if absorbed in her thoughts, the second miss of the Rochester household closed her eyes.

All was silent.

…

Eyrie walked silently beside her equally silent father and his valet in the hallways. Not even their footsteps could be heard.

The young servants that passed by trembled at the sight of the master of the mansion, scared that they might make a mistake and result in heavy punishment.

Without a word, the pair strode into Mr. Rochester's office. But before any discussion started, Mr. Rochester first dismissed his valet. It was only then did they start speaking.

"Eyrie, how did Feixin do in your tests?" He spoke first, right after the man seated himself behind his desk. Right now, the desk was clear of the mess that Fei had saw before, save for a few sparse projections flying around.

Since there weren't any other seats in the room, Eyrie simply stood in front of her father.

She bit her lip to keep her expression as placid as possible She had expected such a question, but nonetheless could she stop herself from feeling surprised. "She did well."

"And?" Her father raised his eyebrows.

"She will definitely not harm Carlos, or any member of this family."

"Yes?" Mr. Rochester chuckled. "And how do you think of it?"

"She is a good mutant. I believe that she will be a great help to the Rochester family."

"How is Feixin adjusting to the lessons and the schedule?"

"She is doing very well. She is doing so well that the instructors have nothing valuable to teach her. Fei… Feixin frequently reads in the library in her free time. When I asked her why, she said it was for the sake of becoming a more qualified servant to her master. I also suspect that her physical prowess has increased."

Realizing that she rambled on too much, and perhaps exposed her actual stance in the situation, Eyrie immediately stopped speaking, waiting for her father's judgment.

Mr. Rochester nodded slowly. He had seen through his daughter. Eyrie did not see Fei as merely a mutant, nor did she see it as a servant. She saw it as a friend and a companion.

In truth, he knew all along about the answers to the questions he asked and he knew about the things that Eyrie mentioned. The main reason he asked her was to know her true thoughts regarding the mutant.

He narrowed his eyes. Maybe it was a mistake to let her go near Feixin.

With a sigh, Mr. Rochester could not help but instruct, "Eyrie, do not get attached to the mutant."

Eyrie was startled by his words. In her past life, for sure she would've thought that he was trying to separate her from her friends for the joy of it. But now, she knew that he would never do something so pointless.

There must be a reason. What did he mean?

"Feixin is merely a servant that can be easily disposed or used."

'Do not make it so that you get hurt when it is disposed or used.' She heard his hidden message clearly and smiled bitterly. She understood.

But you know, such things were not things that she could control. She needed to get closer to Fei. It wasn't an option.

Eyrie knew that perhaps her father will never understand. But it didn't matter.

She looked carefully at the man sitting in front of her and found that he didn't seem like the cold man she thought he was in her past life.

He cared about her wellbeing enough to warn her.

Eyrie's expression softened. Maybe he had always been this way.

Just that she never noticed.

Perhaps she was too wallowed in grief and hatred in her past life to notice his affection.

Sensing her slight satisfaction, Mr. Rochester frowned. "This is not a joke." After a second, he added, "Be careful."

"I understand, Father. I will keep your words in mind," Eyrie said, smiling even wider.

Her father shook his head in exasperation. "No more talk about that anymore. Let us discuss about your marriage."

The matter about Fei had been expected, but this... Eyrie would've never thought that he would ask her about this.

"What do you mean?"

"Your marriage is in a few months, five months, to be exact."

"… Is there something wrong with the time?"

"Nothing is wrong; it was just a fleeting thought." Mr. Rochester sighed inwardly. "Please take a seat, I have more serious topics to ask you about, such as the deals that were recently closed. Tell me your opinions about them."

He asked Eyrie about her marriage to see to what extent she has changed. Feixin's arrival made her care about her family, but did not make her care about her future? Well, we'll see when the time comes, he thought, as he pressed a button on one of the projections flying in the air.

The floorboards in front of his desk opened up and a chair was pushed up from under the ground.

Eyrie nodded and dutifully sat down on the chair.

Although Mr. Rochester was a genius at military tactics and debate, he didn't understand a thing about business. Using the knowledge she gained from her past life, Eyrie opened several businesses geared towards future trends.

In truth, the goal of opening these businesses were not to earn money. The Rochesters were filthy rich already. When one has power, one easily has access to money. Eyrie wanted to open a passageway for when their family would lose the power they currently hold.

In her previous life, her father relied too much on his status as the top military advisor and didn't prepare any large businesses that could support the family if they fell. In other words, he put all of his eggs in one basket.

Eyre, his late wife, had always been the one to manage the finances and was a genius at business. However, none of the children she bore had any interest in business, leading to a dead end.

But, in this life, Eyrie decided to fervently learn the art from her mother, before she passed away. And so, she became an essential asset to her father.

For the rest of noon and afternoon, Eyrie spoke with Mr. Rochester in his office.