The President

"Father!" Eyrie's eyes were of extreme panic as she tried to soothe her father.

Did the sickness come into effect this quickly in her past life? No… No, it didn't!

What happened to accelerate the speed of its spread? The young woman's mind churned quickly as she continued to pat the coughing old man's back.

After a few seconds, the cough reluctantly ceased, and Mr. Rochester brushed off his daughter's hand. "Enough. I'm fine." His voice was still raspy.

Eyrie clenched her teeth to rein in her anger when hearing those exhausting words. "What do you mean you are fine? You aren't fine!"

"The doctors said I'm fine. It's just a common cold."

"They also said to be careful and not to get sick! Or else there might be hidden consequences!"

"…"

"And what are you doing in the pitch darkness, Father? Don't you know how harmful it is to your health? And I bet you worked for the entire day in this condition without resting AGAIN! What's so hard about resting? Are you going to die from taking a break? You're ALWAYS like this! Come on—"

"SHUT UP!" Mr. Rochester's face was stormy as he cried out with difficulty. "I didn't call you to argue about this."

But Eyrie's face was similarly embroiled in darkness. "You are always like this, Father," she repeated.

For the first time since she came in, she carefully scrutinized her father.

After his yearly examination five years ago, Eyrie made sure to get the doctors and scientists in charge of her father's health to carefully investigate the strange bacteria they identified.

However, the bacterium was so small that they couldn't find its exact location and couldn't extract it.

Once the number of bacteria grew in her father's body, the scientists were finally able to extract one of the bacterium cells. Unfortunately, even after many attempts, they could not figure out what function these cells served nor how to wipe them out completely.

Besides, the fact that General Rochester was infected with some unknown bacteria was highly confidential. The only ones who knew were Mr. Rochester himself, Eyrie, and the various doctors and scientists who have signed strict contracts.

As a result, it wasn't as if all – or even most – of the world's top scientists were working on solving the mystery of the bacteria, making the progress extremely slow.

The old master of the Rochester household seemed so tired. Unlike the confidence and authority he naturally exuded normally, he now looked so frail that perhaps a tiny push would make him fall.

Finally, Eyrie sighed once again and lowered her gaze. "Father, what did you call me for?"

Mr. Rochester smiled bitterly as he gestured to the chair that appeared. "Have a seat first, won't you?"

His daughter complied without any resistance, waiting to hear what her father wanted to say.

Folding his hands onto his desk, Mr. Rochester began speaking. "It's been five years already, heh."

Before Eyrie could ask anything, he continued in a casual tone – perhaps it would've sounded better if his voice wasn't so hoarse and throaty, "Five years since Feixin came to our family. In these five years, it has contributed largely to the Rochester family. It protected Carlos adequately, if I say so myself."

Eyrie narrowed her eyes as she listened on. "Father, just cut to chase."

Mr. Rochester looked deeply at his daughter for a few seconds.

Finally, he heaved a weary sigh. "I plan to send her away to the military."

Eyrie froze.

Her mind flashed back to all those times that she spent with Fei, whether it was pursuing her friendship, reading together, eating together, confiding in each other, or having fun together.

Her heart beat wildly in her chest. "Permanently?"

"… Yes," her father replied as he scrutinized her reaction.

"W-Why?" Eyrie asked, even as she knew the answer. She could hardly keep her voice afloat.

Mr. Rochester pursed his lips. "… That mutant's true master was supposed to be me, not Carlos. That was how I arranged it to be."

He directed his solemn green eyes at his daughter, surprised to see that she was more composed than he thought she would be.

"But Feixin raised her hand against me. This meant that its master cannot be me," he continued.

"After pulling on my connections, I found out that the mutant was a personal gift given to the President by Country E. The government had actually received one success and two mutants in the initial transaction, not one mutant. So the information released to the public, as well as to me, was fake."

"Although there is no proof, Feixin is most likely the President's mutant." Although he had left out some critical details, Mr. Rochester was sure that his daughter would understand his meaning.

By this time, Eyrie was in a state of shock.

She had read in between the lines and understood, but she didn't dare believe it.

No. Actually, the young woman didn't know if she could believe it.

The current president, Hancock, was her father's best friend when they were younger. Before the man became president, he frequently visited the Rochester mansion; and as a result, Eyrie knew him well.

To the young Eyrie of the past life, Mr. Hancock was like a mischievous uncle. In this life, she didn't find anything wrong with him either.

He was very close to her father, but his personality was the complete opposite of her father's cold and arrogant demeanor.

Hancock often played silly games with her and her family and gave them tons of thoughtful presents too.

It was only when the man became president 10 years ago that he stopped his visits.

But even then, that was normal. Being president was a lot of work, and not visiting his friends regularly was acceptable. That being said, Hancock still called her father periodically to chat and for guidance.

In fact, General Rochester was one of the main reasons President Hancock was able to achieve the standing he is at today.