"Shirley was my classmate in school."
When Igor said this, Azathoth was curled up in a rocking chair, swaying back and forth in the breeze, looking drowsy.
The capital's afternoon sun streamed down onto the open-air balcony, warming the surfaces of the tables and chairs. Air pollution has been effectively controlled in recent years, and most hovercrafts have switched to clean energy. Hundreds of meters in the air, they're untroubled by vehicle exhaust. A gentle breeze blew in from afar, cool and refreshing, heralding the arrival of autumn.
Azathoth has been spending more and more time half asleep and half awake recently, and Hugo joked that he is about to go into hibernation.
But Igor knew that even though he closed his eyes and hid in the shade where the sun couldn't reach him, he was actually listening to him carefully.
Azathoth indeed listened carefully.
Igor rarely talks about his past, as if those experiences, whether glorious or embarrassing, are some kind of shame that he is ashamed to mention.
Drawing on his limited experience interacting with and understanding humans, he speculated that perhaps the unexpected failure and forced escape of a few years ago had indeed left an indelible mark on the young man. Although Igor himself would not admit it and tried hard to conceal it, no one could face such a huge setback without experiencing negative emotions.
The greater Igor's past achievements, the smoother his life, the more shameful his failure seemed to him—even if others saw it as not his fault at all. People sympathized with him, sided with him, spoke well of him, and commemorated his past contributions. These third-party perspectives and assessments were of no use.
Unless one day he truly believes that he has reached his inner standard in a certain aspect, maybe he will be able to face the past calmly, narrate his experiences calmly and objectively, and regard all the ups and downs and setbacks as tests that are necessary on the road.
At least now, Igor would only occasionally mention to Azathoth certain things that everyone must know, and each time it would take him a long time to organize his words.
"I told you we had a good relationship back then, but that was after we started working." Igor said calmly, sitting on a rattan chair next to Azathoth, his eyes fixed on the flower pots on the table in front of him. "When she was in school, Shirley wouldn't get close to anyone. She was the typical loner, so when she chose to join the Federation's mecha research and development department, we weren't surprised."
"Although the war was at its most intense, and an Alpha chose not to join the army but to do research in the logistics R&D department, many people thought she was a bit cowardly, but when chatting with classmates, they all thought that being a researcher who dealt with mechas all day was not bad." "I didn't expect she would choose politics later."
Azathoth asked dazedly, "...What kind of person do you think she is?"
Igor thought for a moment and replied, "She seems very difficult to approach, and indeed she rarely communicates with others. But after getting to know her, you'll find that she's actually very soft and passive."
"Shirley is the only daughter of the previous head of the Joyce family and is destined to inherit the title. A career in politics was the path her family had arranged for her. Although she disliked it, she never considered rebelling."
"She's not married and has very few friends. Aside from those she interacts with for work, the only people she's been in close contact with over the years are her sister and her family."
"younger sister?"
"You should have heard of it," Igor said, "Viscount Joyce's sister is the mother of 'Little Saint Anne'."
**
Shirley Joyce walked over to Anne, and Erica felt that she was like the morning mist, floating over silently, with a vague and hazy feeling.
Shirley didn't even look at Erica, as if she didn't exist, but her rude behavior didn't seem offensive at all.
"Agnes." Her pale blue eyes drooped, making her skin look even whiter. She called her niece by her full name, "Sister has something to do today, I'm here to take you home."
"Thank you!" Anne straightened her back. She was older than Erica and half a head taller than her. When Erica turned her head, she could see that she was trying hard to suppress the corners of her mouth and trying to look more serious.
"Aunt Shirley, can we send Erica to her house as well?"
Erica was caught off guard: "Huh? Annie? Actually, I don't need to..."
The red-haired girl grabbed her wrist and said, "It's okay. The hovercar is very fast."
Viscount Joyce finally shifted his gaze because of his niece's words and glanced lightly at Erica.
"Sure," she said briefly. "Where do you live?"
Erica discovered that Anne's Aunt Shirley had some magical powers. She just gave her a casual look, and Erica suddenly thought it would be nice to be sent home and chat with her friends on the way, so she quickly said a place name.
Shirley didn't seem to care too much.
It took them less than fifteen minutes to reach their destination. The hovercraft's blue-green tail flames left a long silhouette against the pale yellow sky. Erica didn't react until she got out of the car, and then Hugo opened the window and stuck his head out. "What are you doing? Why don't you come in?"
**
"I didn't expect you to call her 'soft'," Azathoth said. "I thought you and she were enemies."
"That's right." Igor nodded and explained, "But Shirley is hard to describe... I don't know if it's her own personality or the influence of some special ability, but she makes it difficult for others to dislike her, and it's also difficult to refuse her questions and requests. This makes her rarely get close to others, and she rarely resists her family's arrangements. These two things make her personality seem particularly restrained."
"After all, if Shirley wanted to, she could become the type of person who was quite popular and obeyed by everyone."
"That's right." Azathoth suddenly found Viscount Joyce quite interesting. "Do you think she has influenced your thinking?"
Igor: "It's hard to say... I think this level of ability is neither as good as a charm, nor as good as relying on other means to achieve the goal."
At this moment, Hugo's voice came from the living room: "Erica? Why didn't you come in?"
"Erica is back?" Igor raised his eyebrows. "Why is she here so soon today?"
"We'll discuss this later." Azathoth urged his followers, "You haven't finished yet."
Igor inexplicably felt as if the big cat was pushing him to play with it.
He stopped thinking about Erica's question and continued, "My relationship with Shirley has gradually grown closer since I started working. When I first got this mechanical leg, Shirley came to my house almost every day to ensure safety and observe me. That's when my sister Wendy became familiar with her. Wendy's upbringing made it difficult for her to come into contact with such a well-born, well-educated, and knowledgeable Alpha... By the way, did I mention that Wendy and I both grew up in an orphanage?"
"You didn't." Azathoth looked at him accusingly. "You didn't say anything."
I have to guess it myself.
“…”
Igor cleared his throat.
"Sorry, I didn't think it was important."
The god said matter-of-factly, "No, everything about you is important now."
Igor couldn't tell for a moment whether he was interested in the truth of all the events or in himself. But he didn't have time to think carefully, because Azathoth looked at him with that accusing look again.
The evil god's followers felt deeply inadequate and quickly patched things up: "Alphas and Omegas are rare in the orphanage; most of them are war orphans. But Wendy and I never met our parents, and we weren't interested in our own backgrounds. I think it was because I was rarely home, Wendy was always alone, and she was at an age where she longed for the opposite sex... So it's not surprising that she had a crush on Shirley."
**
"Where are we going?" Annie asked from the passenger seat. "Isn't this the way home?"
"Let's go to the Griffin mansion first," Shirley replied, looking rather reluctant. "I have to go visit the Griffin family head who is unfortunately 'sick'."
"Well," said Anne, looking up at her expression, "Aunt, wouldn't you like to see him?"
Shirley looked like she didn't want to talk any further: "Anyway, stay away from me."
They arrived at the Griffin house. Shirley went upstairs alone to find the owner of the house, while Annie waited downstairs.
After a while, a fierce quarrel could be heard from upstairs. Most of the time, Langman was loudly mocking the other party. "Come on, this is a business between me and Bishop Gilbert. Do you think your rusty head can understand what business is? I suspect it has been filled to the brim with mecha parts. Just let it go!"
"No—don't even think of using that trick! Viscount Joyce, your little tricks won't work on me!"
"Are you so desperate for money? What was the federal government thinking, letting someone like you become the head of the mecha R&D department? Do they think researchers deserve to starve?"
"No, forget it. I won't agree to such a loss-making deal. The lady who owns the grocery store downstairs has better financial acumen than you."
Shirley's voice was filled with uncontrollable anger: "Can you please speak properly? Langman Griffin! Even mental illness can't shut you up!"
"In fact," Langman's high-pitched voice came out clearly, "since I became mentally ill, I feel much more energetic. Thank you, Miss Shirley."
“…”
Shirley Joyce came storming downstairs with an expression rarely seen on her beautiful, expressionless face.
She said to Anne, "Agnes, let's go."
“Yes, yes!”
Anne stood up suddenly, pretending to hear everything, and trotted hard to keep up with Shirley's long legs.
"You're staying at my house today." After getting in the car, Shirley seemed to have calmed down. "Your parents are working overtime today. They're worried that you won't have any food, so they entrusted you to me."
“Actually, I can cook for myself…”
Viscount Joyce stepped on the accelerator.
Anne shut up tremblingly.
Shirley does not live in the Joyce family's old house. She has her own apartment in the heart of the capital, which is convenient for commuting to work and living.
Anne hadn't been to her aunt's house for a long time. She changed her shoes and was then taken to the bathroom by Shirley to wash her hands and prepare to cook.
The moment the light was turned on, Annie glanced at the empty living room and found that a portrait hanging opposite the TV had been taken down at some point and stuffed into the gap on the side of the sofa. It was covered with a thick layer of black dust cloth, making it look messy, dilapidated and pitiful.
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