My Idle System

"Is Sophia, your maid, really trustworthy?"

After asking, Christian who didn't want Eva to think he was doubting her abilities, continued, explaining himself, "I respected your boundaries and haven't looked into any information regarding her. But still, for us now, this is actually a really serious problem, one I forgot to bring up earlier."

"For us, who are going to move, carrying a potential danger, a possible source of information leaks… this could really be critical for our safety."

Pausing, and with a rare tone of seriousness, Christian asked, "So, are you truly confident in your judgment regarding Sophia and Nina?"

"And please, don't give me an immediate reply. Take your time."

"Because I don't want us to be exposed to danger due to a hasty decision."

Despite hearing the explanation, Eva who still didn't like having her judgment, her decision, doubted like this, sighed and said, "Actually, if things really come down to it, neither of them are essential for anything… but Sophia was the only one who's been by my side since I was a child. Even if she couldn't help much, so, I still want to continue trusting her. As for Nina, I feel like her presence could prove convenient at some point later."

Pausing, and seemingly thinking of something, Eva added, "You know? Instead of doubting me based solely on information you've read through a screen, you can meet them both and ask whatever you want."

Locking eyes with Annabelle, as this statement was meant for both siblings, Eva continued, "Then, if you still feel like my decision isn't right, we can have another talk."

Hearing her, Christian strangely felt embarrassed, and lowered his head, deciding to continue eating silently for now.

Annabelle, however, was different. She was still filled with many things she wanted to discuss, though not about Eva's maid, her thoughts were solely on Nina. In the end, she chose to leave the topic for later. After all, there was still some time left, even if not much.

And more than anything, even if she didn't like it, Eva was undeniably a competent woman. So, her opinion carried some credibility.

When they finished eating, and Eva seemed ready to head out, clearly having many things to take care of, Christian, who wanted the expected guest to come to his house instead of Eva's, and intending to be present when she arrived to avoid any kind of unforeseen issue, didn't want her to leave.

So, he said, "How about you stay, and I assist you with anything you need?"

Then, with a grin crossing his face, he added, "Maybe you still don't know, but my skills are naturally a lot better than Iris's."

While a little suspicious of his insistence, Eva, deciding she could still get some work done here and perhaps gather information for her later tasks, chose to stay a bit longer and agreed.

Time passed in this manner, but just when she felt she had gathered everything she needed, Eva found herself unable to leave for some reason, one that Christian didn't seem to want to explain. And was now sitting on his lap.

Naturally, she had misunderstood. She hadn't asked Christian for clarification, nor had she bothered to question Iris. Had she taken the time to do so, she would have already had her answer.

While the three of them were sitting together, with Annabelle remaining absorbed in the screen of her laptop, completely uninterested in what was happening around her. Stay tuned to My Virtual Library Empire

Ding dong.

The sudden ringing of the doorbell still caught everyone's attention. Christian, thinking, 'Could she have finally arrived?' had his eyes sparkle with anticipation, and turned to his sister and said, "Sis, can you open the door?"

Annabelle gave him a puzzled look but, still not particularly concerned, stood up and went to open it.

Meanwhile, Christian, eager to display his relationship with Eva, sat with growing excitement, looking forward to the kind of reaction he might get from his guest.

In the end, as Christian looked at the old maid and the young girl who came with his sister, he couldn't help but be surprised… it wasn't the one he had been expecting.

"Mom!"

Eva, taken completely by surprise at the sudden appearance of her daughter, felt immensely embarrassed to be seen like this. She wanted to pull herself out of Christian's arms. But Christian, unwilling to let go, held her even tighter.

He gave Olivia a gentle smile… an elderly one, seemingly telling that they were not from the same generation anymore, then with a tone that seemed to lightly reprimand a child said, "I've always overlooked your manners, but isn't it a bit too rude to not even greet your new dad?"

Christian looking at his stepdaughter, a thought crossing his mind: What would all those who have a crush on Olivia think if they found out I'm now in a position where she has to call me dad?!

Christian couldn't help but wonder, and strangely, for the first time, he found Olivia more pleasing to the eyes.

Getting the top student of his school, Vincent Quinn's granddaughter, the proud member of the Ashvale family, and a genius in essence techniques bound to enter the Academy managed by people from another world, to call him "Dad"—Christian felt like it was an achievement worth celebrating.

While absorbed in his thoughts, Olivia, on the other hand, finally snapped out of her shock after witnessing the scene before her. Looking at the boy her age, managing to deceive her mother, who was supposed to be far too smart for such tricks, she couldn't help but glare at him.

She had naturally heard bits of information about him from her mother long before, even if she always brushed them off, as upon confirming that he was weak and hadn't even touched anything related to essence that time at the graduation site, she knew he was nothing special, just a balafon her mother would expose sooner or later.

She didn't offer her opinion much, though, not just because it was the first time her mother had really started seeing someone of the opposite sex. But, because she knew how much her mother always told her to treasure her body and, even if she wanted to date someone, not to rush things. She should make sure of her heart, reassess her decision again and again, until she couldn't be more certain, then take the step. That was what her mother said!

So, seeing her mother in a male t-shirt, in the arms of a frail boy, she felt the situation couldn't have been more ridiculous.

So, looking at him holding her mother tightly in his embrace was irking her, and she wanted him to remove his filthy hand from her.

Olivia had many thoughts swirling in her mind, but hearing how he even wanted her to call him dad only fueled her anger further. She clenched her fists tightly, now deliberating whether she should attack…

Meanwhile, Christian, feeling the strongest danger signal from his Danger Awareness skill to date, hurriedly checked its source… and upon finding it, he didn't take it too seriously but couldn't help glancing at Eva with a strange expression.

Christian had long since confirmed that Sophia was not an ordinary human and had trained in some kind of essence technique. Even when he had fought the assassin woman Nina, who was strong, his Danger Awareness skill hadn't activated at all. It was only the moment she aimed the pistol at him that he felt the faintest signs. Yet Sophia, without moving or even altering her facial expression, caused his skill to ring slightly more intensely than it had during that moment. He naturally knew at the time that she could never possibly attack him with Eva at his side, and with that strange conviction, he didn't care or feel the slightest inkling of fear toward her.

Now, however, there was Olivia, whose presence made his danger sense ring even stronger... what did that mean?

If the increase in the signal was proportional to the danger, as he suspected, then that would mean Olivia was far stronger than she seemed... despite her age!

'Is this what they call talent?'

Christian was finally convinced of the reason why the Ashvale family and even the Infinitel company had given so much attention to the girl in front of him.

But more than that, while he had been irritated by Sophia's intention to attack him earlier, strangely, as he watched Olivia's cute display… her face flushed in anger, yet she seemed still trying to hold herself back and not act on her impulsiveness, it made him feel differently.

With a chuckle, he teasingly said to Eva, "Did you know that your daughter is even stronger than your supposedly strong maid?"

It was a light statement that Annabelle didn't give much thought to, as she returned to her seat to read more documents and prepare for other tasks... or so she intended to do. However, feeling like there would be a lot of drama, she decided against it. Instead, she took the laptop and left the room.