"Welcome, eek—!"

A startled scream came right after that flawless customer-service smile. Amity's expressions really were all over the place. She shrank back as she stared at Lilia behind me. Lilia was only wearing casual clothes today, but there was still a longsword hidden beneath her winter cloak.

"Good morning, Amity. How've you been lately?"

"V-very... very well! Thanks to you, hehe..."

Seeing Amity enter full-on on-the-verge-of-tears mode, I set the commission slip and the quest items on the counter one by one. Her eyes lit up, and she instantly switched into work mode, carefully checking the contents of the commission and the quality and quantity of the items.

Though honestly, I suspected she was using work to escape reality.

The situation right now was like a vicious tiger, Lilia, glaring at a soft little white rabbit, Amity. And under the grip of fear, that rabbit was desperately trying to work, trembling pitifully the whole time. It really felt like we were bullying her. Caught in the middle, I could only watch with a blank face.

"Everything checks out. Please show me your membership card."

"Here."

"One moment. I'll be right back."

Amity kept up her professional smile, took the card with both hands, and then fled at top speed.

...Sigh. Poor girl.

"Victoria." Lilia looked gloomy too. "Why do I feel like Amity really doesn't like me? Weren't we already becoming friends?"

If you two counted as friends, then there wouldn't be any enemies left in this world.

A moment later, Amity came back very unwillingly. She maintained that perfect business smile and handed my membership card back with both hands.

"Congratulations. Your membership card has now been upgraded to Rank D."

"Oh, it ranked up."

"Thank you for your continued support of the Alchemists Guild! Please accept your payment!"

Amity respectfully handed over the silver and copper coins, and I accepted the money without hesitation.

Still, the amount I received was a little less than what was written on the commission slip. About ten percent less.

That involved one of the Alchemists Guild's "unwritten rules" in the Casworth region: the clerks at the counter forcibly took a cut from the reward.

The Alchemists Guild was rotten to the core, more or less. But its membership card was recognized across the entire continent, so it was still a very solid professional credential.

To be fair, in this era, being an alchemist wasn't exactly an honorable profession.

With the alchemical system now so badly fragmented, ninety-nine percent of alchemists were frauds. Most of them just used a little chemistry knowledge to bluff and swindle people. The elemental materials I made this time would most likely be used by the senior alchemist who posted the commission for something unpleasant.

But I didn't care in the slightest.

All I needed to do was slowly raise my membership rank. That might take three to five years, but time wasn't a problem for me.

As a backup plan, in case I ever had to leave the Duke of Northberg's protection, a high-rank Alchemists Guild membership would be a pretty good identity to have.

I pushed open the guild doors. A freezing wind carrying snowflakes rushed straight at me. But I couldn't actually feel cold. This doll body wasn't equipped with sensory functions, only simple temperature sensors. External temperature was projected into my field of vision instead of being reflected through bodily sensation.

So I didn't feel cold, yet I still subconsciously pulled my cloak tighter.

Even while controlling this puppet, I still couldn't forget human habits.

Just then, a flash of purple hair passed the edge of my vision. A sharp and elegant young girl brushed past me, accompanied by an expressionless maid. She looked like the daughter of some noble house.

But her purple hair and purple eyes were unusually distinctive. Normally, humans didn't have hair and eyes like that. And the pointed ears hidden beneath her hair seemed to suggest something.

An Alchemical Lifeform?

The term surfaced in my mind. I instinctively turned to look back, only to meet the young lady's gaze.

"Good morning, Miss Maid." She smiled at me. "I didn't expect to see such an exquisite doll in this era. Are you autonomous, or remotely controlled?"

A deep chill crawled up my spine.

The one facing her wasn't my real body, only a puppet, yet fear still pressed down on me so hard I could barely breathe. The purple-haired, purple-eyed girl before me was definitely not an ordinary human. No human could release pressure like that...

Or rather, magic power.

"Greetings," I said, switching to formal speech. "On behalf of my master, I offer you my respects."

"Ah, sorry." She noticed the pressure she was giving off. "I was just a little curious. I meant no harm. Forget what I just said. I need to go. I have business to attend to."

With that, she entered the Alchemists Guild with her maid.

The maid remained silent the whole time. But through the puppet's sensors, I was completely certain she wasn't human either. She was also a puppet, and an autonomous one at that.

Just then, Lilia came out and brushed past the young lady and her servant.

And then she suddenly picked the young lady up.

"Your Highness the Grand Princess, long time no see! You took such good care of me back in the Imperial Capital! Let me treat you to something tasty, okay? Pleeease?"

"Long time no see, Lilia. But could you put me down first?"

"Sorry, ehehe~~"

Like a puppy, Lilia obediently set her down.

Judging by her height and build, that young lady looked at most around fourteen, and she was especially petite. Standing next to Lilia, she looked like a child.

But that was only her appearance.

The impression she gave me was mysterious and mature, or rather, old beyond her years. Anyone who treated her like a child would definitely pay for it.

"Princess Lilia," the maid suddenly spoke, "you've grown up now. You can't keep acting so improperly. More importantly, you've already married into House of Northenberg. You should hold yourself to stricter standards. Please don't forget that what you represent is not yourself alone, but the entire imperial family."

The imperial family?

I was stunned.

I always thought there was something off about Lilia. With her personality and her circumstances, how had she become Freud's legal wife? The young duke's wife had to be a powerful marriage alliance. Nobles used marriages like that to strengthen ties and consolidate power.

But if Lilia was an imperial princess, then everything made sense.

That idiot Ereshiya had actually dreamed of pushing Lilia out of the position of legal wife. She really had no idea what she was worth.

"By the way, Your Highness the Grand Princess, what brings you to Casworth? If there's anything I can help with, please just say the word."

"It's nothing major. I just need to get in touch with the Alchemists Guild."

"Be careful of that guy Mante. He's a despicable little rat!"

"Hehe, I've heard as much." The purple-haired girl smiled and gave a light wave. "Goodbye, Lilia. And goodbye, Miss Doll. I need to handle some proper business now. Hehe."

After saying that, she gave a polite little bow and turned to walk into the guild.

"Missy," Lilia said, looking at me, "do you know Her Highness the Grand Princess? Are you two friends?"

"No." I shook my head. "That was our first meeting."

"Hehehe, our Grand Princess is cute, right? She's just like a doll."

Yeah.

Because she was an Alchemical Lifeform.

An artificial Homunculus.

In this era, the technology to create Alchemical Lifeforms should have already been lost. The only alchemist who had ever successfully created one was named Hohenheim. He was from roughly the same era as my ancestor Aleister. Not only was he an outstanding alchemist, he was also a ruthless figure who once served as the Empire's chancellor.

I'd heard that he personally executed his wife after she betrayed him and sold intelligence to the Empire's enemies, as well as his daughter, who gave in to temptation and joined her mother.

You could say the latter half of that man's life was utterly tragic. In the end, he died alone.

Still, there were rumors that Hohenheim was still alive.

But judging by the natural lifespan of a human, that was obviously impossible.

There were many legends about Hohenheim, some so exaggerated they sounded almost divine. But one thing alone was certain—

He had really existed.

His research materials on Alchemical Lifeforms were even preserved in Toth's Sanctum of Knowledge. But because of an agreement, Toth was unwilling to bring out that manuscript.

If that young lady really was an Alchemical Lifeform, then she and Hohenheim... might have some connection.

The more I thought about it, the more mysteries piled up. In the end, I decided to give up on my curiosity.

Right now, I was only simply interested in Alchemical Lifeforms. After obtaining the technology for Arcane Automatons, my need for Alchemical Lifeforms had almost completely disappeared.

And probing someone else's secrets just to satisfy my curiosity was both stupid and dangerous.

Besides, that purple-haired, purple-eyed Grand Princess was anything but simple. If we really came to blows, my Mantis Blade probably wouldn't even leave its sheath before she took my head off.

"Lilia," I said, deciding to change the subject, "how about we check out that snack stall over there? My treat."

"Yay! Perfect timing. I'm almost out of food money for this month."

Wait. It's only the eighteenth today, isn't it? How are you planning to survive the next twelve days?

After treating Lilia to a lot of grilled skewers, we walked along the street toward the castle.

Passing through the bustling urban district of Golden Lion City, the castle of House Northenberg stood at the highest point in the city. Frost covered its towering walls and turrets. This castle had once symbolized the Empire's military presence in Casworth. When it was first built, the surrounding land had still been a frozen wilderness.

But now, this place had become the largest city in the northwest region—

Golden Lion City.

I never had the chance to witness the Empire's rise the way my mentor Aleister did.

But I did witness its decline.

Under the ruin brought by that bitch Elizabeth and her lover Edward, the Empire fell into a severe crisis in just a few short years. An incompetent ruler wasn't always necessarily bad for a nation.

But an incompetent ruler plus a vicious woman who knew how to burn money?

That was an absolute disaster.

Unfortunately, what did any of that have to do with me?

In my last life, I gave everything to the Empire, and those idiots burned me alive for it.

In this life, I live only for myself.