The Secret Code of Monsters.

Chapter 1186 Ch.1185 Eva
They certainly wouldn't live in Bruno Mondes' house.

It was daytime, and not the time to discuss such matters. The conversation turned somber when Theodore casually inquired about the old man's wife and children:

"...She's been dead for twenty years, sir. And my son's a worrywart; he went to teach in Birmingham, saying he wants to start some kind of association, and talk to people... Oh dear. I'm left to raise my youngest daughter alone..."

Theodore followed up on his words, naturally mentioning Bruno's youngest daughter.

"Her? She's only fourteen or fifteen years old. It's really unfortunate, she was on—"

dong dong dong.

Someone ran down the stairs in indoor shoes.

Not a moment.

A pretty girl suddenly appeared at the corner of the corridor:
She had long, glossy black curly hair, bright golden eyes, and thick, curled eyelashes. Perhaps she had run too fast, for a few beads of sweat appeared on her nose.

She wore a pearl-colored long dress and had a ribbon tied around her neck.

Even the freckles on her face made her look incredibly energetic.

"Good day, Miss Monde...?" Theodore hesitated for a moment, then looked at the mayor with a questioning gaze—by what?
"You've had a long and tiring day traveling—didn't I tell you to rest more in your bedroom?" The old mayor, head bowed, rose from the sofa and went to his daughter's side—during which Rupert noticed the man's expression suddenly change somewhat…

To put it bluntly, it was like the way she acted when she first fell in love with a man.

Of course.

Besides her expression, the quick-witted girl also noticed a discrepancy in the conversation.

"I've had plenty of rest, Father. These gentlemen—"

The mayor hesitated, not rushing to introduce himself, but instead turned around and threw the question to the person on the sofa.

Roland stood up first, followed by Theodore and Rupert.

"Roland Collins, Miss Mondes, good day. Perhaps countless people have praised your beauty? But today I must say—"

Bruno Mondes introduced Roland calmly: "This is Mr. Collins, from London, who has an eye condition."

Miss Mondes looked him over curiously and blinked. "What must I say, sir?"

Roland: "I must say, I am blind."

Rupert was laughing so hard he almost died.

"See, miss. With Mr. Collins, there will always be endless fun..."

"Even if I have to tolerate him being a fool?" Rupert replied quietly, still maintaining his standard smile and nodding occasionally during the conversation.

"How about we tolerate each other?"

Rupert's eyebrows shot up instantly: "'Mutual tolerance'? What do I have that I require you to 'tolerate'?"

Meanwhile, Roland was still introducing his companions to Miss Mondes.

“My friend, maid, the only housekeeper of the Collins Twin Houses, and a master seamstress, a hound—just like your father. These two are Thackeray siblings and lovers—you just stepped on my cigar with the tip of this boot.”

Rupert kicked him again.

Roland Collins' brain must be different from other people's.

In London, when she was younger, at an all-boys school, she had dealt with too many boys from "gentlemanly families"—well-educated, respectable, and polite gentlemen with impressive, refined, and sweet-tasting brains.

Like a bad wine.

It's either so sweet that even a layman would loudly proclaim "It's incredibly delicious!"—or it's just a pot of plain water that's either been warmed or frozen with ice crystals. Neither of these is particularly enjoyable if you drink too much of either.

Roland Collins' brain must be different from other people's.

“We came from London, Miss Mondes. My brother, my brother’s friend, and this Mr. Dave Lawrence.”

After she finished speaking, she stared at Roland with a look that said, "See, this can be explained in a single sentence"—she knew he could see it and understand it.

“Oh…London?” The girl was clearly interested in London, like a Londoner is interested in a dragon. She rushed to the sofa, leaving her father at the bottom of the stairs. “My name is Eva Mondes. Tell me about London?”

"We could make an exchange. Like friends exchanging secrets..."

Rupert was better at dealing with people than Theodore had imagined—even after she hadn't left her house for years, the golden particles flowing in Benevento's veins still gave her the most endearing smile.

period.

The old mayor went to the kitchen to brew tea and brought over a large basket of savory pies—supposedly a local specialty, the kind that everyone in town knows how to make: a filling of onions, bacon, and milk and eggs, which is baked into a flaky crust and roughly cut into several islands, so you can eat them in two bites.

It was so crisp it made my head chatter.

He turned the cup by the handle, adjusting each piece of cutlery to the most convenient position for Eva Mondes. Frankly, it was a bit too indulgent, even subservient—these were tasks that should have been done by servants, not a father.

But when Halida offered to help, the old mayor sternly refused.

Rupert saw it all.

"...You mean, a big machine, a big steamer, can make carriages without horses?" Eva Mondes' eyes widened. Rupert's story was even more 'fictional' than the ones in the books: What would happen to the horses then?
“This is the latest invention, Miss Mondes. I think in the future we'll be able to get horses to do other work—and I assure you: even with machines, we'll never let horses be idle. They'll always have work to do, won't you say?”

Eva Mondes breathed a sigh of relief.

It was hard for her young mind to imagine how lonely and miserable the livestock would be if machines replaced them one day and they had nothing to do.

Roland took the two hand-rolled cigarettes offered by the old mayor, shook his head, and handed them to Theodore, interjecting, "Perhaps we could teach the horse to play the piano or recite poetry?"

Eva kept giggling.

"Oh dear! If they could learn to play the piano and recite poetry, wouldn't they be exactly like 'Londoners'?"

“Yes, little Eva. Once they get to London, they’ll find that reciting poetry and playing music won’t make them any better off, so they’ll naturally find some carts to take them away.” Roland winked.

Eva understood: "As long as people have legs, horses will always have plenty of work to do...?"

"You're so clever, little Eva."

“I kind of want to see London with my own eyes,” the girl murmured, “and the future…”

of course.

What attracted her even more than London was Roland Collins' eyes.

Amber eyes.

Exactly the same as hers.

“My parents didn’t have the same eyes either, little Eva. When I was little, they said these eyes were a curse from the gods…”

Old Mondes suddenly interrupted abruptly: "It's not a curse, sir! It's a blessing..."

He turned his head and gazed intently into his daughter's eyes.

That bottomless golden lake.

(End of this chapter)