"You can arrest me. I was the one who killed her!"
As the line echoed through the opera house, the curtain slowly fell.
Lucien applauded—for the magnificent opera and for the performers on stage.
The actors' delivery, movements, and expressions were flawless, their performances completely absorbing.
But what truly amazed Lucien was the performers' true nature. The black vortices in their eyes slowly receded.
Those on stage were not living people, but puppet automatons.
Without observing them through the Eye of Peering Magic, they were almost indistinguishable from real humans.
"Lucien, how did you find the opera just now?"
Beside him, an elderly woman seated in a luxurious velvet chair asked slowly.
"Madam Perenelle, I thought it was wonderful. It was a sacrifice for freedom. Carmen refused to be tamed in the name of love, even at the cost of her life…"
This woman, as aged as Nicolas, was his wife, Perenelle.
On the other side, Nicolas had not expected Lucien to speak about opera with such clarity; it was obvious the boy had some foundation.
Both Nicolas and Perenelle were devoted opera enthusiasts—the truly serious kind. It had been a passion of theirs for centuries.
They had originally brought Lucien to tour the spacecraft, but happened to encounter Perenelle directing an opera rehearsal, so the three of them decided to enjoy it together.
"Lucien, are you also familiar with opera?"
"Yes, Mr. Nicolas. My family hired instructors, and I also studied acting."
Hearing Lucien's answer, Nicolas nodded, finding the boy increasingly to his liking.
Perenelle's eyes, meanwhile, lit up.
"Oh, child, you can act as well! If you're interested, would you like to rehearse an opera with us?"
"I would very much look forward to that—performing alongside alchemical automatons."
Lucien directly pointed out the performers' true nature, which surprised Perenelle. She turned to Nicolas.
"Another talented and interesting young man, just like Newt and Albus back then, wouldn't you say?"
"Indeed. I'll continue showing the child around, my dear. You should rest for a while."
After that, Lucien followed Nicolas on the remainder of the tour. It had to be said—the spacecraft truly had everything.
Not only were all the essential facilities and rooms present, there was even an opera house. Lucien also saw a cinema, a breeding farm, and a factory. The workers in every one of these places were alchemical automatons.
Automatons were incredibly convenient. Once created, they only required magic to operate and needed no wages.
If he could produce them himself, managing his suitcase world would become far easier with their help.
"You must be tired from the tour. Chubby will take you to your room to rest."
As soon as Nicolas finished speaking, a house-elf suddenly Apparated in front of them.
The house-elf named Chubby bowed and greeted Nicolas and Lucien.
Lucien was quite surprised by Chubby's appearance, though not because of his features.
House-elves were generally thin and small, with large bat-like ears, bulging eyes, and long, flat noses.
Chubby naturally looked the same, but he was dressed in a neat little suit rather than the usual pillowcase or ragged sack often seen on house-elves.
Had Nicolas given Chubby clothes? Did that mean he was free?
Though puzzled, Lucien did not ask. He simply allowed Chubby to lead him to his room.
"If you need anything, just call Chubby's name, and Chubby will appear to serve you."
Chubby bowed to Lucien again.
Lucien nodded. "All right, thank you."
Hearing the word "thank you," Chubby hurriedly waved his hands.
"You don't need to be so polite. This is Chubby's duty. Chubby will serve the master's guests with all his strength."
"Indeed, the master's guests are always good people. You are like this, and there were many good people like you before. Oh—one of them carried a suitcase very similar to the one in your hand."
Lucien glanced down at his suitcase. The person Chubby mentioned must be Newt.
Honestly, Chubby gave Lucien a feeling that did not quite match his impression of a house-elf. Aside from his attire, his tone, demeanor, and actions conveyed politeness and respect without any trace of servility or timidity. He even seemed rather talkative.
"By the way, honored guest, may I ask you a question?"
Lucien nodded.
"Do Chubby's clothes look suitable?"
Although the question was puzzling, Lucien still answered, "Very good. They fit well and look proper."
Chubby immediately let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you for your approval. Chubby chose these clothes himself today."
He can choose his own clothes?
From the way he spoke, Chubby clearly had quite a few outfits. Had he been free for a long time?
Lucien finally voiced his question.
Chubby proudly straightened his back.
"Six hundred years ago, my great-grandfather began serving the master. My grandfather did as well. In fact, my father was already given clothes by the master and gained his freedom, but…"
Uh—great-grandfather.
House-elves could live for about two hundred years. To have the service of four generations of house-elves, Nicolas was probably the only one.
"But my father went out and discovered that there were many bad people in the world who wanted to capture and enslave him, so he returned to the master's side. Fortunately, the master was kind and gave him shelter—and even paid my father wages!"
"Chubby gets wages too. The master pays Chubby every month, and Chubby can buy lots of new clothes!"
As he spoke, Chubby even pulled a Galleon from his pocket, holding it in his palm as though it were a precious treasure.
Seeing this, Lucien could not help but sigh inwardly. A house-elf who earned a salary—this truly was unusual.
Nicolas was genuinely kind. Not only had he freed the house-elves, but he was also willing to provide them shelter and even pay them instead of making them work for nothing. What an exceptionally good employer.
Come to think of it, house-elves were also excellent at managing domestic affairs.
Their magical ability was actually quite strong, and their everyday magic was superb. If he could have house-elves help manage his miniature world and care for his Magical Creatures…
Hmm. Truly free house-elves were extremely rare, and cases like Chubby were rarer still.
And judging from Chubby's demeanor, he had no intention of leaving Nicolas's service, so any offer Lucien made would likely be useless.
He should focus on alchemical automatons instead. Although that technology would certainly be difficult, with the talent changes brought by the Emerald Tablet fragment, it won't be a mission impossible…
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