Chapter 372

“I was thinking of giving Mr. Stewart the company key so he can come over and pray whenever he has time,” Odalys said. Earlier, Harvey had mentioned wanting to come over to pray every day. Many regular clients liked to come to her place to pray as well. Odalys had always been welcoming, believing that as long as the intentions were sincere, anyone was welcome. “I’ve become quite the trend now, even to the point where some people treat my company like a church.”

“I mentioned it to him. He probably went,” Percival replied. For some reason, he and Odalys seemed to have an unspoken understanding. They didn’t need to say much to know what the other was thinking. This connection felt almost as if it had existed long before, as if it were destined.

“Let’s go check it out,” Odalys said.

She took a sip of her smoothie, only then realizing that Percival had just had some as well. The fruity taste lingered in her mouth, and there was still a faint warmth from his lips on the glass. Her fingers absentmindedly traced the rim of the cup as she looked out the window.

“Are you hungry? What would you like to eat later?” Percival broke the silence.

Odalys pulled out her phone and glanced at the screen. It was already half past twelve. The opening ceremony for Heroic Era was set for 11:08 AM. She had originally planned to have lunch with Freya and the others, but this situation had come up unexpectedly.

“Let’s stop by the company first,” Odalys said. She wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to have lunch with him now; even being alone with him felt somewhat ambiguous.

“Alright,” Percival responded, his voice low and steady.

Odalys turned her head slightly, lost in thought. Percival drove with quiet focus, his sharply defined profile looking particularly striking.

“Percival,” Odalys suddenly said, calling his name.

Percival turned to look at her. “This morning, when I saw Edie outside the city hall, I realized that if she doesn’t find someone skilled to handle the curse on her, she’ll probably be drained of life very soon. Without the branch curse worm, the main curse worm will start absorbing more of her vital energy. Once she’s completely drained, it’ll escape,” Odalys warned. No matter how bad she was, Edie was Percival’s mother. Even though she didn’t like Edie, Odalys still felt the need to say something, in case Percival would regret not doing anything later.

“Got it,” Percival responded, his large hand gripping the steering wheel tighter. After Odalys left earlier, Edie had rushed at him like a madwoman, even trying to push him into the road just as a car sped by. If Percival hadn’t reacted quickly, he would have been hit. She wasn’t fit to be a mother. Edie had always wanted Percival dead, all so she could take the Stewart family fortune. She had been abusing her position as his mother to get whatever she wanted.

“She won’t back off just because she didn’t get what she wanted from you. After Henry gets that marriage license with her, he’ll have leverage over her. And under the influence of the curse worm, she’s going to become even more unhinged. Who knows what she’ll do next!” Odalys said. It would be best to get rid of Edie. But leaving her alive would only bring trouble in the long run.

“I’ll handle it,” Percival said. He was holding back, still deciding what to do.

Chapter 373

“As long as you know what you’re doing. Don’t destroy everything,” Odalys warned.

“People like her…”

“I know,” Percival replied in a low voice.

The two fell silent. Odalys continued drinking her smoothie, watching the pedestrians hurrying along the road. She spotted the security guard she had seen earlier that morning in the complex. He was holding the laundromat girl’s hand and standing under a tree, reading a stack of reports. It seemed like they had returned from the botanical gardens and were waiting for a ride. Seeing the girl’s complexion return to normal, Odalys smiled to herself. She raised her hand to shield herself from the sunlight, watching as it filtered through her fingers, casting a soft glow across her face. She closed her eyes and savored the peaceful moment.

“Screech!” At that moment, Percival hit the brakes, abruptly bringing the car to a stop in front of her company.

Odalys opened her eyes and saw him already walking around to open the car door for her. She hurriedly got out of the car and made her way toward the company, walking quickly as though she were afraid Percival would catch up to her. Percival watched her anxious figure and couldn’t help but chuckle softly. To him, Odalys seemed like a little girl who didn’t quite know what to do.

Odalys rushed inside and saw Evander and Clarence sitting inside, playing chess. The thurible nearby was nearly full. It was clear that there were many guests today. When Odalys wasn’t busy with star readings, the company also welcomed those who wanted to pray. Many people came simply because they had heard of her reputation.

“Odalys, you’re back?” Evander said when he saw her, immediately standing up from the chess game. He walked over, looking quite pleased with himself. “We’ve had a lot of visitors today.”

“128 people in total. Each one prayed and left. Before they left, they wanted to make appointments for your star readings. Eight of them wanted to check their energy fields,” Evander said as he flipped through his notebook. He had carefully written down all their details—who wanted star readings and who wanted their energy fields read, even noting down their gender and phone numbers.

“Thank you, Mr. Stewart,” Odalys said, taking the material and glancing at it. Evander’s handwriting was strong and bold, just like his character: honest and upright.

“Harvey came with his wife and daughter. Even his parents came, bringing gifts and flowers,” Evander continued, pointing to the flowers and gifts nearby. To differentiate them from the others, he had placed them to the side. “Oswald heard you saved the Tillery family and wanted to thank you by taking you out to dinner, but I turned him down,” Evander said quietly. Given the current situation with Odalys, Evander thought it best to keep things low-key to avoid unnecessary trouble. Helping others was a good thing, but it was best to limit private interactions, especially with powerful families that had their own set of complicated issues.

“Thank you, Mr. Stewart,” Odalys said, feeling a lump in her throat. She knew Evander was looking out for her, considering things from her perspective, and she was deeply touched.

“Why are you thanking him? Percival’s luck is what got him to you. It’s only right that he helps solve some problems for you,” Clarence said, his face serious as he stood up. He walked over, and the strong scent of medicine surrounded him, blending with his natural scent in a strangely pleasant way. This scent signified that Clarence had spent many years working with herbs, and the fragrance of medicine had become part of him. That’s why he was healthier than most people.

“Hello, Mr. Lark,” Odalys greeted him with a fondness so intense it was almost overflowing. And he cast an envious glance at Evander. “I heard about how you saved his life and helped Finnian with some trouble. I’ve studied the ointment you used, and it’s truly amazing. I even can’t tell what ingredients are in this concoction!” For him, medicine was everything. Clarence had spent his life practicing medicine, and it had long since become part of his very being.

This revised version corrects grammatical errors, improves punctuation, and clarifies the overall flow of the narrative. There are still some minor stylistic inconsistencies (e.g., inconsistent use of italics for Heroic Era) which would depend on the overall style guide for the work.