Chương 33: Chapter 32

After the conversation with Mrs. Roosevelt, Lily was escorted toward the area where the young lady resided. Along the way, the maid pointed out several portraits hanging along the walls.

"These are portraits of the young lady." Lily glanced at them as she passed. They were useful. A record of appearance. A reference point. However, they were not enough. A portrait could show someone's face. It could not show how someone moved, spoke, reacted, or carried themselves. Eventually, they arrived before a door.

"This is the young lady's room." The head stewardess opened the door. Then, without entering, she stepped away. The door closed behind Lily. Lily stared at the closed door for a moment. She found it slightly strange. The maid had left rather quickly. Too quickly. Was the young lady's personality truly that difficult? Had the servants learned through experience that the safest option was to leave immediately after delivering anyone inside? Lily sighed.

She had not even met the person yet, and already the situation seemed complicated. As she was thinking, something suddenly flew toward her. A pillow. There was no time to react. The pillow struck her directly. For most people, it would have been harmless. For Lily, however, it was different. Her body was not particularly strong. The System, in its usual unreasonable dedication to accuracy, had adjusted her physical condition to match the identity she represented. A body that was constantly ill.

A body that spent most of its time confined to bed. A body that was fragile. Therefore, a surprise pillow attack was apparently enough to completely defeat her. Lily collapsed. A moment later, warmth spread across her face. Blood. Just as the young lady opened her mouth to demand that the intruder leave, she froze. She saw the person lying on the ground. Bleeding. Her expression immediately changed.

"Wait." The anger disappeared. Panic replaced it. She quickly moved from the bed, rushing toward Lily.

"I'm sorry!" Her voice became frantic.

"I didn't mean to!" She grabbed a nearby cloth.

"Here, use this." She looked horrified.

"You should not have come in here. Did the maid not tell you that I did not want to see anyone?" Despite her words, she was not angry. She was worried. She carefully helped Lily sit up and guided her head downward so the bleeding would stop. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. For the next several minutes, the room became chaotic. The young lady repeatedly apologized. Lily repeatedly assured her that she was fine.

Eventually, after several adjustments and waiting, the bleeding finally stopped. However, inside her mind, Lily had a completely different complaint. The System. Of all things it could reproduce, it had to reproduce the weakness too? She understood the purpose. The ability required accuracy. The identity required consistency. But still... How inconvenient. A healthy body would have made everything much easier. The System remained silent. It had already calculated that complaint. Unfortunately, it had no response.

The physical condition was part of the role. Accuracy was the priority.

"It seems the bleeding has stopped." The young lady spoke softly. Lily, who had been focused on cleaning the remaining blood, finally looked up. This was the person she was supposed to imitate. The person whose identity she needed to understand. And the first thing Lily noticed was... Beautiful. The young lady possessed the same rose-colored hair as Mrs. Roosevelt. However, her eyes carried the same deep purple color as Mr. Roosevelt. The combination created a striking appearance.

Her hair fell loosely around her shoulders, slightly messy from having just moved from bed. And yet, despite her so-called illness, there was almost nothing visibly wrong with her. Only two small blemishes near the corners of her cheeks remained. Barely noticeable. If someone was not deliberately looking for them, they would likely never notice. Lily became quiet. She stared. The young lady noticed. Slowly, her expression changed. Her face flushed. Then she turned away.

"Don't look at me." Her voice became smaller.

"I'm hideous." Lily froze. That statement genuinely surprised her. If you're hideous, then I'm a porcupine. Before Lily could continue her conversation with Rosa, another thought entered her mind. She was curious.

"System." The System, which had been away exploring the mansion, immediately paused. Over the past several minutes, it had been occupied with a far more important task. Information gathering. Mr. Roosevelt's mansion contained a private library. Unlike the public library located in the poorer districts, this collection contained knowledge that was not easily accessible to ordinary people. The System had already begun organizing and recording the information. Some of the books were related to history.

Some contained advanced theories. Some contained information that would have been impossible to obtain otherwise. It had been efficiently processing everything when Lily's request interrupted its work. The System returned to the host's consciousness.

"What is your request?" Lily looked toward Rosa.

"What is her beauty value?" The System paused. A moment of silence followed. Why? Why was Lily interested in this? Beauty was not a particularly useful measurement. It did not directly affect survival. It did not directly affect strength. It did not directly affect intelligence. Compared to other values, it was largely insignificant. However, after analyzing the request, the System determined that fulfilling it would not violate any restrictions. There was no reason to refuse.

"Processing." The System briefly focused its attention on Rosa. Scanning. Analyzing. Comparing. Then the result appeared. Beauty Value: 97 The System paused. Not because the value was low. Because the value was unexpectedly high. Target: Rosa Roosevelt. Current Beauty Value: 97. Warning. Beauty value has decreased. Original Beauty Value: 99. Current Beauty Value: 97. Cause: Critical illness. Physical condition deterioration. Visible illness manifestations. The System reviewed the data. A decrease of two points.

From a normal perspective, the difference was minimal. However, the original value was significant. A beauty value of 99 placed the individual at an exceptionally rare level. Even after the decrease, Rosa remained near the peak. The System briefly compared the value. Current host personality: Lily. Beauty Value: 80. Target: Rosa Roosevelt. Beauty Value: 97. Difference: Significant. The System found the information mildly interesting. However, it was still an unnecessary statistic.

The information was sent directly to Lily.

"Her beauty value is 97." Lily blinked.

"97?"

"Yes." The System continued.

"Her original value was 99. The decrease occurred due to her illness." Lily looked back toward Rosa. The girl in front of her, who believed herself to be hideous, had once possessed an almost perfect appearance. And even now... She remained extraordinarily beautiful. Before Lily could continue analyzing the information, the System had already finished its task. The data had been delivered. The request had been completed. There was no reason to remain. The System returned to its previous activity. The library.

More specifically, the books inside Mr. Roosevelt's private library that were unavailable to common citizens. Knowledge was waiting. And the System had work to do.