Chapter 124: Master and Mistress
Sophie Wexler watched the scenery pass by. This wasn’t the route back to her old apartment.
She turned to Cillian Forrest, her expression puzzled.
Seeing her look, Cillian Forrest smiled slightly. "We’re here."
She hadn’t even noticed when the flying vehicle had landed.
Cillian Forrest stood up and disembarked, then turned and offered his hand to Sophie Wexler, who was still in the vehicle.
Sophie Wexler hesitated for a moment before taking his hand and stepping down. She found herself standing in front of a house.
"This is...?"
"Our home," Cillian Forrest answered.
Once a Healer-class individual is matched, they no longer stay in their previous residence but move in with their matched partner.
Now that they were matched, they were, in a sense, about to become official partners.
There was a half-month period between a successful match and the final signing of the marriage agreement. During this time, the matched pair would live together to get to know each other better. It could also be called an observation period.
Once the observation period ended, if there were no objections, the pair would formally sign the marriage documents and become partners.
Sophie Wexler stopped in her tracks. She hadn’t expected to start living together the moment the matching process was complete. It gave her no time to mentally prepare.
As she thought this, she glanced at Cillian Forrest beside her.
’Thank goodness my matched partner is Cillian Forrest.’
’After all, we’ve lived under the same roof for so long already.’
’If I’d been matched with a complete stranger and had to move in with them... I can’t even imagine it.’
"Let’s go," Cillian Forrest said, leading her inside.
It was only then that Sophie Wexler realized their hands were still clasped together. Cillian Forrest hadn’t let go after helping her out of the vehicle.
Sophie Wexler wanted to say something, but with the matching agency staff still behind them, she was afraid they would find out her match with Cillian was just an act. She had no choice but to let him continue holding her hand.
The staff members behind them watched the two leave, and one remarked with a sigh, "This matched couple seems to get along so well."
Sophie Wexler followed Cillian Forrest inside.
"BEEP. Information for the mistress of the house has been successfully registered."
Sophie Wexler: "???"
Cillian Forrest explained, "The house’s terminal is bound to both partners. Once your information is entered, you’re automatically identified as the mistress of the house."
Sophie Wexler: "..."
This couldn’t help but remind her of the fiasco Tammy had caused a long time ago.
Back then, its program had automatically identified Cillian Forrest as the master of the house and even announced it out loud.
’Is this what they call turnabout is fair play?’
’Speaking of Tammy, I wonder how it’s doing on Karath. Is it remembering to charge itself? Are its programs still running normally? I’ve been gone for so long... I hope it hasn’t broken down by the time I get back.’
Just as she was thinking this, the door opened in front of her, followed by a cute, robotic voice. "Cillian Forrest, you’re back."
Cillian Forrest had heard this voice every time he’d returned home recently. He’d gone from being on guard at first to being completely used to it.
The voice was incredibly familiar. Who else could it be but Tammy?
The little robot glided out from a room on its wheels, then came to a sudden halt when it saw the person standing at the door.
A second later, Tammy’s head swiveled, its screen instantly displaying a huge smiley face. Its voice was filled with excitement. "Owner!!!"
The entire machine zipped over to Sophie Wexler, its screen-face exploding with fireworks. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"Owner, Owner, Owner!"
"Tammy has missed you so much!"
The little robot zoomed in frantic circles around Sophie Wexler and Cillian Forrest.
Sophie Wexler’s eyes lit up with immense surprise!
She had just been thinking about Tammy, and the next second, there it was, right in front of her.
Sophie Wexler reached out and tapped the screen on Tammy’s head, turning off the booming fireworks.
She turned to Cillian Forrest, her eyes sparkling. "Did you bring Tammy here?"
Cillian Forrest said, "Let’s talk inside."
"Tammy, get a new pair of slippers."
"Okay, Cillian Forrest." At the command, Tammy ceased its excited display and glided away on its wheels to fetch the slippers.
After Sophie had modified its programming last time, it had stopped calling Cillian Forrest "master of the house" and started addressing him by his full name every time.
Cillian Forrest’s eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this. ’Maybe I should change its programming to fix that address term.’
’Make it match the "mistress of the house" announcement from the door.’
Tammy quickly returned with the slippers. As Sophie Wexler moved to change her shoes, she realized their hands were still intertwined.
Sophie Wexler: "..."
Cillian Forrest noticed her reaction, a hint of a smile appearing in his eyes.
Sophie Wexler said, "...Um, I need to change my shoes."
"Go ahead," Cillian Forrest said with a smiling nod.
As soon as she said it, Sophie Wexler snatched her hand away and looked down to change her shoes, shrinking into herself.
’I’m screaming on the inside!’
’Why is Cillian Forrest acting so strange today?!’
Watching her reaction, Cillian Forrest knew his actions today had been the right call.
’At the very least, it made her aware, didn’t it?’
’I’ll get her used to me, little by little. No need to rush. We have all the time in the world.’
After she changed her shoes, Cillian Forrest led Sophie Wexler further into the house. "Follow me."
Sophie Wexler followed him, assuming he was taking her to the room he had prepared for her.
But when they arrived, she found it was a study—or, to be more precise, an office.
But inside this office were several items that seemed completely out of place with the rest of the house’s decor.
Her musical instruments!
Her Ancient Zither from Karath, her guitar, her piano, and a few other things—all of them were here.
Sophie Wexler’s eyes widened. "These...?"
"They were brought over with Tammy," Cillian Forrest said.
"I figured you’d be on The Capital Planet for a while and would eventually need them, so I had them all brought over."
And she really did need them. She had only managed to buy a guitar here, but none of her other instruments—especially the Ancient Zither, which she had specially commissioned.
There wasn’t another one like it in the entire Galaxy.
She couldn’t believe Cillian Forrest had brought them all here for her.
She looked at her precious instruments, then went to poke and play with Tammy. For a moment, it almost felt like she was back on Karath.
But the unfamiliar furnishings of the house served as a constant reminder that this wasn’t her old apartment. This was Cillian Forrest’s home.
A place where she would be living for the foreseeable future.
Just as she was playing with Tammy, Cillian Forrest emerged from the kitchen.
"Have something to eat."
Sophie Wexler looked at what Cillian Forrest had brought out: dumplings.
"How did you know I was hungry?" Sophie Wexler’s eyes lit up.
The food at the banquet had been a total gamble. To avoid getting something awful, she had ended up not eating at all. Now, she was starving.
Cillian Forrest didn’t mention that he had been upstairs at the time and had seen her take one bite of the banquet food before putting it down in disgust.