Vincent sat at the dining table, eating warm milk and bread. He watched the news about the aftermath of the "Battle of New York" and the "Death of Superman," while his peripheral vision caught a small scarlet figure bustling about in the living room.
Aunt Diana had left for work early, leaving only Vincent and Scarlet Maid Wanda at home.
With her waist-length hair tied into twin pigtails, the red-haired girl, wearing a slightly oversized apron, wiped the furniture with a wet rag. Her movements, though a bit unpracticed, were exceptionally meticulous and serious, cleaning every corner multiple times.
Watching Little Wanda frequently stand on her tiptoes, raising her small hands to wipe with effort… Vincent suddenly felt a pang of guilt, as if he had recruited child labor. Unable to bear it, he said, "How about you rest for a bit? The house isn't that dirty."
"Oh no, I can't," Wanda said, panting while working diligently. "I'm reporting to school here tomorrow, and as Miss Diana said, it's best to thoroughly clean the house today. It also helps me get familiar with my future work environment."
Vincent asked curiously, "Can you handle it? Balancing your studies every day, and then coming to work before and after school?"
"I'm fine. I used to do a lot of housework at home too."
Wanda seemed to be cheering herself on, her eyes showing a determined look.
Just then.
Wanda suddenly thought of something, placed the rag in the bucket, and turned to Vincent, who was enjoying his breakfast, asking seriously for feedback on her service: "Master, how was the temperature of my heated milk?"
Vincent, who was tilting his head back to drink a mouthful of warm milk, nearly choked to death in his chair. He coughed violently a few times, spilling a lot of white milk onto the back of his hand.
"Master, are you alright?" Wanda rushed forward, patting Vincent's back with her small hand.
She saw the milk spilled on the back of Vincent's hand, and without hesitation, she leaned forward slightly and slurped it clean—
"Don't waste it…" Wanda licked the lingering milk residue from the corner of her lips, murmuring softly.
Vincent was once again speechless.
He said weakly, "Wanda, remember this. It's fine if you call me that at home, but absolutely do not call me that outside."
"Why?" Wanda tilted her scarlet twin pigtails and asked innocently.
"Because I don't want to be handcuffed by the police officers," Vincent said.
Especially Officer George from Gwen's family, who was already watching him closely. If he found out that Vincent had recruited a maid, the consequences would be unimaginable!
"Okay." Wanda seemed to realize that her previous actions were too intimate, and with a slight blush, she said, "So, from now on, I'll call you Master at home, and Young Master Vincent outside?"
"No problem." Vincent nodded. He didn't say much, just quickly finished all the breakfast on the dining table.
Wanda secretly noticed this and a happy smile appeared on her face.
Allowing Wanda to tidy up the dishes and take them into the kitchen, Vincent mused, "Wanda, you don't need to make my lunch today. Be careful at home."
As Vincent spoke, he glanced under the dining table at the Little Orange Cat sleeping soundly by his feet, and whispered, "Little Orange Cat, protect Wanda at home."
Little Orange Cat's eyes didn't open, but its tail suddenly wagged.
"Is Master going out?" Wanda poked her head out from the kitchen, asking curiously.
Vincent choked a little again, still not quite used to the peculiar address. He took a breath and said, "Yes, I'm going to see a friend."
…"Be careful on your way. I'll wait for you at home."
Wanda's voice still lingered in his ears. Vincent glanced at the back of his right hand. Wanda's unintentional action had clearly and indirectly triggered the Lord of the Retinue.
Vincent could clearly feel that his physique and strength had noticeably increased, but he was still within the human range.
"Sure enough, Wanda is just an ordinary girl." Vincent murmured to himself, and a figure with dark green hair reappeared in his mind. He wondered why that 'Polaris boss' possessed such powerful and unique abilities.
Also, why didn't Lorna recognize Wanda and take her away on the day of the Battle of New York… He took two or three buses, going back and forth between Washington city and its suburbs.
Finally, Vincent, riding a dusty bus, arrived at the border area between Washington and New York. There were no tall buildings here, only endless fields.
In the center of the fields, there was only a straight road, extending towards the azure sky on both sides.
Vincent got off at one of the distant stops. Following the address provided by his school teacher, he eventually arrived at a Western-style wooden villa, a two-story wooden house surrounded by fields of wheat.
Vincent hadn't expected it to be so far. He looked down at the address again, confirmed it was the place he was looking for, and then rang the doorbell.
Soon.
Footsteps sounded from inside, and a woman in her sixties opened the door.
"Hello. Excuse me, does Kara Danvers live here?" Vincent asked first.
"Yes, who are you?" The woman nodded, looking at the young man with curiosity.
Vincent offered the prepared explanation: "My name is Vincent Prince, and I'm a student council member at Washington White High School. Since Kara Danvers from my class has been on leave, I'm here on behalf of the teacher to understand the situation."
Before the woman could speak, an old, raspy male voice came from inside the house: "Let him in."
Vincent looked up and saw a man with completely white hair at his temples, clearly advanced in age.
Through the man's old yet firm face, one could vaguely see that he had been quite handsome in his youth.
The man introduced himself: "My name is Stephen Danvers, Kara's adoptive father."
…First-floor living room.
Under the gaze and scrutiny of the old couple, Vincent sat somewhat stiffly on the sofa.
He subconsciously scanned the living room, noticing many framed photos on the wall, with Kara's pictures being the most numerous. Among them, there were also one or two photos of a young female air force pilot and modern fighter jets.
"Does Kara have an older sister?" Vincent asked with a touch of curiosity, also wanting to find a topic to break the somewhat awkward atmosphere.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this question, the woman's eyes dimmed, and she rose and went into the kitchen as if avoiding the topic.
In that instant, Vincent realized he had said the wrong thing.
After all, in the family photos of Kara's family, the female air force pilot's figure did not appear, only individual photos from an older era.
"Don't mind her." Stephen raised his cloudy eyes, looking at the photos on the wall, and said, "Her name is Carol Danvers, my first child. When I was young, I was very patriarchal, which led to an early estrangement with her."
"I'm sorry," Vincent quickly apologized.
"It's alright." Stephen waved his hand: "It's all in the past."
He reminisced, "After Carol ran away from home, she joined the Air Force against our wishes. Not long after, she was killed during an assignment. I kept her photo and hung it on the wall as a form of repentance, a reminder of the mistakes I made in my youth."
Stephen looked at Vincent and said in a deep voice, "Therefore, we absolutely will not allow the last remaining child, Kara, to suffer any harm!"
This attitude showed that the adoptive parents loved Kara very much, so Kara's absence from school wasn't due to family reasons?
Vincent thought for a moment, then asked directly, "Sir. I want to know why Kara hasn't been to school. Is she sick?"
"Her health is fine, it's just…" Stephen paused, then said to Vincent, "Aren't you her classmate? She's upstairs in her room. You can go ask her yourself now."
Stephen warned, "However, you must remember, don't mention anything about Superman!"
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