Return of The Alpha Heiress-Chapter 38: Clarissa - Mass-Produced Shifter’s Aide (2)

We stared at each other for a moment, both of us awkward.

I quickly broke eye contact. "R-right... thank you."

He nodded. His whole demeanor shifted in an instant. He went back to acting normal. He was so strange.

"Did you go to the workshop to start a new project or something?" he asked.

"I have a project," I said with a nod. "But all the workshop rooms are full. So I’m just going to borrow Larry’s room."

"Full?" His eyes narrowed for a second, then returned to normal. "Use my room. I only use it to sleep."

"Huh?" I stared at him, startled by the sudden invitation.

"Come on. I’m heading there anyway." He walked into the workshop area.

I stood still for a beat, then followed him.

It’s fine if I use Richard’s room. To get inside any room, I need the owner with me. And I doubt Larry has time to accompany me every day.

As we passed the staff counter, the staff member stared at me in shock, then bowed her head so fast it almost made a sound.

Her behavior was bizarre.

"She’s probably panicking," Richard murmured once we were out of her sight.

"Panicking because of what?" I asked, confused.

"Because she failed to carry out the order she was given," he said casually, leaving a huge question mark in my mind.

We stopped in front of Richard’s workshop room.

"What order?" I asked again as he turned the key.

Click.

The metal door opened, revealing a room with nothing in the middle.

The size wasn’t too different from Shannon’s room, but Shannon’s had far more equipment.

Now I really believe he only comes here to sleep.

Richard closed the door behind us and immediately walked to the sofa.

"There are more workshop rooms than S-class students. There’s no way it’s fully booked. Someone must’ve ordered her to stop you from getting a room." Richard finally answered my earlier question.

"Someone really did something that childish?" I clicked my tongue. Turns out the best-class wasn’t much better than the regular-class.

"So who did you have a problem with?" Richard sat on the sofa.

Selene and her friends flashed through my mind. "It’s not a problem. There’s just a false rumor going around about me. Maybe they’re annoyed and pulled something like this."

Richard didn’t respond. He just stared at me.

Feeling awkward, I turned toward the workbench filled with the basic tools provided by the workshop.

From the thick dust, it was obvious Richard had never touched any of them. Why insist on having his own room then?

I placed my things on the table.

"You don’t plan to clear up the false rumor?" Richard’s voice came from behind me.

I turned around. He was still on the sofa, watching me.

So he was still thinking about what I said.

"I’ve gotten used to false rumors since the regular class. Stuff like this won’t affect me," I answered with a shrug.

"I’m not trying to lecture you, but..." his expression turned serious. "A misunderstanding left alone will eventually feel like the truth. And it will get messier over time. Before things get complicated, you should fix it."

"I’m fine. Whether they believe it or not doesn’t affect me." I replied lightly.

"Alright." Richard lay down on the sofa. "I’m going to sleep."

I turned back to the table.

As for people who believed the rumors about me, I could prove everything through my own actions.

If they thought I stole Shannon’s device, I just had to take the top spot in class. The rumor would crumble on its own.

...

Over the next few days, after classes ended, I spent all my time writing the proposal and preparing the next test plan.

Richard was always in his workshop, only to sleep.

For the eldest child of the Black Pack’s Alpha family, he had zero ambition.

Maybe losing his position as heir meant he no longer felt responsible for anything.

But Larry as the second son wasn’t like that. He still studied hard and gave his all. Even Edwin took ae-devices seriously.

Why was Richard so different?

Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to think about him too much.

In the end, I managed to finish everything quickly.

After a few days in the dorm, I finally went home. Mother welcomed me with a smile and an avalanche of worried questions.

"Clarissa, how’s your eating? Your injury didn’t reopen, right?"

"I’m fine, Mother." I smiled as wide as I could to show that I was really okay.

"Oh right, is Darren home yet?" I looked around for my eldest brother. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Not yet. He hasn’t been home much these past few days. He’s been busy," Mother said.

I sighed, disappointed. "I hope he comes home tonight..."

But after that day, I never got the chance to talk to Darren.

Even during the weekend, when Mother cooked so many dishes to celebrate my win, Darren didn’t come home.

He rarely came home at all. And when he did, it was only for a few minutes to grab some documents.

The servants said he arrived at midnight and left again at dawn. He was unbelievably busy.

During that time, all I could do was review the proposal I had worked so hard on.

A month passed.

This week, Larry, Shannon, and Edwin returned home looking excited.

Mother looked excited too.

"Mother prepared shifted clothes for all of you," she said, calling the servants to bring out four sets of brown outfits with emerald accents.

My three siblings immediately changed into theirs with sparkling eyes. I turned to Mother.

"This one’s for me?" I asked, pointing at an outfit similar to Shannon’s.

Mother nodded enthusiastically. "You have to try it on too."

"But I still can’t shift," I replied, just stating the truth. But Mother didn’t care and kept urging me to change.

In the end, I had no choice but to put it on.

The outfit was shifting clothes—an ae-device in uniform-type form.

It was made with aether so it wouldn’t be ruined during a werewolf shift, and it would remain on the wolf’s body even after returning to human form.

And the reason Mother was so excited about this...

was because the Hunting Day was coming soon.

...