Pierrot carefully brought Liam next to the table, installing him on a steel chair. Glenn rubbed his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing. The kid, who had been as skinny as a twig one year ago, was now a grown man with quite an athletic build. He was wearing only a pair of black pants and a black coat over a brass breastplate.

...But it seemed like something was wrong with him.

"Are you okay?" Glenn asked as he tried to approach him, only to be stopped by the other kids in the room. Liam grunted and waved at them dismissively. They reluctantly stepped back, letting Glenn and Sahro come closer to their boss.

"I almost didn't recognize you..." Glenn muttered as he pulled a chair to sit in front of Liam. Sahro simply leaned against the table, watching with wide-opened eyes. Liam chuckled, only to cough in his hand. Something made a clicking sound on him, almost synchronized with his coughing.

"Cough...I think they call it a growth spurt...I almost didn't recognize you either, Mister Glenn. Or should I call you the Devil's Hand?" Liam scoffed as he glanced at Glenn's left hand. The latter shook his head with a light snort.

"Call me whatever you want," His expression hardened and he crossed his arms, "...What happened to you? After..."

Liam winced, his face darkening visibly, and coughed again. Glenn shut his mouth and waited patiently, his eyebrows creasing at Liam's sorry sight. The more he looked at him, the worse he appeared despite his apparent evolution. His skin was sickly pale, almost yellowish, and his eyes were dull. Signs of malnutrition were showing on his face; hollowed cheeks, dark circles under his eyes, brittle brown hair...

Which was strange, since none of the other kids seemed to suffer from the same issue.

'So it's something that only affects Liam,' Diamanes concluded. Glenn winced and pursed his lips. He wouldn't know until Liam decided to share with him what was wrong. Eventually, Liam turned to the other kids and sighed.

"Leave me with them. You can stay, Pierrot..." He scoffed and added before the other kids could complain, "...I'm pretty sure the Devil's Hand could have wiped us all with a wave of his hand if he wanted. You would not make a difference if he were to attack. Which I doubt he will."

Once again reluctant, the kids left the room, leaving behind Glenn, Sahro, Liam, and his second, Pierrot.

"After I've been taken by the Baron, I..." Liam clenched his teeth and his eyes drifted away, filled with hatred, "...he did something to me. To my heart."

Glenn's heart missed a beat and he held his breath in expectation. Liam grabbed at his chest, hidden under some brass breastplate, and chewed on his lower lip.

"I...I became a thrall. A servant of a vampire," Liam hissed through his teeth. Sahro tensed up while Glenn clenched the edge of his seat tightly, struggling to restrain himself. They were fucking right. Baron Howard was a fucking vampire.

"Well, let's order silver bullets and garlic, then? Maybe some stakes?" Nelg joked lightly, failing to get a laugh out of his host. Glenn rubbed his chin, his eyebrows creased.

"How did you escape from him, then? I believe a vampire should have complete control of his thralls, right?"

Liam coughed before tapping his chest with his closed fist, grinning wickedly.

"I solved that issue. I wasn't alone in doing it..." He blushed before shaking his head and nodding at Pierrot, "...But it was the only way I—we found to save my skin."

Pierrot silently stared at his boss, confirming with him before untying the leather straps that held the brass breastplate over Liam's torso. Glenn's eyes widened as Liam's chest was revealed, glinting with a bronze, pulsing hue. Sahro leaned forward and leaned on Glenn's shoulder, his mouth agape with disbelief. Liam glanced down at his chest and scoffed.

"I had no other choice."

A mechanical contraption was encased in Liam's chest, like a parasite that had been planted there. It was ticking silently, minuscule gears turning rhythmically. Small pistons were constantly pushing and pulling, some slower and some faster. The contraption was pumping blood unrelentingly, the only hint at what it was pumping was the crimson leak at the machine's joints. The brass making it was dull and old, washed up. Most of the gears if not all of them were exposed, explaining why Liam was wearing only a brass breastplate. It would probably be a bad idea to risk something sticking itself in the cogs, after all.

For this was Liam's heart.

A mechanical, brass heart.

"...What the hell is this...?" Sahro muttered in awe, unable to avert his eyes away from the machine. Liam coughed and winced, before gesturing at Pierrot to put the breastplate back on.

"I had to rip my own heart out. Once I did that and crushed it, I was freed from the Baron's influence and managed to escape. It was a risky operation; the first of its kind, I think," Liam smirked with a tinge of pride, "I'm the first to survive a direct transplantation of a mechanical heart. It does come with side-effects, though, such as—cough, the periodical leaks, blood poisoning, and the perpetual creaking, but it's better than being dead."

Glenn laughed in awe, leaning back in his chair while shaking his head.

"This is insane. I know I'm supposed to be the crazy one, but you're on another level. Who—who even made this?"

Liam made a short, mocking bow, "All of my own work, sir."

Pierrot snickered without saying a word. His boss glanced at him in displeasure, before shrugging, "...I might have gotten a tiny bit of help. But nothing much."

"...Keep tellin' yourself that, boss," Pierrot mocked as he finished tying the breastplate back. Liam rolled his eyes before gesturing at the factory.

"After escaping, I found this place. And, it happened quite naturally, but most of the street kids came to join me. I don't honestly know why, though," He admitted. Pierrot shook his head with a chuckle.

"The kids follow you 'cause ya're the coolest one, and 'cause they have no one else. I'm the same, boss."

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Liam grunted and waved his hand dismissively, "If you say so. Anyway, I'm glad to see that you finally managed to reach the Bourgeoisie, Mister Glenn. I—we were all waiting for you to finally take our revenge on Howard."

Glenn raised an eyebrow, "...We?"

Liam nodded affirmingly, "Yes, we. Most of the—cough, damnation...most of the kids here had their parents taken away by the Baron. Suddenly there one day, then visiting the familial mansion, only to disappear forever. They are sons of merchants, workers, engineers, or even soldiers. And they all want a piece of this vampiric bastard," Liam spat the last word hatefully, his knuckles whitening.

Glenn exchanged a glance with Sahro, before shaking his head, "We won't be able to take action now."

Liam's eyes widened, "...What?"

Glenn grimaced, "...Tomorrow, we're leaving for..." He winced as the seal tightened in his chest, informing him of what he shouldn't say, "...some time. I don't know exactly how long, and I can't tell you why, but I might not come back alive."

Liam's face twisted in disappointment and slight hatred. He slammed his fist against the table, hissing through his teeth," But...! We need—cough—we need you here! You—" He stared at Glenn with bloodshot eyes as the scarlet lifeforce tricked down his chin, "You owe me. I'm in this mess because of you."

Glenn's expression hardened and he stood up, his left purple hand trembling slightly.

"I know you want your revenge, but—"

Liam stood up brusquely, spatting a black clot of blood while pointing an accusing finger at Glenn, "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" He raged until Pierrot hurriedly slipped his hand under his shoulder and nudged him to leave the room. Liam coughed and glared darkly at Glenn, before shaking his head and leaving. Glenn and Sahro stood silently in the control room, lost in their thoughts. The door suddenly smashed open as a girl dashed in, gasping heavily.

"Where's Liam? I have some great news—!" She interrupted herself when she realized there was nobody in the control room be it for Glenn and Sahro. Her eyes widened as she stumbled back, her cheeks flushed red.

"S...Sir Devil's Hand?" She exclaimed in shock. Glenn laughed surprisedly as he leaned back against the table.

"Janica," He acknowledged, "What are you doing here? You know Liam?"

Janica nodded before doing a double-take, "Wait—you also know Liam? How?"

Sahro grunted, "From back in the Fringe. We helped him out when he was being abused in the Auberge." The Black Heir turned away and muttered under his breath, "...the ungrateful little piece of shit..."

Glenn's eyebrow trembled slightly but he still nodded.

"What about you? I'm curious as to how you know that kid—"

"Janica?!?" Liam suddenly kicked his door open despite Pierrot's best efforts. His eyes widened at her sight and he blushed slightly, before hurriedly shaking his head.

"What are you doing here? I thought you still had to pass that exam for the Exan University?"

Janica laughed and waved a document, "That was yesterday, you oaf! I was accepted!"

Liam gasped before laughing widely, his previous bloodthirst and madness gone. Glenn and Sahro traded a knowing glance, smirking.

"Congratulations! We—we need to celebrate! Uhm, what should we prepare? Pierrot, what about that shop that sold cakes, is it still—cough!" Liam paled and fell to his knees, coughing a large amount of blood. Janica yelped and ran up to him, glaring at Pierrot who helped her take off Liam's breastplate. She took out some tiny tools from her pocket and began to manipulate Liam's heart without a second of hesitation, tightening screws and moving gently some cogs. Liam's ragged breathing slowed down, as did his blood-filled coughs.

Glenn grimaced, unsure. Should he try using C.P.R. on Liam?

'I vote against it. Firstly, because you don't know what effects it would have on an artificial heart, and secondly, because he insulted you earlier,' Diamanes voted with a haughty tone. Nelg sighed but did not add anything. Liam's crisis eventually calmed down and Janica fell back with a heavy sigh.

"Phew..." She rubbed her eyes tiredly before throwing an angry look at her tools, "If only I had some better equipment, I'm sure...!"

Pierrot helped Liam sit up, the young boss wiping the blood off his mouth with an ashamed look. Upon realizing that Glenn and Sahro were still there, he turned his eyes away, unable to look them in the eyes.

"D...Don't worry, Janica. I—I'm fine, this can wait. First, we need to deal with—"

Liam yelped as Janica pinched him in the cheek angrily, "You're not fine at all. The first thing you need to deal with is that makeshift heart of yours. Your...stupid revenge can wait until breathing doesn't put you at risk of dying!"

Glenn restrained a laugh and nodded, "She has a point, Liam."

"Hmf..." Liam slowly stood up, using Pierrot as a crutch.

"We don't have the resources, nor the workshop to make myself better anyway. It doesn't matter how good I am, or even Janica. We're both stuck using the scrap at the bottom of the barrel. We can barely afford to pay for everyone's food after all..." He trailed off as another worry appeared on his face. Glenn grinned widely while shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Man, oh man, I sure wonder who would have an entire Workshop he'd be willing to lend for free during the next few months..."

Sahro flinched and snapped to look at him. "Do you mean what I think you mean?"

Glenn nodded without much care, "I mean, at least we'll have someone to warm the house while we're not there, you know?"

Liam frowned, "Warm the house? But you guys don't have an official residence yet, do you? You were only invited by the mansion's owner on 33rd Longhorn, in Silverhomes, right?"

Glenn raised a haughty eyebrow at Liam, "Why would you assume it's not our house?"

Janica paused and looked at Glenn in disbelief, "You live in Silverhomes?!?"

Sahro disregarded the two, only scratching his chin while speaking to Glenn, "Are you sure the others would be okay with that? They don't know him, and we barely too..."

Glenn rolled his eyes and shrugged, "What do we risk? We have nothing valuable there—well, there is valuable stuff for sure, but it has just been given to us for free. Why should I care?"

The Black Heir sighed and turned away, giving up, "Do what you wish."

Glenn grinned and rubbed his hands together as he looked at his two prospective engineers in front of him. Oh, was he going to work them to the bone? Oh, his dream power armor. What better luck than to get some free, skilled workers?

"Of, but I will!" He chuckled wickedly.

He did not doubt that no ordinary engineer could have made that mechanical heart. If it was working, that meant it wasn't far to the modern-age transplatations of Earth. And from what he was seeing, Janica had participated quite a lot in its creation, which meant that both she and Liam were talented in this business.

Wait—no, they were beyond talented. They were already making shit beyond the Bourgeoisie's technological advancement. They were visionaries. Kids who would change the world if given enough time and resources, he was sure of it.

'I'll let you know Liam can't use Magic nor Aura, though,' Diamanes commented with a puzzled tone. Glenn frowned. That shouldn't be possible. He opened his Mana Sight, discovering that Liam was surrounded by some sort of red shroud, nothing like he had ever seen before. Compared to Janica, she looked perfectly suited to learn magic, even though she did not have a Circle created yet. But the Mana was naturally drawn to her, like for every living being, Liam being the exception.

"How interesting..." Glenn muttered, before shaking his head. It didn't matter in the end. He wasn't planning to recruit these two to have them fight beside him.

No, he would much rather have them build him some guns or something. That'd be much cooler, and a much better use of their talents. With a wicked, almost businessman-like smile, Glenn leaned forward and rubbed his palms together.

"Say, Liam, Janica...What do you think about doing some housekeeping while we're gone?" Liam raised an eyebrow while Janica's face flushed with a deep dark red. Glenn didn't stop and this time only stared at Liam, his eyes piercing into his.

"...so that when we come back, we destroy that Baron once and for all?"

Almost without thinking, Liam's hand shot out to shake Glenn's.

"Deal."

Janica did a double take before backing off in a panic, "Wait, no—I...I'm not worthy of living in Silverhomes, I'm a—"

Glenn clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Janica, don't spit on the opportunities others give you. Think about it. You'll be enjoying an entirely functioning workshop, with automatons to repair and almost infinite tools."

Janica gasped while Glenn moistened his lips, their corners curved upward.

Yeah, this was in the bag. Two (probably) genius engineers for the price of none.

What a steal.