Jacob had still to come up with a name for the Alchemic Lasagna, but he was sure as hell not letting it go to waste in the meantime. Every time he took a bite of it, he could feel his Cultivation pulse and echo throughout his Meridians. This Alchemic concoction was clearly superior to the Alchemic Tagliatelle. Adding a ragù sauce had changed everything.

Jacob could feel the potent energy of the sauce and the pasta mix perfectly, with the béchamel sauce bringing the concoction to the apex of a Mantis Realm Pill.

Once again, Italian cuisine saves the day.

With this, he would be able better to support the cultivation of his friends and loved ones. But, unfortunately, the Alchemic Tagliatelle was clearly having diminished returns for the highest leveled cultivators like Helena and Juliet. They said that they could barely feel any energy entering their body after the meals.

He had met everyone after lunch, and he was now making dinner. Tomorrow, they would all depart.

Marcus had gathered together all the conspiracy theorists under his egis. Geneva, instead, had gone and recruited a few people Jacob had never seen before. His aunt told him they were mostly working colleagues; her group was the smallest, with only three others. But he heard from Juliet that they all looked very promising.

Juliet herself had gathered many different girls and boys from school who deeply admired her strength.

If Frederick had been here, every single person in St. Peter would have joined his team.

Jacob sighed and took another spoonful of the Alchemic Lasagna. He needed to recover from the physical and mental injuries yet, but he was close to being in a perfect fit, finally. Juliet had offered her blood again multiple times, but Jacob had declined. It would have sped up things a bit, but the small advantage he would have gotten after already ingesting so much was negligible compared to the massive embarrassment he would have felt.

“Well, this is good to go,” Jacob had baked many more after coming back to the villa. Of course, he wouldn’t be able to cook—concoct more Lasagna before coming back, but that was the downside of going on such missions.

“Jacob?” he heard a voice coming from behind him and turned.

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“Helena,” he was surprised.

“Can we talk?” she asked.

“You bet.”

Jacob made her some space on the table in the kitchen and even prepared a plate of Alchemic Lasagna for her. She nodded hesitantly and started eating right after.

“This one doesn’t taste like poison,” she acknowledged.

“Why is everyone saying that?” Jacob grimaced. “An Alchemist has to go through trial and error.”

She looked at him and then laughed. Her crystalline laughter shook him up, reminding him who was the girl in front of him.

Indeed, Helena was the love of his past life, the woman to whom he owed everything. Without her, he would have never made it. If at any point she had given up on him, he would have killed himself, most likely. Or, maybe, just wandered around a forest until some Demonic Beast didn’t swallow him whole.

Her beauty was legendary in St. Peter, and it was insane to see someone so stunning in the little town. Her blonde hair shined brighter than gold, and her skin looked more precious than diamonds.

But her beauty was only part of why Jacob felt so…

He shook his head.

“So, what’s up?”

Helena looked sad, and her face carried a hint of a frown.

“I feel uncomfortable around you.”

“Same,” Jacob shrugged.

“No, not like that. Jacob, I…” she was struggling to find the word even though she had rehearsed her speech. “I would like for us to be apart. I was happy to hear that you were going out for a month or two the other day. I already wanted to ask if I could go to another town.”

A bolt from the blue.

“What?”

“After Fred died… I just need space. I can’t stay close to you. It feels wrong.”

Holy fu**ing sh*t.

Jacob stared.

He stared a bit more.

A little bit more, even.

Then he lit up a cigarette and took a big puff.

She had already made up her mind.

It was a conclusion he got from his experience. So he could tell from how she looked at him now, with a steely gaze and some coldness.

There was only one rational response from an entity that had millennia on his back.

“Fu** you, Helena,” Jacob said with a very calm tone.

“What?” she blurted out, taken by surprise.

Jacob had always been the calmest person, never prone to losing his horses for any reason. But now, he started cussing like a sailor.

“What, you expected me to take this sh*t and just say ‘yeah, sure, Helena, I have done nothing at all, but you can go ahead and act like a crazy fu**ing idiot nonetheless as if I actually did do something wrong?”

“Jake, look, I—”

“Call your motherfu**ing father ‘Jake’, you as**ole,” Jacob slammed his palm on the table.

“I have done nothing improper toward you in this month. First, you and Fred were not married; so, even if I did something to court you or anything like that, it would have been fine. But I still did not make any move because I was busy with stuff more important than romance. Do not misunderstand me, I do have some feelings for you, Helena; but trust me, your entitled little sh*t bratty act is enough to—”

Jacob caught her hand mid-air before she could slap him.

His eyes narrowed.