Chapter 210 A person came to mooch a meal.
Alice entered the yard and began chatting with Nathaniel, completely ignoring William.
Her demeanor was cold, but William's was even colder, making him seem unapproachable. He chose to sit silently on the side.
After conducting a basic examination on Nathaniel, Alice began preparing some treatment methods. William nodded to Nathaniel and then headed into his study.
Today, he was perusing "American Jurisprudence," an encyclopedic book that covers a multitude of legal concepts.
Being familiar with contemporary laws and ensuring one's actions are lawful is crucial.
Though many believe that current legal concepts have several loopholes, William was utterly engrossed in this book.
In his eyes, compared to the past, the present legal system is more comprehensive and just.
After finishing her tasks, Alice walked into William's yard somewhat angrily, only to find him leisurely lying on a comfortable wingback chair.
This was her mentor!
When her grandfather passed away, William only visited that night and hadn't offered a word of comfort since. She hadn't seen him in days, and he hadn't spoken to her. She now had a slew of questions she wanted to ask William.
In the yard, apart from the wingback chair, only stone benches remained. Alice had decided that she would have another wingback chair made today, so she could recline just like William.
"Mentor!"
"Hmm?" William simply responded, not even turning his head to look at Alice.
Alice realized she had been mistaken.
She thought that if she acted upset, William would come over to console her. Clearly, she had been overly optimistic.
Alice sat on the stone bench and said, "I have something to ask you."
"Ask."
William's responses were always so succinct. This, perhaps, was what true aloofness looked like.
Alice took a deep breath and asked, "Did you really know my grandfather sixty-eight years ago?"
"Yes," William responded simply.
"So... how old are you now?" Alice truly couldn't imagine William's age. He clearly looked like a young man. Could he be approaching a hundred?
If that was the case, then everything before would make sense.
Why her grandfather wanted her to take William as her mentor, why her grandfather said William might not truly accept her, why it seemed like William knew everything, and why William always seemed so deep, as if he had lived through countless epochs...
William folded the corner of the page he was currently reading and slowly closed the book in his hands. He locked eyes with Alice and said, "How old am I? It's not that easy to calculate, but what's certain is that I've lived for a very long time."
By current reckoning, he might have lived for a billion years, but in the era when he first lived, there wasn't really a concept of age, nor was there the unit of time called a year.
Back then, if one revolution of the Earth was considered a day, a day from a billion years ago would have been more than five times longer than today. After all, the Earth was much larger then. Back in the day, William constantly battled various gods and demons, causing great fractures in the world. Numerous mountain ranges vanished entirely. To put it in perspective, with a single strike, William once reduced the Earth's size.
So, it was genuinely difficult to accurately calculate William's age.
Alice, growing somewhat impatient, asked, "When you say 'a very long time,' how long exactly? You should have a rough estimate of your age, right?"
William frowned and said, "All you need to know is that it's been a very long time. I've met Alexander the Great. Need I say more?"
"..." Alice was momentarily speechless.
"Met Alexander the Great? That would make you over two thousand years old!"
"So... what did Alexander the Great look like?" The question Alice really wanted to ask was whether William had ever had a wife or how many, but she couldn't bring herself to voice it.
Having read many modern books lately, William pondered for a moment before describing, "Deep-set eyes, a prominent nose, well-defined pectoral muscles, standing about six and a half feet tall. By today's standards, he would be considered handsome."
Alice chuckled, "I've read in history books that Alexander the Great had a sharp nose, elongated eyes, a bird-like chest, and a unique voice. How can those descriptions translate to 'handsome' in your narrative?"
William smirked, "A sharp nose means he had a prominent one, elongated eyes are just deep-set eyes, and the bird-like chest suggests that he had strong pectoral muscles." Glancing at Alice, he added, "Bigger than yours, I'd say."
"Cough! Cough!" Alice almost choked on her own spit. One moment she was laughing, and the next, she was utterly flustered.
"So, it's true that men are obsessed with size!" Alice rolled her eyes, teasingly adding, "Tell me, master, as someone who's over two thousand years old, do you feel any guilt for being attracted to Evelyn, a girl in her twenties?"
William remarked, "No matter their age, men always like younger girls. What's so strange about that?"
Staring into William's eyes, Alice asked, "So do you also like mature women with large busts like Bella?"
William chuckled, countering, "When did Bella become a mature woman?"
"Well, considering your age, even Bella would seem like a young girl to you," Alice huffed. "As expected, the older one gets, the more lecherous they become!"
William wasn't about to admit to that. Having lived for so many years, he had long lost that initial fervor for intimate relations.
While he might occasionally experience a physiological reaction when stimulated, he could always control himself.
After all, he wasn't some old lecher like Travis.
Subsequently, Alice, with the curiosity of a child, barraged him with a slew of historical questions. William, having nothing better to do, humored her.
Their conversation continued until close to noon when Zoey entered the courtyard, interrupting them.
"Why are you here?" Alice eyed Zoey. She had met Zoey twice before and was aware of her identity. Still, she couldn't understand how Zoey found this place.
Zoey ignored Alice, looking at William, "It's mealtime!"
Raising an eyebrow, William said, "You don't plan on freeloading meals at my place every day from now on, do you?"
"Freeloading?" Alice instantly grew wary. A girl coming over to eat at her mentor's house? This clearly had ulterior motives!
Just as men understand men, women understand women best. Typically, girls are a bit reserved. If they're heading to a man's house for meals, nine out of ten times it's because they're interested in him.
"Not every day," Zoey replied. "If you cook, I'll eat at your place. If you don't, we'll eat out."
Before William could respond, Alice exclaimed, "That's not acceptable! Why should you freeload meals here?"
Casting a glance at Alice, Zoey asked William, "Your wife?"
William shook his head, "No."
"Oh," Zoey once again disregarded Alice, saying, "So, can I come over for meals? The food you make is pretty good."
"If you want, of course," William replied. "But sometimes I'm not home, so you might have to figure out your meals yourself."
While William wasn't as frivolous as Travis, he didn't mind dining with beautiful girls. Although Zoey wasn't stunningly gorgeous, her delicate features were a pleasant sight to behold.
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on (f)reeweb(n)ovel.com