âYes. I have confidence in the current medical knowledge and technology!â said Winnie while grasping Josiahâs hand.
âYes. I have confidence in the current medical knowledge and technology!â said Winnie while grasping Josiahâs hand.As she said that, she was reassuring herself as well as Josiah.Then she let go of Xavierâs and Josiahâs hands. âAll right. Iâm going in for the examination now. Go get busy.âWhile Winnie was getting examined, Xavier asked Josiah, âIs what you said true? Or are you only saying that to comfort her?âFrowning, Josiah said, âItâs true! Itâs just that I had just been dumped back then and lost interest in everything. Thatâs why I didnât go deeper into the area of artificial eyes. If my classmates have been researching it, there should at least be some progress. Itâs been several years since they started.âA sense of hope rose within Xavier. âThatâs great. Hurry up and contact this classmate of yours, then. Iâll pay it no matter what the price is.ââI know. I will. Winnieâs my friend, too. Iâll do everything I can to get in touch with my classmate, butââJosiah hesitated momentarilyââweâve basically lost contact with this classmate. Itâs going to take some effort to find him.ââItâs fine. We have time. It doesnât matter as long as you can find him.â To Xavier, it did not matter if it took several years as long as Winnie did not have to be blind for the rest of her life.At that point, Josiah had calmed down.
âOkay, but the situation might not be ideal. The subject of making artificial eyes is quite popular. If they actually created one, there should have been some kind of news about it. Even the Alpha radioactive gas caught the attention of the terrorists. The topic of artificial eyes should attract even more attention.
It shouldnât be this quiet.âXavier responded firmly, âI understand what you mean. Even if there are no artificial eyes created, weâll make one on our own. So, go ahead and call that old classmate of yours.
Whether he made no progress or was forced to stop for some reason, we can take over and continue with the research. It doesnât matter if it takes ten, twenty, or even thirty years. Iâm willing to pay for all of it even if I go bankrupt.âJosiahâs lips curled to form a bitter smile. âIt shouldnât cause you to go bankrupt, but that sentence gave me confidence.âXavier patted Josiahâs shoulder and prompted, âHurry up and call him.ââOkay.â Josiah cast the examination room one last glance before turning around to leave.The examination results were not promising, but Winnie had already expected that.Xavier, too, had slowly learned to accept the truth.After all, he was determined not to make Winnieâs blindness a permanent condition. Iâll definitely find a way to make her see again. That day will come. Iâm sure of it!After leaving the hospital, Winnie returned to the quarantine room.Before the surgery, Winnie had only believed the success rate was fifty-fifty despite Xavier and the others telling her how high it was.She had known she could either stay blind or recover, and each possibility had a fifty percent chance.Thus, she did not tell the Speiser family about it, not until she had a clear answer.After all, there was a possibility of her seeing again after the surgery.Now that the surgery had failed, she needed to let the family know about it.Besides, she needed to seek the Speiser familyâs help.The moment she entered the quarantine room, she grabbed her phone and called Wilhelm to tell him everything. Wilhelm stated he would fly over immediately to see her upon learning about her situation.Meanwhile, Xavier waited patiently for her to end the call before saying to her, âI just received news that Lisanne and her colleagues have ended their quarantine. Winnie, we can go home soon.ââThatâs great. Get the medical staff to do the final test on me. Iâm tired of the smell and silence here. I want to go home. Letâs go to Lagune Mansion when we get out. That place is huge and filled with birds chirping,â Winnie responded with her eyes closed.âSure.
Iâll go wherever you want to go.ââCan you accompany me to visit Granny? I want to hear her voice.ââOkay. Iâll do everything you say.ââReally? Youâll do everything I say?ââOf course. Since when do I not do what you say? Youâre the one who doesnât listen to me, but thereâs nothing I can do about it.ââAll right. Iâll listen to you. Donât be sad and donât go crying secretly.ââI wonât. A grown man like me has nothing to cry about. Besides, youâll only laugh at me if I do.ââI canât see now.ââBut youâve got a good sense of hearing.ââYouâre right. Iâm incredible.ââYou arrogant little rascal. Feeling good about yourself, eh?âThe two exchanged friendly banter. It put Winnie in good spirits because she could feel Xavier was slowly opening up and not as cautious with his words as before.After some time, Lisanne, who had been released from isolation, walked in hastily. âWinnie, how did it go? Was the surgery a success?âNonetheless, she knew what the answer was before Winnie could even answer. Lisanne could tell the surgery had failed.Her expression turned grim, and she fell silent for a few seconds before saying, âWeâve ended our quarantine. Yours should be ending soon.ââMm. Xavier told me about it,â said Winnie while extending her hand to Lisanne.It was an action she used often ever since she lost her vision.Lisanne quickly stepped forward and took Winnieâs hand.Before she could speak, Winnieâs voice rang out.âYou donât have to rack your brain to comfort me. Iâm fine apart from being blind temporarily,â
said Winnie.âAll right. I wonât say anything, then.â Lisanne, too, felt awful, for she kept feeling that she could one day end up like Winnie. Taking a deep breath, she said, âItâs very important that we have an optimistic attitude. Iâm going to Rodunst to look for that scientist after this.âWinnie nodded. âHopefully, thereâll be good news.âAfter all, the red markings on their bodies were not gone. No one knew if their condition would worsen in the future. Moreover, the two children, who were affected and started having nosebleeds, needed help.Not long after they bade each other farewell, Winnie was released from isolation.Winnie and Xavier could finally go home.Their car was parked directly in front of Lagune Mansion entrance.Winnie wanted to get out of the car on her own, but Xavier insisted on going down first to open the door for her.He even wanted to carry her inside but was refused by Winnie.In the end, they walked in hand in hand.There were two housekeepers standing at the door of the secondary villa.The prettier one was a new housekeeper.Her eyes were filled with admiration as she gazed at the couple at the main mansion entrance.However, the emotion in her eyes began to change, and she asked the other housekeeper beside her, âIs Mrs. Fairchild really blind? How are they still so affectionate with each other when sheâs blind? Surely Mr. Fairchild will be disgusted and hate her as time passes?â