Melody Summers groomed Albus while muttering, "Could it be Sylvia Lancaster...?"

"Sylvia Lancaster plotted against Elaine Hughes and sold her to Bernard Simmons, so when Elaine returned home, she finally snapped and kicked Sylvia out...? And since she was thrown out of the Lancaster family with nowhere to go, she came to The Metropolis Residences to take refuge with Ethan Sutton’s family?"

At this thought, Melody Summers’s hand, holding the comb, froze.

She mulled it over for a moment, then quickly dismissed the idea. ’...No, that’s not right. Ethan Sutton isn’t... functional anymore. The Sutton family has no reason to take in Sylvia Lancaster. Besides, shouldn’t the Lancasters hate her? That’s even less reason for the Suttons to take her in...’

Hearing this, Albus gave a little shake and said:

"Host, stop making wild guesses. Why don’t I just go down and take a look for you!"

...

******

Mrs. Sutton stepped inside, brushing the snow from her shoes and pant legs.

She then turned to the woman behind her and called out, "Miss White, come on! Hurry and get inside!"

A woman followed Mrs. Sutton, completely bundled up in a large, padded winter coat. A scarf and hat concealed her head, hiding every single strand of her hair.

At Mrs. Sutton’s words, the woman gently unwrapped the scarf from her face, revealing a countenance so pale it was nearly bloodless.

Joanne White’s face still bore the frailty of having given birth prematurely. She gave Mrs. Sutton a polite smile and replied, "Thank you, Mrs. Sutton. I’m sorry to be imposing on your family."

Mrs. Sutton quickly waved her hands. "Don’t be so formal with me, Miss White. I promised Mr. Caelus I would take good care of you. Starting today, just think of this as your own home!"

Joanne White managed a faint, weak smile. "Alright. Thank you, Mrs. Sutton..."

The words had barely left Joanne White’s lips when the sound of a lock turning echoed, and a bedroom door opened.

Ethan Sutton walked out of the bedroom with a frown, muttering, "Mom, the snow is coming down so hard. Why did you go out in this? I saw in the residents’ group chat that the snow is almost two feet deep..."

His words died in his throat when he saw Joanne White standing next to his mother. He froze, momentarily stunned.

’Why is there suddenly a strange woman in the house?’

Seeing his reaction, Mrs. Sutton hurried over and pulled Ethan in front of Joanne White, introducing her with a smile. "This is Mr. Caelus’s goddaughter, Joanne White. Starting today, she’ll be living with us. You two need to get along!"

As she spoke, Mrs. Sutton gave Joanne White’s shoulder a warm pat.

Upon hearing this, it finally dawned on Ethan. ’So that’s what this is about...’ he thought.

Ethan knew his mother was a firm believer in someone called "Mr. Caelus." He himself didn’t believe in any of it, always thinking these so-called "masters" were just charlatans who took advantage of natural disasters to prey on the desperate.

However, this Mr. Caelus did seem to have some real ability; he had correctly predicted the dates of both the volcanic eruption and the snowfall. Otherwise, his mother wouldn’t have such unshakeable faith in him.

But regardless, having a strange woman suddenly move into their home still made Ethan feel uneasy.

He forced a smile and gave Joanne White a nod of welcome.

Then, he turned to his mother. "Oh, I see. Well... Mom, you two can chat. I’m going back to my room."

With that, he hurried back to his room.

Mrs. Sutton led Joanne White to the guest room. She personally made the bed for her and brought in a coal stove, whose gently leaping flames began to drive out the chill.

Once everything was arranged, Mrs. Sutton attentively helped Joanne White sit on the bed. "Miss White," she said with a smile, "see if one stove is warm enough. If not, I can get you another one!"

Joanne White took off her heavy padded coat and said to Mrs. Sutton, "The temperature is perfect. Thank you, Mrs. Sutton."

Joanne White thought for a moment before adding, "Mrs. Sutton, please just call me Joanne from now on. Calling me Miss White is too formal... And I’ll call you Miss Adler, if that’s alright?"

Margaret Adler was Mrs. Sutton’s given name.

Mrs. Sutton smiled and nodded. "Alright, alright, Joanne. You get some rest. I’ll go make you a bowl of chicken noodle soup to warm you up!"

Joanne White smiled and replied politely, "Alright, thank you, Miss Adler."

Once Joanne White had settled into bed, Mrs. Sutton backed out of the room, carefully pulling the door shut.

Mrs. Sutton then sighed and returned to the master bedroom to change before heading to the kitchen to make the noodles.

Mr. Sutton, who had been secretly watching the whole exchange from the master bedroom, immediately spoke up when his wife returned. "Who was that? How could you just bring a stranger home like that?!"

Mrs. Sutton immediately motioned for him to be quiet. "Hush—keep your voice down!"

She pulled Mr. Sutton over to the edge of the bed and whispered, "That Miss White is Mr. Caelus’s goddaughter! She’s a Goddess! Mr. Caelus told me to have her stay with us for a while, and that we must take good care of her!"

Mr. Sutton’s brow furrowed at her words.

He replied to his wife with clear displeasure, "And how are we supposed to take care of her? Take a look around! There’s a blizzard raging outside, and we barely have enough food for ourselves. Where are we going to get extra to feed a stranger? And this ’Goddess’ talk... have you completely lost your mind?!"

Mr. Sutton had believed in Mr. Caelus before, even forcing a pregnant Sylvia Lancaster to drink the Talismanic Water the master had provided. But... that was only because forcing Sylvia to drink it didn’t cost him anything personally!

But now that his wife had brought home this so-called "Goddess," Mr. Sutton’s superstitious fog instantly lifted. ’What Goddess?’ he thought. ’She’s not a true immortal; she can’t just survive on air!’

Their supplies were limited, and one more person meant one more mouth to feed. Faced with this practical reality, Mr. Sutton’s faith evaporated. He absolutely did not want to let this "Goddess" stay!

Mrs. Sutton knew what her husband was thinking and quickly lowered her voice. "What are you so worried about? I had my reasons for agreeing to this! Mr. Caelus said that as long as the Goddess is here, she can solve our family’s current predicament!"

’Solve our family’s current predicament?’

Mr. Sutton looked at his wife, confused. He frowned and asked, "What’s that supposed to mean? Solve what predicament? I don’t understand what you’re getting at."

Mrs. Sutton leaned in and whispered in her husband’s ear, "Mr. Caelus said the Goddess is born with a blessed fate. She has the legendary ’New God’s Gifted Fetus’ constitution. Her constitution can solve the trouble we’re having with continuing our family line..."

"In other words, as long as this Goddess is here, our family is saved! She must have a way to help our Ethan have a child!"

Mr. Sutton’s eyes went wide at his wife’s words—he found what she was saying absolutely preposterous!

’Help Ethan Sutton have a child?!’

’How is that possible?!’

’Ethan... a child?!’

Mr. Sutton stared at his wife in utter disbelief, his voice trembling as he asked, "You... you can’t be serious! How is that possible? The doctor said... it was a clean sever... that there was no hope!"

But there was a stubborn glint in Mrs. Sutton’s eyes. She looked at her husband, her voice low but firm. "I’m not joking. This is Mr. Caelus we’re talking about! Mr. Caelus doesn’t speak idly. Tell me, has he ever once been wrong?"

"If he says the Goddess can solve our family’s problem with continuing the line, then she can!"