The Queen Returns—And She's Unforgiving novel Chapter 42

Caught off guard, Evelyn flinched and quickly stepped aside.

Behind her, a girl's anxious voice rang out. "I'm so sorry, miss! My drone seems to be malfunctioning, and I lost control of it. Are you hurt?"

Evelyn turned around and saw a girl who appeared to be around 14 or 15 years old. She was dressed in a hospital gown, guilt written all over her delicate, doll-like features.

Evelyn shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

The girl breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. I don't know what happened just now. It suddenly stopped responding properly."

Glancing at the hovering drone, Evelyn handed the dessert box she was holding to the girl. "Mind if I take a look?"

The girl was surprised. "Not at all!"

She took the dessert box from Evelyn, her eyes lighting up at the sight of the cookies inside.

Evelyn powered off the drone and inspected it briefly. "Looks like a flight system failure. That's why it's unable to follow the preset flight path. It could be a gyroscope or sensor calibration issue."

The girl stared at her in admiration. "Miss, you're amazing!"

Evelyn made a few quick adjustments and handed the drone back to its owner. "It should be much better now. Go ahead and try it."

The girl tested the drone. Sure enough, the flight was now smooth and stable.

"Fiona Holt!"

A man's anxious voice called from behind. Evelyn turned around and saw Jason rushing toward them. He was clearly panicked from searching for someone.

Fiona instinctively hid behind Evelyn.

When Jason reached them, he was briefly taken aback at the sight of Evelyn. "Ms. Reed?"

Evelyn asked, "And you're her…"

"I'm her brother," Jason explained, glancing at the girl and breathing a sigh of relief. "Her name is Fiona. She's sick and shouldn't be running around like this. I've been looking for her everywhere. Thank you."

Evelyn shook her head. "It's fine."

Jason noticed that Evelyn showed no intention of continuing the conversation. Her demeanor remained polite yet distant.

He pursed his lips, momentarily at a loss for words.

"Miss, are you and my brother friends?"

Upon hearing the word "friends", Evelyn instinctively frowned.