“My noble and beautiful ladies, look at the texture of this Star-spun Yarn. This is a rare fabric from the Zephyr Empire. It would make a stunning dress!”
A handsome, tall male servant was enthusiastically pitching the most expensive fabric in the shop to several elegantly dressed ladies.
Although the fabric was expensive, it was indeed exquisite.
The noblewomen looked at the thin material, which emitted a faint, crystalline glow under the soft light, unable to hide their admiration.
‘A fine treasure, I must have it!’
This was the shared thought in their minds.
Star-spun Yarn was a magic-conducting material sourced from the silk of the Spider Long-beast.
It was commonly used to make mage robes because it was not only cut-resistant and heat-resistant but could also be imbued with various Blessing effects.
This made it difficult to stain or damage, cool and comfortable in the summer, and soft and warm in the winter. It was as functional as it was beautiful.
The servant spoke with a proud expression. “This Star-spun Yarn — even in the vast and resource-rich Zephyr Empire — is considered a top-tier luxury. We were only able to secure this stock thanks to the Northern Frontier development, which attracted investment merchants from Zephyr.”
Enya curled her lips. She wasn’t impressed at all…
Those investment merchants from the Zephyr Empire brought luxury goods from within the Empire to convert their assets into local currency.
This was due to a strange policy enacted by the Zephyr Empire, which dictated that money shouldn’t just flow out; it had to be accompanied by the outward flow of goods.
The other noblewomen listened with great interest. Enya, however, had little interest in such things and simply glanced around the room.
These noblewomen were all wealthy wives with deep pockets, but Star-spun Yarn wasn’t something one could just buy on a whim.
It was limited edition and could only be custom-made in the shop.
The price was staggering; the lowest quote Enya heard was over 1,000 gold coins.
The competitive noblewomen didn’t care about spending 1,000 gold coins.
Each of them ordered a custom gown and spent some time getting their measurements taken.
They were clearly planning to outshine everyone else at some future banquet.
Ah, noblewomen…
Enya found their petty rivalries quite dull.
When Mrs. Pulan emerged from the fitting room, she noticed Enya looking at some ordinary fabrics.
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she walked over to Enya’s side with a faint smile.
She immediately linked her arm with Enya’s and began using her most persuasive tone.
“Mrs. Phil, we’ve all ordered different styles. Aren’t you going to order one? I imagine your finances aren’t that tight, are they?”
‘Just because you’re buying it means I have to?’
Siya still looked disinterested.
Seeing that she didn’t answer, Mrs. Pulan immediately put on a displeased expression. She sighed and complained right into Enya’s ear. “What is it? Does Mrs. Phil find spending time with me that boring?”
“Indeed,” Enya said bluntly, raising an eyebrow.
This left Mrs. Pulan momentarily stunned, her practiced manipulation stuck in her throat. She quickly suppressed her complaining expression and replaced it with a bright, sunny smile.
Mrs. Pulan laughed and said, “Mrs. Phil, you really know how to joke. Haven’t we been having a wonderful time? Big sister here just thinks that since you have such a beautiful face and an excellent figure, you shouldn’t dress so plainly every day. Why not show yourself off a bit and let us see what it means to captivate the world?”
Enya looked down at her arm, which was pressed against the soft curve of the other woman’s chest, and then raised her eyes to look at the glamorous noblewoman before her.
With a cold and indifferent expression, she spoke softly.
“My daughters are already grown. Why would I dress so flashily? Hoho, please don’t tease me, Mrs. Pulan.”
“I’m not teasing at all!” Mrs. Pulan replied, her lips curling upward as she whispered into Enya’s ear.
“In that case, couldn’t you buy some for your daughters?”
“That…”
Hearing those words, Enya suddenly remembered that she hadn’t prepared anything for her two girls after being away for several days.
In fact, she had given away quite a few items instead.
Mrs. Pulan’s point was valid.
She began to think about what would be best to buy for her daughters.
If it were dresses, she would have to order them, or she could even act as a tailor herself.
However, Rosily and Estelle weren’t the type of girls who particularly enjoyed pretty dresses.
Should she give them weapons?
Rosily already had Cang. Although Estelle was using a replica of Cang, that Essence-grade item was still at the Half-Step Legendary level.
Enya focused her thoughts for a moment and quickly decided what to get. She turned to look at the noblewoman beside her.
“Mrs. Pulan, I’ve thought of a place I’d like to go. I wonder if you would all be willing to accompany me?”
“We would be absolutely delighted!”
Although Mrs. Pulan was puzzled, she still maintained a happy expression.
The two walked arm-in-arm, looking like they were on great terms, but in reality, Enya had no relationship with her other than being bridge partners.
Mrs. Pulan secretly gritted her teeth.
In the life of a noble, tests of obedience and manipulation were everywhere. Mrs. Pulan’s skills were far from ordinary; she could easily suppress experienced noblewomen like Nora and Mrs. Harry.
Yet, she couldn’t control this Madam Phil!
The manipulation tactics she used on other women, which never failed, had zero effect on Enya.
Looking at Enya’s beautiful face, Mrs. Pulan thought to herself, ‘Such a cold woman really fills one with a desire to conquer her. No wonder both men and women find her so fascinating!’
A while later, Enya went to an armor shop.
She led the three noblewomen inside. The group was like a star’s gravitational pull, invisibly attracting every gaze in the room.
The three noblewomen were struggling to maintain their composure.
Their brows were furrowed and their expressions were sour, but Enya didn’t care about their thoughts at all.
She strode inside and found the owner to talk business.
“Uh… Lady, three days. In three days, we’ll definitely have it ready. You can send someone to pick it up then, or leave an address and I’ll have someone deliver it to you!”
The shop owner was a middle-aged former adventurer. In Enya’s presence, she appeared extremely nervous.
“By… by the way, Mrs. Phil, regarding your alchemy workshop…”
“Sigh… since you’ve helped me, I’ll let you skip the line.”
Enya gave a fake smile.
In truth, the workshop wasn’t busy at all. Enya spent most of her time playing cards and hadn’t been working seriously.
After all, she had no financial pressure.
Enya blushed slightly at the thought of using a “skip-the-line” pass to get a 50% discount.
After that, they continued to wander around. They were all busy people with plenty of money and time, preoccupied with spending both.
For Enya, this was a relaxing and pleasant holiday.
She relaxed her mind and watched the power plays between the noblewomen, which she found to be a unique form of entertainment.
After failing with Enya, Mrs. Pulan began to exert her dominance over the other two, especially the slightly timid Mrs. Harry.
Watching the aggressive offense of one and the weak reception of the other, Enya almost found it endearing.
“I heard from my daughter that the academy is holding an exam today to select the most outstanding students and form a special class.”
“Oh? Should we go take a look?”
Sitting in the spacious carriage, Enya leaned lazily against the backrest.
Hearing their discussion, she couldn’t help but furrow her brow. She wondered why Rosily hadn’t mentioned this to her.
Since the women loved a good spectacle, they had the carriage driver head toward the academy.
Led by a guide, they arrived at the selection site — the same Arena used for competitions.
Enya found a seat and sat down.
Mrs. Pulan forced herself into the seat next to Enya, seemingly determined to stick to her. Enya didn’t pay her any mind and instead watched the field.
Kids fighting was generally not very interesting to her.
However, the noblewomen beside her, despite constantly muttering about how “crude” it was, kept their eyes glued to the two boys fighting back and forth. To them, the battle was thrilling.
In the preparation area below, a beautiful girl with pale gold, shoulder-length hair seemed to sense something.
She suddenly looked up toward the spectator stands. The brown-haired girl beside her asked curiously, “Rosily, what are you looking at?”
“My mom is here…”
Rosily gazed at Enya from a distance, seeing her mixed in with several mature women and looking in their direction. The young girl raised her hand and waved.
In the stands, Enya also gave a slight wave to show she had seen her.
Elqi looked at Rosily, then squinted at the distant spectator stands. It was hard to see clearly from such a distance, yet Rosily had recognized her mother at a glance.
Elqi thought to herself, ‘Is it telepathy?’
She turned her head, using her mana to enhance her vision as she looked at her best friend’s mother. Elqi then said to Rosily, “Your mom is really beautiful.”
“?”
Rosily turned her head, her orange-red eyes staring at Elqi.
She felt like those words sounded very familiar, as if someone had said them to her not long ago.
“Rosily? Is Rosily here?”
The female teacher’s voice rang out.
Rosily stood up from her chair and walked toward the stage.
On the way, she glanced at Estelle, who was sitting alone in a corner.
Rosily held her head high and walked onto the stage with a look of pride.
After The Crimson Purge Academy stopped restricting enrollment to nobles, many geniuses among the commoners were given the chance to step onto the stage.
Rosily’s opponent was just such a girl.
In terms of looks, the girl could only be described as plain.
She had a scar on her face, but her aura was bone-chillingly cold.
Upon seeing the beautiful Rosily walk up, the dark-green-haired girl spun the dagger in her hand.
She tilted her head, her eyes cold even as she smiled and asked, “Little sister, have you ever killed anyone?”
“Mother said I shouldn’t kill people for no reason, and my teacher said the same,” Rosily replied innocently.
This caused the girl opposite her to burst into laughter.
The male teacher acting as the referee frowned and said to the girl, “Stop when you hit your mark. You are not allowed to take a life.”
“Then I suppose there’s no problem if I just scratch up that pretty face of hers?”
The girl raised an eyebrow, staring at Rosily like a venomous snake.
At this point, the people below the stage began to whisper.
“That woman’s aura is terrifying. Why did she even ask if the other girl had killed anyone…?”
“Have you ever killed anyone?”
“I haven’t even killed a beast. I won’t do such dirty work. As long as I have money, someone will do it for me.”
On stage, Rosily held a standard longsword.
Before the match officially began, she waved toward Enya’s direction with a smile.
She hadn’t originally planned to get serious, but since her mother had come to the school today…
‘Hehe, I certainly won’t go easy on you!’
Rosily’s lips curled upward as she pointed her sword at the dark-green-haired girl.