In a tea house, two well-dressed men were deep in conversation.
They were discussing the recent rumors about the Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce, including some gossip about that Madam Einfel.
Supposedly, she was someone who had seized the Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce by taking advantage of the situation, a woman blinded by immense wealth.
And of course, there was all sorts of other chatter.
The younger man took a sip of the fragrant tea, then looked at the man sitting across from him and asked tentatively,
“Do you think these rumors are true?”
“……”
The man in the gray hat did not answer immediately. After a moment of silence, he asked the young man a question in return.
“Even if they are true, what good does that do you?”
The young man thought it over, then finally shook his head.
Whether the rumors about Einfel were true or false, or how they had started, had nothing to do with someone like him.
He certainly couldn’t gain any advantage from them.
But just because he couldn’t gain anything didn’t mean others couldn’t.
The young man suddenly frowned.
“You mean someone is targeting this woman named Einfel? Trying to pull her down from the position of chamber president?”
“No.”
The man in the hat smiled faintly, as if he had seen through everything.
His mysterious demeanor made the young man frown in displeasure as he countered,
“Then what do you think is going on?”
“Spreading rumors about a lady—other than destroying her reputation, what else can it accomplish?”
The man in the hat leaned back in his chair and began to elaborate to the young man.
“Let me tell you, I have some inside information. Those rumors about the Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce that suddenly popped up recently—they all started spreading from the shops under the Tea Rose Chamber! That Penrose, didn’t he want to cooperate with the Lily of the Valley Chamber before? Gro rejected him. If you ask me, he’s making a move against the Lily of the Valley Chamber, striking while the iron is hot!”
“Him? Penrose?”
The young man clearly didn’t think Penrose had the strength to go toe-to-toe with the Lily of the Valley Chamber.
Everyone in Lakeside City had seen how fast the Lily of the Valley Chamber had grown in recent years.
The Tea Rose Chamber was at the bottom of the major chambers.
Saying he wanted to swallow the Lily of the Valley Chamber—hardly anyone in Lakeside City would believe that.
The young man certainly didn’t.
Penrose? He didn’t have that kind of ability!
The man in the hat seemed to have anticipated the young man’s reaction.
A meaningful smile curled at the corner of his mouth as he continued,
“Do you know who the Lily of the Valley Chamber mainly does business with?”
“The… Star Sea Chamber.”
“And which country is the Star Sea Chamber from?”
“West Wind.”
“There, case solved.”
“Huh?”
Hearing the words “case solved,” the young man still hadn’t caught on. How could a few short words wrap the whole thing up?
Seeing his lack of insight, the man in the hat wasn’t annoyed.
On the contrary, he felt a secret delight.
If the young man weren’t so dense, then all his long-winded buildup for a chance to show off would have been wasted.
The young man’s ignorance suited him perfectly!
The man in the hat looked left and right, making sure no one was eavesdropping, then lowered his voice with a hint of excitement as he said to the young man sitting before him,
“It was only after the Lily of the Valley Chamber made contact with the West Wind Empire that it grew so smoothly. That means it’s a West Wind asset!”
“But where are we? This is Lakeside City, one of the Northland States—we’re a nation!”
“The Tea Rose Chamber runs the service industry. Guess why the entertainment business could be legalized? It’s because the higher-ups gave special permission. In other words, the Tea Rose Chamber is just a dog.”
“The bigwigs up top raised it so that when the time came to harvest those fat sheep, they wouldn’t have to dirty their own hands.”
“With that incident at the Lily of the Valley Chamber—Gro killed by an assassin, no heir left, and now a woman sitting in the president’s seat—it’s just a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, isn’t it?”
“Obviously, the bigwigs saw the sheep getting fat and decided it was time to butcher. They also want to use this chance to eliminate an external force—killing two birds with one stone.”
The man in the hat finished his speech with a look of great satisfaction, as if he had been holding these words in for a long time and finally had to let them out.
Talking politics felt great!
The young man was stunned for a long moment, then his eyes lit up as he said,
“So we bet on the Tea Rose Chamber?”
“No, let’s not rush.”
When it came to betting, the man in the hat suppressed his excitement.
His face showed clear hesitation, as if he still had some other thoughts.
“Let’s wait and see… wait and see…”
“Alright.”
The young man clicked his tongue inwardly, thinking, ‘This guy must be trying to trick me. I’ll go to the Marigold Bank later and put my whole fortune into Tea Rose Chamber shares. Then I’ll rake it in!’
In Lakeside City, a plain carriage stopped in front of the Chamber Union Assembly Hall. Penrose stepped down and quickly walked through a back entrance.
His steps were hurried.
This decades-old building had stood on this land since the fifth year after the Lakeside City Chamber Union was established, accompanying the city’s rise to its peak.
And it was still here now, as the top-tier structure of Lakeside City.
Though time had caused it to decay, it would continue to stand, forever towering over Lakeside City!
A surge of excitement coursed through Penrose’s heart.
If he could swallow the Lily of the Valley Chamber, that meant he could become a power broker in Lakeside City—equivalent to a regional lord in other nations.
He clenched his fists and didn’t relax them until he reached a certain door.
A servant opened the door. Penrose straightened his clothes and walked in with a slightly nervous heart.
Thirty minutes later.
Penrose strode out, looking as if he had swallowed a calming pill, with much more confidence.
Those people had agreed. They told him to go ahead and do it. When the time was right, they would also provide some help.
Moreover, Penrose had received another piece of news: an assassin from the Hall of Shadows would visit Madam Einfel.
This assassin was no ordinary one—he just had to wait for good news.
They also promised to let Penrose fill Gro’s original position and become the power broker of Lakeside City.
After dismembering the Lily of the Valley Chamber, he, as their vanguard, would get the most valuable factories and a mature commercial street.
The Chamber Union had given aid and painted a future carrot. After hearing all this, Penrose was naturally in high spirits.
After Penrose left, voices of conversation resumed in the room.
Rough male voice: “Are we really giving him that much?”
Weathered male voice: “He still needs to be able to stomach it.”
Seductive female voice: “Hehehe, let’s hope he doesn’t end up another Gro.”
Elderly voice: “Any movement from West Wind?”
Rough male voice: “Nothing so far. They’re still building that so-called defensive line. Ridiculous. I wonder who it’s meant to stop.”
Seductive female voice: “That’s good. What about the City of the Other Shore?”
Weathered male voice: “The Hall of Shadows had some trouble, but it’s recovered now. You can rest assured.”
They spoke one after another, revealing the undercurrents stirring in Lakeside City.
After leaving, Penrose did not return directly to the Tea Rose Chamber. Instead, he went to a high-end hotel owned by the Tea Rose Chamber.
There, he met with a person—a man from the West Wind Empire.
“Hello, Mr. Ivan.”
The middle-aged man named Ivan, faced with a polite Penrose, still put on airs.
He had the arrogant, mustache-twirling demeanor that the people of Lakeside City called characteristic of an imperial.
Ivan did not take Penrose’s offered handshake.
Instead, he sat down without ceremony and, without inviting Penrose to sit, helped himself to a high-end liquor, savoring its taste.
Then Ivan smiled.
“Quite mediocre.”
“Yes, the wine is indeed mediocre, haha.”
Penrose sat down as well, and laughed.
“Mr. Ivan, I called you here to discuss a cooperation. I know that to this day, you haven’t met the new president of the Lily of the Valley Chamber, Madam Einfel Croche.”
“Cooperation? With you?”
Ivan was somewhat surprised to hear that Penrose wanted to cooperate with him.
After all, his Tea Rose Chamber and the Lily of the Valley Chamber were now outright enemies.
Calling him now for cooperation was definitely an attempt at a scorched-earth tactic.
As a representative of the Star Sea Chamber, even the Gro of before would have had to treat Ivan with the same respect Penrose was showing now.
That was the superiority brought by the mighty West Wind Empire.
And as the representative, Ivan had absolute authority over business in Lakeside City, as long as he ensured the flow of profit to the Star Sea Chamber remained unbroken.
He had freedom to act otherwise.
Ivan thought it over, and finally looked up at Penrose.
“I can consider it.”
“Naturally.”
Penrose secretly delighted at Ivan’s wavering expression. If he could cut the foundation out from under the Lily of the Valley Chamber, the blow would be enormous—almost like choking its throat!
He had already figured out what the West Wind Empire was trying to do here.
Penrose had always believed that Gro was nothing but a dog raised by the West Wind Empire.
He himself was no less than that lucky bastard.
Once he swallowed the Lily of the Valley Chamber and cooperated with West Wind, he could continue to restrain the Chamber Union forces in Lakeside City, just as Gro had done in his time.
Swallowing the Lily of the Valley Chamber and taking Gro’s place—that had always been Penrose’s dream!
Enya watched Lucia, who had just absorbed the first Potion.
She narrowed her eyes. Lucia’s originally light golden pupils had transformed into a pair of gold-red vertical slits.
At this moment, Lucia’s black hair was darker and deeper than before, like the night itself. Her eyes were somewhat hollow, but her consciousness was still intact.
The will within the bloodline had been extinguished, leaving only pure power. This Dark Bloodline had been unconditionally bestowed upon Lucia, and she was now showing the changes brought by the bloodline’s influence.
Of course, her skin hadn’t turned dark—in fact, it had become even fairer.
Lucia looked at herself in the mirror, as if she were a different person.
She opened her small mouth in surprise, unable to believe the change.
Absorbing the Potion had been painful—a pain like being reborn.
Fortunately, Enya had prepared her the day before.
Lucia hadn’t gotten to experience the sensation of being crushed and reforged.
Enya gave her a once-over and then said,
“Congratulations. You’ve passed quarantine.”
“Huh?”
Lucia was completely dumbfounded.