Chapter 267: Another Ten Years Ago

The next day.

In Lakeside City, inside the Tea Rose Chamber of Commerce’s iconic grand hotel, a man with an imposing air wore a gloomy expression.

No one dared to cross him at this moment.

Penrose’s face was utterly terrible. Early that morning, he had learned from his subordinates that nothing had happened at the Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce, and that woman Einfel was perfectly fine.

He raised a valuable ornament from the table high into the air but hesitated to smash it.

Finally, he grabbed an ashtray full of cigarette butts and slammed it to the ground, shouting curses.

“Bastards! Useless!”

After finding a woman for pleasure last night, Penrose hadn’t slept well at all.

He had a strange nightmare, and after waking up, he couldn’t fall back asleep.

He summoned the subordinates in charge of monitoring the entire city and asked what had happened at Lily of the Valley Manor, only to learn that nothing had occurred.

The next morning, Penrose heard from his men that Einfel had taken her carriage to the Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce building as usual, looking just as beautiful as ever—if anything, her complexion seemed even better.

“Damn those bastards and their cocky promises!”

Penrose seethed with anger.

He had no idea what had actually happened—whether the assassin had acted or not, or if there was someone by Einfel’s side capable of stopping the killer.

Suddenly, Penrose remembered that Einfel had an elf maid who didn’t understand the human language.

Almost the entire city knew about it, and many were eager to catch a glimpse of her.

“Was it her?”

According to rumors from Lily of the Valley Manor, the elf maid seemed to be named Wendy, and she was skilled in swordsmanship, her true strength unknown.

“That’s it—it must be her!”

Penrose clenched his fists. His mind raced, and he quickly concluded that Einfel was likely sent by the West Wind Empire to take over affairs here.

At that thought, his face grew even more sullen.

Behind the Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce stood the backing of the West Wind Empire, while he, the head of the Tea Rose Chamber of Commerce, had only grown to his current position by relying on the old powers of Lakeside City.

In other words, there was no possibility of Penrose cooperating with Lily of the Valley. He could only be used as a blade to strike against them.

With that realization, Penrose lowered his head.

Knock, knock~

The door was knocked.

Penrose frowned and called out for the person to enter.

A robust man walked in, dressed in a white shirt, red vest, and black trousers. He was a servant of the grand hotel, and also the deputy head of Penrose’s intelligence unit.

Seeing it was him, Penrose asked in a deep voice.

“What is it?”

He didn’t want to hear any more bad news from others, so his oppressive aura was terrifying.

The male servant broke out in a cold sweat, keeping his head low as he spoke cautiously.

“The Chamber of Commerce Union sent a letter.”

“A letter?”

Penrose frowned deeply, wondering what those people intended.

He took the letter from the servant, hastily tore open the seal, and pulled out the paper inside.

As Penrose’s eyes scanned the text, his pupils contracted sharply before he narrowed his eyes and read carefully.

After finishing, Penrose let out a cold laugh.

“Go, prepare my carriage.”

“Yes, sir!”

The servant acknowledged the order and quickly retreated from Penrose’s room.

At the Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce building.

Enya arrived at her office as usual and began reviewing the documents left over from yesterday. After clearing the backlog from the past month, the workload felt quite light.

As she admired her head maid and secretary, Katherine, brewing tea for her, Enya suddenly remembered something. Staring at Katherine’s back, she narrowed her eyes slightly and asked.

“How is Parit doing?”

The old butler had been out of sight for a long time.

Originally, both Katherine and Parit were supposed to stay by Enya’s side.

As the one who came first, Parit had an advantage over Katherine. Yet in the end, only Katherine remained by Enya’s side, while Parit was deliberately pushed away from the center of power.

The leader of the Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce was a woman, which drew some criticism in Lakeside City—such was the nature of this world.

Enya didn’t care about gender, nor did she bother with idle gossip.

Besides, what did insulting Madam Einfel have to do with her, Enya?

Katherine set down her tea-making work, turned to face Enya, gave a slight curtsy, and then spoke slowly.

“In the past few days, Parit has been going out on various pretexts, taking long detours through the city, eventually arriving at a secluded street where he met a woman in a house.”

“Oh?”

Enya wasn’t surprised. She had long suspected Parit.

Ever since he concealed the matter of the Incomplete Contract, his words had ceased to be trustworthy in her ears.

Thus, these past days, she had Katherine send people to follow him.

As head maid, Katherine had trained a group of excellent maids, some of whom were skilled in tracking and eavesdropping.

How capable.

Katherine paused briefly and continued.

“We investigated that woman as well. According to reports, she has been living in that house for about eight or nine years. She has no job and is raising a son.”

“A widow with a child, no employment, a house that even a middle-class family couldn’t afford, and a lifestyle more comfortable than most middle-class households.”

“Neighbors say she’s some big shot’s kept mistress, that she bore him an illegitimate son, but he’s kept her here all along without giving her any recognition.”

“The woman is beautiful. Even at her current age, she retains her charm; it’s easy to imagine how stunning she was in her youth.”

Katherine recounted this with a calm expression.

Enya listened quietly.

“Parit went to see that woman, I suppose to deliver money?”

“Yes…”

Katherine lifted her head slightly to look at Enya, who was seated behind the desk. Enya wasn’t sitting stiffly; she was leaning on the desk.

Before their eyes could meet, Katherine lowered her head again.

She continued the previous topic.

“After days of digging, we uncovered some hidden information. That woman used to be a dancer. She had a one-night stand with a wealthy man and then left Lakeside City.”

“When she came back, she was already pregnant. The man didn’t want her, so he arranged a place for her to live and sent her money from time to time.”

“That’s how she supported her comfortable life. This has been going on for ten years, and even now, it continues.”

That was all there was to say.

Katherine bowed her head even lower.

Enya naturally knew who the protagonist of this story was.

She murmured to herself softly.

“Ten years ago…”

Again, ten years ago. It seemed everything began ten years ago.

Suddenly, a gleam flashed in Enya’s eyes.

“Katherine, prepare the carriage.”

“Yes, Madam.”

Katherine acknowledged the order and quickly left.