Inside an upscale hotel, a man was gloomily drinking expensive liquor.
He had come alone, but soon another person sat down beside him, and this person’s identity was quite unusual.
After hearing that Ivan had already returned this morning, Penrose rushed over here and found Ivan drinking alone in melancholy.
He ordered a drink and sat down beside him.
Taking the glass handed to him by the waitress, Penrose took a hearty gulp, then turned to Ivan and said.
“Mr. Ivan, why are you here all alone? Why not find a girl to keep you company? The girls here have great figures and looks.”
“Heh, not interested. I don’t want to see any women right now.”
Ivan didn’t pick up on Penrose’s cue. His drunken face was filled with resentment.
Penrose immediately understood.
This must be because of something unpleasant. He knew that Ivan had visited Lily of the Valley Manor early this morning, and had probably met the very haughty Madam Einfel.
Maybe she had angered him.
With this thought, a glint flashed in Penrose’s eyes.
He felt he could exploit this situation, so he smiled and said.
“Haha, it seems Mr. Ivan and I have similar temperaments. Neither of us is willing to kneel at a woman’s high heels.”
“……”
Ivan was silent.
Penrose’s words shifted the matter from business to male dignity. Anyone with a bit of cunning would know this was deliberate provocation.
How could Ivan not see his intention?
But it was also true!
He did feel that working for that Einfel was like kneeling under high heels, but that wasn’t the reason for his anger.
The real reason was Diana, who had been abruptly sent from above to fully take over his position.
Star Sea and Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce were just cooperative partners, not superior and subordinate, but Diana was clearly his superior, and that was hard for him to accept.
What made it even harder was that he had to transfer all his secrets and network of connections to Diana, and completely leave Lakeside City in one month, returning to headquarters to await a new assignment.
The city he had built over ten years was being taken from him by a woman. It was like taking Ivan’s wife. And on top of that, headquarters demanded he transfer all his connections.
How was that any different from telling others what positions his wife liked and where her sensitive spots were?
With such things happening, it would be strange if Ivan didn’t drown his sorrows in drink!
Penrose misunderstood. He thought Ivan was the type of traditional noble male chauvinist who resented women in power. He was about to make a big deal out of it, but Ivan directly cursed him.
“Penrose, you piece of trash from a brothel, what right do you have to say I kneel at women’s high heels? What do you think you are?”
Ivan didn’t dare to direct his anger at Einfel or Diana, because he couldn’t afford to offend them. But Penrose he could afford to offend, and the other party could do nothing about it.
It was said that Penrose’s mother had been a bar girl, and he was born from an accident. Even after having Penrose, she still kept that job. This rumor was widespread among the people.
Penrose’s face immediately turned grim, but soon it cleared up again.
He truly didn’t dare to do anything to Ivan, because Ivan was from the Zephyr Empire, an imperial with a special status.
Ivan stood like a lackey in Lily of the Valley Manor because his background and abilities were completely suppressed. But in front of Penrose, it was different. He was a revered, noble Zephyr imperial.
After Ivan left, Penrose’s face turned completely black.
Nobody nearby dared to approach, afraid that at night someone would break into their home, stuff them in a sack, and throw them into the moat. After all, there had been precedents.
At the same time, they became even more fascinated by the status of Zephyr imperials.
Enya was still at home, or rather, in that small villa within Lily of the Valley Manor, lazily curled up on the sofa, not wanting to go to work.
As the boss, being an hour late wouldn’t be a big deal, right?
Just as she wanted to go back to her room for a nap, Lucia quickly ran in and reported some news to Enya.
Arriving at the study in the main manor, Enya sat behind the desk. She looked at the rough, burly man kneeling on one knee and frowned. She thought carefully for a moment, then remembered his name.
“Wo Dun, right? Go ahead, what’s the matter?”
“……Yes.”
Wo Dun was surprised that Enya seemed to know him, but quickly returned to the main point. He told Enya about an incident a few days ago—the White Wave Chamber of Commerce had approached him, hoping he would leave Lily of the Valley and join them.
A chamber of commerce wasn’t established by one person alone; it was formed through a union. It was like you have goods and I have channels—we cooperate to form the chamber, and after completing transactions, we each take our share.
That is to say, the ship owners and crew under Wo Dun belonged to him, not to the chamber. They just transported the chamber’s goods, signed contracts, and joined as long-term partners. Wo Dun could also find other partners.
So White Wave had approached Wo Dun. If he agreed, it would cut off the foundation of Lily of the Valley. But Wo Dun ultimately chose to refuse and did not betray Lily of the Valley at this time.
White Wave had always wanted to monopolize the transportation industry on this river, but thirty percent of the ships were held by Lily of the Valley, preventing them from arbitrarily harvesting money.
Wo Dun said that after he refused, all ships carrying goods for Lily of the Valley were attacked by water bandits. This time, many were injured, and an important batch of goods was lost.
“These water bandits are very close to White Wave. I think they must have been instructed to do this.”
“Didn’t they rob you before?”
Enya asked.
Seeing that Enya didn’t know, Wo Dun explained.
“This group of water bandits used to collect protection fees. I negotiated with them before. To reduce trouble, Gro also paid the protection fee. It was supposed to be paid annually. Last time it was paid only a little over half a year ago. But they used the excuse that the money Gro gave wasn’t given by you, milady…”
“Oh?”
Enya found it somewhat amusing.
Wo Dun lowered his head. He tried to lower his voice, but his voice couldn’t be suppressed; his words were still booming.
“That bandit leader told the captain that you must personally bring the money to him, otherwise the Lily of the Valley ships won’t be able to travel on the river in the future.”
“Mm, I understand.”
Enya nodded lightly, then said nothing more.
Wo Dun looked up at her, but found Enya idly fanning herself with a folding fan, staring off into space.
He couldn’t help but call out.
“Milady…”
“You may leave. I will find a way to deal with it.”
Enya said calmly.
These words were so light that Wo Dun found it hard to believe Enya would actually solve the problem. It seemed more like she was dismissing it.
Wo Dun became anxious and spoke again.
“But…”
“I have already answered you.”
A hint of impatience crept into Enya’s tone.
Wo Dun wanted to say more, but seeing that Enya had no interest, he swallowed his words.
He stood up, took his leave, and left the room.
Enya gently waved her folding fan. From the desk drawer, she took out a letter. The wax seal bore the emblem of the Chamber of Commerce Union.
Today, the Chamber of Commerce Union would hold a general meeting. It was scheduled for ten in the morning, meaning it would start in two hours.
Enya had also received an invitation. This time, she planned to attend.
She stood up from her chair and said to Lucia, who was standing nearby.
“Lucia, I’m going to change clothes.”
“Yes, mistress.”
As personal maids, Lucia and Wendy were supposed to follow her at all times. Earlier, Enya had just given them both time off.
The main manor was extremely spacious, and the dressing room was naturally very wide. With over two hundred square meters of space and a height of six or seven meters, a full-length mirror and dozens of rows of various dresses hung there.
It didn’t look like a dressing room; it was more like a clothing store.
It was Enya’s first time here. She couldn’t help but frown. Katherine, who held three positions, could no longer stay by Enya’s side.
So, she looked at Lucia beside her.
“Were these prepared in the past few days?”
“Yes.”
Lucia nodded and continued.
“On the second day after mistress arrived, the head maid ordered the maids to clear away the traces of the previous owner. This dressing room had not been used before. It was only officially put into use after you came.”
“Then these clothes…”
“They are all ready-made, mistress. Our Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce sells clothes. They are goods from Zephyr, and we also sell them here.”
“Ready-made, huh.”
Enya had thought so many clothes could be made in just a few days. She was a bit shocked. So they were all ready-made.
Lucia seemed to think Enya wasn’t satisfied with ready-made clothes. She quickly explained.
“Mistress, I’m so sorry. Because time was too tight, the custom-made dresses for you are not ready yet. I’ll go find someone to ask right now.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Enya’s mouth twitched. She called Lucia back, who was about to go ask the tailor, and at the same time walked toward the clothing racks.
After browsing around, she finally chose a dark purple long dress. The fabric was quite high quality, and the craftsmanship was also extraordinary. Presumably the price was high, but such dresses filled the room.
So rich, so rich.
Enya just realized that she had somehow become a big capitalist. One dress was worth decades of someone else’s income.
She couldn’t help but click her tongue.
“Tsk tsk.”
“Mistress, what’s wrong? Is this dress not good?”
Lucia was like a little dog eager to please.
Enya glanced at her and said somewhat helplessly.
“That’s not what I mean.”
“Ugh…”
Lucia’s face felt a bit hot. She awkwardly changed the subject.
“Mistress, do you like dark colors? I often see you wearing dark-colored dresses. Do you need more of this type?”
“Mm, get more dignified and elegant ones.”
Enya let out a light sigh and looked at her reflection in the floor mirror.
“After all, I’ve passed the age for flashy clothes. I have a daughter now, so I should dress more dignified and steady.”
“……”
Lucia was completely speechless.
Wendy was looking around. Forest elves dressed very lightly, so in her eyes, whatever Enya wore was conservative.
Enya told them all to go out and stayed alone in the dressing room.
Enya took out the black square box.
After hesitating for a moment, she finally chose to open it.