“Luo Xiya, long time no see.”
The girl in the pale green gown took the footman’s hand and gracefully stepped down from the carriage.
Another male servant was already kneeling at the carriage door with one knee on the ground, offering his sturdy back to the lady inside.
Stepping down onto the man’s back, Tania descended smoothly.
Watching this display, Luo Xiya couldn’t help but curl her lip and furrow her brow. She scoffed, “Your carriage isn’t that big, but it sure fits a lot of men.”
Tania came to a stop in front of Luo Xiya, smoothing her slightly wavy chestnut hair and replying with a helpless smile, “Can’t be helped, you know I can’t live without them.”
Judging by her facial features, she definitely qualified as a beauty, but that ever-present flirtatious expression of hers was just plain annoying.
“So this is your territory? Still as dead and quiet as ever…”
Tania looked around theatrically and shrugged.
“Maybe because someone isn’t welcome here.”
Luo Xiya smiled back.
But after that smile, she quickly dropped her expression and stared at Tania.
“Did you come to my territory a few days ago?”
“Huh?”
Tania frowned in disdain and irritation.
“Besides being narcissistic, you’re delusional now too? Losing your mind to the point where even your own brain’s a mystery?”
Just as she finished speaking, a sharp blade wind suddenly sliced through the air.
Tania’s hair lifted with it, and a single strand right against her cheek fell to the ground.
The strike had been perfectly controlled, lightning-fast, nearly invisible.
The servants nearby exchanged nervous glances, not daring to utter a word.
Because Luo Xiya’s hand remained calmly resting on the sword hilt, her body motionless.
She hadn’t made a single visible move.
Tania raised an eyebrow, not scared in the slightest, in fact, she even wore a seductive smirk.
With her hand still on the sword, Luo Xiya’s eyes narrowed slightly, exuding a silent but unmistakable threat.
“Haha.”
Tania covered her mouth with a light chuckle and said casually, “Since you accepted my invitation, why not let me in first? If you didn’t want me coming, you could’ve just turned me down.”
Luo Xiya pressed down lightly on the veil hat atop her head, then smiled and turned away, gesturing for her to follow.
Tania trailed behind Luo Xiya, subtly observing her.
Though she was the Countess of the Lily Territory, Luo Xiya had never kept the habit of bringing servants.
Tania had thought she’d only send a servant to receive her, but to her surprise, Luo Xiya had come herself.
And, how did she know she’d been here the past few days?
That earlier playful facade suddenly gave way to unease.
But soon she calmed herself.
She held enough leverage now, otherwise, why would she have dared to come to the Lily Territory in person?
Thinking of that face that had haunted her for days, even her steps began to falter.
Her thighs instinctively squeezed together, and she licked her lips with a pink, fragrant tongue.
“Right, have them wait here,” Luo Xiya said suddenly.
Tania knew the reason, but still played dumb.
“Why?”
“My estate doesn’t welcome any men.”
After speaking, Luo Xiya added silently to herself, not even my own father has ever been allowed inside.
“No men allowed~”
Tania repeated Luo Xiya’s words, one word at a time.
Then she let out a soft laugh.
“Something funny?”
Luo Xiya turned back with a smile.
The servants behind Tania were already frozen in fear, heads lowered, not daring to move in front of the carriage.
Tania gave them a sidelong glance, then waved her hand with a hint of disdain, signaling them to return to the carriage.
“Of course it’s funny.”
She then said to Luo Xiya, “Just a week ago, you snatched that boy from me, and now you’re telling me men aren’t allowed on your estate. So, are you just going out of your way to oppose me?”
Luo Xiya hadn’t expected her to bring up Roman right away, and the mention instantly irritated her.
She chose not to respond.
Tania didn’t care.
She drawled lazily, “The more I think about it these past few days, the more I regret it. After all, the price you paid was something I could afford too. I hesitated for a moment, and you took him. Now, every night when I lie in bed, I don’t even want those men holding me anymore, it’s all just so dull.”
“Is that so? With your temperament, aren’t men just like your clothes, one for each day? Do you even care how many you have? The group of men in your carriage, I bet it won’t be long before they’re replaced again,” Luo Xiya said flatly.
“No, no, no.”
Tania shook her head, looking to correct her.
“I’ve always gone for quality over quantity. Those men were fine, but once I’ve played with them, that’s it. When the novelty’s gone, so is their value. But that boy, he’s different.”
Luo Xiya didn’t reply.
It was rare for her to agree with something, but over the past few days, she had come to understand very clearly that Roman wasn’t just different, he was one of a kind.
“Everyone is different,” she said out loud.
“Why is it that when you say something polite, it sounds so awful?”
Tania shook her head in mock dismay.
“Lady Fara has always been the most merciless. Sure, everyone’s different, but the gap is decided at birth. You, for example, you were born a winner. I, on the other hand, was born to be nothing more than a spoiled brat.”
Though the words were meant to flatter, they made Luo Xiya deeply uncomfortable.
It felt like Tania was telling her that all her pride was just predetermined privilege.
With her tendency to overthink, Luo Xiya couldn’t help but apply the same logic to Roman.
‘You only got him because you were lucky.’
That kind of veiled provocation deeply unsettled her possessive nature.
She turned back to Tania and said offhandedly, “What a dull thought. I’d say Lady Fara is far too biased. People like you get to live in luxury and bliss, while others, born kind, smart, and thoughtful, have to suffer endlessly.”
“By ‘others,’ you mean Roman?” Tania asked directly.
Watching Luo Xiya’s hand tighten around the sword hilt, she went on with a sigh, “So the countess, who’s never shown the slightest interest in men, is now finally moved. You must have spoiled and enjoyed that boy thoroughly these past few days. I wonder… do I have the right to get a taste too~?”
With that, her intentions were laid bare, words so brazen they practically dared Luo Xiya to react.
Luo Xiya came to a halt.
She turned her head back, smiling faintly as she clearly enunciated her reply: “A taste? That’s not entirely out of the question.”
This time, it was Tania’s turn to freeze.
She hadn’t expected Luo Xiya to say something so out of character.
“What do you mean?” she asked, a spark of excitement in her voice.