“Wait, what nonsense are you spouting? You can’t just joke about something like this.”
Seeing the teasing smile on Emia’s face, Flora immediately understood that this girl was just stirring up trouble for her own amusement, so she quickly put on an angry expression.
“If you want to eavesdrop, then quietly listen. Otherwise, I’ll have to ask you to leave.”
“I just can’t stand these scoundrels,” Emia replied.
“Look, someone as gentle as you, they wouldn’t even take you seriously.Nobles should act like nobles. The Princess is approachable because she has the confidence to command respect. If you let a merchant overshadow your presence, sister wouldn’t be happy either.”
Emia’s smile grew even brighter as she glanced at Meifei’s pale face and deliberately lowered her voice, as if sharing some unspeakable secret:“Could it be that there’s something fishy in what she said? Sister never asked you to say things like that. I’ve heard a bit about the fake drug incident. The nationally wanted counterfeit drug dealer, Fros Camille, is the focus of tonight’s party.
Is Flora’s behavior a sign there’s some hidden truth behind all this?”
At this point, Flora was annoyed enough to stop probing.
Emia must have believed the whole nonsense she’d just made up.
What she said was just to let everyone know she acknowledged Flora’s current status as a lord.
Her statement would definitely discourage other nobles with ulterior motives.
That was a good thing, but Flora didn’t let her guard down.
“The hidden truth is that he deserves to die a thousand deaths.”
She said fiercely, “Anyone who manufactures counterfeit drugs, no matter the reason, deserves death.”
“That’s exactly the kind of person I admire.”
Emia laughed and nodded obediently, still sitting quietly in her chair.
“You two continue; I won’t interrupt.”
“Don’t joke about people’s lives.”
Flora warned again, this time more seriously, but Emia looked a little aggrieved.
“I just wanted everyone to see how cute it is when the beautiful Flora sister gets angry, isn’t it adorable?”
A respected mentor and a girl admired for her beauty—there was no essential conflict between the two.
Her words, like a rotten apple spoiling the whole barrel, completely ruined the atmosphere Flora had painstakingly created.
Flora wanted to give the little brat a couple of slaps just to vent, but this was hardly the time for such things.
She turned her gaze to Meifei, who was biting her lip, and continued the negotiation, hoping to use her own unusual behavior to make her companion notice something was off.
“Moria sent you to find me? What exactly do you want me to do? Do you need me to give you the secret formula, or should we sign a contract?”
Meifei shook her head.
“Miss Moria didn’t mention anything like that. I haven’t prepared any contracts, nor do I intend to ask you for any secret formulas.”
“Then what is this about?”
Emia looked puzzled.
With her keen intuition, she somehow felt that these two had suddenly come to some sort of agreement, and the atmosphere between them had subtly changed.
Flora squinted at Meifei and lightly stroked her chin.
“Miss Meifei, please be clear—I’m not good at guessing riddles.”
From the supplier’s reaction, things might not be as bad as she had feared.
After all, Meifei wasn’t reckless.
If she dared to attend this gathering, it meant she was prepared.
“If I wanted that thing, I’d have come straight to you for it. But we only want to establish a partnership with Emerald Heart, isn’t that right?”
Hearing this, Flora saw Meifei slightly raise the corner of her mouth and blink.
She couldn’t help but smile wryly.
“Merchants care about long-term interests. Even if Mr. Fros acted selfishly in making counterfeit drugs, I chose to cooperate with him originally because of his character.
At this gathering, I just wanted to see Miss Flora’s attitude toward fake drugs.”
She rubbed the red-gold ring on her hand.
A sour feeling welled up in Flora’s heart.
She understood her efforts hadn’t been in vain; her ploy had played out just as she hoped.
This bold young lady wasn’t here to accuse Flora; she came to this banquet deliberately, using this dangerous game to get the information she wanted—to confirm Fros’s whereabouts and the origin of the note.
Her actions gave Meifei a clear answer.
Flora thought silently and began to hate herself for having such doubts.
She bit her tongue lightly to steady her emotions.
After all, she had gone this far to change her situation; if she hesitated now, she would only bring more regrets.
“Then rest assured, I would never do anything to harm my personal reputation or Emerald Heart’s.”
She gave the answer Flora·Emerald should give.
“Your confidence is the greatest asset you bring to this partnership. Let this ring be my token of apology.”
Meifei took off the ring, stood, and bowed as she held it with both hands, offering it to Flora.
Flora didn’t take it but instead reached out and closed Meifei’s hands over it.
“Your demands as a partner mean more to me than this ring. Let it serve as a witness to our cooperation.”
She deliberately tightened her handshake.
Meifei didn’t hesitate and withdrew the ring.
Meifei thought with a bit of complaint.
Calling herself Fros’s mentor, she knew so well what was going on between them, her reaction so familiar, and that same refusal of her words.
Putting all the pieces together, what other conclusion could there be?
A former companion transformed into a radiant young lady.
Having feelings for Fros, she couldn’t help but feel some regret.
But that didn’t stop her from taking action.
Meifei resolved in her heart that no matter if Flora was Fros or a monster who had swallowed his soul or memories to take this form, as long as she needed help, she would offer it—and then help her find freedom.
After all, as Fros’s partner, she knew he had a strong pride and wouldn’t like the current situation; otherwise, he wouldn’t have sought her help.
She pushed those thoughts aside and adopted the attitude a merchant should have.
“Thank you for your tolerance. Rust-Gold Trading has no objection to your becoming a lord and cooperating with my company. We will discuss the specific cooperation details with Miss Tatatsimi.”
She bowed to Flora and then disappeared into the crowd.
After all, she was just a merchant.
To help Flora, she needed to approach the person who had recently questioned her.
She believed the intervening Princess would want this pawn, and her father, learning she was connected to royalty, would surely support her decision.
The young supplier left the banquet with blessings for Flora and quickly made her way home.