Chapter 14: The Mysterious Girl

Floleen would never listen to Charlotte. She spent the entire day hiding in the mansion.

She hadn’t come to the Empire Capital just to attend the Emperor’s Banquet; she also wanted to see the sights of the city.

But after a while, she really did get tired of it.

The natural scenery certainly wasn’t inside the city, and as for urban prosperity, the Empire Capital couldn’t compare to the bustling Port Cities of the Weis Domain.

Carriages streamed by, pedestrians bustled about—Floleen had long grown used to such sights.

She sat listlessly beside a café, thinking there wasn’t much fun in the Empire Capital.

Should she go catch a few rabbits outside the city and stew them herself? Or maybe suddenly go find Charlotte and give him a scare?

But that might just cause trouble for Charlotte, so she dismissed the idea…

Just as Floleen’s mind was brimming with odd thoughts, a crisp and pleasant voice sounded.

She turned at the sound and saw a girl with purple hair.

The girl was slender and shorter than Floleen. Even at Floleen’s height of one-sixty, she felt this girl was rather petite.

The newcomer approached Floleen slowly, holding a delicate parasol in her hand, the smile on her face growing ever brighter.

But Floleen felt an unprecedented sense of threat from this girl—her instincts told her there was something clearly wrong with the girl before her.

The purple-haired girl greeted Floleen, “Hello, Floleen Weis, we meet again. You’re even more beautiful than last time.”

It was a compliment, but coming from her lips, Floleen felt no joy at all. Instead, she grew quite wary.

Yet from her attire and demeanor, the other really did look like a noble’s daughter.

“You know me?” Floleen wasn’t dressed in anything fancy today, so she doubted she’d be recognized as a noble.

But she forgot that the air of someone raised in luxury since childhood simply couldn’t be faked.

Bella nodded and said, “Of course. You’re the beloved daughter of the Viscount of Weis—the richest viscount in the entire empire… Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Bella Ennis, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Ennis. We met once before at the Joint Chamber of Eastern Nobility.”

Floleen searched her memories. There did seem to be such a duke’s daughter, but she couldn’t recall clearly.

“How enviable… Floleen, even someone as beautiful as me has to admit you really are stunning. That platinum hair of yours—you must spend a lot of effort caring for it. It’s a shame someone’s already claimed you, or else your suitors could probably line up from the south to the north of the Empire Capital by now.”

The more Floleen listened, the stranger it sounded. She couldn’t tell if the other girl was complimenting her or just jealous.

Bella truly was jealous. She very much wanted to tear the Floleen before her to pieces.

She couldn’t allow someone more beautiful than herself to exist in this world.

But this was the Empire Capital, and she couldn’t act rashly. Next time they met, she certainly wouldn’t let Floleen live.

Floleen, having received a baffling string of compliments, was still at a loss. “So, what did you come to me for?”

“I came to the Empire Capital to attend the Emperor’s Banquet, but since it’s a few days away, I thought I’d wander the city. And here I bumped into you, Floleen. Would you mind showing me around?”

Bella hid her murderous intent, putting on a lively and cute expression.

Floleen was free right now, with nothing else to do.

“Alright, but I haven’t been here long myself—I’m just strolling around too. If you want me to introduce the city’s sights, I probably can’t. But I can walk with you.”

“That’s wonderful! I even snuck out this time, didn’t bring any guards with me. With someone like you protecting me, Floleen, I feel much safer.”

Bella pretended to breathe a sigh of relief.

Floleen looked at this shorter girl with her scarlet eyes, a strange expression on her face.

Though Bella called her ‘sister’, the pinched tone of her voice made Floleen feel this girl was actually older than her.

In other words, this annoying little girl was obviously pretending to be younger—a woman’s intuition!

The two noble daughters went shopping together, but their attitudes couldn’t have been more different.

Bella wanted to enter every store she saw, holding an exquisite purse and buying whatever she fancied—just like the stereotypical young lady.

In contrast, Floleen had no interest at all. She cared nothing for the luxurious, beautiful gowns or the fine jewelry in the shops.

It wasn’t that she didn’t like such things; it was that she was simply too wealthy.

All her clothes were custom-made, so she couldn’t be bothered with what was sold in these stores.

Some sparkling jewelry did catch her eye, but she didn’t lack for anything these days—just last night, Charlotte had placed a Star Ring on her left ring finger.

Bella naturally noticed the ring on Floleen’s hand.

Her enthusiasm for shopping was instantly redirected. “Floleen, where did you buy that ring?”

“Buy it? No, my fiancé gave it to me.” Floleen’s face showed a satisfied expression. As expected, only a noble lady could recognize quality.

Bella’s eyes sparkled. “Wow, Floleen, your fiancé must be an exceptional man.”

Floleen was proud. “Of course! A man I’ve set my eyes on can’t be wrong!”

Bella smiled and guided the conversation. “Ah! Is that so? What’s his name?”

“Charlotte Wuyue, the youngest marquis in the Kalishi Empire.”

“Him… No wonder you agreed to the engagement, Floleen. Can you tell me more about him? I’d love to hear about your fiancé.”

“Sure…” Floleen readily agreed with a smile.

Bella inwardly sneered: “What an easy woman to trick—just a few words and I can get information out of her…”

But seeing Bella’s sudden smile, Floleen’s expression darkened. “Wait… what exactly do you want?”

“Huh?”

Faced with Floleen’s abrupt questioning and stern face, Bella wondered if she’d been too hasty in probing for information and quickly thought of how to cover it up.

Floleen sharply accused, “Don’t tell me you’re interested in Charlotte too! Trying to get to know him through me so you can get close to him? That’s so cliché.”

“I…” Bella was at a loss for words. She hadn’t expected Floleen to be afraid of her stealing Charlotte.

Sigh! But it made sense. Wasn’t she, Bella, so charming that everyone loved her?

Though it was a kind of recognition from Floleen, Bella had no intention of sparing her.

Before she found the chance to get rid of Floleen, she still had a task to complete—to assassinate Charlotte.

Bella’s true identity was indeed that of the Duke of Ennis’s daughter, but the persona she was using now was fake.

She was already twenty-two, a fourth-tier swordswoman, and had been trained as an assassin from birth.

She often did dirty work for the Duke of Ennis, and this time was no exception.

She didn’t know why her father wanted to get rid of Charlotte, but for her own survival within the family, she could only obey for now.

“I’m not interested in Marquis Charlotte… I just wanted to know a bit more, that’s all.”

Floleen seemed not to hear Bella’s explanation at all.

“Ah! These noble ladies nowadays—one after another, all wanting to meet Charlotte. As if they know how to handle him…”

“………” Bella was instantly speechless. She really shouldn’t have brought up Charlotte.

The moment Floleen mentioned him, she started acting weird.

After a while, Bella finally explained things to Floleen, and Floleen was more than happy to share stories about Charlotte with her.