Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 141

“I’m feeling a bit tired,” Priscilla said. “Your shop is called Pink Iris? How cute.” Even cuter was Prima’s status—early on, Erica had organized a map of White Bridge’s power dynamics and the main networks of those in power through Louis. While Prima didn’t hold a position in the family, her status allowed her easy access to many core matters.

She invited Prima to ride with her—probably because of her pregnancy, Priscilla opted for a more stable and spacious carriage instead of the usual double convertible. The handsome attendant, who had been following her graciously, gave up his seat to the ladies and moved to the driver’s seat. However, the carriage wasn’t exclusively for women, as there was also a young boy named Amber sitting beside Priscilla. He seemed not very accustomed to being around so many women and shrank into a corner as much as possible.

“Oh, it’s actually so friends have a place to chat,” Prima said happily. “It’s not far from here, just across another street.”

Pink Iris was more of a private club than a shop. Although it had an open door and display window like other places around, few young ladies from out of town would come to White Bridge just for tea. The purpose of these shops was never to make a profit but to provide a suitable venue for gatherings of young women like Prima.

Although Amber was silent, he wasn’t dull. When the carriage stopped, he was the first to jump out, watching Priscilla’s every move nervously, as if she might trip the moment she left his sight.

Prima and Ellie found his overly serious demeanor quite cute, but Priscilla indeed wasn’t very agile. Her slender figure made her belly appear larger than that of other pregnant women. Even the unmarried Prima and Ellie felt anxious as Priscilla got off the carriage and climbed the steps.

But Priscilla didn’t mind and refused help, happily walking into the shop with Prima and Ellie.

The shop assistants at Pink Iris were all cute girls personally selected by Prima, with smooth hair and rosy cheeks, looking very pleasing in the pink-toned shop.

“If only I’d known about this place earlier.” Priscilla sighed. “Everyone around me treats me like a ticking time bomb, not leaving me alone for a second, as if I could explode at any moment. Most shops offer drinks that aren’t suitable for me when I want to go out.”

Prima was initially surprised by her description, but after seeing Amber’s stiff expression, she found it fitting. The boy had been tense the whole time and even wanted to follow the ladies into the inner room, only to be pulled back by another attendant.

“You need to learn to recognize when a place is off-limits to men,” the handsome young man said, suppressing laughter. Amber’s face turned bright red, but he said nothing.

“Feel free to have anything you like,” Prima quickly offered. “The girls will take care of it. If you don’t like sweets, the shop next door can also send over some items.”

The young man nodded and carried Amber away like a cat. Priscilla made a relieved face and mouthed, “See?”

Even in jest, her restraint and elegance were evident, making Prima think she must be a noblewoman.

“Oh, by the way.” Just as they sat down, Prima remembered and handed a gift box to Priscilla. “This is for you, as a thank you. Please don’t refuse.”

Priscilla blinked.

“The dress from earlier,” Prima explained. “You mentioned buying it for your sister, but you seemed to forget it.”

“Usually, I wouldn’t refuse a gift,” Priscilla said. “But I don’t have a sister.”

Prima and Ellie: “???”

They had genuinely believed Priscilla had forgotten and had sneakily hidden the gift box to surprise her.

“I only have a brother, and though lavender would suit him, he’s grown up and won’t let me dictate his fashion choices anymore. And as you can see, I won’t fit into this season’s trends—even if I have the baby tonight, it will still be a while before I return to my old shape.”

Prima realized Priscilla had been deliberately helping her, and she couldn’t help but admire her. “So that’s it. You don’t know how jealous I was of your sister, thinking she had such a wonderful sister like you.”

“Are Prima and Ellie the only children?”

“I have an older sister and a younger brother,” Ellie said. “Prima has five brothers and two sisters.”

Priscilla paused mid-sip, seemingly startled by the number.

The two girls clearly came from well-off families, but it was quite rare for women of higher social standing to have many children. There was a saying in Pennigra:

“I will have twelve sons: six to fight for the king, three to tend his gardens, and three to farm the land to fill the granary to the ceiling.”

This implied that the poorer the people, the more children they had, whereas noble children were rare and precious, with only one heir to the throne for the king.

Prima noticed Priscilla’s curiosity and explained, “My brothers and sisters have different mothers. I’m my father’s youngest child.”

Khalif had never married, and some of the women he had children with were even married to other men. Because of this, Prima’s siblings weren’t particularly close, especially her proud brothers, who all believed they had the best chance of becoming the next family head.

Priscilla saw that this topic saddened the young girl and softly said, “But he loves you very much, I can see that.”

Prima had an air of carefree innocence that belied her age.

“Father is very kind to those he likes,” Prima said. “But his attention often shifts… When I was young, I begged him to marry my mother, but that was one of the few times he firmly refused me.”

“As long as he doesn’t marry that awful—” Ellie huffed, but Prima quickly nudged her, stopping her mid-sentence.

But it was already too late.

Priscilla smiled sweetly and said, “So, your father has an annoying person around him now.”

“Is it that girl who was talking to you earlier?” she asked directly.

For some reason, Prima found it hard to lie to Priscilla. They were complete strangers before today, yet Prima felt an unusually strong sense of trust, born from admiration for Priscilla’s demeanor, which made her lower her guard.

Prima gripped her cup tightly. “Yes, she doesn’t like me.” Thinking of Xanye’s blatant provocation and undisguised malice today, her anger flared up again, and she added, “I don’t like her either.”

Priscilla nodded knowingly. “So, you had a dispute in Velvet Butterfly.”

“Xanye approached us,” Ellie said seriously. “We didn’t provoke her. She’s so annoying, always looking around sneakily like a monkey, ready to steal something.”

Prima laughed at her words. The name Monkeys did indeed have a monkey-like connotation, unlike the other three families named after carnivorous beasts, and they had always been somewhat conscious of this.

“That girl is from the Monkey Family?” Priscilla raised an eyebrow. “No wonder. I noticed her bracelet and hat were magical items.”

“They always like to dabble in magic and take pride in it,” Prima said. “But honestly, few Monkeys are certified by the Mage Association, and their achievements in black magic are far inferior to those of renowned witches on the continent.”

She said this to warn Priscilla, as she was now in White Bridge, and it would be best for such a noble and gentle lady to avoid any dealings with the Monkey family. Prima had heard many sinister stories about their dark arts, often involving infants.

Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but worry again. Priscilla had offended Xanye for her sake—would that woman hold a grudge? The Monkey Family was known for having no bottom line, and cursing a pregnant woman was very much in their style.

“But I’ve heard they are recruiting mages,” Priscilla said softly. “Are they planning to establish a magic academy in White Bridge?”

This immediately reminded Prima of Louis, who had returned injured and pale a week ago. His conflict with Witch Elena in Fortuna City was no secret. Even if he wanted to cover it up, many would investigate privately, including her father, Khalif.

“Reputable mages won’t respond to them. They find people who are—bad,” Prima said, swallowing Elena’s name. Although everyone now believed she had been killed by Louis, the names of such ominous figures still carried a taboo and weren’t openly discussed.

Priscilla took a small sip of tea, briefly wrinkled her brow, then quickly relaxed. Lately, her body had been uncomfortable. Food and drink felt burdensome.

“Though we don’t know their plans, it doesn’t sound like a good sign,” she said lightly, as if chatting casually. “They are always so… ambitious?”

“They aren’t good at fighting. They initially allied with the Wolf for protection, and their economic skills complement the Wolf’s,” Prima said, which was no secret.

“But people learn and improve,” Ellie interjected. “It’s been hundreds of years since the initial alliance. The Wolf has established its trade routes, and Monkey’s magic research is now sufficient for self-protection. I don’t think they need to be bound together anymore.”

Priscilla was surprised by Ellie’s insight. Typically, young nobles studied history just to appease their parents, and many men couldn’t think as far ahead as she did.

“We should be wary of Monkeys,” Ellie continued. “But…”

She glanced at Prima and stopped.

After all, Khalif was her father.

Prima shook her head to indicate it was okay.

“I agree with you, Ellie,” Prima said. “Black magic, to me, is the devil’s experiment. I’ve heard them talk about things like reversing time across the continent—crazy and unrealistic, but terrifyingly, some believe it’s possible.”

Reversing time.

Priscilla looked down at her cup. This matched what Louis said about Khalif pursuing lost youth. So the girl confronting Prima earlier, Xanye, was sent by Monkeys to push this agenda for Khalif?

It seemed the rumors about Khalif conducting magical experiments in his private residence were true. Even his favorite daughter was increasingly unwilling to stay at home.

The power of the Holy Grail combined with time magic… Even his young daughter saw her father’s madness, yet the old Wolf King remained blind to it.

Ellie spoke so freely about the family head’s dissatisfaction with current policies, partly because Priscilla wasn’t a family member, and the location was private and safe. Still, this girl represented a significant portion of the Wolf’s genuine opinion.

……

That night.

“So this is the ‘list’?” A woman with high cheekbones and sharp features sat cross-legged on the sofa, casually tossing a stack of papers back onto the table. “How accurate is it?”

“About half and half,” Yitzfa, sitting opposite her in the same posture, replied with the same polite coldness. “We’ve been collecting these as soon as they spread, but there might be some gaps.”

“These things appeared on Paradise Island less than twelve hours ago. You must have quite a few people planted there. The old gentleman’s agreement is on shaky ground,” the woman said. “Isn’t the Fox behind this?”

“If it were, I wouldn’t be showing you these, Vasilia,” Yitzfa said, his expression unusually serious. “But you—coming to White Bridge personally this year… And with the Monkey dabbling in magical drugs, it seems the Lion Family’s motives are more plausible, don’t you think?”

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