Lady Vonne

Larru climbed the flight of stairs and entered the reception. There was a middle-aged lady seated there with a disinterested expression, cleaning her ears with her nail.

There was a messy stack of papers lying on the table next to her but she didn't even seem bothered to segregate them. She was the only person in the reception.

Larru expanded her senses and wasn't able to find any other living being in her vicinity. Only then did she approach the middle-aged lady and gave her the parchment, "A commission from Lord Keyn."

The middle-aged lady stared at the parchment, observing the drawings of Iota and Spring. She noted their details, saw two glass spheres attached to them, carrying a Nasp each, and commented, "The advance will be 10,000 Robu. Do you have anyone in mind to forward this commission to?"

"It's not a commission," Larru clicked his tongue, "It's a hitlist."

A commission implied that a hitman of her choice would be dispatched for the mission. But a hitlist meant otherwise.

It was basically putting a bounty, with anyone part of the Sect being eligible to claim it. So, it would spur all the Shamans part of the Sect to hunt Iota and Spring.

"If it's a hitlist, you need to pay in advance." The middle-aged said without a change in expression, "It'll be a million Robu."

"Look at the end," Larru pointed at the end of the pamphlet in arrogance, "There's Lord Keyn's seal on it. When you're done with the job, come and collect it."

"Forget it if you're incompetent enough." Saying so, Larru turned around and began to walk away.

In response to her words, the middle-aged lady was no longer laid back, her eyes seething in rage as she glared at Lurra, "Just because you're a Priest…"

"Just because I'm a Priest, what?" Larru stared from the back of her eye, emitting a suffocating presence that almost caused the middle-aged lady to faint.

"Remember in whose city you're living." She walked away, "I won't repeat myself. When done, come and collect the reward."

"Also," She turned around and flashed a gentle smile, "The next time you glare at me, I'll ground your eyes and feed them up your nostrils."

"This bitch!" Once Larru was out of sight, the middle-aged woman cursed aloud. She was afraid of the latter, for many Shamans part of the Sect had been injured by her just because they dared to annoy her.

Priests were basically weapons moving at the whims of their masters—Spirits, Apostles, and even the Deity.

As someone that had pledged to serve the Faith Path for life, they abhorred anyone from the Fear Path. So, a conflict erupted every time a Priest and a Shaman met.

If she hadn't come here to complete Keyn Garobu's request, Larru would have rampaged within the Sect until she was content with the caused damage.

The middle-aged woman exhaled softly as she stared at the pamphlet and took out blank scrolls, copying the contents. It was her job to relay the hitlist to all the Shamans part of the Sect.

This was an order directly from the Apostle of Garobu City. If she dared not see through it, the Sect would very well be wiped out from the city.

After all, no matter how strong a Shaman was, they could never win against an Apostle. The power difference was heaven and earth.

Larru exited the flight of stairs, for a moment glancing at the old man that remained fishing. She boarded her boat and rowed out.

"Take care, Lurra." The old man whispered once she was out of sight.

…

"Big sister, you're very pretty." A girl said with a sweet voice as she gave a flower to a lady that seemed to hail from nobility.

"Oh my, you're very sweet." The lady in question had chestnut brown hair that reached her hip, her smile capable of causing the hearts of others to flutter. Her jawline accentuated her beauty as she patted the girl and received the flower.

The lady had just descended from a well-decorated mini ship, carrying her umbrella to shield herself from the sun as she began to walk towards a certain house.

"Can I…see you again?" A young man donned in luxurious clothes peeked from the mini ship and shouted at her, his face flushed red.

"If fate permits," The lady let out a charming smile that caused the young man's heart rate to spike through the roof. She then walked for a few minutes before entering a mansion, greeted by a group of maids.

"Welcome, Lady Vonne. We were expecting your arrival."

"How's the state of things here?" Lady Vonne handed her umbrella to a maid and entered her mansion, heading to the study immediately as she looked through the accounts, frowning in response, "Our profits are only a quarter this month?"

"A rival merchant group has been stealing our customers." A maid spoke in a hurry, "Without you, Lady Vonne, we couldn't do much to rein in our customers."

"Well, it doesn't matter." Lady Vonne didn't put much importance on it, "I've succeeded in the deal with Wharu City. So, our supply of precious gems will give us the market advantage."

She then stared at the maid, "You're…?"

"I'm Nedy," The maid replied, "I joined a year ago."

"A year…" Lady Vonne thought for a minute before nodding, "Okay, I'll give you a task. You're now in charge of spreading rumours regarding our rival businesses."

"Should I approach the nobility?" Nedy asked.

"Don't be foolish," Lady Vonne gently chided her, "Don't approach any of the nobles. Just spread the rumours to the commoners. Target the households that serve as maids to the nobles. The rumours are the most effective when spread through this channel."

"I'll get to it immediately." Followed by a curt bow, Nedy changed into a set of commoner clothes and exited the mansion, heading towards a cheap restaurant where most maids like her gathered to have dinner sometimes.

Just as she was about to enter the restaurant, an eight-year-old girl gently tugged her clothes. "Lady, you're pretty. Take this."

She handed her a bundle of flowers and ran away, happy. Nedy broke into a pleasant smile. It was in the city's culture where kids sometimes gave flowers to the workers.

It was something implemented by the Garobu family, immediately observing an increase in the work output of the adults. Over time, it became part of their culture.

Nedy happily walked away from the restaurant as she spent some money to book a hotel room. Once she entered the room, her expression turned cold as she unfurled the bundle, staring at the thin scroll within, opening it to stare at the details of the hitlist, "A big job appeared, huh?"

She grinned, "I'll be the one to kill these two."