Chapter 26: In Business, Not Speaking of Business

“Lowlife!”

What does it feel like to be called a lowlife by a beautiful woman in your own house? At least Li En Sudar was not a pervert who would find such a thing exciting.

He was slightly troubled, struggling to formulate a polite excuse—after all, this house had been the woman’s residence just a few days ago.

The footsteps behind him grew closer; Li En’s eyebrows twitched, but he did not turn around.

“Laina! Laina! Your clothes—you forgot your clothes again!”

If he turned back now, he’d truly be a lowlife—the kind where reason couldn’t save him.

“No, it’s too uncomfortable to wear. Friend, help me! Laina doesn’t want clothes!”

Something soft crashed into his back; Li En froze completely.

At this moment, the serpent-woman’s face was as cold as ice, yet she calmly lifted her teacup and took a delicate sip, as if utterly unconcerned—yet all the small snakes on her head were hissing, glaring at Li En with pure malice.

If she truly bore Medusa’s bloodline, Li En should have been turned to stone many times over.

“Forgive me—I spoke out of turn. Legally, we have no relation, and thus no right to criticize.”

The woman set down her teacup, as if gripping its handle, but her fingers were tightly clenched.

Her phoenix eyes flickered toward him, her tone now carrying a touch of sincerity.

“But our engagement’s dissolution will not be made public for three years. To outsiders, we are still one family.”

“What you do in private is your own affair, but in broad daylight, while receiving guests, exposing a woman’s naked body—isn’t that damaging to the Sudar family’s reputation? I’m not accusing you, but isn’t this… uncivilized? Isn’t it bringing shame upon your household?”

The words came rapid and precise, but Li En felt: isn’t it you who just cracked?

“This house was where I once stayed as a child. To bring women here—isn’t that just… inappropriate?”

Taking a deep breath, Sallyman S Daer found a plausible emotional justification.

This accusation left him speechless—you’re using the house I gave you, and keeping a naked cat-girl servant inside? Isn’t that a bit too much?

Fine, play privately—but now you’re putting on a show for me in person?

Yet the more she spoke, the more she sounded desperate.

“Friend! Listen to me!!” The innocent girl, receiving no response, grew frantic.

She lunged forward, forcibly twisting Li En’s head and pressing it against her chest.

“Sssss!” The hissing of the serpents echoed throughout the parlor.

“Excuse me,” Li En took a deep breath and stood up abruptly.

Without hesitation, he grabbed the bedsheet, wrapped her tightly in it, then tossed her to the maid who had just arrived.

Ignoring the increasingly excited little girl, he turned and said:

“This is Laina. My former comrade—she lost all her memories not long ago. Now she’s lost common sense, and due to instinct, she’s become overly attached to me.”

Upon hearing this, Sallyman S Daer froze for a moment, her gaze shifting to Laina.

She noticed the false ears—also a degenerate variant. So this wasn’t really Li En’s fetish?

But from an angle Li En couldn’t see, the maid behind him gave a subtle nod, signaling that he spoke the truth.

In the next instant, the woman laughed—and quickly coughed to cover it.

“Cough, cough—don’t misunderstand. I’m just a bit surprised.”

In truth, this was indeed a misunderstanding; Sallyman’s fondness hadn’t reached the level of jealousy.

It was merely an overly strong first impression—barely even friendship.

But as previously stated, both sides had quietly agreed to dissolve the marriage pact, intending to let it cool gradually over three years—meaning that for these three years, they remained Mingyishangde fiancés.

When Sallyman told the Prince she was engaged to him, it was because it was publicly true—such private scandals were not meant for public exposure.

But then the Prince, following that line, said: “Then go seduce him. Make him join me.”

Sallyman was instantly stunned—and found it hard to refuse.

After all, if they were still fiancés, a little private affair wouldn’t be unusual. The beauty trap was perfectly justified—aren’t you two about to marry anyway? Just move in together.

You’re mine. Shouldn’t your husband be mine too? What? He won’t join me? Are the Sudars planning to hedge their bets?

The Prince had once saved Sallyman, and she had previously held the title of “Royal Secret Agent.”

Watching the young Prince gleefully find her solution, Sallyman found she couldn’t dampen her spirits.

She’d dragged it out for one or two days—ultimately, she’d gritted her teeth and come.

During that time, she’d imagined countless scenarios.

For instance, learning that the man was an heir and examiner of the Heroic Souls, possessing both virtue and ability—she’d actually hesitated.

“If my husband is a noble knight, the Prince will trust me more,” Sallyman didn’t need a capable husband—she needed someone trustworthy to occupy the role of husband.

This man didn’t seem so bad. At least he was genuinely kind, wouldn’t deceive her… Still, this wasn’t love—just that among too many terrible options, one seemed slightly less terrible.

She’d prepared herself with countless thoughts and resolve, planning to take it one step at a time—only to open the door and encounter this.

“Hello. Your name is Laina, right?”

A pale light shimmered across her crystal necklace; Sallyman took a deep breath and spoke to the bound Laina.

She was cautious with her own ability—reading minds too many times had made her nauseous. But a stranger appearing near Li En, a key figure, demanded attention from her standpoint as the Prince’s servant.

Her primary purpose in coming was to gather intelligence on Li En for the Prince.

An heir to the Heroic Soul—even a failed one—was destined to be extraordinary.

“Poor thing. Do you know me, sister?”

“Ooooh!” To prevent Laina from blurting out anything more explosive, Li En had stuffed a cloth in her mouth when binding her.

【Who are you? Can I eat you? Is it tasty?】 The girl was clearly starving.

“Truly lost all memory—even her family?” She gently pulled the cloth from Laina’s mouth. “I don’t have family either.”

“Family?” At the new word, the little girl lit up instantly.

【Family? Can I eat it? Is it tasty?】

Even Sallyman couldn’t hold her composure—why does everything get reduced to food?

She no longer doubted this was a poor, memory-lost girl—but still asked one final question.

“Do you remember Li En? He’s my fiancé.” To activate her ability (forcing Laina’s focus onto herself), she gritted her teeth and spoke.

“Give food, friend!”

【Friend! Don’t eat! But give food! Good friend!】

Sallyman, known as the Demoness, fell silent. She smiled and stood up—she had no interest in speaking to an idiot, and turned her gaze to Li En, now filled with pity.

This former comrade would likely become a burden. But given his character, he probably wouldn’t do anything reckless.

Considering their status as Heroic Soul heirs, both young yet reaching the Great Knight level, their battlefields must have been horrific.

Most people respected such individuals—and Sallyman was no exception. Lacking security herself, she still held deep affection for these righteous knights.

The minor “incident” passed swiftly. After the maids took Laina away to feed her, the conversation finally returned to its intended course.

Sallyman selected a few pre-planned topics, expressing distant, polite concern—but given what had just happened, her tone grew increasingly awkward.

“A girl pretending to be an adult may still be less mature than a Dragon Hunter.” Yet Li En, feigning awkwardness, had already seen through her.

He was always tolerant of children—as long as they weren’t brats.

When she mentioned she could fund a small business or offer him a position in her guild, Li En himself was surprised.

Her attitude before hadn’t been like this—she’d kept her distance. Now she wanted to keep him close?

Wait—you don’t actually take the engagement seriously, do you? Li En’s expression grew even more peculiar. He could guess many things, but never that Sallyman was a trusted agent of the Dragon Hunter.

After all, only the royal family could command loyalty from a new noble.

But since she’d brought up work and business, Li En actually had an idea.

“I’m new here and truly want to start a venture. Miss Sallyman, are you interested in investment?”

Money? Sallyman wasn’t alarmed—she was delighted. Money? Anything was possible.

She could simply give him more funds to live on—or set up a losing shop for him to guard.

“Hmm. I’m listening.” The female merchant grew serious.

“Look, I have some foreign technologies. Do you know wooden textile machines? I have a sketch here.”

“Textile industry? You plan to fight the Eight-Armed Weaver Baron to the death? That’s not profitable.”

At the mention of business strategy, the gentle girl instantly turned sharp.

In this era, many commercial issues were political ones—handling them required extreme caution.

Her tightly shut eyes opened again, calm as still water—she weighed gains and losses. The mind-reading demoness revealed her true face.

Even without her supernatural abilities, her commercial achievements and talent were undeniable—otherwise, a girl managing a household would have been devoured long ago.

“No, no, no—I’ve heard of him. How could I compete with the Eight-Armed Weavers? I just noticed that in some areas, labor is incredibly cheap—and being wasted. It’s a shame.” Li En mimicked a capitalist’s logic to explain his idea.

Some areas? Sallyman understood—it was the docks.

“Those small households’ labor can still be utilized. We create a hive-like factory network: the dockyard factory as the main contractor, small workshops as subcontractors, using cheap labor to compete in low-end markets.”

The more she listened, the more she understood.

This wasn’t business—it was charity disguised as business.

If pure labor cost-efficiency were the goal, surrounding districts were far superior—similar wages, far fewer external troubles.

Not to mention, the dockside gangs were so numerous they gave you a headache. One gang came today, another tomorrow, another the day after—how could you even run a business?

Add in security and enforcement costs, and it might become the most expensive district in Huicheng.

In the past, anyone who dared deceive her outright would have been thrown out—and blacklisted from commerce.

But now, listening to this scheme disguised as commerce yet clearly aimed at revitalizing the district, she smiled genuinely.

A faint smile—brilliant pearls of radiance bloomed with astonishing charm.

In that moment, Li En was momentarily dazed, wondering if he’d been enchanted—until he heard a whisper beside his ear.

It sounds interesting; I’d like to hear more.

Uh, there’s another chapter today.

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(End of chapter)