Chapter 15: I Only Like Girls.

Shu Yue discreetly observed the girl who had just pushed open the door and entered.

She wore a magnificent dark green dress that accentuated her graceful and alluring figure. Various gemstones adorned the flowing curves of the garment.

The most eye-catching piece was the pigeon-egg-sized oval emerald hanging at the girl’s neck.

The room had excellent lighting. The windows allowed plenty of natural light, the décor was in light tones that further diffused the brightness, and there were also mana lamp stones embedded in the ceiling.

Even under such abundant light, the gem emitted a soft glow.

A mana-infused gemstone? Or some kind of enchanted item meant to protect its wearer?

Shu Yue’s gaze met the black-haired girl’s eyes. Winnesa’s appearance was also outstanding, but that wasn’t what caught Shu Yue’s attention first. She was certain this beautiful girl was not a member of the Alchemists Guild, but a noble young lady from Grey Pine City.

That was why Shu Yue felt puzzled. Why had she come in?

Winnesa had actually seen Shu Yue earlier from a distance through a window shortly after she entered the Guild building. This was the first time they were meeting face-to-face at such a close distance of only three to five meters.

Shu Yue’s image was somewhat beyond her expectations. Ever since learning that Emily had gained such a fiancé, she had asked around for information about Lia White.

She had heard he was a somewhat feminine-looking youth who appeared a bit dull, but possessed exceptionally clear amber eyes.

Now that they met, everything matched the description.

Winnesa looked at Shu Yue, who remained seated without standing up. This was the first time someone of the same age and opposite gender had treated her this way. In the past, everyone who saw her would put on a flattering expression, all just to win a single smile from her.

Shu Yue’s brows furrowed slightly. At first she wondered if the girl had entered the wrong room, but seeing how openly the other party was sizing her up, she understood this visit was aimed at her.

She slowly stood up but remained silent.

Winnesa lifted the long hem of her skirt and performed a graceful noble lady’s curtsy, elegant and proper.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Lia White. My name is Winnesa Herman.”

“Hello, Miss Herman…”

Shu Yue knew the Herman surname. Wasn’t that the Herman Viscount family of Grey Pine City?

In a city like Grey Pine, the top rulers were people like Viscount Herman.

Of course, the viscount was not the sole ruler. There was also a city lord who controlled the entire city guard, with periodic rotations to maintain balance among the local powers.

Most cities in the empires of this world operated under this system.

The Herman young miss before her could be considered a true heaven’s pride daughter in Grey Pine City.

But why had she come to find her?

Shu Yue soon found out.

After introducing herself, Winnesa went straight to the point of her visit.

“I heard earlier that Lord White wishes to purchase dragon blood?”

“Yes.”

Shu Yue nodded.

Winnesa covered her mouth and laughed lightly. The sight was charming, but Shu Yue remained completely unmoved.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she said,

“Unfortunately, that batch of dragon blood has already been reserved by me in advance.”

“…”

Shu Yue fell silent. She was very unhappy.

She had gone to Baron Lester’s estate with blood still on her hands, all for this bit of dragon blood. And now this Winnesa came over with a proud face saying she had already reserved it in advance?

Truly worthy of a noble. They really love flaunting their privileges.

Winnesa was startled by Shu Yue’s gaze. She hadn’t expected Shu Yue to show such blatant displeasure toward her. That said, it actually made things more interesting for her. As the daughter of Viscount Herman, the de facto emperor of Grey Pine City, her status in this city was akin to that of a princess. She had never seen a boy of the same age dare treat her this way. The ones she had met before would even willingly kneel at her feet and feel honored to clean the dirt off her shoes.

Even knowing this was Emily’s fiancé, Winnesa felt the urge to claim him for herself and play with him to her heart’s content. All kinds of wicked thoughts surged in her mind, yet her face still maintained the appearance of a gentle young lady.

Shu Yue suddenly had a very strange feeling, as if some kind of monster was staring at her with greedy eyes.

She forcefully suppressed the discomfort and said to Winnesa,

“Miss Herman, did you come to see me just to tell me this?”

“Of course not,” Winnesa shook her head. “Although I reserved it in advance, I don’t need that sub-dragon blood for the time being. If you need it, I can sell you the portion I have at the original price. What do you think of this gift?”

“Gift?”

Shu Yue sharply caught the key word.

Winnesa smiled gently.

“Won’t you invite me to sit?”

“… Please sit.”

Shu Yue only wanted to obtain the dragon blood as quickly as possible. Right now, only dragon blood could give her a sense of security.

However, being impatient wouldn’t help.

After the two sat down, the door was closed, leaving only Shu Yue and Winnesa alone in the room.

Winnesa continued to lead the conversation.

“Emily and I are very close best friends. I’ve already heard about your engagement with her.”

“Oh, are you here to persuade me to break off the engagement?”

Just hearing Emily’s name gave Shu Yue a headache. This cheap fiancée had no value at all and only brought her endless trouble. Shu Yue had long wanted to “dote” on her properly.

Winnesa shook her head and smiled.

“It seems someone has already come to trouble you. But I’m not here to cause you trouble. I can tell that you are actually very outstanding, a man worthy of Emily.”

“…”

Shu Yue felt utterly speechless inside. Being called outstanding was one thing, but saying she was worthy of Emily was supposed to be praise?

Hmph. I, Shu Yue, possess the Quenching Star Art and have limitless potential in the future. Is Emily even worthy of me?

She really disliked Winnesa’s last sentence. It made it sound as if all her hard work was just to become some woman’s appendage. Shu Yue had survived her bald-headed master and reached this point with only one goal: to become powerful enough that no one could bully her!

If Winnesa could see favorability, the bar next to Shu Yue would be dropping rapidly. It had already fallen to the passing line of sixty — roughly the level of neither liking nor disliking. There weren’t even any options left for deeper interaction.

Want to unlock Shu Yue’s CG? Try again in your next life!

If not for the fact that Winnesa had promised to sell her sub-dragon blood, the favorability would have dropped below the passing line.

So, never casually insult Shu Yue’s hard work!

Winnesa also noticed that Shu Yue’s expression had turned noticeably colder. Although she was puzzled about what she had said to make Shu Yue unhappy, she quickly moved to remedy the situation.

“By the way, I happen to have a portion of triple-purified dragon blood here. Since you need dragon blood so badly, I can sell it to you at the standard market price as well. How about that?”

“Good, good!”

Shu Yue’s face instantly lit up with joy. Her previously gloomy expression cleared up like a sunny day after rain. Her favorability toward Winnesa shot up rapidly, already charging toward eighty.

Winnesa maintained the smile on her face while feeling slightly surprised inside. A newly titled noble youth actually didn’t care about his engagement to a baron’s beloved daughter and cared far more about dragon blood?

What exactly does he want to do with so much dragon blood?

Harboring this curiosity, she asked tentatively,

“Lia, I’m very curious. Why do you need so much dragon blood? What do you plan to use it for?”

As a viscount’s daughter who frequently visited the Alchemists Guild and possessed extraordinary status, Winnesa knew far more about potions than her peers.

Dragon blood usually referred to sub-dragon blood. Sub-dragons were quite large, and hunting one could yield a lot of blood. However, what was sold had already undergone one purification.

Sub-dragons originated from magical beasts that had obtained the legendary dragon bloodline and reproduced over generations, forming a vast sub-dragon lineage. This also made the original giant dragon bloodline increasingly thin. Purification was meant to remove as many “impurities” as possible to increase the proportion of that trace giant dragon blood.

The part of dragon blood that actually had an effect was that faint, thin trace of giant dragon bloodline passed down.

Each purification was extremely difficult, and the difficulty increased exponentially with each additional purification. Of course, higher difficulty also meant higher returns. The more times it was purified, the purer the dragon blood became, and the closer it approached the true giant dragon bloodline. When made into potions, the effects would be far more powerful.

Winnesa knew that the main use of this dragon blood was still to strengthen the human body. Naturally, the side effects were also significant. Ordinary people would find it very difficult to withstand the violent energy within dragon blood.

In mild cases, blood vessels would rupture. In severe cases, the person would explode on the spot!

She didn’t think Shu Yue planned to use it herself, since he followed the mage path.

Shu Yue had no intention of answering Winnesa’s question. This concerned her secret and could not be revealed.

“Miss Herman, I’m sorry, but I cannot answer that question.”

“Alright, I understand.”

Winnesa hadn’t expected to actually get an answer anyway. She was about to continue the conversation, as her interest in Shu Yue was quite strong. Such an interesting toy was rare, and she was starting to find herself unable to let go.

However, Shu Yue had no time to chat idly with her. She said directly,

“Where is the dragon blood? Bring it up now.”

“…”

“You should have workshops here, right? Lend me one. I still have some things to do.”

“Hehe~”

Winnesa’s smile became somewhat forced.

Shu Yue’s mind was completely not on her, which made her a little annoyed, though not truly angry.

“I’ll have someone arrange it.”

She stood up and called for someone, arranging an independent workshop for Shu Yue and having the dragon blood delivered.

Shu Yue left excitedly, leaving Winnesa behind.

The young lady’s face showed a rare expression of displeasure. She had clearly been angered by Shu Yue’s attitude.

To leave without even looking back while a viscount’s daughter was present — did she, Winnesa, have less charm than dragon blood?

Emily walked out from the adjacent room. She looked at the broken expression on her best friend’s face with great curiosity, wondering what exactly that Lia had said to make the always gentle and smiling Winnesa so upset.

“Winnesa, is that Lia a real bastard?”

“No, he’s not a bastard at all. He’s actually very interesting~” Winnesa quickly recovered her smile and even teased Emily. “If you don’t want him, I can reluctantly take him off your hands.”

“Hmph, if you want him, go tell your father. I don’t care about him anyway. You know me — I only like girls. Those soft, fragrant, pretty girls!”

“I think he would look quite pretty in women’s clothing and makeup too~”

“Is that the same?” Emily pouted. “Only the original is the best!”