Published: March 12, 2025
CHAPTER 176: Give Some Face
Oroja did not disappoint Laura. After arriving in Casa City, he indeed took action. His movements were clearly not hidden from Laura, and it was obvious he did not intend to keep it a secret from her. However, Laura was somewhat surprised that his first stop was the Duke's Manor and not elsewhere.
Laura didn't expect Oroja's first stop to be the Duke's Manor, which was somewhat beyond her expectations. Yet, upon further thought, it made sense.
After all, Oroja was representing Carlo, and Carlo was one of the heirs of the Magedel family. He had a better chance than Klein of becoming the family head, and naturally, Oroja had to pay a visit to Duke Ivan.
However, Laura was also on high alert. She believed that Oroja's visit to Duke Ivan was not so simple. People on the continent knew she had done the Versailles Family a significant favor, and she had also helped Duke Ivan immensely. It could be said that Duke Ivan was her backing. If they wanted to move against her, they first had to deal with her support.
Oroja's visit was clearly aimed at the products from the peach blossom spring, which were the most important items in Laura's hands. She could never let go of them. To obtain the peach blossom products, one would need to use some means. However, in the Versailles Principality, if they wanted to use means against Laura, they first had to handle Duke Ivan. Even if they couldn't get Duke Ivan to help deal with Laura, they couldn't let him protect her either.
When Laura saw Oroja heading to the Duke's Manor, she immediately thought of this. However, she had no way to stop it. After all, Oroja was formally visiting Duke Ivan. How could she prevent that?
This was an obvious scheme on Oroja's part. Even if Laura knew, she couldn't do anything about it. She wanted to see how much Oroja and his group could accomplish. If Oroja really managed to convince Duke Ivan, Laura would indeed be quite disappointed.
However, Laura wasn't worried. Even if Oroja convinced Duke Ivan and Duke Ivan stopped protecting her, she still had Zhao Hai. If Laura's trust in Duke Ivan was ten, her trust in Zhao Hai was a hundred.
Although Laura didn't stop Oroja from meeting Duke Ivan, she became more secretive in her surveillance of him. Oroja's bold actions were surely approved by Carlo. However, this was the Versailles Principality, Laura's territory, and she wasn't afraid of him causing a big stir.
Duke Ivan also did not let Laura down. After Oroja visited him, he sent someone to remind Laura, saying that Oroja seemed to have intentions against her. His visit to Duke Ivan was merely to test the waters. He had already made it clear to Oroja that if he dared to move against Laura, it would be equivalent to moving against him.
This was very serious. Although the Magedel family was powerful, the Versailles Family was not weak either. The Magedel family was merely a business family, while the Versailles Family had its own principality. Duke Ivan told Oroja that if they dared to move against Laura, it would be equivalent to moving against him. This was not something a duke could easily say, and once said, it couldn't be taken back. A duke had to maintain his own dignity; if he kept changing his orders, how could he govern a principality?
Laura also didn't expect Duke Ivan to give her such face. With Duke Ivan's words, she believed that even if Carlo and the others wanted to act against her, they would have to think twice.
However, Laura did not believe Oroja would give up so easily. After being thwarted by Duke Ivan, they would likely think of another way, and there was probably only one way to go about it: to approach Zhao Hai.
Thinking of this, Laura couldn't sit still any longer. She quickly had a carriage prepared, while also sending Kun Zheng to the Duke's Manor to express her gratitude. At this moment, it was inconvenient for her to go to the Duke's Manor in person, so she could only send someone to thank Duke Ivan first. After making arrangements, Laura set off with Ni'er directly toward Rubble Mountain.