Chapter 182: The Big Piece of Meat

Chapter 182

The Big Piece of Meat

“Yawn...You can play here for now if you want. I have to wake up early tomorrow, so I’m going to take a nap.” Ellie abruptly closed her book while the children were sneaking around to look at the flowers. After just 4 hours, they had started getting up from the table to examine the nearby flowers. Ellie noticed but didn’t say anything, letting the children enjoy themselves.

As the evening approached, the two children still hadn’t returned to their seats. Ellie had no choice but to stretch and excuse herself. Her words startled the two children, who looked embarrassed. Ellie pretended not to notice and instructed Selin to take care of them. She also mentioned that the children could come here to read from now on, as long as they didn’t disturb her usual spot. After all, the flower garden was quite large, with enough tables and seating for 10 people each day.

She didn’t know what expressions the two children had, but the invitation was extended, and permission granted. The rest was up to them.

Unbeknownst to Ellie, her small gesture greatly improved the children’s perception of her. In the future, they would become her crucial allies in handling visiting guests. Whenever Ellie encountered annoying people, it was these two sisters who stepped in to help drive them away...

After a period of calm, the important and headache-inducing day arrived. Ellie was awakened early by Second Young Lord Aman of the Setter family, who had returned looking healthier. However, his darker skin showed he had undergone harsh training.

“I heard you’ve been enjoying your time at the mansion, huh? While I’ve been training hard, my brother gifted you a beautiful flower garden.” Aman almost burst through the door. Luckily, Ellie was already sitting up groggily because Selin had warned her that Second Young Lord Aman was on his way to her room.

Ellie narrowed her eyes in slight annoyance. Being woken up early after only 3 hours of sleep the previous night, it was no wonder that Aman’s arrival irritated Ellie somewhat.

The event was supposed to start in 2 hours. Selin had planned to wake her an hour early to get ready. Who would have thought that the second young lord of the family would come rushing to her room so early?

“What brings you to my room so early, Second Young Lord?”

“Hmm? Do I need a reason to come to your room? Not seeing me for a few days and you’re already acting distant.” Aman crossed his arms and looking at Ellie with her messy hair from just waking up, feeling both amused and annoyed.

In truth, he wanted to mess up her already tousled hair even more. Well...who told his brother to show too much interest in this girl!? When he returned tired, he didn’t notice much, but once he had rested, he saw more around the mansion. And what caught his eye the most was the large, vibrantly colorful garden!

He had lived in this mansion since birth and had never seen such a breathtakingly beautiful place. He couldn’t believe his brother had such tastes. After asking around, he found out his brother had created it for his “future wife” to relax in. The more he learned about it, the more he wanted to destroy it out of jealousy.

Look at that, vast resources from the tower were placed in the garden to enhance Ellie’s enjoyment! Wasn’t that a waste?

“If you have something to say, just say it. I can still get another half hour of sleep.”

“Huh? Who would let you rest so comfortably? Get up already. You’re going to be the star of today’s event.” Aman saw Ellie’s messy head about to burrow into the bed again. He almost didn’t catch her in time.

Who would have thought this girl would be such a sleepyhead? Usually, she seemed so easygoing and quick to understand things.

“Whoever created this event can deal with it. I was minding my own business.” Ellie brushed his hand away and not letting Aman use this opportunity to mess with her hair. His brows furrowed as he leaned in closer after being swatted away.

"Do you really want me to handle this alone?" Aman’s devilish grin made Ellie inadvertently pout. She knew immediately what her fate would be if she left this madman to handle things on his own. In the end, Ellie had no choice but to bid farewell to her bed and sit down to have a proper conversation with the second young lord of the house.

"My lady, shall we start with your makeup and hair?" Selin smiled as she saw Ellie get out of bed just because Aman had woken her up.

Initially, Selin hadn’t thought that this little young lady would like to sleep in. In the beginning, Selin used to wake her at the same time as the other young ladies, to prepare for the new day. She soon realized that Ellie didn’t enjoy getting up early to get dressed. Eventually, Ellie requested to reduce her preparation time by 1 hour, from the usual 2 hours down to just 1.

Even for today’s important event, Selin had asked if Ellie wanted the usual 2 hours to get ready. With more time, the makeup artists and hairdressers could be more meticulous, not just leaving her hair down or in a simple braid like usual. However, the little young lady insisted on the same amount of time, opting for a simple hairstyle, adding accessories if needed.

Selin could only comply. After all, the eldest young lord had chosen them to make Ellie as happy as possible. Whatever made the young lady happy had to be done.

"Do as you like," Ellie, tired of sitting still for the servants to do her makeup and hair, responded indifferently. Aman couldn’t help but shake his head at her lackadaisical attitude.

"You should take better care of yourself. It’s already late in the morning, and you haven’t even started getting dressed. This is too strange."

"Ah...never mind about getting dressed, Second Young Lord. What is it that you want to discuss with me?"

"Sigh, fine. I’m used to seeing you in a more ordinary state anyway. If you’re not embarrassed in front of the guests, that’s your business. The reason I came to see you is to discuss the Max family," Aman said. Ellie couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows and then nodded, letting him continue.

"Aren’t you afraid I might reveal the Sapphire Dragon Scale and claim you were the one who shared the cultivation method?" Aman chuckled softly, seeing Ellie’s unflinching demeanor and feeling the urge to tease her.

"I know you’re not foolish. If you reveal that I provided the cultivation method, it would impact the Setter family as well. And you wouldn’t want the Setter family to become rebels of the kingdom."

"Oh, you always keep up with me," Aman chuckled, clearly pleased.

While the family’s butler, who had been with him since birth, and even his own father, who had taught him personally, were wary of his next moves, it was surprising that neither his older brother nor Ellie doubted his actions.

Indeed! He had consulted with his older brother about this. His brother was the host of the event after all, but he hadn’t wanted to hear the details and had immediately given his approval. And when he came to discuss it with this small girl, she hinted that she already knew his plans. It seemed both of them trusted him too much!

If this continued, it wouldn’t be fun for him. Suddenly having two people who believed he was acting for the benefit of the Setter family, instead of viewing him as the family’s troublemaker, wasn’t entertaining...

"Even if you think I wouldn’t do such a thing, aren’t you curious about the fun to come? Besides...you’ll have to join me in this act. If you don’t know my plan, how can you keep up with me?" Aman winked at her, his mischievous demeanor causing the head maid to flinch.

Previously, everyone called Second Young Lord Aman the Demon of the Setter family for a reason. The cunning yet fearsome second young lord wasn’t someone to be trifled with. Who could have imagined that fearsome young lord would be like the young lord before them!?

Even though it was said that Ellie’s presence brought more color to the Setter family, no one expected the second young lord to change his behavior like this!

Selin stepped back two paces in shock. This sudden movement alerted Aman to the presence of others. His eyebrows furrowed in displeasure, and this display of irritation caused Selin and the maids attempting to style Ellie’s hair to tremble in fear.

"You all can leave for now. Come back to do my hair when it’s closer to time," Ellie waved her hand, not wanting the young lord in front of her to use the maids as tools to tease her.

Aman mimicked Ellie’s signature pout, confirming her suspicions. Well...this troublemaking young lord, unable to unsettle her about the auction, was planning to harass her maids to annoy her. It wasn’t hard to figure out his intentions!

Selin and the other maids excused themselves, leaving only Aman and Ellie in the room. Once the young man realized it was just the two of them, he leaned in slightly.

"You know what I’m going to do because of your powers, right?"

"Yes."

"Good, that makes things easier. You’ll need to play along. It’s not hard to investigate whether the Max family has issues with us. The incident happened in Gaia Kingdom, and it also involved the spoiled Lady Kara. Maybe the rumors that the Max family had angered the Setter family was already spreading without us having to do anything."

"Lying while mixing in some truth makes the story more believable. Using that incident, I’ll force the Max family to grant the Setter family exclusive rights to buy the potion."

"This excuse will boost the Setter family’s reputation and power. The kingdom will likely appreciate us more for making the Max family, who discovered the cultivation method for the Sapphire Dragon Scale herb by accident, submit to us."

"If we don’t take this approach and reveal the Sapphire Dragon Scale herb, partnering with the Max family of Gaia Kingdom would look like rebellion. By taking this opportunity, with my brother holding many valuable resources, we can announce that the Max family will mainly do business with us, solving future problems and dealing with our enemies."

"As long as the Setter family doesn’t help other kingdoms grow stronger, the people in the palace won’t care. Right now, they want to align with my brother. Anything that can be overlooked will be done so."

Aman spoke with confidence. His plan wasn’t overly complicated. He simply wanted to reveal that the Setter family and the Max family would be collaborating in the future on producing potions from the Sapphire Dragon Scale herb. Leveraging the prestige of Young Lord Owen would make it easy to gain acceptance from those in power. The ones who would be troubled by this wouldn’t be anyone else but the Fernal family. Therefore, most people would likely accept this arrangement.

The only potential problem would be the Gaia Kingdom, which might oppose the Max family’s decision. That’s why Aman would use the excuse that Lady Kara had tried to harm Ellie, the future lady of the Setter family, and that they had displeased Eldest Young Lord Owen.

Even if the Gaia Kingdom was dissatisfied, they wouldn’t dare oppose Young Lord Owen at this time. At most, they might negotiate for some minor benefits.

In Ellie’s opinion, the plan wasn’t bad, but...

"The Setter family has been quite busy lately. Are you sure you can manage the production of the potion? This isn’t a small matter. The demand for the potion is well-known to be high," Ellie frowned slightly as she spoke. Even if they left the Max family in charge of concocting the potion, could they handle it as importers?

Aman nodded. He had considered this as well. He knew that throwing out this large piece of meat would attract attention.

"I’ve thought about it. I just haven’t decided who to choose yet."

"Hmm?"

"I mean, I don’t know which dog will jump in to take this meat and handle it for us," Aman laughed wickedly. Ellie looked at his expression and shook her head. It seemed that she didn’t need to get involved in his plans. After all, he was one of the most cunning heroes...