Chapter 285: Festival Infiltration Gets Complicated

Esmeralda noticed Damian’s suddenly delighted expression almost immediately.

She placed her teacup down and studied him with mild amusement. "Oh?"

Her lips curved faintly. "Why do you look so pleased, Sir Damian?"

Damian leaned back, trying and completely failing to hide it.

Esmeralda’s eyes sharpened with curiosity. "Don’t tell me... you want to attend the festival too?"

Damian immediately nodded. "Yeah."

Cynthia glanced toward him.

Damian continued casually, "There’s something I need to do there."

Esmeralda raised an eyebrow. "Something?"

Damian smiled innocently. "Nothing dangerous."

Cynthia instantly spoke. "That usually means something dangerous."

Damian’s mouth twitched. "Can you please stop destroying my credibility?"

Cynthia calmly lifted her teacup. "No."

Esmeralda laughed softly. "Interesting."

She leaned back slightly and considered the matter. "Well... getting you inside shouldn’t be particularly difficult."

Damian’s eyes immediately brightened. "Seriously?"

Esmeralda nodded. "As a representative of the Verdanthe Clan, I naturally have my own invitation."

Her fingers lightly tapped against her cup. "And someone of my position is permitted to bring a companion."

Damian’s grin widened. "Perfect."

Esmeralda raised one finger. "However..."

Damian’s expression immediately stiffened. "Why does everyone always have a fucking ’however’?"

Esmeralda ignored his complaint. "I’m only allowed to bring one person."

The room became noticeably quieter.

Damian blinked. "One?"

Esmeralda nodded calmly. "One."

Cynthia slowly lowered her teacup. Her expression immediately became less friendly.

Esmeralda naturally noticed. She turned toward Cynthia with an elegant smile. "My, my."

Cynthia stared back.

Esmeralda continued, "It seems your companion doesn’t particularly like that arrangement."

Cynthia frowned. "Obviously."

Damian rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Here we fucking go again."

Cynthia looked toward him. "Master Damian, you said all five of us were going."

Damian sighed and nodded. "I know."

Cynthia continued, "And now you’re considering going in there alone with her?"

Esmeralda lifted an eyebrow.

Damian immediately raised both hands. "Hold on. Nobody said anything about abandoning the rest of you."

Cynthia remained unconvinced.

Damian leaned forward. "Actually, this might work even better."

Esmeralda’s interest returned. "Oh?"

Damian tapped the table thoughtfully. "If I enter openly as your companion, everyone will naturally pay attention to me."

His grin slowly returned. "Meanwhile, Cynthia, Linsey, Helena, and Evelyn can enter through other methods."

Cynthia’s expression softened slightly, though only slightly.

Damian continued, "We already planned to gather information and move separately anyway."

He looked toward Esmeralda. "Having one person inside the VIP area while the others move around outside sounds pretty damn useful."

Esmeralda considered his words before nodding. "That is true."

Cynthia stared at Damian for several seconds. Finally, she sighed. "Fine."

Damian immediately relaxed.

Cynthia pointed one finger toward him. "But if something happens, contact us immediately."

Damian nodded. "Of course."

Her gaze shifted toward Esmeralda. "And don’t let this snake talk you into anything stupid."

Esmeralda covered her lips and laughed. "How protective."

Damian slumped back in his seat.

"Why do I feel like attending one fucking festival just became more dangerous than fighting Nolan?"

---

Damian leaned back in his seat after Cynthia finally agreed.

While Esmeralda and Cynthia continued quietly watching each other, another thought suddenly entered his mind.

"Wait..."

His gaze shifted toward Esmeralda.

It had been nearly half a year since he last checked her status.

Considering how much had changed in his own life during that time, there was no reason Esmeralda would have remained exactly the same either.

Damian focused on her.

A familiar translucent screen appeared before his eyes.

---

[Name: Esmeralda Verdanthe]

[Race: Human]

[Cultivation Realm: First Stage Golden Core Realm]

[Qi: Verdant Flame Qi]

[Spiritual Root: Royal Grade Verdant Flame Spiritual Root]

[Physique: Mortal Physique]

[Bloodline: Human]

[Comprehension: Peerless]

[Talent: Royal Grade Alchemist Talent]

[Talent: Royal Grade Botanist Talent]

[Multiplier: 170x]

[Favorability: 70/100]

---

Damian froze as he looked at her stats again, checking to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him.

"Holy shit."

The Esmeralda he remembered had never possessed such luxurious stats. In fact, she had been many times weaker than this.

"It seems her fate has changed drastically in just half a year because she met me... That’s really interesting."

Damian rubbed his chin as he slowly looked Esmeralda over.

"Now for the important question... what the hell should I gift her?"

While Damian silently began calculating what kind of treasure could produce the most ridiculous return, Esmeralda had turned her attention toward Cynthia.

She lightly lifted her cup. "By the way, Cynthia..."

Cynthia glanced toward her.

Esmeralda’s elegant expression became curious. "I’ve been wondering something."

Cynthia raised her eyebrow. "Oh?"

Esmeralda studied her carefully. "You seem to know quite a lot."

Her fingers traced the rim of her cup. "You recognized the Verdanthe Clan immediately, understood the quality of my tea, and seem remarkably familiar with the affairs of powerful cultivation families."

Cynthia remained calm.

Esmeralda’s smile became slightly more calculating. "So I can’t help wondering..."

She leaned forward slightly. "Who exactly are you?"

Damian’s attention immediately shifted away from Esmeralda’s status screen.

Now that she mentioned it... He slowly turned toward Cynthia.

"Actually... she’s right."

During the past few days, Cynthia had recognized powerful families, understood regional politics, identified Noble Grade tea almost instantly, and seemed far too familiar with major factions for someone with an ordinary background.

Damian rubbed his chin.

In Cynthia’s Destiny Story, he clearly remembered her being described as nothing more than the daughter of a riverside merchant.

A merchant’s daughter could certainly be educated.

However...

"Knowing this much is a little fucking suspicious."

His eyes became noticeably more interested.

Cynthia immediately noticed both of them staring at her. She calmly lifted her teacup and took another sip.

Esmeralda waited patiently and asked once again. "Who exactly are you?"

Cynthia lowered the cup. "I can tell you."

Damian immediately straightened.

Esmeralda’s eyes brightened slightly.

Cynthia glanced down at the tea in her hand before casually adding, "However..."

Damian’s face twitched.

"Oh, for fuck’s sake. Not another ’however.’"

Cynthia gently rotated the cup between her fingers. "It seems this tea isn’t quite good enough for a story like mine."

Silence.

Damian stared at her.

Esmeralda blinked once before amusement slowly appeared across her refined features. "Oh?"

Cynthia met her gaze calmly. "If you want me to tell you something personal, shouldn’t you at least serve something better?"

Damian looked between the two women.

"Since when did Cynthia become this fucking shameless?"

Rather than becoming offended, Esmeralda seemed genuinely entertained. "Hehe... very well."

She raised both hands and lightly clapped twice.

CLAP! CLAP!

Almost immediately, footsteps sounded outside the room.

A female attendant entered and bowed. "Manager?"

Esmeralda maintained her elegant smile. "Bring out the good tea."

The attendant hesitated. "The... good tea?"

Esmeralda nodded. "The one from my personal collection."

The attendant’s expression changed slightly before she bowed again. "Understood."

Once the door closed, Damian slowly turned toward Cynthia. "You’ve been hiding this side of yourself from me, haven’t you?"

Cynthia smiled gently. "Master Damian, everyone has a few secrets."

Damian’s eyebrow twitched.

Esmeralda quietly laughed. "Oh, I think I’m going to enjoy hearing this."

Cynthia calmly placed her empty cup down. "We’ll see if your tea is worthy of it first."

Esmeralda’s eyes gleamed. "My, my..."

Damian leaned back and sighed.

"Great. Now there are two calculating women in the room."