Volume 1 Chapter 103

Volume 1 + Chapter 103: Compensation Is Required

Eve’s reaction clearly dumbfounded the old man opposite him as well, this was the first time he had ever encountered such a situation.

Not only was she not the least bit intimidated by his threats, she even actively poured fuel on the fire and continued to provoke. In all his long life, he had never met someone like this.

The woman before him seemed not only to possess unusual strength, but her confidence was also alarmingly extreme.

It felt as if the three great pillars of the Imperial Royal Family were her backing.

That kind of confidence, as if stemming from her very bones…

However, the old man didn’t believe any of it. He had followed General Reynolds, a founding hero of the empire, since childhood and had seen life and death aplenty.

Later, when the empire was at peace and there were no more wars to fight, he served as the current master of the family, working for the entire Reynolds family to develop it into a leading force within the empire. In a few more years, it wouldn’t be impossible to glimpse the threshold of the empire’s number one great family, the Lorraine family.

What great storms had he not weathered? Naturally, he didn’t take Eve—a woman showing no trace of magical aura—seriously.

Moreover, she had injured his young master not once, but twice. The last blow from that staff was no light matter, the staff itself had even broken in two.

If he didn’t vent this anger, he feared it would become a lifelong knot he could never forget, even unto death.

Thinking this, the old man could bear it no longer and prepared to act.

He narrowed his eyes slightly and began to chant some strange incantation in a low voice. The sound was faint, but Eve’s sharp senses detected it nonetheless.

Eve’s expression darkened. Immediately after, the old man, who had finished his chant full of confidence, changed color.

His entire demeanor revealed a trace of panic…

As if refusing to believe it was real, he exerted his power secretly, but nothing happened.

Eve, displaying rare patience, simply watched him with amused interest, observing him chant the incantation over and over with no effect each time. Eve found it rather laughable.

“What are you laughing at? If I can’t deal with you, someone else certainly will.”

Hearing the old man’s words, the smile on Eve’s face became even more pronounced.

So… they were moving on to the step of calling for backup? This was Eve’s first time encountering such a situation, she thought the whole process would take at least a while longer.

She hadn’t expected it to be this quick.

As the saying goes, in terms of strength, the opponent stood no chance, in terms of reason, the opponent stood even less chance.

“Calling for backup, huh? Alright, go ahead. Let’s see who you can call out.”

Eve nodded, then waved her hand, gesturing for the old man to go off to the side and make his call.

Simultaneously, she turned around to gently check if Umi was injured. Fortunately, the child had just taken a fall and was a bit frightened.

Of course, Eve also had reason to suspect that, given Umi’s personality, most of that fright probably came from her own flying kick.

“How are you? Anywhere else feeling uncomfortable?”

“N-no, I’m fine. Thank you, Miss Eve. But… I’ve caused you such a big trouble. Is this really alright?”

Umi looked at Eve cautiously, her voice soft. It trembled slightly, for the other party was from the Reynolds family—the family of a founding hero, not something a small merchant family like Umi’s could compare to.

“It’s no trouble. Can you tell me what happened?”

“Mhm…”

Umi’s voice quivered.

“That guy you injured seemed drunk. He was causing a scene all the way here, bringing a whole crowd to make trouble on the commercial street. He was hitting and smashing shops around, and he broke our shop’s door too.”

“He was shouting for my mom to go drink with him, saying that… my mom was suited for that line of work, and it was a waste of her talent not to do it.”

“I couldn’t stand it and argued with him. Then he gathered a bunch of people, saying they were going to smash our shop.”

“He even said he could afford to pay for a hundred shops like this being wrecked, and that even if a couple of lives were lost, no one would be able to touch him.”

Umi recounted the events with a grievance-laden tone. Eve listened calmly, hearing the slight sob in her grievance voice. Knowing Umi as she did, this was most likely exactly how things had unfolded.

Umi was a good kid, not scheming in the least.

This incident undoubtedly proved that Eve’s flying kick had hit the right person.

In fact, that staff blow seemed a bit light in retrospect. If she had known, she wouldn’t have held back. A good, solid whack would have been much better.

“It’s alright, don’t be afraid. I’ve dealt with several spoiled young masters like this before.”

Eve patted Umi’s shoulder to reassure her. At least with her here, the mother and daughter were safe.

“Hey, have you called your backup? Could you also do me a favor and deliver a letter for me?”

With a slight thought from Eve, a small, exquisite envelope appeared in her pocket, already sealed with sealing wax.

Seeing that gilded envelope, the old man, who had been instructing his subordinates, instantly widened his eyes, staring at Eve with an incredulous gaze.

“You… Are you serious? In all my years, I’ve never seen a woman as strange as you.”

The old man simply found Eve before him incomprehensible.

“It’s not far. Just deliver it to your Reynolds family. Give it to anyone, naturally, someone will handle the matter.”

Hearing Eve’s words, the old man was momentarily confused. As if possessed, he actually reached out and took the envelope Eve offered.

Mainly, he was curious whether Eve’s big talk could actually come true.

Delivering this envelope to the Reynolds family? Wasn’t that like sending a lamb into the tiger’s den? In the entire Reynolds family, was there anyone who wouldn’t side with the young master?

“Hmph, fine. Then don’t say we’re bullying you with our influence. Wait right here.”

Eve didn’t respond. Instead, she turned to discuss the matter of compensation with Umi’s mother.

Umi’s mother also wore a worried expression. She fidgeted nervously, clutching the hem of her clothes, her entire demeanor seeming restless and uneasy.

“Miss Eve, about this matter… Maybe we should just apologize and let it go. If that’s really not possible, I… I’ll just…”

Umi’s mother couldn’t finish her sentence. She truly hadn’t expected things to escalate to this point.

It was true that Miss Eve was very capable in a fight, but once things got out of hand, it probably wouldn’t be something brute force alone could resolve.

No matter how strong Miss Eve was, could she be stronger than His Majesty the Emperor, whose magical aura was powerful enough to envelop the entire empire?

The other party was the grandson of a founding hero. The Imperial Royal Family would surely side with him.

“Don’t say such things. It’s meaningless. Better to think about renovating the shop. I think this shop’s scale could be expanded several times over. You could even add a second floor.”

“Huh?”

Umi’s mother was baffled. What did that mean?

“The other side has to compensate us. This windfall shouldn’t be passed up.”

“Huh? They… they have to compensate us?”

Just as Umi’s mother was about to inquire further, the urgent sound of carriage wheels echoed from the other end of the commercial street.