Chapter 92: Lady Melian
"As soon as I saw all the knights crowding around, I knew you had arrived."
Hearing that familiar voice, Armand turned and saw Carle stepping out from the group of excited knights.
When they noticed the Vice Captain had arrived, the knights quickly greeted him and then scattered.
After all, no one wanted to hang around their leaders and eavesdrop on their conversations, that would be seen as rude, unless they were very close.
Unlike the regular knights, who could prepare their own formal wear, both the Captain and Vice Captain had to wear official uniforms. They represented the image of the entire Knights' Order, so at formal events like this ball, they wore custom outfits.
Armand wore white, and Carle wore black, both decorated with the royal gold accents.
Of course, the royal family wasn’t stingy, they didn’t give them just one outfit. Every so often, new formal clothes were sent to their homes, even if they weren’t needed right away.
“Ah, Carle, I didn’t expect you to arrive so early.”
Carle was probably the person Armand was closest to at this ballroom. Whenever Armand came to a ball alone, he would always find Carle to chat with and pass the time. Carle didn’t mind either, he was happy to keep Armand company for a while.
His wife usually came with him but would quickly go off on her own to talk to noble ladies, learn their new interests, or promote some new product she had invested in. She usually only came back when it was time to dance or leave the ball, so Carle was often left by himself.
Still, even if he was always alone eating sweets in the corner, he wouldn’t sneak out of the party like Armand did. After all, he was a married man.
“My wife always wants to get first-hand information, so we came early. You know how she is, she can’t sit still at big events. She said she wanted to use this chance to learn what ordinary people with normal incomes are interested in. She’s planning to expand the market.”
As Carle spoke, he looked at Evelia standing close beside Armand. Seeing how tightly she held onto Armand’s arm, he raised an eyebrow at Armand and said with a teasing smile, “You two seem pretty close.”
“Stop teasing me. There’s nothing like that.” Armand almost instinctively denied it.
But his response only made Evelia hold his arm even tighter.
“Hm…” Carle didn’t say anything more. He just gave a little hum and looked at them with a face that said, ‘Whatever you say.’
Then he glanced at Evelia, whose expression was blank but whose eyes gave off a strong, pressuring vibe.
“Carle, is this the Miss Evelia you mentioned before?”
Just as the three of them fell into a slightly awkward silence, a warm, gentle woman’s voice broke through. They turned toward the voice and saw a woman with long chestnut-brown hair walking over.
“You’re done already?” Carle asked as he looked at his wife who had just arrived.
“Not yet,” she replied, “but I was more curious about what kind of girl Mr. Armand would bring.”
As she spoke, she looked Evelia up and down with a quick glance, then nodded with satisfaction.
“Mr. Armand, you have good taste.”
Now, if anyone else had said “good taste,” Armand might’ve felt happy about the compliment. But the words came from Lady Melian Plato Morr, Carle’s wife.
This business-minded woman, who almost seemed possessed by her obsession with making money, always judged people by how profitable they were. Whenever she met someone, the first thing she thought about was how much value that person might have.
She wasn’t a bad person. Actually, she was quite gentle in nature. But her money-focused way of thinking always gave Armand a headache whenever he had to deal with her.
So when she said, “You have good taste,” Armand immediately understood.
She had probably just seen the business value in Evelia.
"Hello, beautiful young lady. I’m Carle’s wife. No need to be so formal, you can just call me Melian. It’s a pleasure to meet you."
Unlike the others, who stayed quiet, Melian was full of warmth and energy. She reached out her hand to Evelia with a polite social smile, the kind you’d often see in high-society gatherings. She looked calm and elegant.
“Hello, Lady Melian—” Before Evelia could finish her greeting, she suddenly felt something cold on her wrist.
"This is a little gift from me, just for our first meeting."
As Evelia shook her hand, Melian subtly slipped a delicate golden bracelet onto Evelia's wrist. It had a simple pendant, a capital letter "M."
“Miss Evelia, with this bracelet, you’ll get a 20% discount and VIP service at any of the stores I’ve invested in. So far, I’ve only given out a few of these, less than twenty. It’s just a small token of my goodwill, I hope you like it.”
“Ah… yes, thank you…”
Evelia didn’t refuse the gift. After saying thank you, she pulled her hand back and looked at the shiny golden bracelet around her wrist. She thought about it for a moment.
She wasn’t one of those wealthy noblewomen who liked to buy expensive things. The books and ketchup she usually bought were well within her budget. She didn’t need a discount card.
And for anything really expensive, she could always get it reimbursed by the Second Prince. To the royal family, a small discount like this didn’t mean much.
So honestly, while the bracelet might be important to other women in the social circle, for Evelia, it was mostly just… pretty. Nothing more.
And besides, as an assassin, she rarely wore accessories. Having no extra things on her body was a basic rule of her profession.
But since someone had kindly given it to her, and no one had ordered her to refuse, she decided to accept it.
“Don’t be so tense, Mr. Armand. It’s just a small gift. I’m not trying to steal this young lady away from you.”
Unlike Evelia, who had calmly accepted the bracelet, Armand frowned when he saw it.
He knew Melian had invested in all kinds of businesses. Most of the big-name brands on the market had her money behind them. This bracelet might look simple, but it was basically like a VIP badge in the business world.
Whether you were a woman who loved to shop or a businessman looking for deals, people valued it highly.
Giving something this valuable to Evelia made Armand uncomfortable. As the saying goes, “It’s hard to refuse kindness once you've accepted someone's gift or favor.” He felt pressured.
“I’m just worried you might expect something from her. Eve doesn’t really understand anything about business, please don’t make things difficult for her.”
“Oh? ‘Eve’? You’re calling her quite affectionately already. Do you want me to introduce you to the wedding services my company offers? We have great packages, I promise you’ll be satisfied.”
“You’re getting way ahead of things. Please stop teasing me.”
“Come on, Mr. Armand. You two look like a perfect match. While you’re still young, why not go ahead and have kids too? We even offer parenting services.”
“Haah…”
Armand could only let out a helpless sigh.
Meanwhile, Evelia fell into deep thought beside him.
Getting married and having children… that seemed like the natural next step.
The Second Prince had told her to stay close to Armand and get information from him. The most stable method would definitely be becoming his lover, his wife…
But after that…
Would she really have to have children too?