Chapter 51: The Merchant’s Betrayal

The sun rose above the sky, spilling warm golden light across the bustling capital streets. Carts rattled over roads, vendors called out their morning prices, and children darted between market stalls, chasing each other with laughter. Old women haggled loudly over baskets of vegetables, while merchants shouted enthusiastically about their latest shipments.

A carriage rolled quietly into a narrower, far less crowded side street, pulling to stop away from the main crowd. Two figures stepped down, both pulling their hoods low over their heads to avoid drawing unwanted attention.

Neo glanced around curiously as they made their way deeper into the market, the noise and energy of the city buzzing pleasantly around them.

"Hey, Nora, you said you had some work here. What kind of work exactly are we talking about?"

Nora walked steadily beside him, reading the curiosity written plainly across his face before answering in her usual calm, even tone.

"Something related to business. You should have stayed in the carriage. You might have gotten bored."

Neo simply shrugged, unbothered. "Nope. If I stayed in the carriage, I would have guaranteed felt bored. So, I’m coming along."

His eyes flicked briefly toward her before he looked away again, walking steadily by her side.

He’d noticed it for years now, that whenever he asked about her business dealings, she would either dodge the question entirely or offer some vague, half-hearted answer. It wasn’t that he was trying to pry into things that weren’t his concern. He simply wanted to help, if she ever needed it. But she never seemed particularly welcoming of the offer, no matter how many times he brought it up.

They continued through the market until they reached a large, well-decorated mansion sitting just beyond the main square, clearly belonging to someone of considerable wealth. The moment they stepped through the front gates, several servants rushed forward, bowing deeply.

"Lady Nora, Young Lord Neo, please, this way. The master is already expecting you." one of them greeted nervously,

They were led into a richly furnished sitting room, where a heavyset man in fine robes rose quickly from his seat, bowing low, though his gaze lingered noticeably longer on Neo than it did on Nora.

"Young Lord Neo, what an honor it is to have you grace my humble home."

Neo simply nodded politely, though his expression remained largely uninterested, choosing instead to take a seat off to the side while Nora settled directly across from the merchant.

From the corner of the room, a young woman, clearly the merchant’s daughter, peeked in curiously, her cheeks flushing pink the moment her eyes landed on Neo. She lingered near the doorway, occasionally whispering something to a nearby servant, her gaze rarely straying far from him.

Nora’s sharp eyes caught the exchange instantly, though she kept her expression carefully neutral, her focus remaining fixed on the merchant seated across from her.

’Why is she looking at my Neo?’ The thought flickered through her mind briefly before she pushed it firmly aside, returning her full attention to the matter at hand.

"Let’s not waste time with pleasantries, Why have you stopped the shipment along the eastern trade route? And why has the return of the agreed goods been delayed for nearly three weeks now?" Nora said coldly, her tone leaving no room for casual conversation.

The merchant’s smile faltered slightly, though he quickly recovered, launching into a long, meandering explanation about supply shortages, unexpected weather delays, and complications with local suppliers.

Nora watched his lips carefully as he spoke, reading each word precisely despite her inability to hear his voice.

He continued talking in circles for several minutes, offering vague excuses layered over more vague excuses, clearly hoping to bury the actual truth beneath enough meaningless noise.

Nora’s expression remained unreadable throughout the entire explanation, though the moment he finished, she spoke again, her voice flat and unwavering.

"After a thorough investigation, I discovered you’ve been secretly selling our contracted goods to another company entirely, one offering a slightly higher price under the same terms."

The merchant froze mid-sentence, the color draining slightly from his face.

For a long moment, silence stretched between them.

Then, his expression shifted entirely, the polite, nervous smile melting away, replaced by something far more smug and defiant.

"Well, since you already know, I suppose there’s no point pretending otherwise. The other company offered better terms for the exact same goods. Business is business, Lady Nora. Our previous arrangement is void the moment a better offer presents itself. I see no reason to continue listening to demands from a company that can no longer compete fairly." he said, leaning back comfortably in his chair,

Nora rose slowly from her seat, her expression remaining perfectly calm despite the blatant insult.

"It seems you’ve forgotten something rather important, You are still under a ten-year contract with my parents. Since they passed seven years ago, that contract period is still valid, and has four months remaining before it officially expires. Which means what you’ve just done isn’t simply switching business partners. It’s a direct violation of a legally binding agreement, one that no one will question me for responding to accordingly."

The merchant’s smug expression cracked instantly, his eyes widening in sudden alarm.

"Wait, what exactly do you mean by that?"

Before he could say another word, crimson light began swirling rapidly around Nora’s outstretched hand, spreading outward in delicate, blooming petals that spilled across the room like living flames. The petals spread faster and faster, cracks splintering violently through the walls, the ceiling, the very foundation of the mansion itself.

*BOOOOOM!* *SHATTER!*

Within less than a minute, the entire structure collapsed into ruin, crimson petals tearing through stone and wood alike, leaving nothing behind but scattered rubble and dust.

Neo stared at the destruction in stunned silence, watching Nora calmly step through the wreckage without so much as a flicker of hesitation, her expression as composed as ever despite having just leveled an entire mansion within seconds.

She continued forward without pause, making her way toward the merchant’s storage warehouse situated further along the property. Crimson petals danced gracefully around her frame as she walked, sweeping methodically through crate after crate of stored goods, obliterating everything in her path with ruthless, calculated precision.

Neo followed a short distance behind, watching in silent disbelief as she systematically destroyed every remaining asset the merchant possessed, warehouses, storage crates, even the carriages parked along the side of the property, reduced to nothing but scattered ash and broken timber within minutes.

’I’ve seen her use Crimson Petal before, but never like this. Never this... controlled. This calm.’

Once the destruction was finally complete, Nora turned and walked steadily back toward him, her expression returning to its usual calm neutrality, as though she’d simply finished a rather mundane errand rather than leveling an entire estate.

"Let’s go."

They walked a few steps together before Nora suddenly paused, glancing briefly over her shoulder.

"Wait here for a moment," she turn around and walking back without waiting for his response.

Neo watched, confused, as she approached the merchant’s daughter, who stood frozen near the edge of the ruined property, her earlier flirtatious smile long since replaced by pure terror.

Nora leaned in close, speaking something quietly, too low for Neo to catch even a single word from where he stood.

"Next time you dare look at my Neo like that, I’ll pluck those eyes from your head and feed them to my pet myself."

The girl’s face went pale as snow, her entire body trembling visibly. A thin trail of blood slowly trickled from the corner of her eye as she stood there, frozen in place, staring after Nora’s retreating figure with wide, horrified eyes.

Nora walked calmly back toward Neo, offering no explanation at all, her expression exactly as composed as it had been moments before.

"Let’s go," she repeated simply, continuing forward as though nothing unusual had happened at all.

Neo glanced back once toward the trembling girl, then toward the smoking ruins of what had once been an entire merchant estate, before finally following after Nora in stunned, uncertain silence.