"Lady Rose!"

Li Wei looked up. The newcomer was Evelyn.

The Law Enforcement Officer saw Evelyn and hastily dismounted his horse.

"Edson greets you, Lady Rose."

Edson, who had been so aggressive with everyone else, immediately became meek and subservient upon seeing Evelyn.

Evelyn glanced at Edson before walking over to Rota.

She casually took out a sheet of paper and handed it to him, saying, "Take this. From now on, Pumpkin Manor will be registered under my name, but it will still belong to the Set Clan."

"Starting this year, Pumpkin Manor is to gradually resume production."

Rota accepted the contract, his heart heavy.

The few people behind him, however, looked pleasantly surprised.

To be able to latch onto Lady Rose’s coattails was undoubtedly a fantastic turn of events for the nearly-extinct Set Clan.

The title of Lady Rose had been bestowed by the former City Lord of Flying Flower City.

Her status within Flying Flower City was sublime.

Even the current City Lord of Flying Flower City, Kira, had to find ways to win her over.

Lady Rose represented the faction of the old City Lord.

Her influence was not insignificant.

Edson’s expression changed when he heard Evelyn’s words.

Pumpkin Manor was territory that City Lord Kira wanted. Even if Lady Rose herself intervened, he couldn’t just hand it over.

Edson said hurriedly, "Lady Rose, the Set Clan has already violated the pact of nobles. Pumpkin Manor now belongs to the City Lord."

Without even glancing at him, Evelyn said coolly, "If he wants Pumpkin Manor, tell Kira to come see me himself."

Edson’s face fell. Evelyn had addressed the City Lord by his name, which was highly disrespectful.

But he didn’t dare say anything more.

After all, Lady Rose’s power was plain to see.

He could only cup his hands and say, "In that case, I will take my leave."

"Let’s go!"

Edson mounted his horse and left, his expression sour.

Rota looked up at Evelyn and said softly, "Thank you."

Evelyn glanced at him, then at Li Wei, and then toward the manor. "Aren’t you going to invite us in for a bit?" she asked.

"Us?" Rota was a little confused.

Evelyn pointed a finger at Li Wei.

"Him and me."

Only then did the people behind Rota notice Li Wei.

Leon recognized Li Wei and exclaimed in surprise, "You... you’re that genius Mage!"

Lainer quickly said, "Please, come in."

The two were brothers; Lainer was the elder, and Leon was the younger.

Their father was Rota’s cousin.

Inside the manor, Lainer’s sister, Lena, served hot tea to the two distinguished guests.

The Set Clan had fallen so low that the manor didn’t even have a single decent servant.

Lena had to entertain the guests herself.

Lainer stood to one side, watching Evelyn and Li Wei with some unease.

He said, somewhat embarrassed, "My apologies. Our household is poor, and our hospitality is lacking. Please bear with us."

Evelyn took a sip of the hot tea and said, "The craft is not bad."

Lena’s cheeks flushed slightly, a faint sense of happiness rising in her heart.

’To think I’d one day be praised by Lady Rose!’

Lady Rose was the idol and ideal of countless young women in Flying Flower City.

Flying Flower City had four of the most esteemed individuals.

All of them had been awarded the Crystal Flower Badge by the City Lord.

Lady Rose was one of them.

To hold a Crystal Flower was to be one of the most revered people in Flying Flower City, enjoying the city’s most distinguished treatment.

Their status was sublime, above all but one, second only to the City Lord.

Li Wei also took a sip of the hot tea and nodded. It really was quite good.

The mellow fragrance of the tea was just right.

Any more would have been overwhelming; any less, and it would have been bland.

Rota looked at Li Wei, then back at Evelyn. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Finally, he lowered his gaze to the tea table before him and began to speak of the past.

"Eighteen years ago, I was just a Mage Apprentice at the Mage Academy, with a chance to become the youngest Apprentice Mage in Flying Flower City."

"An accident forced me to leave Flying Flower City, and I haven’t been back in eighteen years."

Through Rota’s account, Li Wei gradually came to understand his past.

Eighteen years ago, the City Lord of Flying Flower City was not yet Kira.

Back then, the Set Clan had also been one of Flying Flower City’s high noble families.

The Set Clan had a very good relationship with the previous City Lord of Flying Flower City, and Rota’s parents were even members of the City Lord’s Personal Guard.

That year, a major incident occurred.

The City Lord of Flying Flower City was ambushed by powerful, mysterious enemies while traveling outside the city and was in great danger.

The site of the attack was less than ten kilometers from Flying Flower City.

The City Lord sent out a distress signal.

However, despite seeing the signal, not a single one of the noble families within Flying Flower City went to provide aid.

As it happened, the four holders of the Crystal Flower were not in the city at that time.

In an entire city, not a single person went to rescue or support the City Lord.

In the end, the City Lord’s Personal Guard was completely wiped out, Rota’s parents were killed in action, and the City Lord returned gravely wounded.

From that day on, the Set Clan had a complete falling out with the City Lord, planting the seeds for the family’s decline.

Rota had repeatedly pleaded with his family to lend a hand and send people to rescue the City Lord.

Even if they wouldn’t save the City Lord, they should have at least sent reinforcements for the sake of his parents.

But the Set Clan remained indifferent, abandoning Rota’s parents.

Rota became disheartened, and the mental blow caused his reputation as a genius to plummet.

In the end, it was Evelyn who pulled him back from the brink of despair.

After coming to his senses, Rota felt too ashamed to face Evelyn or the many teachers at the academy who had held such high hopes for him.

Completely disappointed with the Set Clan, he ran away from home, wandered through many places, and eventually settled in Maple City.

The key turning point in the Set Clan’s decline was Kira’s rise to power.

The Set Clan had backed the wrong horse; the person they supported failed to become the City Lord.

After Kira became City Lord, the Set Clan, having lost its backer, became a primary target.

More than a decade later, they had fallen to their current state.

Evelyn’s assessment was, "They deserved it!"

If she had been in the city back then, this tragedy might never have happened.

She suspected that the four of them had been deliberately lured away.

Some time after returning gravely injured, the City Lord disappeared without a trace.

Evelyn suspected the City Lord had met with foul play, secretly murdered by Kira.

As fellow Crystal Flower Badge holders, the four of them had confronted Kira together, demanding he tell them the truth.

Kira claimed to be innocent, insisting the City Lord’s disappearance had nothing to do with him.

Later, the four of them fought Kira.

Kira fought the four of them to a standstill.

After the battle, two of them left Flying Flower City in anger and their whereabouts became unknown.

Lady Rose and one other remained in Flying Flower City, tirelessly searching for any trace of the City Lord.

However, the other person hadn’t been seen in over a decade.

Even Evelyn only knew that he was still somewhere in Flying Flower City, though she never saw him.

The only member of the Hundred Flowers Clan still seen by the public was Lady Rose.

As Li Wei and Rota walked back to the inn, Li Wei remarked with a sigh, "This is all because of greed."

"If the Set Clan hadn’t betrayed the City Lord, they wouldn’t have fallen to this state."

Rota shook his head. "You don’t understand. The secret held by the City Lord of Flying Flower City back then was so important that it drove many families to want her dead. It was all for that secret."

"A secret?" Li Wei looked surprised.

He hadn’t heard them mention this before.

Rota said, "A vague, ethereal rumor."

"Some say the City Lord of Flying Flower City could communicate with the Hundred Flowers God and receive the Divine Spirit’s Power."

"That’s how she was able to become the lord of a city at such a young age."