Flanked by Attendant Rue and the other maidservant, Leonardo made his way through the manor's hallways with the main guest hall as his destination.
"You haven't told me your name yet," Leonardo spoke softly as he turned his head and looked over at the maidservant.
The woman was briefly stunned, responding, "You can call me Julie…"
Leonardo nodded.
As for Attendant Rue, she maintained her silence ever since Leonardo called her out from isolation. Of course, the latter didn't take the initiative in talking with the attendant as he wasn't in a rush.
She might have gotten inspired with her path forward but that was it; an inspiration. Without the guidance of a practiced master, it would be nigh-impossible for Attendant Rue to accomplish anything in the near future.
"You two can wait outside," When Leonardo noticed the group of elders and Viola's cousin waiting by the entrance to the guest hall, he could somewhat guess what the woman had in mind. Thus, he instructed Attendant Rue and Maid Julie to wait with them.
The two women obviously had no objections, especially Attendant Rue, since she could also deduce that her lady and Leonardo desired yet another private chat.
"Attendant Ye, can you please grant me a minute of your time later?" Viola's cousin stepped out from the line of elders and bowed, his tone laced with a bit of anxiety.
Leonardo thought for a moment and nodded his head. "I'll call for you when I'm done with your cousin."
The young man was ecstatic, hurriedly bowing once again to display his gratitude.
Leonardo passed by him and entered the hall, and as soon as he did so, he spread his desolate domain and isolated sound and spiritual senses from leaving the room or invading it.
"You had your fun?" Viola asked curiously as her bright eyes smiled at Leonardo. After her spin around the Skyflare City, she realized that the rumors had mysteriously disappeared, no one was mentioning the incident between the Qing family and Emily anymore.
If anything, most people discussed the new Ye Estate.
"What did you want to discuss with me?" Leonardo ignored her stupid question and approached the high chair in the center of the hall, taking his seat while looking down on Viola from above.
Viola pursued her lips. "I've thought things through and I made up my mind… If my half-sister is truly intent on establishing a powerful faction of her own, independent of the Qing family, I can provide some help from the shadows…"
Leonardo cut her off. "You're not helping her but you're helping yourself— stop talking as though you're selling us a favor. If you want to cooperate, that's fine. However, don't go about giving me some terms and conditions."
Viola's eyes flickered as she said, "Her situation aside, you wouldn't be able to join the Interstellar Supreme Court's expedition force without the help of my Qing family, not even the Renhuang family can help you with that since they're not interested.
"My Qing family is the weakest of the seven families and thus, they're eager for merit. The imperial family knows this, and so does everyone else, which is a high motivation for the Qing family's cultivators. Thus, the opportunity to join this expedition fell into the lap of a select few, and my Qing family is one of them."
Leonardo furrowed his brows. "That goes to say that if I wanted to help Emily collect her merits, I'd have to go through you first?"
Even as Leonardo mulled this over, his eyes suddenly flashed and he smiled. He might have another option available to him.
"These are my cards, Attendant Ye… As you can see, if you want to smoothly enter the expedition squad, my family has some connections to the Judicial Inquisitors, especially the ones responsible for this outing." Viola stated calmly, her sender fingers laced together on her knees, even as her legs overlapped, one above the other.
"What do you want in exchange for that pass?" Leonardo had his own thoughts but felt like inquiring nonetheless. Viola couldn't be more pleased to find Leonardo taking the initiative with asking questions, and she said, "I want her to give you up as her attendant, and you can serve me for a thousand years instead."
Leonardo was lost for words, a moment later, a smile split his face before he cackled up in laughter, not believing his ears. "You really don't get it, huh? Who said that Emily controls my freedom? What's between her and I is no more than a deal; an equivalent exchange."
Viola flattened her lips. "That exchange would surely come to an end if she gained the recognition of becoming a non-Jin Marquee or a non-Jin Duchess to the imperial family after the expedition. I'm helping her come forward with her plans, though I want to know if you want to take this opportunity and make another deal with me, another equivalent exchange."
Leonardo was somewhat interested. "What can you offer to win my help for a thousand years? Honestly, you can offer me the entire Jin Dynasty on a plate of copper yet I wouldn't be interested to work for you for a hundred years, let alone a thousand."
What sick joke was that?
Become an attendant for a thousand years?
Viola was stunned and horrified. "Watch your mouth! The walls have ears, have you gone mad?!"
Although she was confident with her concealment and spirit isolation methods, she wouldn't dare take such risks so flippantly, let alone get herself involved with some crazy, suicidal attendant who doesn't know the heights of the heavens or depths of the earth.
Leonardo laughed. "How adorable… Don't worry, no one would bother to eavesdrop on this little chat between an attendant and a young lady from the weakest house in the alliance. Even though I'm pretty sure I'll refuse your offer, I'm still curious about what you have for me."
…
A while later, Viola left the room, expressionless. "Let's go"
"Uh, I can't come with you, not yet…" Viola turned her head and saw that the speaker was her cousin. She furrowed her brows, but Leonardo's voice drifted over as he said, "I invited him over for a chat, too. You can head out first, Lady Viola."
Viola furrowed her brows even tighter, scoffed, and left without a word.
Attendant Rue hesitated for a bit, sneaking a peek into the guest hall, only to find a pair of honey-brown eyes smiling back at her. Her body shuddered for a bit, and she immediately turned tail and rushed after her lady.
Julie found this little interaction to be a little odd, but she didn't comment on the small episode. As for Viola's cousin, he breathed easy and timidly stepped through the entrance into the guest hall.
The doors closed with a thud, and the isolation barrier formed silently.
The man nervously bowed his head and said, "Attendant Ye, I came here for—..."
Leonardo cut him off with a smile. "You must be from the Black Market, right?"
The man froze, his words caught in his throat. Then, he chuckled dryly and spoke in a quivering voice, "Attendant Ye, you must be joking. How can I belong to such a dark organization? Yes, I might join their auctions once in a while, but becoming an active member…"
Leonardo shook his head and sighed. "You don't have to make excuses, I have an 'innate' talent to spot restrictions on people, and I can see the restrictions placed on your body and they seem very… familiar. Then again, not the first time I've seen them."
Members of the Black Market with sensitive identities and with access to valuable information would have these restrictions placed upon them. For example, Emily.
Another example, is this cousin of Viola, though he was her relative from her mother's side, meaning he wasn't related to Emily or the main line of the Qing family in any other way than his connection to Lady Viola of the Qing.
After a moment of being stunned, the man laughed dryly and fixed his obsequious posture, slowly standing upright with a calm smile on his face.
"Alright, you saw through me and this makes things easier. As it seems, you also know that your lady, Commanding General Qing, is also a member of my Black Market. In fact, it was I who introduced her to the Black Market back in the day." As he spoke, he sighed, even as his shabby aura collected itself and grew firm, robust, and oppressive.
It climbed and climbed, eventually settling at the 8th-tier, the inception realm.
Leonardo didn't as much as bat an eyelid. In fact, his eyes narrowed lazy, as though he was watching some irrelevant show.
The young man raised an eyebrow, commenting lightly, "You seem awfully calm."
Leonardo shook his head. "You might be stronger than me, but you can't subdue me fast enough before City Lord Huang could interfere. Thus, using your cultivation to intimidate me is pointless; just get to the point…"
The young man paused, smiled, and said, "Actually, we want to have you join our ranks and complete a mission for us."
Leonardo raised his head. "I assume it relates to the upcoming expedition that the imperial family's Interstellar Supreme Court is preparing?"
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