CHAPTER 107: HARVESTED CROPS

Leonard was bored to death, but to keep up with the atmosphere and avoid suspicion, he needed to pretend to enjoy it.

"Woo, the female dancer sure knows how to use their hips!" He clapped his hands and tried to whistle, only to end up making an awkward sound.

Mirelle appeared visibly disgusted and wanted to curse at him for being so immoral.

Meanwhile, Caroline simply advised him. "It’s better for you to not whistle. Otherwise, you’re going to frighten the female dancers from approaching the table."

"I believe my charisma is enough to charm them," Leonard responded coolly.

Though the truth was that he was indeed hoping his whistling could send away these female dancers from approaching him.

After all, he had already witnessed quite a few willingly approach some tables to entertain the guests.

They were groped everywhere, but in return, they received quite the tippings.

The majority of merchants in this current banquet all had an abundance of wealth, so the tipping was in silver coins, with some even tipping gold coins when they enjoyed some extra spicy scenes.

Needless to say, the spicy scenes weren’t for the underage to see.

"Are they seriously doing it in public?" Mirelle clenched her fist and hissed coldly.

They were in public, but nobody seemed to have any questions about such actions!

"You should get used to it," Caroline calmly said. "I’ve seen some researchers even receiving such a gift and outright doing it in their experiment room."

Unlike Mirelle, who didn’t get exposed much to such debauchery, Caroline had gotten used to it when she arrived at Velastra.

Although Velastra was famously hailed as a free trade city, those who lived a long time in the city knew it was also known as Sin City.

A city where debauchery acts like these were extremely common!

It was to the point where city guards would just fine the individuals for committing such an act.

And if the individuals happened to be influential, then the city guards wouldn’t even bat an eyelid and move along.

"I reckon that after this banquet, many would approve of Lord Wesley even further." Leonard took a sip of his beverage and commented.

There were enough female dancers and male dancers for the collective merchants to choose their preferences.

This goes to show that the banquet had long been ready, and the murder incident simply accelerated the date of the banquet.

Truly, a cunning and wise man!

’Wesley really knows how to buy people’s hearts.’ Leonard doubted the Crown Prince’s banquet would be successful.

There was no way the Crown Prince’s banquet would indulge in such debauchery and outrageous moments!

After all, it would be a stain on the royal family’s reputation.

As the banquet continued, Leonard’s table quickly stood out in the open for not having any dancers or entertainers near it. All they had were some beverages and food.

"Are these dancers not to your liking, Mr. Vincent?" Wesley took the chance to approach their table and inquired.

Leonard smiled slightly.

"Not at all! They are very exquisite and experienced in dancing." He commented. "Unfortunately, Researcher Caroline is by my table and I dare not have a female dancer."

"Oh, I see..." Nodding, Wesley didn’t find the explanation to be amiss. He had long known about Caroline’s preference and behavior.

If a merchant were to behave out of place or even lustfully in public, then they could forget about ever interacting with her. Whether it was for her research or expertise, they could only curse themselves for offending Caroline.

A few seconds later, Wesley took a seat at the table.

"May I know what kind of discussion you have with Miss Caroline. I hope you don’t find the question offensive or intrusive." He calmly asked and shifted his sight to Caroline. "Miss Caroline is a valuable asset for Velastra in regard to the research development."

The words sounded nice, but there was a hint of possessiveness in them.

The possessive wasn’t of lust or any physical contact. Instead, it was a desire to keep hold of talented individuals under his rank or supervision.

"Lord Wesley overthinks too much," Leonard chuckled in response. "As you know, I built my wealth and status on my agriculture at Veridale. I wish to increase them further and sought researcher Caroline over here for ways to improve my crops."

"An improvement of your crops?" A bit intrigued, Wesley pressed on.

"Do you happen to have some of your crops harvested on you at the moment? I do wish to try it a bit, or even better, use them for this banquet to let others experience a taste of Veridale."

"That is..." Mirelle suddenly interrupted.

"Hoh, is there perhaps a problem?" Wesley’s eyes suddenly narrowed slightly. He was merely probing a little bit to see whether he truly had some crops from the Veridale region.

To be more specific, freshly harvested crops!

Freshly harvested crops differed from the marketplace, especially in terms of soil fertility and nutrient value.

Harvested crops from the marketplace always lacked that little bit of substance, making them inferior.

It was a good method to test Leonard, but he never imagined his bodyguard would be the first to slip up.

Her sudden interruption, followed by traces of guilt, made Wesley raise his dormant suspicion again.

Mirelle also realized she had blundered.

The atmosphere in the table had turned awkward. She didn’t know what a suitable response to make could resolve the situation.

She also couldn’t look at Caroline for help because doing so would only escalate the matter.

In fact, Caroline behaved the same as Wesley, who had her eyes slightly narrowed when glancing at Leonard. Her body language made it obvious that she was also doubting Leonard’s credibility.

Her action was naturally noticed by Wesley, who simply feigned ignorance.

He had long verified Caroline’s identity, so he didn’t have much suspicion of her.

"Sigh, I really didn’t want to bring out the harvested crops to give to everyone yet." Leonard exhaled softly and retrieved a magic pouch.

From there, he took out multiple types of crops and placed them on the table.

"My bodyguard reacted like that because she was hooked by my harvested crops and didn’t wish to share them." He then explained, giving Wesley a huge surprise.