Chapter 24: The Pony Would Die If It Went Inside
“You are not lying to me?”
“Of course not. If Young Miss does not believe me, you may ask the Family Head later. I guarantee the answer will be the same.”
“Fine, fine,” Vivian waved her hand. The moment that old man was mentioned, irritation rose in her chest.
Nobles despised the lowly commoners, while commoners despised the self-important nobles. The division was severe. Yet Vivian’s disdain largely stemmed from never having seen the “outside” world—she was a caged bird within the manor.
While she was still curiously surveying the Black Street, her gaze was drawn to a shop ahead. Its signboard was exceptionally flamboyant.
[Victoria Charm]
The glow of the sign was ambiguously warm, illuminating several gorgeously dressed women posing at the entrance. Their gazes were like fishhooks—direct, yet never lacking willing takers.
At the same time, a black sedan drove from the distant intersection and stopped before the shop.
The door opened, and a young man in an all-white suit with slicked-back hair stepped out.
The instant he saw the women at the entrance, his smile turned exceedingly… lecherous. Escorted by bodyguards who had exited behind him, he walked straight toward Victoria Charm.
Immediately afterward, a mature and provocatively dressed woman emerged to greet him, clearly the manager or owner.
“Oh my! Is that not Young Master Perry? You came so early today? The girls have not even finished preparing yet.”
“Cut the nonsense. The usual. Arrange the youngest ones—I am in quite a mood today,” he said with a roguish twist of his neck, then beckoned to his bodyguard.
The latter promptly produced a thick stack of banknotes and handed it over. The woman’s smile instantly grew far more uninhibited.
“No problem, no problem! We have had a new batch arrive recently. I guarantee Young Master Perry will be satisfied!”
After exchanging a few more words, the young man burst into laughter, draped an arm around the woman’s shoulder, and swaggered through the beaded curtain under her personal guidance.
…
From a distance, Vivian narrowed her eyes slightly, her mind confirming something. “Is that not…”
“Young Miss knows him?” Eve stood beside her and naturally heard the murmur, following her gaze to the scene just now.
“Of course I do.” Vivian curled her lips in disdain as she looked ahead. “That useless boy from the Perry family. The piles of rose gifts at the manor—he contributed quite a lot.”
Remembering the maids’ private complaints about disposing of the troublesome trash, and the eager yet foolish look in his eyes whenever he visited, she snorted softly.
“Strange. Why would he be here? And what sort of place is that shop?”
Vivian’s gaze returned to the Victoria Charm sign and the overly flamboyant women at the entrance, her curiosity thoroughly piqued.
Recalling how skillfully Eve had dealt with the gang members earlier, Vivian turned her head and stared at Eve’s expressionless profile. “You are very familiar with this place, are you not?”
“Replying to Young Miss, moderately so.”
“Are you certain?”
“I never lie.”
“Tch…”
The more she listened, the more Vivian felt that at least half of Eve’s words were true and half false. The problem was that one could never tell which half was which.
Curiosity overpowered her dissatisfaction.
She gestured toward Victoria Charm with her chin. “What does that shop do? It looks strange.”
Eve fell silent for a moment. A few seconds later, she asked tactfully, “Young Miss does not know?”
“Tch!” Vivian disliked such counter-questions the most, as though they made her seem ignorant—though in truth she did not know.
She glared at Eve irritably. “Enough nonsense. I ask, you answer.”
Eve sighed inwardly and chose relatively appropriate wording. “It is an establishment that offers an authentic Victoria-style experience. In theory… suitable for men and women of all ages.”
“Victoria?” Vivian’s eyes lit up.
This famous northern entertainment city was a highlight on travel lists, but she had only heard of it and never visited.
Now she had the opportunity. An authentic Victoria experience? Naturally she had to try it.
“Come, take me to see it.” Vivian lifted her foot and moved toward it. She wanted to witness it for herself—and also see what that fool from the Perry family was doing inside.
“Young Miss, please wait.”
Vivian stopped and turned, frowning. “What?”
“You cannot go.”
“Why not? Are you the Young Miss or am I the Young Miss? Must I obtain your approval to go anywhere?”
Eve struggled to suppress the urge to laugh, hovering between restraint and failure, and calmly faced her faint anger. “You are naturally the Young Miss. However, I assure you that the establishment is absolutely unsuitable for you. This has nothing to do with status.”
An inexperienced child entering there would be no different from a lamb walking into a tiger’s den.
“Unsuitable?” Vivian nearly laughed in anger, hands on her hips. “On what grounds do you decide it is unsuitable? I have not even gone inside!”
She suddenly thought of something. “Even if I am unsuitable, do you think you are suitable?”
Eve fell silent. Logically speaking, a maid did not seem suited to a place of high consumption. Yet… by another logic, she actually could enter—though she had never done so and presently had no need to.
Her gaze passed over Vivian and once again briefly swept the entrance of Victoria Charm. At that moment, another drunken man was being half-pushed out by one of the women.
He muttered unintelligibly. Another woman at the door struggled with a man trying to wrap an arm around her waist; though she smiled, impatience flickered in her eyes.
Eve withdrew her gaze and looked back at Vivian. “Young Miss, look at the people entering and leaving.”
Vivian subconsciously glanced again. A man roughly fondled a woman’s chest, lingering over her scent.
Very quickly, heat crept onto her cheeks. She had never seen such scenes in her life. Even stepping on someone’s face or inviting a tenant to view a layout had been her limit.
More intimate physical contact was far too advanced for Vivian.
“If Young Miss has an interest in wanton bodies…”
“I do not!” Vivian hurriedly interrupted, the tips of her ears turning red.
Yet Eve did not intend to spare her. With an expressionless face, she continued calmly, “If someone were to ‘accidentally’ see the daughter of the Hatherin Family appearing at a well-known pleasure establishment of the Black Street…”