V1: Chapter 26 Part 2: The Real Reason for the Shop's Desolation

The woman in the potrait lay beneath a tree, her skin deathly pale, her eyes vacant. Thankfully, the imagined image of just skin and bones didn't materialize.

"That's too cruel," Liang Lin frowned.

Liang Di, however, was intrigued. "I'm curious, what kind of method did they use to drain all the blood?"

"Worse than an animal."

Liang Lin scoffed, her mind solely focused on catching the criminal, breaking their limbs, and then draining all the blood from their body using the same method.

Orlando City remained bustling. Although some people had recently gone missing, they were all ordinary civilians and hadn't attracted much attention. The Knights had come twice, but after failing to find anything, they simply returned.

"Let's go, let's check out the tailor shop first."

Liang Di saw that it was still early, and the two girls weren't hungry, so they decided to tackle the simplest matter first.

The Langwendi family's tailor shops were located on the busiest street, with three branches, each one sluggishly quiet. Although the shops were luxuriously decorated inside and out, no nobles came to order custom-made gowns.

Liang Lin pushed open the door and entered, Liang Di following closely behind. Now free from the constraints of her wheelchair, both of them moved much faster.

As soon as they entered, the shop owner, whose face had been clouded with worry, brightened up. She approached enthusiastically, "Are you two ladies here to order custom-made dresses? Take a look over here, all the fabrics are top-notch..."

Liang Lin waved her hand, "No, we're not here to order dresses, we're here to..."

Before she could finish, she was interrupted by the shop owner's glare.

The shop owner's smiling face vanished, replaced by a sharp, sarcastic expression. She crossed her arms and muttered irritably, "Really, what are you doing here if you're not ordering dresses?"

Huh?

What kind of attitude is that?

"Oh? I can't come in without a custom-made dress order?" Liang Lin laughed angrily, a prelude to her rage.

Liang Di took a step back, covering her mouth with her white lace-gloved hand, a faint smile on her face.

See?

She knew it. Taking Liang Lin out meant she didn't have to say a word. Liang Lin was truly her good dog.

"Miss, look carefully, this is a custom-made dress shop. If you don't have money, don't come in, it's a waste of time."

"I don't have money? Hah~" Liang Lin smiled brightly, revealing eight pearly white teeth. "Yes, I don't have money, are you going to call me a pauper?"

Unexpectedly, the shop owner also laughed. "Yes, paupers shouldn't come to the Langwendi family to have custom-made dresses made, you can't afford them."

"So, that's why no one comes~" Liang Di's voice was low and gloomy from behind.

Liang Lin didn't care about the reason.

Too lazy to do it herself, she pulled out the gold badge representing the Langwendi family from her pocket and shoved it in front of the shop owner.

“This is the only thing a pauper like me have.”

The shopkeeper’s face turned deathly pale the moment she saw the badge. Her knees buckled, and she nearly collapsed to her knees, stammering, “You, you are…”

“Liang Lin Langwendi.”

Liang Lin Langwendi!

The name exploded in the shopkeeper’s mind.

It was that wicked Liang Lin, the spoiled heiress who looked down on other nobles and treated her servants like dirt. She had just humiliated her; how would Liang Lin punish her?

If it were anyone else, it wouldn’t be so bad, but it was that wicked Liang Lin…

The shopkeeper immediately knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face. “Miss Liang Lin, I was wrong. I really didn’t know it was you. If I had known, I wouldn’t have…”

“Stop.”

The wicked young lady interrupted her pleas.

“Your face is repulsive, but I wouldn’t stoop to slap a slave’s face with my own hands,” Liang Lin paused, then continued coldly, “So, you understand what I mean, right?”

“I understand, I understand.”

The shopkeeper raised her hand and slapped herself repeatedly across the face. Liang Lin stared at her coldly, without saying a word.

“Alright, I’m tired of watching.” Liang Lin waved her hand. “Remember, you’re just a dog kept by the Langwendi family. You have no right to bark at anyone. If I see you again, take your things from your kennel and get out of Orlando. No tailor shop will ever hire you again.”

“I know, I know, I really know I was wrong.” The shopkeeper’s cheeks were already swollen, and there was even a trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth.

After Liang Di saw that the matter was over, she stepped forward, jokingly saying, "You really went all out. Such a beautiful face, and now... tsk tsk~"

"Beautiful? You have terrible taste. Are you so desperate? Besides, it wasn't me, Liang Lin, who beat her up." Liang Lin sneered, her attitude ruthless, like ice from an abyss.

Ah...it's that haughty attitude, that attitude is so captivating.

Liang Di wanted to take Liang Lin's hand; she really, really wanted to conquer this kind of high-spirited woman. This was probably her strange desire to conquer.

"Ahem."

No, now is not the time to think about these things.

“I know where the problem lies.”

Liang Di looked around.

“There’s nothing wrong with any of the dresses. Some are a bit plain, but that shouldn’t be the case that no one’s ordering them. As for why no one’s ordering… it’s the attitude of the shop owners and employees, isn’t it?”

Most of the residents in Orlando are minor nobles like earls and barons, and they still have some fear of a large family like the Langwendi. Therefore, it’s not uncommon for shop owners and employees to bully others.

“They’re barons and viscounts, and what are you? If word gets out, you’re just the Langwendi family’s dogs? Ha~ Sure enough, now you have to consider the owner before beating a dog.” Liang Lin sneered.

Finally, Liang Di gathered all the owners and employees of the Langwendi family’s tailor shops in Orlando together.

"Get your attitude straight. I'll design some new dress styles for you and then advertise them. If, in a few days, I see any tailor shop in Orlando still operating at a loss, then you can pack your bags and get out."

After all this commotion, it was already afternoon. Liang Lin rubbed her rumbling stomach, listless, her long, black hair now dull and lifeless.

"Hungry?" Liang Di asked.

"Yeah, just a quick bite, and then...we'll go to the church."

Liang Lin was still preoccupied with the missing woman.

"Shouldn't we rest a bit first? Let's investigate tomorrow."

Liang Di glanced at the sky; dusk was approaching, the distant horizon already turning yellow.

Liang Lin couldn't rest easy until she found out what had happened.

"Let's go check it out first. If there's nothing, we can rest a bit. Anyway, the church isn't far from here. We should be back before dark..."

Back before dark?