Melanie took a delicate sip of her wine, then set the glass down on the table. Clearly, she had no intention of drinking further.
Seeing this, Derrick's eyes constricted sharply. From his experience, even the strongest poison could sometimes fail to kill if only a small amount was consumed. He had personally added the red liquid to the wine with the intent to poison Melanie — there was no way he would stop now.
He poured himself another glass, then raised it toward Melanie with a toast: "After completing this order, I'll be able to claim quite a good share. If President Melanie is willing to provide another order of similar quality, I'm willing to give half of my share from this transaction as your labor fee. So, President Melanie, do you have a new order that could make use of our Caramel Trading Company?"
"Actually, we did have some procurement needs, but our lord recently acquired a batch of alchemical materials at a low price. So, for the time being, we don't need any more alchemical materials. However, we still need elemental crystals. Though, the pricing won't allow as much profit margin as with the previous alchemical materials."
"Elemental crystals… Low-tier ones are easy enough, but high-tier crystals are much harder to acquire, and their premium is very high. However, since our previous cooperation went smoothly, if you purchase a large enough amount of low-tier crystals this time, the Caramel Trading Company would naturally be willing to sell high-tier elemental crystals at market price."
"We've already discussed this. This is our procurement order."
Melanie handed over a document, and the two sides haggled over price for a while. But Melanie could clearly sense that Derrick seemed distracted. Although he still bargained over the price, having interacted with him so many times before, she could detect something was off. This heightened her suspicion about Derrick's intentions.
"Their goal isn't just to trade… Could the Caramel family be trying to gather intelligence on the Mandrake Territory?"
Though she thought this, Melanie still maintained a calm outward demeanor. However, the slightest change in her expression could not escape the watchful eyes of the cunning Derrick.
Seeing that Melanie had begun to suspect him, Derrick decided to stop prolonging the negotiation. He found a casual excuse and finally signed the contract with her.
Once the contract was signed, he raised his glass to Melanie once more. "Thank you for your generosity, President Melanie. This counts as me, Derrick, owing you a favor. To our friendship!"
He extended the glass toward her, seemingly waiting for a proper toast. This time, Melanie didn't play along. She merely brought the glass to her lips and tapped it lightly, symbolically. Clearly, Derrick's abnormal behavior had already put her on alert.
"President Melanie, what's this?" Derrick feigned a look of displeasure at her glass.
"Oh, my apologies. Though it's somewhat awkward to mention, I have to say it. A few days ago, I discovered that I'm pregnant. As you know, it's not suitable for a pregnant woman to drink alcohol."
An airtight excuse — far more effective than claiming a weak tolerance. It was impossible for Derrick to refute.
But for him to leave quietly? That was unthinkable. He had risked his life to carry out this poisoning — there was no way he would stop now.
Before anyone could react, Derrick swiftly poured the contents of his glass onto Melanie. Everything happened too quickly. They were so close that Melanie had no time to dodge, and the crimson liquid splashed over her.
Even then, Derrick didn't feel safe. He was about to grab the wine bottle to pour again. But a cold, sharp sword suddenly appeared at his neck.
The puppet knight behind Melanie had moved in, ready to strike. Yet Melanie stopped the knight in time. She retrieved a towel from her space ring, quickly wiped the wine off her face, and glared at Derrick.
"Captain Derrick, I need an explanation."
"An explanation? President Melanie, I'd like to ask you for one! We've cooperated many times, and I shared a bottle of my treasured wine — aged over ten years — in gratitude for the wealth you've brought me. Yet you treat me like this, constantly undermining my face. Do you think I have no temper?"
Derrick tried to take the initiative, hoping to frame the incident as drunken antics so he could leave and return to the Dessert Kingdom to find an antidote.
But Melanie was no fool. Piecing together the oddities she had observed, she had already guessed Derrick's intentions.
"Captain Derrick, we've worked together many times. I know you; you're not someone easily swayed by emotion. From the beginning, I noticed something was off. You seemed very eager for me to drink this wine. Could it contain something?"
"I…"
Derrick tried to protest, but Melanie waved her hand calmly: "Take him to the city guard's dungeon. This man is suspicious."
After the puppet knights escorted Derrick away, Melanie withdrew her gaze. Then, focusing her mind, she entered the Soul Network.
She tapped on the angel icon and said solemnly: "Little angel, help me check for any abnormal states."
"Understood."
On Melanie's system panel, a chibi version of the angel Niv appeared. She waved, sending a thread of spiritual energy through the Soul Network to scan Melanie.
After a thorough check, Niv's expression grew serious: "Your body shows no abnormalities. However, there is a unique aura within you. It has greatly enhanced your wisdom and perception.Yet this aura contains traces of divinity, suspected to be the effect of witch's blood."