Chapter 127: The Next Victim
"Where have all these useless bitches gone?" Zerena muttered irritably as she contacted one wealthy female customer after another.
Usually, these women were more than happy to chew her ear off whenever they wanted to buy something from her, especially whenever a particular potion or product was available.
Today, however, every single one of them seemed to have disappeared.
Unfortunately for Zerena, they’d all apparently gone to Yennefer’s shop.
And since most of them were the wives of wealthy businessmen or powerful mages, they didn’t exactly have much else to do with their time. They had plenty of money, plenty of free time, and apparently far too much interest in making her listen to their endless complaints whenever they came shopping.
As she went through her contacts, trying to figure out how she would introduce some of them to Max, the urgency of the situation left her increasingly fidgety.
She really didn’t want to go through another round of dealing with Max’s ridiculous demands, especially after everything she’d already endured. And on top of that, it was almost time to close the shop for the day.
With a tired sigh, she muttered, "It’s just for one more day..."
Then she raised her voice.
"Alfie... close the store. I’m going home."
She stepped away from the counter before adding,
"And don’t go wandering around town. Be home by dinner."
As she stepped out of the shop, a luxurious car suddenly pulled up beside hers.
Zerena glanced toward it, immediately recognizing that the vehicle was every bit as expensive-looking as her own.
She was surprised when the window rolled down.
A familiar face appeared inside, and Zerena’s expression immediately brightened.
"Oh, Mrs. Melmarc. What brings you here at this hour?" she asked with a wide smile as she walked over to speak with the woman sitting inside.
The woman smiled as she lazily lifted her gaze from her phone.
"Nothing important. I was just in the area and thought I’d stop by to take a look at some potions and herbs. Do you have anything useful for me?"
She glanced toward Zerena as she spoke.
Zerena leaned casually against the car door, looking at her with a faint smile.
She had orange-blonde hair that caught the light beautifully, paired with smooth, pale almond-toned skin that looked almost flawless.
Her blue eyes carried a warm smile, yet there was still an aloof glint behind them. Combined with her expression, it could easily be mistaken for arrogance—and, honestly, that wouldn’t be entirely wrong.
She gave Yennefer a pleasant smile before asking,
"Can you show me some?"
Yennefer had been hoping to show her a few things, already thinking about how she might turn the opportunity into a deal—or, better yet, find some way to introduce her to Max.
Unfortunately, this woman was dangerous.
She belonged to an organization that operated in the city’s underbelly, which meant she wasn’t some wealthy man’s trophy wife or mistress with nothing better to do than spend her money at an herb shop.
And besides, making exceptions for individual customers went against Yennefer’s principles.
It wasn’t that she disliked her customers. Quite the opposite—she liked having them around. But she believed in treating everyone fairly.
Running a business meant having rules, and Yennefer had to maintain at least a few of them if she didn’t want people starting to think she was someone they could easily push around.
Especially after Max had spent so much time making her feel like one.
"I do have some," Yennefer said, giving her an apologetic smile. "But unfortunately, the store is closed for the day, and I still have a few things to take care of at home."
She paused before adding,
"If you’re still in town tomorrow, come by in the morning. And if you need something specific, just tell me now. I’ll have it ready for you by then."
"Well, I do need something specific..." Mrs. Melmarc replied.
Her smile widened slightly as she leaned closer to the car window.
Yennefer leaned back from the window, already wondering what kind of ridiculous request was coming next.
"Do you have any healing potions?" Mrs. Melmarc asked.
Yennefer blinked.
Of course.
Of all the things she could’ve asked for, she had to pick the one item Yennefer had just spent the entire day thinking about.
A faint smile returned to Yennefer’s face.
She didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she asked,
"How many do you need?"
"About ten Minor Healing Potions. And if you can get me more, that’d be even better," Mrs. Melmarc replied.
Yennefer’s smile widened slightly.
She still had a few of the potions Max had sold her the previous day.
"Well, I can have them ready for you by tomorrow morning," Yennefer said, a faintly satisfied smirk appearing on her face.
"Are you sure? I really need them a little urgently. I can pay extra," Mrs. Melmarc said, her voice taking on a slightly exaggerated, almost pleading tone.
Yennefer’s smirk widened.
For once, she didn’t mind playing along.
She deliberately hesitated, letting the silence hang for a moment before sighing.
"It’s not that. If I had them in the store, I’d gladly sell you as many as you wanted. It’s just that I’d have to contact one of my suppliers first."
She gave Mrs. Melmarc an understanding look.
"You know how difficult they are to get these days, right? The army practically buys up every healing potion that appears on the market."
She paused before adding with a faintly amused smile,
"Honestly, sometimes I think they’d buy them straight out of the cauldron if they could."
"I know. That’s exactly why I’ve been having trouble finding them," Mrs. Melmarc said with a small sigh. "Can’t you do anything?"
She tilted her head slightly, letting those bright blue eyes settle on Yennefer with an almost innocent look.
Yennefer hesitated again.
Her gaze shifted toward the driver. He’d already turned his head away, politely pretending he wasn’t listening to their conversation.
Yennefer’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Good.
She leaned a little closer to the window.
"I might be able to do something..." she said slowly.
Then her eyes flicked toward the driver once more before returning to Mrs. Melmarc.
"But you’ll have to come with me."
She paused.
"Alone."
Melmarc glanced toward the driver.
"Wait here for me, Smith," she said casually.
Then she turned back to Yennefer.
"And how long will it take us to get them, Mrs. Emyr?"
"I can’t say for certain," Yennefer replied, maintaining a thoughtful expression. "A few hours, at least."
Melmarc nodded and opened the car door, stepping out while leaving her phone behind.
Yennefer noticed immediately.
"You can take your phone with you," she added.
A wide, satisfied smile slowly spread across her face.
She’d finally found someone.
Not just a customer...
A potential candidate for Max, in exchange of her.
’Hopefully that idiot actually manages to get her to sleep with him...’ Yennefer thought, a wide, almost mischievous grin spreading across her face.
’Then maybe I won’t have to deal with that monstrous thing again.’
The thought was tempting enough to make her smile.
Still, a small hesitation remained.
Mrs. Melmarc was certainly the kind of woman Max had been asking about—rich, attractive, and unmistakably curvy.
There was just one problem.
She wasn’t merely some wealthy housewife looking for a little excitement.
She was dangerous.
A dangerous, big-breasted milf.
And introducing someone like that to Max was starting to feel less like matchmaking...
...and more like handing a particularly horny idiot a loaded weapon and hoping he didn’t somehow manage to shoot himself with it.
Yennefer watched as Melmarc stepped out of the car and quietly exchanged a few words with her driver. A moment later, the vehicle pulled away, leaving the two women standing together.
As Yennefer started walking toward her own car, Melmarc followed beside her.
"I have to ask," Melmarc said, glancing at her with a curious expression, "why all the secrecy?"
"It’s nothing like that," Yennefer said with an apologetic smile. "The contact I have is just a little paranoid, so bear with him if he happens to offend you in some way."
Knowing Max, if he offended her was practically a matter of when, not if.
"But don’t worry," she added quickly. "The products he has are among the best in the market. You might even be able to get your hands on some B+ grade potions."
Melmarc’s blue eyes widened immediately.
"Really?"
A hint of genuine excitement entered her voice.
"That would be amazing..."
"Yeah. And I know the nature of your business, Mrs. Melmarc, but the person we’re meeting doesn’t," Yennefer said, her tone turning a little more serious. "So, like I said, you’ll need to put on an act. He’s a rather paranoid person."
She pulled out her phone and quickly typed something before continuing.
"And before we go, let me stop by the store for a minute."
Melmarc nodded.
Yennefer glanced toward the shop.
It had barely been a few minutes since she’d told Alfie to close up, yet the place was already shut down.
She couldn’t help muttering under her breath,
"That brat is actually fast at something..."