Chapter 89: Helping a Friend
As the carriage stopped in front of the De Clare mansion, Vivian descended, wearing an expensive, yet very reserved and demure, dress. Following her were a group of knights and her personal maid.
Branded as a troublemaker since the last incident—and the few others—Vivian could no longer move around without a heavy security detail following her on every occasion, on orders from Count Julian himself.
Yet, since she was not in a position to be locked in the house, Vivian’s participation in the social life of the Elgardish Empire was vital for the success of her business brand. Count Julian understood how critical marketing efforts were to bring new innovations to light, and while Vivian was not planning to be the one doing the marketing, part of her "punishment" was to intensely do her own marketing, no longer relying on Isabella, Valentine, or the Conglomerate promoters.
So, in the spirit of promoting herself as the face of new innovations, Vivian cooperated with House De Clare one more time and featured the light pulp once again, this time to the members of high society rather than putting on a street show like last time.
And in order to achieve that, Vivian had to reach out to someone she considered very dear.
"Vivian! Oh my goodness! Look how beautiful you are!" Vivian heard a hoarse voice calling.
A tall, brunette woman, who gave off an aura of mystery and exoticness, approached Vivian as soon as she walked into the mansion’s garden. She was mature yet as lean as a blade, with all the right curves in all the right places. While modest, her dress made her figure stand out even more. Add to that the jewelry that would ruin a small nation with its price and the side-swept hair, which was way ahead of its time, and no one could mistake this woman for Isabella’s mother.
"Condesa." Vivian reacted immediately and bowed to the Countess of De Clare.
"Oh! So inflexible!" Countess Claudia said, and a puff of smoke escaped her red lips.
"Mama Claudia, then." Vivian said and watched the slender, yet long, pipe in the Countess’ hand while her inner Nadia gulped at the feeling of nicotine deprivation. "I am so thankful you allowed ViTech to be part of tonight’s event."
"Nonsense. You are like a daughter of mine! A prodigal daughter, just like that other one. We haven’t seen each other or talked for almost a year. Oh, how I missed the old days!" Countess Claudia said, with emotions concealed by her low, gravelly voice roughened by years of smoke curling through her throat.