My Fiancé's Scandals Never End, So I Married His Uncle Instead-Chapter 78: Arch-rivals Gather
Perfumers had already gathered in groups throughout the inner and outer courtyards.
Celia Sterling found a particularly sociable group of perfumers and drifted over to see what was happening.
The group had no airs about them, just a shared interest and passion for their craft. They were all taking out their own creations, sharing the problems they’d encountered and the insights they’d gained during the perfuming process.
Celia Sterling stood at the back, listening attentively.
But she was strikingly beautiful and quickly caught their attention. They all started looking her way, and one even teased her good-naturedly:
"The Fragrance World has a perfumer this beautiful? She can’t be some brand’s celebrity spokesperson, can she?"
Celia Sterling smiled, but his use of the word "beautiful" made her subconsciously glance around. She hadn’t forgotten that Rivermoon had said his wife was "the most beautiful one," and she wondered if she might be able to spot her today.
"Want to join us?" the perfumer who had just teased her invited amicably. "Normally, we perfumers are all competitors. It’s rare to have a chance like this to drop our titles and just chat for the love of the craft. Plus, with so many masters here, it’s a real opportunity."
Celia Sterling readily agreed. "Sure!"
"I’m Moon, the Chief Perfumer for the AuraScent fragrance brand from Veridian City. Might I ask which of our rivals this beautiful young lady belongs to?" the man asked.
Celia Sterling said, half-truthfully, "Delia Caine. But I’m just a junior employee. The higher-ups were busy, so they sent me as a representative."
"Holy shit, Delia Caine! Besides the three great perfuming families, your brand is the biggest powerhouse!" Moon’s expression changed slightly. "I heard you’re releasing a new product soon. We were originally planning to launch our new stuff around the same time, but we had to push our date back. Delia Caine’s market impact is just too massive. We don’t dare go head-to-head." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
"It’s not that exaggerated. Delia Caine only makes perfumes. The broader daily chemical market still relies on you, AuraScent, and the other major players to hold it up," Celia said modestly.
"The markets for floral water, shower gel, and skincare products... if Delia Caine wanted to snatch them, I doubt any company could compete with you." Another perfumer extended a hand to Celia. "Hello, beautiful. I’m the Chief Perfumer for Delia Caine’s biggest rival, the Hale Group. Our two companies have always been at each other’s throats. Today is a rare opportunity, so how about we set aside our differences and become friends?"
’The Starlight Group of Seraphina—the family brand of T-Rex Perfume, the group chat owner. Celia recalled hearing him making a fuss in the group chat a few days ago about coming to Port Sovereign to "rekindle an old flame" with Rivermoon.’
Celia Sterling raised an eyebrow and gave his hand a light shake. "Your Eldest Young Master Warren didn’t come?"
"He wanted to. He even followed us all the way to Port Sovereign, but then he heard somewhere that Chairman Sterling of the Sterling Group—the one that owns Delia Caine—was also in Port Sovereign. He dropped everything here and went to see his idol."
Celia Sterling was a little surprised. "Chairman Sterling... Kian Sterling? He’s your Crown Prince’s idol?"
"Don’t mind that we and Delia Caine are like fire and water on the surface. Privately, our Crown Prince has been a die-hard fanboy of your Chairman Sterling for over a decade. He has this crazy, obsessive admiration for his looks and his business tactics." The Chief Perfumer from Hale Group chuckled. "That’s why, even though we’ve been fighting with Delia Caine for so many years, our Crown Prince has actually shut down several extreme blockade plans against you that our marketing team proposed. The Crown Prince made it clear that while competing with Delia Caine, we can’t use dirty tricks. Besides, when it comes to being ruthless, he knows he can’t beat Chairman Sterling."
Celia Sterling thought about how, in all their years of fighting for market share, even though Hale Group was their biggest rival, their competition had indeed been free of any underhanded tactics. Her impression of this Eldest Young Master Warren improved a bit.
"When there’s a chance, I’ll have our Chairman Sterling invite him for afternoon tea."
"Chairman Sterling’s status is... well, our own chairman has tried to schedule a meeting with him several times and failed." The Hale Group perfumer shook his head and sighed. "But it’s the thought that counts. On behalf of our Crown Prince, thank you."
Celia Sterling ended the topic with silence.
The perfumer from AuraScent, Moon, started a new topic. "Miss, that genius perfumer of yours at Delia Caine, ’Brightmoon’—any chance you could introduce us?"
"We’re all chief perfumers for our respective brands, on the same level. The word ’introduction’ isn’t really necessary," Celia Sterling said softly. "She doesn’t like to socialize. We’ll see if there’s an opportunity in the future."
"We may all be chief perfumers, but our levels are completely different." The Hale Group perfumer’s tone was a bit defeated. "I’ve participated in the Scent-Chasing Cup five times and only won one gold and one silver award. The others here are probably in the same boat. But your Delia Caine’s ’Brightmoon’ is different. She wins gold every year. This year, she even won two at once."
"You’re not telling the whole story." Moon also gave a bitter smile. "When we compete, we submit three or four creations at a time, and maybe one wins an award occasionally. The success rate is less than ten percent. But ’Brightmoon’ only ever submits one creation, and it wins gold every single time without fail. This year, she was in a good mood, casually submitted two perfumes, and what do you know, both won gold. A one-hundred-percent gold medal rate! At that level, she’s on equal footing with the chief perfumers from the legendary perfuming families."
Hearing the frank admiration in their tones, Celia Sterling was taken aback for a moment. "You’re all arch-rivals. I would have thought you wouldn’t like her very much."
"Jealousy is a negative emotion you only feel for people who are just a little bit better than you." The Hale Group perfumer gave a wry smile. "I’d rather have our Crown Prince poach Brightmoon for our team."
’Too bad their Crown Prince wasn’t up to the task.’
The Hale Group perfumer clearly felt this was an unpleasant and pointless topic as well. He took out a glass bottle. "Come on, everyone. This perfume I just blended has a few clever tricks in it. Let’s see if you can identify them."
The topic shifted to their area of professional expertise, and the atmosphere immediately became lively. Celia Sterling, curious, also picked up the perfume and sprayed a little on her wrist. She analyzed its components with her keen sense of smell, joining the discussion where appropriate.
Not far away, Mr. Trenton stood before a retro, carved screen, a wine glass in hand, observing Celia Sterling impassively.
When the discussion in Celia’s group came to a close and she broke away from the crowd to move on, Mr. Trenton chose that moment to step forward. He spoke with the utmost respect and courtesy:
"Miss Sterling."
Celia Sterling looked toward the voice and was stunned to see Mr. Trenton. "You know me?"
"I wouldn’t say I know you. This is our first time meeting." Mr. Trenton introduced himself. "My surname is Trenton. Miles Trenton. I’ve heard our boss mention you."
"Your boss is..."
Miles Trenton paused for a moment. "His online name is Rivermoon. I wonder if Miss Sterling recalls it?"
’He really didn’t understand. The two of them were engaged and about to get married, so why was the boss still playing these role-playing games? He had taken an overnight flight to Port Sovereign and privately sought out Theo Chambers to ask about his boss’s future wife. Theo Chambers happened to be delivering fish bait to the boss at that moment. Seeing that it wasn’t a stranger, and busy baiting a hook himself, he just had the boss take the call.’
’Since it was the boss on the line, he obviously couldn’t ask for gossip. Miles Trenton had quickly found a serious, impromptu topic: "Should I reveal my relationship with you to the Madam?"’
"Don’t mention my name," Silas Norwood’s voice had been cool and detached. "If she asks, just say you know her online friend, Rivermoon."
