Don't Mess with the Girl with Candy novel Chapter 785

"Let's go," Shanley said, leaning down to face the pouting girl. He soothed her gently, "The fact that he answered that way proves the plant exists. Otherwise, he would have just said, 'We don't have it.'"

"That's the only reason I didn't say something harsh to that pretentious jerk," Juniper muttered through gritted teeth. With anything else, she would have preferred to let her fists do the talking.

"That herb seems to be very important to him," Shanley said, guiding Juniper out with a hand on her waist. "It's alright. We'll try again."

If money couldn't persuade him, they would find another way. Everyone had a weakness.

"Otherwise…" Juniper said as she walked, her brow furrowed and her expression dark, "why don't you just shell him with cannons a few more times?"

If the soft approach didn't work, they'd use force.

"Don't be ridiculous," Shanley chuckled, amused. He gave her waist a light squeeze. "Warren is the type who doesn't respond to carrots or sticks. The more you provoke him, the more he'll push back. What if he destroys it in a fit of rage? Haven't you learned that lesson before, Specter?"

Juniper fell silent. He was right. When they had competed for the herbs back then, Warren had shown absolutely no mercy. That's what had provoked her into taking the whole lot.

"Fine, we'll try talking again," Juniper said, taking a deep breath. For Ebony Fox's sake, she would try to be patient.

---

Far away, on the top floor of the castle, Warren stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, a cup of coffee in hand. He squinted as he watched the group by the car below. He was particularly focused on the girl. Her face, her voice… they bore a striking resemblance to Celine.

"My Lord, the Madam is here," a voice said from behind as the door opened.

"Good girl, Celine."

Warren stroked Celine's head, his tone like he was cooing at a child. And he was, in a way.

Celine had been sent to Liberty Island the same year he was. His father had an affair, and the mistress had shown up at their door, causing his mother to die from the shock and rage. Right after the funeral, the mistress moved in brazenly, taking over his mother's room. She even burned his mother's memorial tablet, claiming it was bad luck.

He was thirteen that year. He had personally dealt with the unrepentant woman who had destroyed his family. His father, devastated, fell ill and soon passed away. Immediately, his relatives descended like vultures, fighting over the family fortune and colluding to have him sent to Liberty Island.

On the day he arrived, he met Celine. She didn't have a name then; people just called her the 'little fool.' An accident had caused severe brain trauma, damaging her nerves and leaving her with the mental age of a six-year-old. Her parents and origins were unknown. The story was that she was sent to Liberty Island for repeated 'violent behavior.'

As two fellow orphans adrift in the world, they began to rely on each other.