Chapter 302 What Do You Want to Bet On?
Pippa was spinning around anxiously in place.
Gwyneth sensed its worry and crouched down to stroke the soft fur on Pippa's neck. "Do you have something you want to tell me?"
Pippa rubbed against Gwyneth's knee while tugging at her clothes with its teeth, scratching its ears frantically, as if desperate to speak in plain language.
Gwyneth's eyes darkened slightly.
"Pippa, are you trying to tell me that I am the master Isabella is looking for?"
Pippa barked excitedly and jumped up.
Clearly Gwyneth had guessed right.
A flash of disbelief crossed Gwyneth's eyes.
She never expected such an answer.
So she had been Isabella's master!
No wonder her signet ring was in Isabella's hands, and no wonder she felt an unusual sense of familiarity with Isabella!
Wilmer glanced at Gwyneth. "Ms. Powell, I thought before that Isabella's moves were similar to yours. Turns out she was trained by you. That explains everything."
Gwyneth narrowed her eyes slightly. Without saying anything, she turned to leave.
Pippa followed and pawed at her.
Gwyneth thought it was hungry and pushed it away, saying, "I'll have someone bring you food later."
With that, Gwyneth left.
Pippa watched Gwyneth's retreating figure, wagging its tail, as if it still had something to say.
But Gwyneth's mind was completely occupied with the fact that she was the master Isabella had been looking for, so naturally she didn't notice Pippa's unusual behavior.
——
Isabella didn't return to the castle but went to the orchard on the mountain to pick some fruit.
It was a large orchard that Isabella had discovered before. It had everything - strawberries, bananas, grapes, including fruits Isabella had never seen before that only grew in Novaria...
After picking a basket of fruit, Isabella carried it back to the castle.
At the castle entrance, both Knox and Ollie were there.
Knox greeted her. "Hello, Ms. Taylor."
Isabella took a peach from the basket and tossed it to him. "For you."
Knox caught it. "Thank you."
"Ms. Taylor, you picked so much fruit, is it..."
"For myself, and part of it is for Gwyneth."
Actually, since moving into the castle, Gwyneth had been pretty good to her - at least approachable. So she was bringing Gwyneth some fruit to try, as a way of thanking her for taking care of her during this time.
Ollie glanced at the fruit in Isabella's basket, his face dark. "Who gave you permission to pick fruit from the back mountain?"
Isabella looked at him. "What? Did you plant those fruits in the orchard?"
"Of course not."
"Then what's it to you?" Isabella glanced at Ollie and sneered. "Always sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."
Hearing this, Ollie glared at her angrily.
The orchard fruit wasn't off-limits, but he just couldn't stand seeing Isabella so carefree and comfortable.
This woman who was freeloading and doing whatever she wanted in the castle was truly disgusting.
He couldn't wait to kick Isabella out immediately!
He just hadn't figured out how to get rid of her yet.
Isabella couldn't be bothered with Ollie. She didn't even spare him another glance and walked toward the castle with her fruit basket.
But Ollie blocked her way, deliberately showing a mocking expression. "I heard you want Ms. Powell to take you as her student. Who do you think you are? You're an outsider - where do you get the nerve to covet the status of being Ms. Powell's student? I suggest you weigh your own worth and look in the mirror to see what you really are. Don't make people laugh their heads off!"
Isabella looked at him coldly. "Did you forget to eat your dog food today?"
Ollie's face darkened. "What did you say?"
"Your words reek of shit, so I figure you must not have eaten dog food today - you switched to eating shit instead."
Ollie: "..."
The guards nearby couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Ollie's face looked as ugly as shit.
"Am I wrong? You just don't know your place!" He said through gritted teeth. "Don't think that giving Ms. Powell some fruit with these little tricks will win her over! Let me warn you - fruit picked by someone like you, Ms. Powell won't take a single bite. You believe me or not?"
Isabella remained expressionless. "I don't believe you."
Ollie sneered. "You don't believe me? Then let's make a bet?"
Ollie deliberately said these provocative words, a gleam flashing in his eyes. He wanted to goad Isabella into betting with him so she would lose something.
Sure enough, Isabella agreed.
"What do you want to bet?"
Ollie already had a clear target in mind and immediately said, "If you lose, you have to return that signet ring in your hand to Ms. Powell!"
He had long been bothered by Isabella having that signet ring.
Such an important item - was she even worthy of holding it? Besides, with Isabella holding the signet ring, all the guards had to be respectful to her, and she could go anywhere in the castle she wanted.
He really couldn't stand Isabella having such power!
So this signet ring had to be returned to Gwyneth!
Hearing this, Isabella smiled slightly.
How could she not know what Ollie was thinking?
"Fine. If I lose, I'll return the signet ring to Gwyneth."
Isabella paused, then asked, "Since my bet is such a valuable signet ring, what's your bet? It should be worth something comparable."
Ollie knew that you can't catch a wolf without risking the child.
He had to offer something tempting enough to make Isabella bet with him.
Ollie gritted his teeth. "If you win, have Ms. Powell remove me from my position as deputy guard. Are you satisfied now?"
Isabella clapped her hands. "That's good. Honestly, you really don't deserve that position. You should resign from it."
"You..." Hearing her words, Ollie's face darkened. He said coldly, "You really think I'll lose? I think you're brainless!"
He was certain that Gwyneth would definitely not eat Isabella's fruit.
Because Gwyneth's status was too special.
When it came to food, clothing, housing, and transportation, Gwyneth only absolutely trusted her inner circle. For daily life, it was Axel; for other matters, it was Wilmer. These two people - one was her personal assistant, the other was her most trusted assassin.
Regarding food, every dish Gwyneth ate and every drink she consumed had to go through strict testing to ensure it was safe and harmless. Especially after several poisoning incidents, Gwyneth had become even more cautious about this.
So Gwyneth never ate food from outside, never accepted dinner invitations from anyone, and definitely wouldn't eat food given by others since she couldn't verify each item. She simply wouldn't eat anything from outside to eliminate any possibility of being harmed.