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When Samantha arrived at her office the next day, she couldn't help but notice the strange look her 'secretary' kept sending her way.
Checking herself out on her phone's screen, she confirmed that all the hickeys were properly covered, and nothing looked too out of place. But that only made her more confused.
In the end, Sam couldn't help but cough in embarrassment. "Is there something wrong, Noelle? Are you worried about my health? If that's the case, don't worry, I'm perfectly fine."
Of course, Noelle wasn't one to express what she considered 'unnecessary thoughts', especially while at work.
Even if she was concerned about the status of the relationship between the two sisters, she knew it wasn't her place to interfere in such personal matters. Moreover, if she tried, there was always the chance to make it worse.
She could only reluctantly nod and try to cover up her gaffe. "It's good that you're fine. You can work less for a few days and rest."
Sam chuckled. "Emilia told me the same thing. But it's strange hearing it from you. I can take it as you confessing that you really care about me a lot, huh? You softie~"
Noelle's face immediately turned dark. 'This pervert…!'
"Since you're so energetic, I'll be increasing your workload. I'm quite busy helping Emilia with the Black Tiger's matter, after all."
"EH?!"
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Of course, Noelle wasn't just saying that, and she really did give it her all to make all the preparations according to the requirements of her little boss.
They were all well aware of the risk they would be taking, so even the tiniest steps had to be taken care of meticulously.
And so, over the course of the next week, Emilia made sure to keep a close eye on the hero's activities as their plans slowly unrolled.
Not all was peaceful during this time, though, as while Mr. Black had been patiently waiting for Mrs. Brown to fulfill her end of the deal at first, his patience was bound to eventually run out.
And at that time… retribution was inevitable.
Mrs. Brown and Samantha had long since been working on preventing the fallout from the Black Tiger's retaliation, but when it really came, it still hit them hard.
With all his moles removed from the subsidiaries, they had thought that he would be trying to get some new ones in through recruitment channels, but Mr. Black went straight to hack at their roots instead.
Almost every single place where the Brown's had a business or store, the Black Tiger started spreading propaganda that their confectionery's goods were unhealthy, unhygienic, and even unethically produced!
Of course, they never did it with their own name, but through small companies that were easily disposable.
The slanderous advertisements were easy enough to take down with the help of the White Deer Corporation, but they would spring up again just as quick, with different sponsors every time.
To counter, Samantha had directly purchased most of the advertisement spots and billboards in the areas of note, and started curating the advertisers herself.
However, that also seemed to backfire on her when she received a call from certain government officials asking her to stop, or they would have to take action against her for trying to break 'anti-competition' laws.
"Yes, sister. I've already had Noelle tell you about it, no? Just stay put. Mhm, take care." Emilia sighed as she received another call as soon as she disconnected from Sam's.
After listening to Mrs. Brown's report, her expression turned grim. "Don't worry. Even if it looks bad right now, we're doing something to take care of the situation from our side."
Mrs. Brown remained silent for a few seconds before she sighed. She had only dared to go against Black Tiger because she knew Emilia was on her side, and only she knew how much relief it brought her when she heard her firm assurance. "Okay, dear. Then I'll try my best to bear with it, but please hurry… It's not just those subsidiaries that are suffering, but my main company too!"
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Despite the tense situation, Emilia had to make sure that her behavior remained appropriate while at school and other public places, just in case someone at the Black Tiger's side was overly suspicious.
While it wasn't a big deal, it was certainly annoying for her freedom-loving self.
Thankfully, it didn't take long for Noelle to finish her preparations.
And as Emilia climbed into 'Dixie's' car along with Crystal on that fateful day, she could feel her heart beat in both excitement and anticipation.
Of course, although it was the same model, and even had the same license plate, Emilia knew very well that this wasn't her friend's car, but her own. Even Dixie's poor driver hadn't known about it in advance, and was currently resting peacefully with Noelle's subordinates.
With the privacy screen being up, Dixie naturally didn't notice, and nobody else could be bothered with the slight differences in the face of Dixie's driver.
But not to mention Crystal, who was naturally astute, even Dixie noticed that something wasn't right with her expression. "Is there anything wrong, princess?"
Emilia smiled mysteriously. "Mhm, there is a good show waiting for you, but you have to be obedient and follow my instructions. Got it?"
Dixie just nodded, feeling slightly confused, while Crystal blinked in surprise. "Good show? Are we going to a movie?"
They had already thought that something was a little strange when their little princess didn't immediately start throwing herself around when the door closed, but for Emilia to keep it a secret… they couldn't help but wonder what she had planned.
Emilia chuckled. "With my heroine there, isn't every day a movie?"
The blonde girl rolled her eyes at her playful look. "Fine then, don't tell me. I'll know when I see it, anyway."
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Meanwhile, Amos frowned as he watched 'Dixie's car' go through the same route at the same pace for what seemed like the millionth time. "I've been doing this for so fucking long… just how long is my bastard father going to make me wait? Don't tell me he forgot about our deal?!"
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