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Although the intensity of the fight between the tiger and the wolf decreased, Noelle's workload only continued to increase as the time for the Imperial Academy's annual events week drew closer.
The gray-haired girl was so busy that she didn't even notice that her salary had been raised until Emilia came to her looking for praise.
Of course, it only made the younger girl more distressed, so she decided to be more proactive, even though it was a little too early for her to jump in and reveal herself according to her initial plans.
"Why not just let me do it like usual?"
Seeing Noelle's suspicious expression, Emilia could only smile cheekily. "It's not like they will have any other way to go, right? I won't mess anything up, promise!"
The gray-haired girl rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Being the boss, are you not ashamed to behave like this in front of a subordinate?"
Emilia didn't seem to care that it was her own plan at all, though, and playfully stuck her tongue out at the older girl. "Weren't you the one who told me I'm always cute, even when I'm being unreasonable?"
Noelle hurriedly looked away, lest she be unable to resist the strange urge to bite that pink little tongue.
The crimson-haired girl grinned. "Aw, look at you being so shy~! I can't let you talk to them like this now, can I? What if they're charmed? I'd be jealous."
Noelle could only snort and push her away. "Okay, if you've already made your mind, don't bother me!"
Although she wanted Emilia to be free, with the way things were heading, the girl had to learn to take personal charge soon anyway, so it might as well be now.
With her usually casual attitude, Noelle didn't expect Emilia to take things very seriously at first, but after lecturing her over the next thirty minutes, the gray-haired girl realized that things were a little different from what she expected.
Not only was it apparent that Emilia had done her homework, but she also took the time to change from her school uniform into something more presentable.
Emilia twirled around in front of her with a mischievous smile. "Do I look like a super-serious boss lady?"
Noelle sighed. "Not when you speak like that, no."
Of course, although she definitely didn't look very 'convincing' as a professional thanks to her overly beautiful face, Noelle couldn't deny that Emilia had her own strengths.
Even though this suit belonged to Sam and didn't actually fit Emilia that well, even the way it made her look a little childish made her heart beat strangely.
Emilia couldn't help but hop over and boop the older girl's nose with a playful smile. "Why do you keep sighing like an old lady? If you're too tired, I can always give you a massage~?"
Noelle rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Can you be serious for one minute? If there wasn't too little time left for the meeting, I really wanted to beat you up right now!"
The crimson-haired beauty leaned up and wrapped her hands around the older girl's shoulders before pecking her playfully on the lips. "I know you can't bear to hit me~"
Noelle sighed. "I really want to, though."
Regardless of her 'annoyance', though, Noelle couldn't deny that all the negative thoughts that had been accumulating within her for the past few weeks had been more or less pushed away by this playful younger girl.
Even though they were playing with fire, and it looked like they could burn to death if they made a mistake, strangely… Noelle didn't find it so unappealing.
Maybe, even if everything went to ruin while following the games of this little minx, it would still be 'fun'.
Amused by her own thoughts, Noelle didn't even realize when the time for the virtual meeting was already there, and it was only when Emilia stopped snuggling into her lap and hopped off to Sam's desk that she seemingly woke up from her dream-like state.
Noelle couldn't help but jolt up in shock. 'Oh no! I didn't even give her the cheat sheet I had planned!'
Although it was already late, the gray-haired girl still rushed off to fetch the materials as Emilia received the video call.
There were people on the other side, seemingly in the same room, but separated by a stark difference in their aura.
Even though their chairs were almost touching each other across the glass table on which the camera was mounted, it was as if they were still worlds apart.
If not for the similarity in their facial features, people would find it hard to believe that they were 'twins'.
The female with long ginger hair and cold, downy eyes greeted Emilia with a reserved smile. "Miss Emilia, hello, it's nice to meet you."
In contrast, the man's expression and words were both warm, and he looked like someone much easier to get along with. "You're even prettier than I imagined from the rumors, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!"
Emilia grinned. "Hi, I'm surprised that the two of you know me already, ehehe~"
Of course, Emilia already knew that the man was actually quite cold-hearted, and whoever got fooled by this smiling tiger was bound to die a miserable death.
The younger girl's bashful smile seemed to make the duo on the other side relieved, and Emilia didn't miss the change in their expressions.
Clearly, although Emilia had made the decision to appear today on a whim, to these two twins, it was conveyed like an official message. After all, when it comes to the 'boss', things naturally needed to be worded differently.
Neither of them knew at first who was the one 'leading' the situation they were in, and only thought of Emilia as a pampered little princess. At best, she was here to play around, and at worst, she would be making things much, much more difficult.
Fortunately, neither of their guesses seemed to be true, and this bolt from the blue looked more and more like a pie from the sky instead.
Jasper grinned. "Emilia, I've heard that you're interested in the 'Golden Crown' event? Coincidentally, both of us will also be there, would you mind if I were to be your escort?"
The more daring of the two took the lead as Emilia expected, ignoring the look of reproach from his more cautious sister.
Compared to a tough cookie like that Noelle woman, or even that cunning Sam, wasn't it much easier to lead a dumb little princess like her by the nose?
Emilia smiled shyly, but broke his thoughts just the same. "I'm sorry, Mr. Jasper, I already asked someone else to escort me."
Ginny watched her brother's warm smile freeze for just a moment before he nodded in embarrassment, and couldn't help but roll her eyes internally. 'Why can't he stop jumping into every pit in front of him with such enthusiasm?!'
She gave the younger girl on the opposite side an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry if we embarrassed you. When we discovered that we had been fooled, we were in a desperate situation, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call you our savior. So please forgive my brother for being overenthusiastic."
Not only was the credit for the entire organization's efforts placed squarely on Emilia's shoulders, she even received the title of 'savior' and became their 'benefactor'.
Maybe if she really had just been a naïve, innocent girl, she would have already started treating these two sincerely.
But Emilia clearly knew that neither of them was aware that she was actually the one guiding the whole process from behind the scenes, and Ginny's 'sincere' words were only there to hook her heart.
Of course, she didn't really mind. Although they looked much older than her, these two children were also pitiful.
Emilia nodded to herself with a smile. 'This princess can forgive a beggar child for trying to steal a bread, children, I'll forgive you this time!'
Cynthia could only sigh in her heart, but couldn't find the words to refute her partner.
The crimson-haired girl accepted all their 'praise and gratitude', blushing shyly all the while, and then quickly started 'bragging' about the things she had planned.
"Big brother Jasper and Sister Ginny will help me, right? That guy really tried to bully me before!"
While Jasper nodded with a dumbfounded smile, Ginny grinned in embarrassment. "I'm sorry for my step-brother's behavior, Miss Emilia. If I could, I would definitely—"
Emilia smiled. "Oh, don't worry, I don't blame you. I just want to teach him a lesson, you know?"
The more they talked, the more apparent it became that this young girl was not only gentle and mischievous, but also very, very vengeful.
If someone stole a kiss from her, she wouldn't forgive them until she stole it back twice, no, three times!
Although it was stupidly cute, it was still quite scary. Especially when taking into account the absurd levels of indulgence that the seemingly 'calm and rational' people on her side seemed to have.
Clearly, they were all a bunch of lunatics.
From her words, some of the things they had previously been confused about also became clear.
The two of them couldn't help but look at each other in dismay.
If what she said was true… wasn't all of this just a game meant to entertain her?
Even if they hadn't been favored all their lives, both Jasper and Ginny were still raised in the strongest organization in the world. But even if their guts had been ten thousand times stronger, they still wouldn't dare play a game like this!
Of course, in their situation… perhaps taking advantage of her insanity was the key to getting out of their father's stranglehold.
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