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The gentle smile on Ginny's face evaporated like smoke the moment the video call was disconnected, and a heavy sigh escaped her lips. "What an unfortunate girl."
Her twin brother froze mid-yawn and almost fell off his chair. "S-Sister… are you talking about Emilia?"
The ginger-haired lady gave him a cold, derisive look. "Who else would I be talking about?"
Although he was dumbfounded for a moment, Jasper quickly shook his head in denial. "What the hell? I don't get it at all!"
From what he could see, not only was the girl in a much more privileged position compared to them, but was also heavily protected by her parents and older sister alike.
If she was 'unfortunate', which hairy ape's big toe were the two of them supposed to be?!
Ginny sighed. "In a few more years, we'll be thirty, but your brain still hasn't finished growing… and maybe it never will."
Her twin brother couldn't help but groan. "Can you please speak like a normal human being?!"
Seeing his 'completely hopeless' attitude, Ginny shook her head in disappointment.
Although they had been caught blindsided this time, unlike her impulsive brother, she naturally did everything she could to look into the situation in Oriana country before committing to the 'partnership' that seemed a little too good to be true.
They had no good people stationed over there, and while there was always the option to hire locals, Ginny was cautious by nature and preferred to do things by herself.
After spending some time on the internet and befriending the right people, it didn't take her long to successfully make a few 'interesting discoveries'.
And while it remained impossible to find out too much without going over in person, discovering Samantha's obsession with her little sister wasn't hard at all.
Momentarily feeling sympathetic towards her 'stupid' brother, Ginny decided to explain it to him as clearly as she could. "Idiot. Have you already forgotten what I told you about how morbidly obsessed 'our partner' is with her little sister?"
Jasper blinked at her in shock. "Eh? You didn't make that up just to make me jealous of how much better of a sister she is compared to mine?"
Ginny smiled, though it was much, much colder than even the reserved smile she had in front of her business partners. "… If I were to ever become obsessed with you, I assure you, it wouldn't be adorable, and you won't enjoy it. On the plus side, it's not like your suffering will last long."
"… I'm sorry. Please remain normal."
"Hmph. Although this little girl seems to be having fun now, with how stupid she is… how long do you think it will be before she's firmly trapped in her older sister's claws?"
Jasper nodded along at first, but soon froze in realization. "Oh… wait a minute, is that a bad thing?!"
Although people could look different in person than they did on the screen, Samantha was still undoubtedly a tall, glamorous cold beauty.
He wouldn't mind being 'trapped' and spoiled by someone like her at all!
Ginny 'smiled'. "If you think it's good, why not let me be in charge?"
Her twin brother looked at her in horror, and then stumbled back from his chair in denial. "S-Sister, even if I'm impulsive at times, I'm not stupid!"
Seeing how she didn't look amused at all, the male twin sighed and sat back down on the chair. "Besides, you don't dote on me at all! If I really surrender, you'll probably send me to some remote country with a small allowance and take over everything by yourself. We're doing this half and half, or not doing it at all!"
Ginny gave him a look of appreciation. "So you're not completely stupid, huh?"
"At least deny it?!"
Looking at Jasper's 'hateful' expression, she couldn't help but chuckle in amusement. "But you hate me just as much?"
Jasper rubbed his nose in embarrassment. "Hey, hate is a strong word. At most… you just annoy the fuck out of me."
"Same to you."
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Although she silently stood aside throughout the meeting between Emilia and the twins, Noelle had still been paying careful attention to their conversation.
There was no denying that Emilia was sometimes silly and sweet, but the way she acted with the twins left her completely dumbfounded.
She couldn't help but knock on the younger girl's adorable head with her knuckles. "Why would you pretend to be such a silly and sweet little rabbit? Are you not afraid they'll look down on you?"
As far as Noelle was concerned, mutual respect was extremely important when it came to forming any form of partnership, and what Emilia did seemed more than a little counterproductive.
Emilia grinned as she pressed her face against Noelle's tummy. "Don't you think this sweet little rabbit is cute?"
Looking at her adorable expression, Noelle couldn't help but gulp. "Y-Yes… but wait! Be serious!"
Emilia hummed, not protesting at all when the older girl flicked her forehead in a futile attempt to 'bully' her. "I'm just giving them what they want, you know?"
While some people would definitely prefer smart and clever allies, that was definitely not the case for Jasper and Ginny.
Perhaps it was because they had been raised by an overly paranoid mother who died young, or because their own father seemed to spite them at every opportunity he got, but neither of them seemed to believe that they could trust or rely on anyone.
Not even each other.
Their lack of mutual trust was one of the key reasons why they had been both placed together in the same country.
Not to mention cooperating with each other for mutual growth, the two had been butting heads and competing fiercely for the past few years. Had they not been pulling each other down, perhaps they might have noticed something strange about the so-called 'competition' from the start.
After all, since both their father and stepmother clearly favored Alexander… why would the two of them be given a fair chance to rise to the top? It made no sense.
Of course, once they realized that they were both on the same, destined to lose side, they quickly decided to team up and put their differences aside.
While everything worked out in Emilia's favor so far, if she wanted to maximize the efficiency and compatibility of their partnership, she believed that this was one of the most effective methods.
If the person 'pulling the strings' was just a silly and sweet little rabbit, even the twins wouldn't be so cautious. And since Emilia knew just how to do it without compromising her side's ability, she naturally wouldn't hesitate just to preserve a dignified image.
"So… you get it now? I'm not just being silly all the time for no reason, you know?"
Noelle coughed. "That's debatable, but yeah… I get it."
Although she understood that Emilia's behavior was intended to make the twins put down their guard, the gray-haired girl still felt some resistance in her heart to the younger girl showing such a vulnerable side to outsiders.
They were already going to benefit from their partnership, anyway, and if they looked down on Emilia on top of that, Noelle felt like she wouldn't be able to swallow that breath without punching someone in the face, at all.
Emilia could obviously tell that although Noelle's attitude seemed a little tough as she stood by her chair and looked down on her like that, the older girl was still only worried for her.
"Ehehe…"
But looking down at the younger girl still leaning forward and snuggling against her with a carefree smile, Noelle could only sigh in defeat. "Well, let me go first. What will people think if they see you like this? You don't look like a boss at all!"
Emilia hummed. "Who would dare to barge in? This is big sister's office."
Noelle couldn't help but roll her eyes in exasperation. "She's the one I'm worried about the most."
The crimson-haired girl looked up at her with a smile. "Big sister won't be mean to me, you know?"
Noelle nodded. "Not you, no, but what about me? She'll blame her for 'double standards' for the rest of the week."
Emilia grinned. "She wouldn't whine so much if you didn't bully her so much, you know?"
The older girl coughed awkwardly as she patted Emilia's head. "W-When did I bully her?"
Emilia blinked. "All the time?"
Noelle couldn't help but huff and squeeze the younger girl's soft cheeks. "Tell me, did she bribe you to beg in her place?"
Emilia allowed the older girl to knead her face as she pleased, and giggled happily when Noelle let her go with a helpless smile. "Big sister is so pitiful… you would even doubt me if I speak up for her?"
The gray-haired girl couldn't help but look away in embarrassment. "I-In my defense, although you're adorable, you're also one of the naughtiest, least trustworthy girls I know."
Seeing how Emilia seemed to argue for Sam again, Noelle quickly took advantage of her position and smothered her adorable face into her tummy. "Anyway, don't mention this anymore! It's already good enough that I'm not beating that little idiot up for annoying me all the time…"
Sam, who had just walked in, couldn't help but be dumbfounded.
Not only was her little sister being 'bullied' in her absence, but there was no need to think twice about who the 'idiot' in Noelle's mouth was!
Sam couldn't help but stomp forward furiously. "Who is beating who up?!"
Noelle sighed. "Look, isn't she just looking for a beating?"
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