The maids and other staff had clearly already received some instructions from the prime minister, and they weren’t surprised by the fact that the crimson-haired beauty had already started treating the place as her own during her short stay.
Within moments, Justine had already dropped Kristie off in front of a rather luxurious guest bedroom before she was led to her own. The maids left shortly after they were done showing her around a little and had also let her know how to reach out if she needed anything.
Of course, although the place was quite well decorated in general, what really caught Justine’s attention was a bouquet of pink lilies on the study table.
Walking over curiously, the blue-haired girl quickly found the message written in a neat, clean font. ‘She may be kind, but we are not. If you hurt her…’
Justine was only dumbfounded for a moment before she scratched her head in embarrassment. ‘Is it Dixie, or Crystal? It has to be Dixie, right?’
She hadn’t seen either of their handwriting before, but going by the ‘style’ of both the text as well as its tone, she didn’t think someone like Crystal could be so straightforward.
Of course, even if the gentler girl wouldn’t say it, Justine understood that she also must have agreed with Dixie’s message. But the blue-haired girl didn’t blame them.
After all, they were only looking out for Emilia. If anything Justine even felt a little more relieved now, knowing that the crimson-haired girl was still being guarded as vigilantly as ever.
That being said, Justine had no intention of backing out. What made her less qualified to be with Emilia than anyone else?
‘Sure, I may not be as smart as Crystal, or as strong as Dixie, or as rich as Sam, or as capable as Noelle…’ Justine coughed. ‘A-Anyway, i-it doesn’t matter as long as Emilia doesn’t mind!’
Just as she was trying to gather her rapidly scattering courage, there was a brief knock on the door, followed by a very familiar sweet and seductive voice. “Can I come in?”
The ex-policelady immediately threw off her earlier distracting thoughts as she immediately shot up and rushed to open the door. “P-Please come in, y-you’re always welcome!”
Had she not been too busy being lost in the crimson-haired beauty’s eyes, maybe Justine would have been embarrassed by her strange response.
Emilia grinned as she closed the door behind her. “I didn’t make you wait long, did I?”
The older girl quickly shook her head in denial. “N-Not at all! Are you already done dealing with Rhea?”
The crimson-haired girl hummed. “I only wanted to see if she was more interested in developing her talents, or just wanted to live a more normal, cozy life in the Empire. But since Crystal told me she’ll deal with it, I guess I don’t have to worry about it now?”
“Ohh…” Although Justine tried her best to listen to what the younger girl was saying, her hazy sight that was completely fixated on Emilia’s lips obviously betrayed her.
Fortunately, the younger girl didn’t mind at all, and even playfully trotted over to the bed before patting the spot next to her. “Anyway, forget all that. Why don’t you tell me more about how you’ve been the past few weeks?”
Justine blinked at her blankly for a few moments before a delighted grin lit up her face. “Okay!”
Naturally, she’d already given detailed reports to her boss, but Justine was more than happy to retell all her glorious exploits if Emilia was interested in hearing them.
The crimson-haired girl listened attentively as Justine explained how her team had negotiated with and tricked various factions within the capital of Phoenix to facilitate their movements, how they prepared many traps in advance, and even made contingency plans for contingency plans.
Of course, they also had to take care of many things on the bright side, such as dealing with the twins of the Gray family, though their ‘duties’ were really only limited to formalities once Emilia and Noelle were done negotiating with Jasper and Ginny.
With the White Deer Corporation backing them in secret, the twins obviously no longer needed to fear or rely on anyone else.
Once the older girl was done reiterating her tale, Emilia smiled. “As expected, when it comes to getting rid of scumbags, you really know how to get the job done!”
From the very first time she’d met the girl, the crimson-haired girl knew that Justine was someone who knew when to advance and retreat, while still being passionate about her goals.
And when it came to missions like this, where it was of critical importance to judge at which moment one should strike and when they had to hold out regardless of the temptation, Emilia knew that she needed someone exactly like that.
Of course, Justine was weak to a different kind of ‘temptation’, but as long as her eyes remained stuck on Emilia, the crimson-haired beauty didn’t really mind.
Justine blushed under the praise of her ‘boss’. “To be honest, I don’t think we could have pulled it off if not for the help from the Dimitrescu family, especially when it came to taking down that old snake guy.”
Emilia hummed. “They fulfilled their side of the deal, and we did the same. But that doesn’t take away from your credit now, does it?”
The blue-haired girl couldn’t help but rub her nose in embarrassment. “T-That means I can ask for a good reward, r-right?”
Emilia grinned, her eyes glinting mischievously. “I was wondering when you’ll get to that part.”
Although she knew her previous behavior had long since given her ‘intentions’ away, Justine still couldn’t help but cough in embarrassment. “S-Sorry, I just got too excited. I-I… I wanted to continue what we were doing… t-that day!”
She was obviously too embarrassed to say it clearly, but Emilia naturally understood which day it was, and what it was that Justine wanted from her.
She’d known since before the ex-policelady even opened her mouth.
The crimson-haired girl hummed. “It’s fine. But before we get to that part… there’s something I wanted you to know.”
Wondering what it could be, Justine couldn’t help but gulp nervously. “Y-Yes?”
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