IHDOE Ch 21

If Satina attended the Imperial Ball, countless nobles would see the dress Laura crafted regardless. Even if only three or four of them purchased a dress, she could breathe easier.

However, Satina's disgraceful scenes—heard through rumors all this time—bothered Laura. What if Satina wore the dress she made and clung to the Crown Prince?

Dresses were expensive items. Crafting a dress for Satina free of charge was no different from a gamble for Laura as well, causing her to hesitate repeatedly.

Noticing Laura's hesitation, Satina spoke.

[Satina] "It seems my reputation worries you. Then let us do this. If fewer than three people come to buy dresses after I attend the ball, I will pay you triple the dress' price."

[Laura] "T-Triple? But……"

Currently, Satina lacked the money to buy even one dress, so how could she pay such a sum?

[Satina] "How about I write a promissory note under my family's name?"

For a shop on the verge of bankruptcy, no further hesitation was needed. She grabbed Satina's hands eagerly.

[Laura] "Alright! Then I leave it in your care!"

---

[Liv] "Currently, the player lacks the capability to pay triple the amount, does she not?"

[Satina] "I know that too."

[Liv] "Laura's Closet crafts dresses well, but possesses no acquainted nobles.

Even if you fail to pay the promised money, the probability of damaging the player's Fame is approximately 8%.

Liv admires the player's resourcefulness."

[Satina] "I will not cheat on her. The point is to make people show interest in the dress I wear. More importantly, what do I do next?"

She whispered in her room while holding honey. Across her table lay ingredients brought by Cheney at her request.

[Liv] "Add 3.5g of honey."

[Satina] "Is this enough?"

[Liv] "Honey exceeded by 0.3g. Add 0.15g more lemon powder for taste."

[Satina] "You are quite picky."

[Liv] "Accurate measurement is essential for cooking."

[Satina] "Is this enough lemon powder?"

[Liv] "Remove more."

Following the meticulous system's instructions yielded a superb lemon honey tea.

[Satina] "Delicious. I could start a business with this right now."

[Liv] "Naturally. It follows a recipe carefully selected by the empire's top chef, prepared without a millimeter of error. However, are you certain? Stimulating human desire to purchase is a difficult task."

[Satina] "And an easy one as well."

[Liv] "Do you possess a plan?"

[Satina] "Conveniently, bait exists in our house that people will find intensely interesting."

I am not making this for no reason.

She recalled a certain bastard who was likely racking his handsome brain in his office right about now.

[Satina] "At any rate, I calculated everything, so don't worry."

---

Carrying the lemon honey tea made from Liv's recipe, Satina headed toward Sharlan's office.

[Sharlan] "Tell them first to stop imitating us. Lowering prices might work immediately, but long term it yields losses for us……"

Beyond the door echoed his irritable voice, apparently issuing orders to an aide.

Knocking and waiting briefly, the aide stepped outside.

[Aide] "He says you may enter."

Guided by the aide, Satina stepped into the office. Seated at his desk, Sharlan greeted her with a well-crafted smile.

[Sharlan] "What brings you here? For you to visit me directly."

[Satina] "I made a snack, and it tasted quite good, so I brought it for you to try."

Pondering what Sharlan had just ordered his aide, Satina offered the lemon honey tea.

Without glancing at the lemon honey tea she extended, Sharlan looked at the documents and spoke.

[Sharlan] "Out of duty as a younger brother, I didn't throw you out, but I am hardly idle. Doing something like this suggests you desire something from me."

[Satina] "It is nothing like that. I prepared it because you looked exhausted lately. They say sweet things lift one's mood and relieve fatigue."

He disbelieved her words. She definitely visited him because she desired something. And right now, only one thing existed that she could desire: A dress to wear to the Imperial Ball.

Her obvious motives struck him as laughable.

[Sharlan] "Is there any need to waste each other's time? I will indulge you once without you going to such lengths, so speak honestly. Do you not need a dress to wear to the Imperial Ball?"

[Satina] "I need a dress, but I have no intention of getting one from you."

[Sharlan] "Then you came to see me without any business at all?"

Setting down his pen, he leaned back in his chair. His ocean-blue eyes turned toward Satina at last.

[Sharlan] "Amusing. After avoiding me out of reluctance all this time."

He offered a twisted smile.

[Sharlan] "Why do you look at me with those eyes? Did I appear foolish enough not to notice even that, Sister?"

[Satina] "I told you. I desire nothing."

[Sharlan] "Do you think I would believe such a lie?"

Who wants to look at your face anyway?

Satina cursed inwardly. If she followed her urges, she would douse his face in this tea.

Still, living beats dying.

Normal Ending. True freedom. That was all she desired.

To achieve that, I must first raise the target's Affection and Fame, then break the betrothal with the Crown Prince.

And to break the betrothal, the help of Sharlan—the Young Duke of House Bersabet—is essential.

Breaking the betrothal recklessly without solidifying her standing within the family risked getting confined to her room, unable to move.

Now that her ability to use holy power stood revealed, she might spend her whole life having her holy power extracted—just like the Bad Ending she saw—or get forced into marriage with a distant frontier noble by Duke Bersabet.

Either path was an express train to a Bad Ending. She refused such a miserable demise.

So I must solidify my foundation within the family while raising Sharlan's Affection, then break the betrothal with the Crown Prince.

To target Sharlan, she had to knock on his heart continuously.

It was the same in the game. While other targets swooned before the heroine as if hit by tranquilizer darts, Sharlan tested her endlessly. Even when the heroine constantly gave gifts and favors, Sharlan remained unable to trust her.

To a man whose habit and way of life were calculating profit and loss, devotion without reward was unbelievable.

Come to think of it, my situation is worse.

At least the heroine and Sharlan were strangers initially, and their first encounter was decent.

Ever since Sharlan mocked Satina during their first meeting—asking how she could possibly be his sister—he had disregarded her for a long time.

Even I think I am suspicious.

Regardless, she had to target him to survive.

[Satina] "I don't desire your money. I don't want you to do anything for me either. In truth……"

As if suppressing a surging emotion, her voice trembled faintly.

[Satina] "In truth, I was lonely. It feels miserable to say this with my own mouth, but you are the only one who interacts with me even this much. That is why I came."

Sharlan recalled Satina's disastrous human relationships. Word said she was dragged out like a dog from the Crown Prince she clung to so desperately, so had she truly gone mad?

He offered a gentle smile.

[Sharlan] "So you desire nothing from me?"

[Satina] "Yes."

[Sharlan] "Very well."

He summoned a servant, ordering him to bring a dress. He had instructed them to secure one this morning, just in case.

At his command, his subordinates spent the morning searching on foot to acquire a magnificent dress.

The dress—crafted from thin, flowing black fabric embroidered with silver thread—commanded a high price at a glance.

Sharlan held the dress up before Satina.

[Sharlan] "I prepared this dress for you, Sister. Walking around looking like a beggar as before brings harm to the family name."

He stared intently at her face as if refusing to miss even the smallest expression.

[Sharlan] "Do you need it?"

[Satina] "No."

[Sharlan] "Is that so?"

Riiip.

Sharlan picked up scissors stuck in a pen holder and slashed the dress to pieces.

Snip.

Listening to fabric getting sliced, Satina stood still in place.

Torn pieces of the dress fluttered to the floor. Stepping on shreds of fabric no longer recognizable as a dress, Sharlan took large strides toward Satina.

[Sharlan] "Since you said you don't need it, I disposed of it for you."

With one hand, he cupped the cheek of downcast Satina, lifting her face. A flicker of sorrow surfaced in her pink eyes, but lasted only a moment.

He whispered in an affectionate voice.

[Sharlan] "If you speak honestly even now, I will procure a new dress you desire, Sister."

[Satina] "……It is fine."

When she lowered her eyes, long eyelashes cast shadows across her face. That docile appearance—regardless of whatever scheme she harbored—felt far from unpleasant to him.

Sharlan released his grip on her face.

[Sharlan] "Indulging you this much should suffice. Please leave now. Ah, if you wish, you may leave that tea behind."

However, despite his dismissal, Satina didn't leave the room. Even after placing the tray she held on his desk, she stood still in place.

He raised one eyebrow.

[Sharlan] "Did I not tell you to leave?"

[Satina] "I heard you suffer from a troubling issue lately."

She took a step closer to him.

[Satina] "You said so yourself. To survive in this house, each person must prove their worth."

Her gaze fell upon documents spread across his desk.

⌈Urgent: Regarding the sale of counterfeit Magical Beast Gritanan Juice.⌋

She knew he would be racking his brain over that issue around this period. The scolding from the Duke last time likely stemmed from that matter as well.

Following her gaze, his eyes fell upon the documents.

[Sharlan] "What are you looking at?"

[Satina] "I will help you."

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