"Huh? I don't get it. Don't worry, even if someone burns your scalp off, it won't stay like that for long. As long as we don't run out of energy, it's all good."
"Speaking of which, how much do we have right now?"
"… Plenty."
"…"
Emilia rolled her eyes. But it's not like she could do anything about it even if she knew, so she didn't prod her partner too much.
"That Amos guy must be going crazy right now, though. Not only did we not suffer, we even gained quite a bit!"
Emilia snorted. "It's too bad that we couldn't make him suffer at the same time, but he'll get his turn."
"Oooh, I'm getting the chills! Keep up it up, Emilia~!"
Of course, just knowing how much he had inadvertently helped her out should already be enough suffering for the hero. At least, it was enough to cover the 'interest' until she personally recovered the 'principal amount'.
Too bad that even he wouldn't know of her biggest gain from this event, which was completely solidifying her grasp on the Danielle's family. Or his reaction would have been even more satisfying.
Although Samantha and her parents already doted on her greatly, the only way she could influence their decisions before this event was to either beg or throw a tantrum.
And her wishes would only be obeyed if they were either inconsequential to the bigger picture, or if she used emotional blackmail as she had done with Samantha.
In case she wanted to do something completely illogical or seemingly self-defeating, they would never have had enough faith in her to allow her to do it.
But now that she had this huge success under her belt, their perspective of her had significantly changed. She had thoroughly impressed not only her elder sister, but also many of the company executives and her parents.
No longer was she the naïve little jewel they had to carefully protect. Instead, she was someone who knew what she was doing, and could carry out plans that even they felt queasy to carry out.
It was only possible through a combination of both her confidence and charm, which when combined with her identity, enabled her to position herself far above the others.
In the future, pulling their strings would be far easier than it was this time.
This type of control over her own resources was crucial, because at times there was simply no room for hesitation and discussion, and even a few minutes could make a difference between a glorious victory and a humiliating defeat.
If a ruler had two successors, and both of them suspected the other of murdering their sick father the next day to steal the throne, the one who would end up inheriting may not be the one with the greatest influence, but the one who could mobilize his forces the fastest.
It was a pity that she ended up missing Crystal's class, but she could make up for that another day.
Now… she had to get ready for her long-awaited 'debut'.
==========
"Are you sure you're going to be alright?"
When Samantha had first invited her to the party, she had fully planned to go along with her sister. But with the way things were right now, there were simply too many important things to take care of on her side, and her father was already swamped with work.
"Don't worry, Sam. Like I said, Dixie will pick me up and stay with me during the party. You take care of things on your end, I'll be just fine."
Since her friend would also be going along with Emilia, at least she wouldn't be all alone in the midst of vultures. But the older girl still couldn't help but worry. Would she really be fine without her protection? If someone asked her yesterday, the answer would definitely have been a no, but today she learned that her little sister really had grown up.
"And what about the dress?"
"I have it all ready, no worries."
"Alright."
There was a forlorn sigh from the other end of the phone. Samantha reluctantly ended the call after a short farewell.
Just as Emilia had put down the phone and was about to resume styling her hair, however, an almost inaudibly timid knocking sound came from the door. If not for sensitive hearing, she would have definitely missed it.
"Come in?"
A shy looking young maid, one she recognized as a new hire, stepped in hesitantly, her starry eyes instantly glueing themselves to Emilia's figure.
"Y-Young miss, housekeeper uncle told me to let you know that your friend has arrived. She's waiting for you in the hall."
Emilia had already turned her back to the maid, wondering what kind of hairstyle would suit her best with this getup.
"Tell him to send her directly to my room, and do so anytime she comes in the future as well, alright?"
'Hm… Waterfall braid will look great, but it's not flashy enough. Maybe… yeah, that will work!'
Emilia let go of her hair, no longer going for a meticulous arrangement as she fluffed it up with her fingers.
"Y-Yes!"
The maid left in a daze.
'Young miss is really something else. Instead of relying on a dedicated stylist like the other rich missies, she just did everything by herself, and she still looks so good!'
==========
Dixie's hands were slightly shaking in excitement as she stood in front of Emilia's room. The maid had told her to just go in, but since Emilia was supposedly getting ready, what kind of scene would she see?
Would her princess be in her underwear, just about to put on her clothes? Will she jump in surprise and scream 'Kyaa!'?
'Hm… but doesn't the person who intrudes unannounced always get beat up in that scenario? It would still be worth it, but…'
Dixie frowned as she clutched the doorknob, but suddenly her eyes lit up.
That's right, since she was as straight as a steel pipe, how could it be 'worth it'? It wasn't something she should worry about at all.
'Since nothing I'm about to see can be considered 'taking advantage' given my indisputably established orientation, there's no way anyone can blame me for just barging in!'
And so Dixie quickly turned the knob and rushed into the room with her eyes opened wide, as if ready to permanently imprint the images directly into her brain.
She was bound to be disappointed, however, since not only was there no naked Emilia in her room, there was no Emilia around at all.
"Is it you, Dixie? Wait a minute, I'll be right out."
Although disheartened, Dixie hummed in acknowledgement before making herself comfortable on the chair. Emilia had apparently had another cushioned stool moved into her room to have it separately set in front of the vanity.
'Hm… I'm guessing she never used it much before? But, if she's just trying it out now… I'm slightly worried.'
The slightly muffled voice of her princess had come from the closet, so she must be getting ready, right?
'Ah, but I'm not very good at this stuff either, and it's kinda too late to call a stylist either…'
Just as her thoughts were about to wander on to how she could possibly help Emilia fix her botched makeup, her friend stepped back into the room, stunning Dixie to the point that it felt like her brain had shut down.
Although it definitely looked like Emilia, was it really her?
The beauty in front of her was donning a bluish-purple halter top with a short skirt, shining like the midnight sky, its shade getting darker towards the bottom, just like her gaze.
Emilia's long, smooth legs lay bare except for a gold band wrapped around her right thigh like a snake, forgoing any stockings or other fabric. Dixie would have been worried she would get cold since it was slightly chilly outside, but right now, she felt the weather was almost suffocatingly hot.
Her hair seemed to have been shaded into a very dark shade of red, and Emilia hadn't tied it down at all, letting it flow down her back gracefully. A complete set of yellow tourmaline earrings, bracelet, and choker adorned her gorgeously, but Dixie felt that their glow paled in comparison to the girl herself.
Dixie dared to say that there was no one she had ever paid such close attention to in her life. She could immediately tell that there was a subtle change in Emilia's face, but even she couldn't tell what had changed.
It felt like whatever make-up magic Emilia had used for shading or countering made her infinitely more breathtaking, however. It was almost fatal, given she was already so cute before.
And her soft, luscious red lips looked so tantalizingly succulent that it was almost impossible to resist taking a bite.
It was all too much for the poor knight to handle, and her brain melted.
As her IQ fell down to the level of a monkey, the words she blurted out were shockingly similar to what Koko would say.
"K-Kiss! M-Mom said, you owe me a kiss!"