This girl is just too much trouble!
How can someone so young say things that make people blush and their hearts race?!
Lulumia’s internal alarm bells rang loudly. If not for having met Eno, and if Tilan had said those words in front of the Fourth Princess, she definitely would have been moved, thinking Tilan was just like a hero saving a princess from an evil dragon.
But now things were different; she wouldn’t be so easily swayed.
One must know, in the original host’s memories, Tilan was someone who tempted her with money, making her fall step by step for the time spent with her.
The two of them would nap together on the lawn, play around in their pajamas, and sometimes Tilan would, with a face full of doting affection, feed the original host with a spoon, or even take the cake crumbs from the corner of her mouth and eat them herself.
As for using the excuse of tickling to touch each other, or biting the original host’s ear, or pressing their faces together in intimacy, such things happened countless times—clearly crossing the boundaries of close friendship.
It was all about taking advantage of the original host’s naivete, making her unable to see how Tilan was corrupting her step by step with money, even making her believe Tilan was genuinely good to her, giving her food, clothing, and fun.
So young and already so good at deceiving people—who knows how bad she’ll become when she grows up.
Lulumia quietly opened the panel. Sure enough, Tilan’s panel had words like “dislikes men” and “calculating,” and also a title that made Lulumia want to run far away—the same one as the Saint Son of Loli-Con: “Loli Magus Doll Enthusiast.”
No wonder.
This body was just perfect for her tastes.
Please don’t give in, Sister Eno. This woman is a demon.
Lulumia silently prayed to Eno in her heart, and sure enough, Eno didn’t disappoint her.
Eno smiled as she brushed her pale blue hair behind her ear, the glimpse of her snow-white neck stirring hearts.
“No, I’ve already decided to keep Mia by my side. With me here, the various troubles in the church won’t reach her.”
That’s right! Sister Eno! Use that usual way of treating children to leave her speechless!
For the first time, Lulumia found Eno’s habit of treating everyone like neighborhood children to be quite useful.
“Besides, little sister Tilan isn’t of age yet, right? You look about eleven or twelve. Do you really have the means to take responsibility for someone else’s life? Only when you can earn money on your own will you be qualified to say you can take care of someone else.”
If not for the distance, Eno would have wanted to pat Tilan’s head. She really admired Tilan’s determination, but in her eyes, for a child of this age to talk about saving others was just too naïve.
Having never expected to be treated like a child, Tilan felt a sense of powerless frustration, like punching cotton. The words she’d prepared got stuck in her throat, and in the end, she could only take a small step forward, bite her lip, and say resolutely,
“I mean it! The Cassandra Family may only be barons, but we have a tradition of commerce. The family wealth is more than enough for me to support Mia and give her a life without worries.”
“But little sister Tilan, you’re only the third daughter, not the eldest. A girl without inheritance rights will eventually marry into another family. By then, can you still guarantee Mia can do as she pleases?”
“I….”
“I don’t like men”—Tilan couldn’t bring herself to say that in front of everyone, so she turned, unwillingly, to Lulumia.
“Then what about you, Mia? Do you feel comfortable staying at the church?” “Sister Eno is very good to me, just like a real big sister.”
Wagging her tail, Lulumia replied innocently. If Eno hadn’t been sitting across from her, she would have wanted to jump right onto Eno’s lap and snuggle up to her, showing her loyalty—she really loved this feeling of being allowed to run free.
“Is…is that so…” Having failed to win Lulumia over, Tilan sat back on the sofa in discouragement.
Fortunately, her mind was more mature than her appearance, and she soon returned to her original polite, dignified smile.
“Even if Mia lives at the church, she can still visit often, right? I remember the Saint Son of Purity lives in the temple on the commercial street, and this shop is right there too. I’ll come see you often.”
Better not visit so often. I’m not the fool the original host was, getting spun in circles by you… Wait.
There might be something in this for me.
Lulumia’s gold-digger radar started to beep.
Although Tilan approached the original host with ulterior motives, setting aside her tendency to take advantage of her, perhaps out of fear of being disliked, Tilan would only tempt the original host with benefits to make her follow her will and never forced her to do anything.
Maybe she could use that to her advantage…
She was, after all, an adult in mind. How could a ten-year-old girl outplay her? Even someone as cold as Xinleila could be worn down by her—little Tilan would be a piece of cake!
She set aside her earlier resistance, took Tilan’s soft, cool little hand, and nodded seriously. “Mm, I’ll come visit you often too, Tilan!”
Watching the two little girls promise each other so sweetly, Eno lifted her teacup and took a gentle sip with a smile.
“I heard Mia’s relationship with the other students at school wasn’t good, and I was worried she’d be ostracized. Now that I know she has friends who care about her, I’m relieved. You two should get along well and not quarrel.” “Oh… Oh… I’ll protect Mia well.” As if just realizing, Tilan stammered a bit in her response.
Good, the plan worked!
Lulumia was greatly encouraged. When she held Tilan’s hand, she clearly felt Tilan’s fingers tremble a little. That must have been the reason for Tilan’s brief daze.
٢٠٠٠
لفا
Suppressing her inner pride, she changed the subject, picking up the blueprints on the table with a troubled look.
“This is what I just asked the master to make.”
“Hm? What’s this odd-looking thing?” Tilan’s violet eyes regained their clarity.
回
“I call it ‘glasses.’”
“Glasses? Don’t we already have those?”
Tilan looked at the Goldsmith standing nearby, who had a Monocle hanging from his chest by a fine chain.
“They’re too difficult to use,” Lulumia explained steadily. “The glasses we have should actually be called ‘monocles.’ When using them, you either have to hold them in your hand, or jam them hard into your eye socket. The first limits one hand, the second keeps falling out during use, and using it too long makes your eye hurt—not good for extended use.”
“And monocles can’t really be used outdoors. It’s easy to misjudge distances and trip, or even fling the monocle off with any sudden movement.”
After finishing, Lulumia looked at the Goldsmith. The white-haired craftsman nodded lightly in agreement.
“But if we make a frame to stabilize it on the face,” Lulumia pointed at the blueprints, “like designing a nose pad here to let the weight rest on the nose, and curved arms that hook behind the ears, the glasses would fit securely.”
“That would solve the problems of monocle inconvenience and unsuitability for outdoor wear. For people who use their eyes for long periods, like Master Goldsmith here, it’d be a real necessity.”
Back when discussing fonts with Sander, Lulumia had noticed how inconvenient things were for the nearsighted or presbyopic in this world. Sander always had to take off his Monocle to rest before continuing to read. It was exhausting. So Lulumia had always intended to improve the Monocle into modern glasses.
Tilan turned and looked at the Goldsmith for his opinion. The craftsman wore a serious expression, staring at the blueprints as if working out in his head how to use this odd-shaped item.
“If you have any thoughts, just say them. No need to hold back on my account,” Tilan added.
“Yes, Miss.” The Goldsmith crouched, slotting his Monocle into his eye socket as he examined the blueprints. After a while, he frowned. “Does this Magus Doll lady mean for this thing to be worn on the head?”
“You could say that.”
..١٠
Lulumia could tell right away that the Goldsmith didn’t understand how glasses were supposed to be used, so she borrowed paper and glue from Tilan, folded the paper, and made a rough glasses-shaped mockup to wear.
“Something like this, basically.”
“Pfft.”
Lulumia looked so comical that both Tilan and Eno couldn’t help but laugh. Only the Goldsmith wore an enlightened expression.
“So that’s it! I understand now. Miss, you mean to make two lenses, fit them in the two frames on the blueprint, and wear them like this, right?”
“Exactly. As for the size, since it’s worn on the head, Master Goldsmith can size it according to your own and others’ skulls. The materials need to be sturdy yet light, and the parts that hook behind the ears should be flexible enough to clip on the sides of the head.”
“I was in a rush, so the blueprint is rough. I can draw a more detailed one now.”
“Please do.”
٠٠٠]
Clearly, Lulumia’s design had won the Goldsmith’s approval—he even began addressing her more respectfully. He carefully arranged pen and paper for Lulumia and fetched precision rulers and compasses from the back.
But just as Lulumia was about to start drawing, Tilan pressed her hand down on the paper.
Lulumia’s head popped up with a question mark. “What is it?”
“The blueprint can wait,” Tilan said, tilting her head and fixing Lulumia with such seriousness it made her uneasy. “This thing’s never been seen in the market before—it’s your design. We need to agree: are you only commissioning a custom piece, or do you have other plans?”
Lulumia was stunned for a moment before she understood.
Tilan was reminding her not to hand over her work for nothing. If they didn’t draft a contract in advance to declare ownership of the design, the shop could mass-produce and sell glasses, claiming the design as their own.
Eno had emphasized that Tilan was only the third daughter in her family and had no inheritance rights. If the family head insisted the design belonged to them, Tilan wouldn’t be able to do a thing.
Lulumia touched her chin with a finger, pretending to hesitate.
‘I only wanted a pair of glasses, I didn’t really think about it much…’
“What if your design is really useful and replaces the monocle?”
But there was no such thing as patents in this world. If someone copied her idea, what could she do? Lulumia was about to say so, but Tilan spoke first.
“How about we draft a contract? You transfer the design to the Cassandra Family, and from now on, a portion of the profits the family makes from selling glasses will go to you. You still owe money to others, right? You could use this income to pay off your debts.”
She’s actually quite decent.
The reason Lulumia pretended to hesitate was to see how Tilan would handle this. Tilan hadn’t tried to take advantage of her and was seriously looking out for her, so they could continue working together in the future.
“That’s right, I still owe money,” Lulumia squeezed her hands between her knees, acting nervous and shy. “S-speaking of which, I still owe you money, Tilan…”
“Mine’s not urgent, paying back the others is more important.” “Really?”
“Really. Didn’t we agree? If you’re in trouble, I’ll definitely help you.”
“Tilan, you’re the best!”
Lulumia’s teary look of gratitude made Tilan lower her head and rub her nose with a smile—she felt a bit bad for tricking such a simpleton—then called for a servant to bring out a new contract, placing it happily before herself and Lulumia.
“Let’s discuss the profit share now. I’ll decide—ten percent, and no one can object.” Sharing the profits wasn’t Lulumia’s style. Glasses had no technical barriers and would soon be copied by other merchants. Waiting for a profit cut would take too long; she needed cash quickly. A one-off deal was more her speed.
This trip was well worth it.
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