At the entrance of a toy store in Far East City.
“My Lady, look! This doll is so cute!”
Elise crouched outside the glass wall of a toy shop, pointing at a rabbit-shaped doll.
“It is, isn’t it? It’s very cute. Do you like this doll, Elise?”
Aetherinra crouched slightly to look at the toy Elise was pointing at, speaking in a soft, gentle voice.
Hearing Aetherinra’s words, Elise shook her head hurriedly.
“No, no. I just think it’s cute. I didn’t mean I wanted it.”
Aetherinra patted Elise on the head and said, “How about I give it to you as a gift?”
Without waiting for Elise to respond, Aetherinra pulled her into the toy store and bought the doll Elise liked.
After many days of training, Aetherinra had naturally grown a bit fond of the resilient little maid.
After all, Elise was so cute; who could resist liking her?
Watching the heartwarming scene, Ian didn’t feel a hint of relief.
Instead, he felt somewhat irritated.
‘Why did Aetherinra and Elise follow me out?’
And there were more than just the two of them.
Ian turned to look at Veronica beside him.
‘Aetherinra and Elise are one thing, but why did this person follow me out too?’
If he had to say who he wanted to avoid the most right now, it was definitely the protagonist standing beside him — Veronica.
Noticing Ian’s gaze fixed on her, Veronica turned toward him and frowned.
“What is it?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Ian turned his head away helplessly.
He recalled the scene from that morning when he had walked out of the Duke’s Mansion gates.
He didn’t know where Aetherinra had popped up from, but she had dragged Elise along and followed him out.
As for Veronica, she probably only came out because she saw Aetherinra leaving.
With things like this, how was he supposed to implement his plan to sneak out of the city? He couldn’t exactly sneak away right in front of the three of them. If he did that, he would definitely be held accountable.
Such a thing could not be allowed to happen, so Ian had to find a way to separate from these three and then sneak out of the city alone.
However, Aetherinra seemed determined to stick to him.
No matter where he went, she followed closely, which was giving him quite a headache.
While Ian was deep in thought, Veronica was also observing him from the side.
She was wondering if the Mysterious Person in Black who had helped her yesterday was actually Ian.
Although the silhouette was very similar, she couldn’t be sure.
After all, that person had helped her buy the precious sword.
According to her impression of Ian, it was impossible for him to be that kind-hearted.
She then looked at the sword she had hanging at her waist.
It no longer looked rusty like it did yesterday.
Instead, the blade was pure white and sharp, looking like a divine weapon from the heavens at first glance.
After returning yesterday, Veronica had tried injecting Mana into the sword, and it had transformed into its current pure white form.
Although she couldn’t yet determine exactly what kind of magical power the sword possessed, it was definitely no ordinary item.
If it were Ian, he would never give her such a sword.
‘So, the Mysterious Person in Black from yesterday wasn’t Ian?’
‘No. It’s too early to tell. I need to find an opportunity to test him later.’
At this thought, Veronica nodded, a clear idea forming in her mind.
As long as she inadvertently revealed the sword in front of Ian and mentioned its origins, the truth would come to light.
If Ian really was the Mysterious Person in Black from yesterday, he might not have known the sword’s true value.
If he found out that the sword he gave her was so extraordinary, he would definitely demand she return it.
Then, she would know for sure if the one who gave her the sword was Ian.
What puzzled Veronica, however, was that if the man in black really was Ian, why would he give her the sword?
‘Has Ian really changed for the better and decided to help me?’
In fact, through her observations over the past few days, Veronica had noticed that Ian seemed to show signs of improvement.
Even the servants in the Duke’s Mansion had started giving Ian positive reviews at some point.
But she didn’t want to believe all of this was real.
So, even if everyone else’s opinion of Ian was improving, she couldn’t and wouldn’t believe that Ian could change for the better.
However, if Ian really was the one who gave her the sword, how should she treat him?
At this point, Veronica stopped thinking.
‘Anyway, I’ll first confirm whether Ian is that man in black or not.’
Veronica made up her mind.
While Ian and Veronica were busy with their own calculations, Aetherinra walked out of the toy store with Elise.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“It was a bit long,” Ian replied with a stern face.
If Aetherinra hadn’t insisted on following him and disrupting his plans, he might have already finished gathering the medicine and returned by now.
Naturally, Ian wasn’t going to give Aetherinra a warm expression.
Hearing Ian’s response, Aetherinra’s smile stiffened slightly.
She was just being polite; she didn’t expect Ian to take her literally.
“In that case, let’s go our separate ways now,” Ian said to Aetherinra.
After speaking, he prepared to leave, only for Aetherinra to grab his sleeve.
“It’s rare for us to come out. Are you really going to act separately?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
Ian countered.
Being held by the sleeve, Ian couldn’t understand why Aetherinra was sticking to him so stubbornly.
‘Did my plan get exposed?’
‘But that’s impossible. I haven’t told my plan to anyone.’
“Are you planning to do something shady?”
Aetherinra asked, looking at Ian with a suspicious gaze since he seemed so eager to get rid of her.
“O-Of course not!”
Ian replied awkwardly, looking like a child caught doing something bad.
“Then it’s settled. You shouldn’t have anything important to do anyway, so come with us to the clothing store.”
“A clothing store?”
Ian was surprised to hear Aetherinra’s words.
Seeing Ian’s reaction, Aetherinra said with some dissatisfaction, “What? Are you unwilling?”
“Of course not.”
Realizing he had lost his composure, Ian straightened himself up.
He glanced at the three people present with an observing eye: the petite Elise, the curvaceous Aetherinra, and Veronica, who was dressed neutrally and looked like a prince.
If he could see them in different outfits, Ian would naturally be very willing.
However, wouldn’t going to a clothing store alone with these three be a bit too eye-catching?
It would be even harder to escape if people noticed them.
But then he thought about it more carefully.
Going to a clothing store was a golden opportunity to escape!
He didn’t need to worry about other people’s gazes.
As long as he waited until the three of them went to change clothes, or when he went to change himself, wouldn’t he be able to slip away successfully?
If they asked him what he had been doing later, he could just say he wasn’t interested in clothing stores and left early.
Having made up his mind, Ian said with renewed energy, “Fine, then let’s go to the clothing store.”
Seeing Ian suddenly become so enthusiastic after hearing about the clothing store, Veronica couldn’t help but look at him with disdain.
‘As expected, Ian is still a pervert.’
‘Did he get that excited just from hearing about going to a clothing store?’
However, Veronica naturally wouldn’t have any objections to Aetherinra’s proposal.
Seeing that Ian had no objections, Aetherinra said with some pride, “Then it’s settled. I’ll be the one to choose which clothing store we go to.”
As Aetherinra turned around, a smile that said ‘everything is going according to plan’ appeared at the corners of her mouth.
‘Hehe, Ian, you’ve fallen into my trap.’
The reason Aetherinra clung to Ian and suggested the clothing store was all to steal Elise away from him.
As a peerless genius, Elise’s future goal was actually just to become Ian’s sword — such an insignificant wish was something Aetherinra absolutely could not tolerate.
So, when she learned that Ian was going into the city, she immediately formulated a plan in her heart to take Elise away.
That was to let Elise feel her kindness and see Ian’s misdeeds.
That way, Elise would surely abandon her naive thoughts.
As for why she chose a clothing store?
It was because, as a girl, Elise definitely wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation of pretty clothes.
As long as she picked out beautiful clothes for Elise while Ian watched with a creepy expression on the side, then Elise’s favorability toward Ian would drop while her favorability toward Aetherinra would rise, wouldn’t it?
How could Aetherinra refuse such a chance to kill two birds with one stone?
So, when Ian agreed to go to the clothing store, the corners of her mouth curled up, and she couldn’t hold back her smile.
In her heart, half of her plan had already succeeded. As for the other half, it would be a success in just a moment!