Chapter 3: His Highness must have a deeper meaning in doing this!

“Love, love, love!?”

Lu Wei stared at Flora like this,

the latter’s face shifting from deathly pale to flushed red… then, with a soft “uuu”, steam seemed to rise from her.

“But, Your Highness Lu Wei, we’re both girls!”

“And our relationship… aren’t we sisters?”

Flora’s voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

“Then you want to become my slave instead?”

Lu Wei said indifferently.

“You know how to choose, right?”

What surprised her was that the Flora before her fell silent for a long moment…

“…”

Huh?

She still needs to hesitate??

Does falling in love with me make you feel that physically disgusted?

Lu Wei bit her fingernail, suddenly feeling a strong sense of frustration…

In fact, Flora still had a third option:

to snatch the slave collar, declare she would put it on herself.

Or simply say “No” and raise her little fist. Then Lu Wei would have a reason to stop her evil deeds.

But with Flora’s personality, she clearly couldn’t do it.

Lu Wei really found it hard to believe that in one month,

when she turned sixteen and came of age, this soft and meek girl would transform into a ruthless angel.

And then blind her eyes…

“Can’t decide?”

“…Heh, although your status is lowly, this face is quite worthy.”

Lu Wei pinched Flora’s cheek… the touch wasn’t bad.

“I don’t want to ruin this beauty, nor do I want to anger Father.”

“Unless you willingly become my plaything…”

She looked at Flora teasingly. From the girl’s trembling pupils, her current expression must have been quite frightening.

“I…”

“Am willing to become Your Highness’s lover.”

Flora took a deep breath, her expression extremely fragile and helpless.

Yet this pitiful look seemed to awaken some attribute in Lu Wei… making her heart itch with the urge to commit violence.

She had to admit that the personality of “villainess Lu Wei” had indeed influenced her somewhat.

“Remember, we are now officially in a relationship.”

Lu Wei turned her head away and spoke without any emotion.

“If you still want to stay in this house, don’t even think about defying me!”

“As for my father’s side… you figure out how to explain it.”

……

……

Flora had not slept at all last night.

She had thought about many things, but she could never have anticipated this strange request…

What exactly was Her Highness’s purpose?

On one hand, she talked about putting the slave collar on her, yet on the other, she gave her an option that seemed like a compromise.

Why would Her Highness suddenly say she wanted to fall in love with someone like her…?

Flora could only think of one reason.

What if

this action by Her Highness Lu Wei was meant to force her into opposition with the Duke?

If words like 【The duke’s daughter is a lesbian and has fallen for her own adopted sister】 spread to others’ ears…

He kindly took in the daughter of an old friend, yet she was dishonest and seduced his own daughter, causing others to mock them.

If the Duke thought the same, then she would have no place left in the Caris family.

And in the Caris family, even the watchdog at the gate knew whose side to stand on…

Without the Duke’s support, when the time came, whether she lived or died would be entirely up to Her Highness Lu Wei’s mood.

Thinking of this, Flora’s gaze gradually dimmed.

She sat dazed on the floor. The antique sandalwood flooring was spotless, forming a stark contrast with her disheveled appearance.

So that was it…

Flora’s father had died from an assassination by an enemy nation.

Her name was still on the enemy country’s wanted list. If she lost the protection of the Caris family…

She wouldn’t even need enemy spies to act—plenty of people would be willing to capture her for the bounty.

A trace of warmth slid down her cheek. Flora raised her hand to touch it and realized that tears had unknowingly flowed from the corners of her eyes.

……

【Successfully contracted nurturing target: Flora】

【Task 1: Confirm a romantic relationship with Flora. (Completed)】

【Rewards Issued: Gold Coins ×50, Elementary Healing Potion Recipe ×1】

【Task Objectives Updated】

【Task 1: Maintain the romantic relationship. (0/30 days)】

【New Function Unlocked】

【——Human Resource Management——】

【Flora】

【Position: None】

【Status: Idle】

【Daily Output: None】

【Daily Labor Hours: 0h】

【Suggestion: Cultivate alchemy-related professional skills and put her into production as soon as possible.】

Just the reward for one task was a full 50 gold coins??

Lu Wei’s heart stirred slightly, and a heavy bag of gold coins appeared out of thin air in her hands.

With the Caris family gradually declining, the rewards from攻略 tasks would definitely help relieve the urgent situation!

……

In the game 《Bonds》, nurturing characters was extremely expensive.

This resulted in anything related to strength improvement or skill learning being quite costly in this world.

In the Avalon Kingdom, one gold coin could comfortably support a family of three for an entire year, yet it was only enough for a magic apprentice’s expenses for one week.

Therefore, learning magic, alchemy, or swordsmanship… had almost become a privilege exclusive to nobles.

What was the difference between nurturing beautiful girls and training employees?

At least Lu Wei’s big boss saw no difference at all… and thus, the gameplay of this game had become quite distorted.

The rewards obtained from攻略 game characters were just enough for players to complete their primitive accumulation.

Falling in love with characters like the Elf Queen or the Blood Clan Princess would allow players to colonize other races.

You say being a capitalist is too brain-intensive and you can’t handle it?

Then just honestly pay to win, and you could still max out the affection of your favorite characters.

……

So…

With the starting capital in hand, it was time to go hire some beautiful girl employees!

Lu Wei satisfiedly weighed the money bag in her hands, enjoying the pleasant “clinking” sound,

but perhaps it was an illusion—besides the sound of colliding gold coins, she faintly heard the sound of water droplets falling…

She turned her head in confusion,

and then saw…

Flora kneeling on the ground beside her, silently sobbing.

Tears kept sliding down her cheeks, yet for some reason, her expression looked calm and relieved.

Lu Wei was stunned.

…Why are you crying!

Does falling in love with me make you feel so hopeless about life?

Just how unbearable am I in your heart!?

In her anxiety, Lu Wei jumped straight down from the bed.

“What’s wrong with you?” she asked with a straight face,

but the Flora before her just stared at her blankly.

She didn’t say a word, only shedding tears nonstop, making Lu Wei’s heart panic.

For some reason, Lu Wei had a vague premonition that if she didn’t comfort her a bit more, her death scene in one month would look very ugly.

So she cleared her throat and put on what she thought was a gentle smile.

But… if Lu Wei could look in a mirror right now, she would definitely complain that the artists had definitely added private goods when modeling her face—

Her eyes were sharp, her features extremely unkind, and her entire body seemed covered in thorns. It was fine when she had no expression, but once she smiled…

“Hehe, why are you crying~”

Lu Wei chuckled softly,

“Is falling in love with me considered bullying you?”

Upon hearing this, Flora immediately wiped away her tears and stood straight in front of Lu Wei.

She didn’t speak, but covered her mouth as if afraid the tears would burst out again.

Because—

Lu Wei was wearing that gloomy face that looked like it could drip water, the corners of her mouth raised in a terrifying arc.

“If you feel wronged, just say it. I’m very reasonable…”

This was definitely a threat!

Flora’s face turned pale, becoming even more convinced of her guess.

Her Highness had not changed…

What she had been thinking about all along was how to get rid of her!

Seeing Flora nod stiffly, Lu Wei couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

She had clearly said it with a smile, so why did this girl become even more nervous?

“Want to go out with me to change your mood?”

Lu Wei said somewhat casually,

“Go… outside?”

Flora tugged at the revealing maid outfit on her body.

“Can you… let me change my clothes first…”

Hearing this, the silver-haired girl in front of her frowned, then once again revealed that gloomy smile.

“Sure, you can wear whatever you want.”

“You can just throw this maid outfit away, how about that?”

…Her Highness was angry!

Flora shivered, then shook her head like a rattle drum.

“No need… I, I really like this outfit.”

“This is something Your Highness bestowed upon me. I’m very happy!”

She forced a smile that looked even uglier than crying.