SDA 19💖

Chapter : 19

Lian was looking at me.
I briefly nodded in agreement, keeping my gaze locked with his.
“Yeah, well… I haven’t met him before, so I am curious.”
Of course, as an NPC, there’s no way I’d meet the crown prince.
Out of nowhere, Lian, who had spoken to me, added in a rather indifferent tone.
“I see.”
After that, he didn’t say anything else.
He just occasionally glared at the hawk.
Today, I glanced at the sensitive Lian, then shifted my gaze to Isadora.
She had opened her mouth to speak.
“Although the ball is inevitable due to practical reasons… how about we create a clear situation before the ball begins?”
“How?”
Isadora was staring at the pen on her desk.
There were three pens laid out, and one of them was slightly askew to the left.
She adjusted it to match the other two and continued.
“We…?”
Then it happened.
“Do you want it?”
Everyone’s gaze turned to Lian simultaneously.
I met his half-lidded, languid eyes.
“Excuse me?”
“I said, do you want it?”
Lian didn’t explain kindly.
I stared at his crossed legs and thought to myself,
“So… are you asking if I want to attend the palace ball and execute the mission?”
Once I processed it, it was quite absurd.
“No, youngest.”
Of course, I want to go.
But it’s practically impossible, that’s why I’m giving up.
“And if we say we want it…”
What can you even do?
“Hey, Lian, do you… have the power to help?”
I wanted to ask that, but…
I’m a coward.
In the end, I opted for a more concise answer.
“Of course, I’d love to go if I could. But that’s not… possible.”
“Then I’ll make it happen.”
“…What?”
When I asked back, Lian said calmly.
“I’m friends with the crown prince.”
At that moment, an enormous silence descended upon the center.
The silence was so thick that even the sound of ants crawling was inaudible.
Staring blankly at Lian, I opened my mouth a moment too late.
“…You… You’re friends with the crown prince?”
That strange youngest, the shameless noble from the Kingdom of Lehatten.
“Excuse me, Lian…”
Sorry for not recognizing it.
It was only then that I realized Lian was “actually quite someone important.”

Two days passed after Lian’s bombshell declaration.

“I’m friends with the crown prince.”

Naturally, nothing had changed yet.
There were still a week before the ball, and Johan’s grand love operation hadn’t been executed again.
However, amusingly, the atmosphere at the center had slightly shifted.
To be precise, the staff’s attitude toward Lian had drastically changed.
“Uh… Youngest? Would you like some tea?”
“Is the sofa uncomfortable? Should I bring you a cushion?”
“We’ll make sure to adjust the surroundings so that you can sit comfortably soon.”
Originally, the staff considered him quite a nuisance.
Isadora was the most extreme.
She had been the youngest at the center before Lian arrived.
But even after the new youngest came, he didn’t behave like a typical youngest.
Having barely escaped from being the youngest, Isadora must have been displeased by being treated as the youngest.
However, even she said this once she learned that Lian was “friends with the crown prince.”
“I understand now why you were chosen by the CEO.”
Yes.
The staff had succumbed to both capitalism and honor.
“Tch…”
I clicked my tongue, though I couldn’t deny it.
I was still surprised too.
“Lian is friends with the crown prince.”
That mysterious Castilian.
Of course, Brother Chase was also a Castilian and an academy alumnus.
He had mentioned it to me before.
But Brother never said he was close with him.
“That social butterfly of a person.”
In contrast, Lian definitely referred to him as his friend.
“Moreover, he’s even arranging for commoners to be able to enter the palace…”
It seemed like we had a proper youngest now.
Anyway, the friend incident concluded like this.
“Shall we go, darling?”
And here I was, leaving the center with Lian, who had once again called me by an odd nickname.
“I need to deliver the second script to Johan.”
Everything had been due to Isadora’s suggestion.

“I think it’s better if Marquess Veloster and Miss Bringger meet again before the ball.”
“…?”
“The ball is literally the day when everyone gathers, right? Even if we get permission to enter the palace, other nobles will certainly be spread throughout the venue.”
“…?”
“Especially Marquess Veloster, who is very popular, and Miss Violet Bringger, too.”
“…?”
“So even if we follow the script, there’s a high probability that something unexpected might happen.”

I wholeheartedly agreed with that.
“Even if we can enter the palace, it’s impossible to bribe everyone there.”
Moreover, Johan and Violet were both so popular that many would approach them at the ball.

“So… what you’re saying, Dora, is that we should make sure there’s a bond between the two of them that no one can interfere with before the ball?”
“Yes, I believe that would give us a better chance if any interrupters show up.”

The interrupters Dora mentioned were as follows.
Steps 1-4: Nobles.
Step 5: Boss mob, Castilian.
“The ridiculously attractive guy has suddenly become an interrupter.”
Anyway, I came up with an idea to strengthen the bond between Johan and Violet and wrote the script.
I was on my way to deliver it to Marquess Veloster now.
“Center Director.”
As soon as I got into the carriage, Lian, who was sitting with his legs crossed and tapping his foot, spoke.
“What?”
“What’s in the script?”
Oh, this time, I wrote the script by myself.
So neither Lian nor the staff knew how the second meeting would play out.
“Well, remember when we went to ‘Valenri Costume Shop’ last time?”
“Yeah, the place where we got married?”
“Anyway, that’s where the second meeting will take place.”
The reason I chose that place was because of something I overheard Violet say that day.

“I want to buy accessories that match my dress.”
“Oh, Miss, that’s great! We’ll have accessories coming in soon. When’s that…?”

I had overheard Violet’s intended date to revisit the shop and jotted it down.
“We’ll have Marquess Veloster visit the costume shop that day.”
“…?”
“Although men don’t usually buy earrings or necklaces like women, how about he comes in to buy a ‘handkerchief’? That should work.”
“…?”
“Then we make them run into each other at the costume shop again, and the marquess will ask Miss Violet to recommend the design of the handkerchief.”
Then the kind Violet would gladly pick one for him.
Johan would take that handkerchief to the ball.
“Then on the day of the ball, Miss Violet will notice the handkerchief and think, ‘Oh? He’s carrying the one I picked for him?'”
Of course, just using this trick won’t make them lovers.
But I knew.
The “commonality” between a man and a woman plays a big role in developing affection.
Many who had requested counseling at the center had said this:

“The reason I fell for him is because we share the same hobby. I grow succulents, and he does too.”
“Last time, we were walking together, and I hummed a song. He said he knew it too. It was amazing. I’d never met anyone else who knew that song.”

Growing succulents, knowing a rare song.
To an outsider, these may seem trivial, but to those between a man and a woman, they are huge deals.
“Marquess Veloster has already left a memorable impression on Miss Violet from their first meeting.”
“…?”
“So if we create another common point like the handkerchief, Miss Violet will definitely be more concerned about the marquess.”
Well… anyway, the summary of the plan was like this.
Therefore, I didn’t need the staff’s help this time.
I wrote the script myself, and I planned to observe the execution of the costume shop operation on my own.
But before I left the center…
The youngest suddenly inserted himself into the plan.

“What about me?”
“Huh?”
“You and I should go together. We’re married, after all.”

So now, I was heading to Johan’s mansion with Lian.
“I’d love to leave him behind because he’s a pain, but I can’t break his stubbornness.”
Lian raised an eyebrow.
“This will be fun.”
He nodded in his lazy voice, like Brother Chase.
With a languid expression, arms crossed, and a slouched posture…
“He really is a walking balloon.”
Not a shred of seriousness was visible.
“I still can’t believe it.”
How did this guy end up friends with that flirt?