The mirror on the table was a birthday gift that Ian had prepared for Veronica back when he was still her butler.
But before he could give it to her, Veronica had already dismissed him.
Now that he thought about it, if it were just a simple invitation for Ethelrina to attend a birthday party, why would Lillian seek his help?
After figuring it all out, Iana decided to ask Lillian about the specifics.
“You and Veronica share the same birthday, right? But your birthday parties aren’t held together?”
After a long pause, a voice came from the Communicator.
“Yes, our birthday parties have never been held together.”
This made things difficult.
If Ethelrina had to choose between the two birthday parties, she would definitely pick Veronica’s.
After all, they were teammates, and Lillian’s relationship with Ethelrina was clearly not as close as hers with Veronica.
Iana felt like she had taken on a tough mission—her mood was like facing an extremely difficult math problem in an exam that she had to solve no matter what.
“Why don’t you try asking Veronica to hold a joint birthday party this year?”
Iana rubbed her temples.
She couldn’t think of a better solution and could only hope that Veronica would let Lillian tag along at least out of sisterly goodwill.
“I tried, but Veronica said she won’t hold a joint birthday party this year.”
“I’m thinking maybe we can create a birthday party that’s so attractive it would make Ethelrina willingly give up attending Veronica’s party. I don’t know if this plan will work.”
Looking at the message Lillian sent, Iana thought the chances of success were slim.Â
But it was better than doing nothing, so she sighed and asked Lillian, “Do you know what Ethelrina likes?”
Iana had originally assumed that since Lillian liked Ethelrina, she would surely know her preferences, but the result was disappointing.
“No idea.”
It seemed she had overestimated Lillian’s intelligence.
“Leave it to me. I’ll try my best to plan a birthday party that can attract Ethelrina, though I can’t guarantee it will succeed.”
“Okay, I trust you. When will you be back?”
Coughing as if choked by water, Iana still needed to absorb the Bloodstone and couldn’t switch back to Ian just yet.
“I still have some business outside. I’ll ask Iana to help you.”
After hanging up, Iana recalled the original story’s plot.Â
Ethelrina didn’t seem to have any particular favorite things.
Maybe preparing more sweets would help.
Iana remembered how Ethelrina had praised the desserts they made at Lillian’s mansion a few days ago, so she probably liked sweets.
But if Iana had to guess Ethelrina’s favorite thing, it would probably be beautiful girls.Â
Could she package Lillian as a gift and present her to Ethelrina to attract her to the party?
‘Right! I could dress Lillian up more beautifully to catch Ethelrina’s attention and make the mansion feel warmer. ‘
After all, Ethelrina was from the orphanage and might not be used to overly luxurious settings.
With that in mind, Iana quickly sent a message to Lillian’s Communicator: “Are you there, Lillian?”
“What’s up?”
“I’m thinking if we dress you up more beautifully, maybe Ethelrina will be attracted and give up attending Veronica’s party to come to yours instead.”
“Dressed more beautifully than Veronica? I can’t do that.”
“Don’t worry. Today’s Wednesday, and the birthday party is on Saturday—three days away. I’m confident I can make you look even better than Veronica.”
Lillian had a good foundation, and Iana had previously learned some makeup techniques, so she was quite confident.
“Do you have time now? I’ll send Iana over to help you pick the dress for your birthday party.”
After receiving confirmation, Iana immediately headed to Lillian’s mansion.
***
Some time later, inside Lillian’s mansion.
“This dress won’t do.” Iana frowned as Lillian emerged from the dressing room wearing a pink lace dress.
Lillian looked exhausted, like a college student pulling an all-nighter before finals—her expression dazed.
She had spent the entire afternoon being treated like a doll by Iana, constantly changing outfits.
This was the seventh dress Lillian had tried on, but none of them impressed Iana.
“It’s still too ordinary. Don’t you have a dress at home that can really catch someone’s eye?” Iana asked.
“Cat…catch someone’s eye? I… I don’t think so.” Lillian trembled as she spoke, not understanding what kind of dress Iana meant.
“Forget it. I’ll go with you to the clothing store outside to look for one.” Iana was about to leave but felt someone tug at her clothes.
Looking back, she saw Lillian’s pale white hand holding the hem of her clothes.
Curious, Iana asked, “What’s wrong? Don’t you want to go?”
“No, it’s not that.” Lillian’s expression was strange, her eyes hiding something.
Finally, she let go of Iana’s sleeve as if she had made up her mind.
“I… I’ll go with you.”
But in a corner where Iana couldn’t see, Lillian opened her already almost empty wallet—an unfortunate souvenir from the time Iana had gorged on food aboard the airship and made Lillian pay on the way to the orphanage.
‘I… I hope Iana can pick some cheaper dresses.’ Lillian muttered quietly to herself.
As the sun slowly set and night fell, Iana and Lillian walked through the residential area of Saint Roland Magic Academy.
On both sides of the road were streetlights powered by Magic Crystals.
This was an incredibly extravagant use of resources—a normal-quality Magic Crystal could sell for over a dozen gold coins, yet here at Saint Roland Magic Academy, they were used to power streetlights.
It was easy to imagine how expensive things here must be.
“Maybe… maybe we should just forget it. I think the dresses I have at home are already not very nice.”
“No way. If you want Ethelrina to come to your birthday party, then listen to me. I’ll pick the most suitable dress for you.”