Right now, her absolute top priority was leveling up. She had agreed with the others to head out to the Lost Continent in two days. Once they entered the Lost Continent, they'd likely be there for well over three to five days. Just to be safe, she needed to stock up on survival supplies and potions beforehand. It was the perfect time to brush up on her survival knowledge.
Returning to her chambers, Scarlet hadn't forgotten about her affection points. She opened the system shop. Something new had appeared. It was a tiny little tent. She tapped the description to check it out.
Invincible tent. Can withstand ten attacks of A-rank or higher. Completely ignores all attacks below A-rank.
With this tent, she could safely hang out in the Lost Continent and grind levels in the low-level zones in peace, without worrying about mutated monsters sneaking up on her. Scarlet didn't even hesitate. She bought it instantly. She was finally experiencing the sheer joy of having overpowered perks.
Thrilled by the sweet rewards, Scarlet ordered Lilia to take all the flowers from the greenhouse and move them straight to Xavier's room. Lilia was a bit bewildered, but she did exactly as told.
Ten minutes later, as pot after pot of vibrant flowers was carried into his room, Xavier was completely overwhelmed. He kept asking Lilia just to be sure. "Are these really for me? All of them?"
Lilia offered a polite bow and replied, "Yes. Her Highness mentioned that since you love flowers so much, she specifically ordered us to deliver these straight to your room. She also requested that they be replaced every single week, so you'll always have fresh blooms."
Xavier felt a sudden prickle of emotion in his nose. The corners of his eyes flushed red, his heart melting into a puddle of absolute gratitude. Scarlet actually cared about him this much. She had gone out of her way to learn what he liked, just to decorate his room, on top of buying him so many gorgeous clothes.
Scarlet, if only you could be this sweet to me forever.
But wait. Right at the peak of his overwhelming emotion, Xavier suddenly remembered something. The money to buy the clothes — he had borrowed it from Annie. He needed to pay her back.
So after sending Lilia away, he rushed to contact his mother, the Queen. But he forgot one tiny detail. His account was linked to Scarlet's.
And so, late that night, her wristband buzzed. Besides receiving fifty thousand affection points, Scarlet also got a transfer notification.
The Queen of Alga has transferred ten million star coins to your account.
Scarlet rubbed her sleepy eyes, staring at the message for a good long while. She nodded silently. I knew it. Being good to my husband really does pay off. Oh, my dear mother-in-law, whom I've never even met. Please keep those transfers coming. I'll do my absolute best to treat Xavier well.
Meanwhile, Xavier stared at his account balance, which still showed a pathetic fifty thousand star coins. He was pacing around in an absolute panic. Mother sent the money to the wrong person. She sent it to Scarlet. Oh my god.
Under that very same starry sky, Princess Annie waited all night long but didn't receive Xavier's double repayment. She sat by the window, sick with worry, hugging a pot of sunflowers and furiously plucking its petals. He will pay me back. He won't pay me back. He will pay me back. He won't pay me back — right up until dawn.
And then, sporting two massive dark circles under her eyes, she headed straight to Helda Palace to visit Scarlet.
At that exact moment, Scarlet was in the dining room enjoying breakfast with her four beast husbands. She had just taken two bites of her sandwich and hadn't even swallowed yet when Lilia came in to announce that Princess Annie had come to visit.
Hearing this news, the very first person to react was Xavier. The butter knife in his hand — clang — dropped right onto his bone china plate, instantly drawing everyone's attention. Xavier hung his head, absolutely terrified to meet Scarlet's eyes.
Scarlet took one look at his guilty face and immediately knew what was going on. She pursed her lips, didn't say a single word, and followed Lilia to the drawing room.
Xavier then noticed the concerned looks from the other guys, so he confessed everything that happened yesterday from start to finish. He desperately hoped they could help him figure out what to do.
"Should I tell Scarlet, get the money back, and return it to Princess Annie? Or should I just ask my mother for the money again?"
Kai's voice was ice cold. "Telling Scarlet is basically a death wish. You know how she is. Fiercely jealous and utterly vicious. If she finds out you've been in contact with Annie, she will completely lose her mind. Scarlet is incredibly possessive. Even though she doesn't actually care for us, she strictly forbids us from interacting with other women. The moment she finds out, she'll be absolutely furious and accuse us of cheating."
But Riley chimed in. "You guys are forgetting something. Our accounts are directly linked to hers. No matter how many times people transfer money to us, it's always going to end up in Scarlet's pocket. Rather than waiting for her to find out, it's much better to just come clean right now. Besides —" Riley looked at Xavier, a subtle glimmer shifting in his gentle eyes, radiating a deeply comforting energy. "Scarlet has changed for the better, hasn't she? Trust me. Just be honest with her. She'll understand."
Even though Xavier was terrified under Riley's steady gaze, he gradually began to relax. Choosing to believe his words, he nodded. "All right. I'll confess everything to Scarlet."
The exact moment Xavier's figure disappeared from the dining room, Kai shot Riley a sharp glare. "What the hell did you just do to him, Riley? You're getting Xavier killed."
"I'm not hurting him." Riley chuckled softly, his knife slicing into the beautifully plated soft-boiled egg. The rich orange yolk flowed out. "He spent the entire day with Scarlet. You all saw how Scarlet treats him. But given what we are planning to do, if he blabs to Scarlet, we all know exactly how that ends. We cannot afford to have a traitor among us."
"So you're just sending Xavier off to die?" Kai narrowed his eyes, his slender, fox-like gaze bleeding with a dangerous edge.
"No," Riley replied, his face completely serene as he took a bite of the rosemary-garnished egg, speaking slowly. "I'm just using him to test the waters, to see exactly how nice Scarlet can truly be. Relax. He's not going to kick the bucket."
Meanwhile, over in the lavishly decorated drawing room —
"To what do I owe the pleasure of my dear cousin's visit today?" Scarlet asked as she stepped into the room. Smoothing out her skirt, she sat down on the sofa diagonally across from Annie. A teasing smile played at the corners of her eyes, her delicate, pale face radiating a bright and gentle charm.
Seeing this, Annie involuntarily lowered her haughtily raised chin just a fraction. Annie twitched her lips and muttered, "I just came to see you."
Scarlet let out a long "Oh," raising an eyebrow in amusement. Her gaze turned suddenly piercing. "You just came to see me? And here I thought you came looking for Xavier."
Scarlet already knew Annie's real motive. Not wanting to tease her for too long, and seeing her stubbornly trying to save face, she simply smirked and laughed. "All right, fine. Since you're being so sweet, I'll reimburse you for the bill you paid yesterday."
Five million wasn't a small amount of money, and Scarlet had no intention of taking advantage of her. As soon as the words left her mouth, she transferred the five million over.
The moment the transfer notification pinged, Annie froze. She stared blankly at Scarlet with wide eyes, taking a long time to finally snap out of it. But her pretty little face still looked a bit dumbfounded as she cluelessly blurted out, "Wait. He said he'd pay me back double."
It wasn't that she was pushing her luck. She genuinely just hadn't processed the situation yet.
Hiding off to the side, Xavier's vision practically went black. His heart leapt straight into his throat, making him even more terrified to step out and confess. He desperately shrank further into the shadows.
When Scarlet heard the word double, she slowly raised her eyelids, locking onto Annie's completely innocent eyes. A sudden flash of realization hit her brain. She finally understood the meaning behind that ten million. The light in her eyes shattered.
Seeing Scarlet's expression suddenly darken, Annie thought Scarlet was doubting her. So, just to prove she wasn't lying, she activated her holographic terminal and played back the memory recording.
Was Scarlet actually watching it? Nope. She was still aching inside. That was ten million, after all. To think it only passed through her account without staying. Her heart felt terribly bitter and cold.
Scarlet let out a long breath and glanced at her account balance. Nine digits, and it started with a seven. Finally feeling a bit of comfort, she swallowed her pain, opened Annie's account, and transferred another five million over.