“How much will you pay?”

“Are you asking me, Iris, to pay? To pay for a hair clip?”

Iris seemed genuinely surprised, as if the thought of paying had never crossed her mind.

“If you want the item, you must pay, of course. There are costs for materials and my time, and I’m investing as well.”

“Oh Jasmine, you really don’t care about the social circle, do you?”

Not at all. Jasmine had always been fascinated by the social circle, paying more attention to it than anyone else.

“I am Iris Worton. Do you understand what that means?”

Iris smiled broadly, her eyes curving like crescent moons, enchantingly beautiful.

She stepped closer and pretended to adjust Jasmine’s dress.

“If I wear your hair clip, it will become famous. You’ll earn ten times more than if I pay you now.”

Iris’s confidence was not unfounded. Everything she had worn before, from dresses to hat decorations, had been a hit.

“You’ll give it to me, right?”

When Iris, whom Jasmine had always admired, asked kindly, Jasmine’s cautiously guarded heart began to open.

Jasmine clenched her fist, causing the contract to rustle.

Then she remembered.

“Jasmine, before you leave, I have a request. If Iris asks for your item, please refuse her three times.”

Elise’s first request.

Jasmine had agreed easily, never expecting Iris would actually ask her.

But now this situation had arisen.

Without hesitation, Jasmine spoke.

“Sorry, but I can’t. There are many waiting. I must go now, I’m busy.”

Elise’s request was fulfilled.
“I’m sorry, but it won’t be possible. There are many people waiting, and I’m too busy. I have to go now.”

Unaccustomed to refusing, Jasmine left the Worton Estate in a hurry without waiting for Iris’s response. Even as she boarded her carriage, her mind was a whirl. Too many things had happened to her in one day.

“I’m sorry, but it won’t be possible. There are many people waiting, and I’m too busy. I have to go now.”

Elise watched Jasmine’s rejection in real-time and enjoyed the show.

“What? Busy? Many people waiting? Has she lost her mind? Who does she think I am?”

Iris, utterly unprepared to be rejected, burst out in anger.

Her tantrum didn’t end with just shouting. She kicked the corridor floor and messed up her hair, causing expensive hair ornaments to fall one by one. Iris didn’t stop there; she stomped on the hair ornaments.

“A hair clip? I don’t need such a thing! A pig relying on her little craft skills dares to disrespect me? How dare she do this to Iris Worton!”

How can someone love themselves so much? Elise had to acknowledge her consistently high self-esteem.

Iris, fuming, returned to her room. The servants quickly cleaned up the mess she left.

Elise waited until the corridor was clean before turning away.

Iris was not used to things not going her way, which easily led to her getting upset and venting her anger, not realizing it only made things worse.

Elise unfolded the handkerchief Jasmine had given her. As she peeled off the blood-crusted cloth, a sharp pain shot through her.

“I really should calm down.”

Elise muttered to herself as she looked at the handkerchief.

“This way, you’ll lose everything quickly, sister. I wish you’d think a bit. It’s no fun if you crumble too soon.”

Her advice to the empty air was heartfelt.

Winter finally came to an end.

With the gloom of winter cast aside, the New Year’s celebration heralding the arrival of spring began.

In Bedroca, the spring, the month of sowing seeds, is marked by a three-day festival. During this period, the royal palace hosts banquets for dignitaries from across the continent.

The banquet was more than just eating, drinking, and merry-making – it was a political arena.

If a hundred people attended the banquet, each came with a hundred different intentions.

The curtain rose on a banquet where merely enjoying oneself without caution could lead to losing everything.