Hel's heart skipped a beat. She turned toward the sofa and saw Hiness, who at some point had woken up, rubbing her eyes and standing there in a daze.
Seeing her like this, Hel could only pinch the bridge of her nose in resignation.
Great. We got too caught up in the conversation and completely forgot there was a royal princess here.
Hel knew this carefree little princess of the Kingdom of Savant wouldn't betray them, but she still felt it was necessary to give her a proper warning—just in case Hiness let something slip someday without meaning to.
"Hiness."
Hel stood up and walked over to her. Rarely, she didn't use one of Hiness's nicknames, and instead spoke in a serious tone.
"About what we were just talking about—please don't tell anyone else. It could cause us quite a bit of trouble."
"Big trouble?"
Hiness tilted her head, clearly confused.
"What kind of trouble? Did you two talk about something behind my back?"
Hel and Leflina exchanged a glance, then both smiled helplessly.
Seeing their reactions, Hiness became even more puzzled.
But her attention was quickly drawn to something else.
"Gugu Monster, what was that 'gun' you mentioned earlier? Why do I get this weird feeling when I hear that word?"
"Haha—nothing, nothing," Hel laughed awkwardly. "It's just something from my hometown, kind of like a magic wand. I was only using it as a metaphor. Don't worry about the details."
Then she abruptly changed the subject, reached out, and grabbed Hiness's soft, collagen-rich cheeks, kneading them back and forth.
"And you, Erhashi—why on earth do I suddenly have such a bizarre nickname like Gugu Monster?"
"That was obviously coined by yours truly," Hiness said proudly.
She grabbed Hel's cheeks in return and kneaded them just as mercilessly.
"Who told you to disappear without a word for over half a month? You were the one who said we'd go for our internship together.
What do you call that behavior again, in your own words? Standing people up, right? So what's wrong with calling you Gugu Monster?"
"And why is our Miss Erhashi so fond of giving people nicknames?" Hel asked with a smile, stretching Hiness's mouth into an exaggerated grin.
Hiness, of course, refused to lose and kept pinching Hel's cheeks.
"I learned it from our adorable little Lyco, of course."
The two of them messed around for quite a while before finally separating.
Perhaps she'd burned too much energy during their scuffle, because Hiness plopped herself down into Hel's seat with a tired thump.
Then, without the slightest hint of courtesy, she picked up Hel's teacup and pastries and started devouring them with enthusiasm.
Once she was mostly full, she let out a satisfied burp and gave Hel a big thumbs-up.
"Seriously, little Lyco's snacks are still the best. You have no idea—ever since you left, we've been craving this so badly we were practically losing our minds."
"You're the only one who was losing her mind," Hel replied dryly, dragging over a chair and sitting beside them.
"At the very least, Tina and senior Leflina wouldn't look like starving ghosts reincarnated."
But when Hel turned to look at Leflina, she saw her lowering her head, staring unblinkingly at the cream-filled cupcakes Hiness had forcibly placed on her plate.
Her delicate face was faintly flushed.
"Um… Junior Lyco," Leflina said softly,
"I… I actually really like the pastries you make too."
Hel covered her forehead in resignation.
As expected—sweets were a critical hit against girls.
Even though these cakes weren't made by her, but by Niv, they had still closed the distance between Hel and her roommates in no time.
Still… wasn't this a bit too easy?
"At least… at least Tina isn't like this, right?" Hel tried one last time to salvage the image of her roommates in her heart.
Hiness shattered that hope without mercy.
"Oh, little Tina? She misses your cakes too—no, wait, she misses you. It's just that she's been way too exhausted lately. She's probably sleeping like a log right now.
Hey, Gugu Ke, remember that kid who came by last time? That Duke Hel guy. Ever since he asked Tina to help him invest, poor little Tina's been worked like a beast of burden. She leaves before dawn every day and doesn't come back until one or two in the morning.
I'm telling you, that Duke Hel is starting to look more and more like a proper capitalist."
"Uh… haha…"
Hel scratched her cheek awkwardly. Hearing people badmouth her behind her back felt… surprisingly strange.
"Maybe… the hoarding hamster is just a bit too… um…"
Hel tapped her chin, thinking for a long moment before continuing,
"Maybe she's just being overly serious, considering how much money was entrusted to her."
"Yeah, I know," Hiness said with a helpless shrug, stirring the half cup of black tea left in her mug with a small spoon.
"But that's exactly why I'm worried. She values this opportunity more than her own life, so she just keeps overworking herself.
I'm seriously afraid her body won't hold up if this keeps going. And when I tried to transfer the factory shares to her, she wouldn't even take them."
"Transfer them to Tina? Weren't those supposed to be yours?" Hel asked in surprise. She couldn't understand why Hiness would refuse shares that were basically free.
"Of course I couldn't take them. I know my own limits—I can't possibly be the shield a factory that big needs.
I contacted Skul Academy instead. With Lady Viola's protection, the factory could at least be kept safe.
But when I tried to hand my shares over, Lady Viola refused. She said Duke Hel was her junior anyway, and that she was simply doing what an elder should.
So I figured the best thing to do was to give this property—which never should've been mine—to someone who's actually doing real work. Tina was the obvious choice.
Too bad that stubborn girl just wouldn't accept it."
Hiness shook her head and sighed.
Hearing this, Hel couldn't help but think more highly of both Tina and Hiness.
People who cared so little about money were incredibly rare these days—especially Tina.
Hiness might have grown up in comfort and simply lacked a sense of money's value, but Tina was different. She'd grown up in the slums.
She could easily have used that money to improve her own life or help her old companions, yet she hadn't done so.
Maybe in another ten years or so, after being thoroughly beaten down by society, their values would change completely.
But at least for now, they deserved Hel's respect.
Because at the very least, she herself couldn't be so indifferent to money anymore—she had already been beaten down by society once before.