"Mmm." The young woman pursed her lips, unable to hide her joyful smile. Her eyes sparkled. "Ryan, you said you'd be back before the end of next month. Don't break your promise, okay?"
"I won't."
The man suddenly changed the subject, his tone casual. "You promised me you wouldn't eat spicy food or drink iced beverages."
He paused, then added calmly, "You've been up to some mischief behind my back, haven't you?"
"I haven't!" Iris Dalton glanced around guiltily, clutching the iced drink in her hand. She shook her head with an air of indignation. "I haven't been up to anything! Don't worry, I'm not that kind of person. I do what I say."
The man chuckled, deciding not to call her out on it. His voice softened, as if he were soothing a kitten about to bristle. "What gift do you want?"
Iris Dalton breathed a sigh of relief. She tilted her head in thought. "I want the stars from the sky and shells from the ocean floor. Can I have that?"
'In his presence, she always wanted to be a little more defiant and willful.'
'It was as if doing so would grant her his exclusive protection and affection.'
"Alright." The man agreed immediately, without the slightest hesitation.
The young woman's eyes lit up, brimming with a sweet, contented joy.
The two exchanged a few more words, chatting about lighthearted topics.
Suddenly, Iris Dalton's gaze sharpened as if she had caught wind of something that concerned her. Her expression darkened.
"Ryan, I have to go. I'll call you when I have a moment." She hung up, a glint of vigilance in her eyes.
Her powerful spiritual power instantly condensed into a single point, piercing through space to probe in the direction of the private room.
*
In the private room, several people were talking.
None of them noticed that they were being watched.
Old Mr. Sherwood rolled the jade orbs in his hand, his expression worried. "Young Master Crawford's status is indeed noble, but our Rosalind is no slouch either. We should be able to make this connection. Simon, keep an eye on Young Master Crawford's schedule. Have Rosalind come back to the country as soon as possible so she can at least meet him."
Simon Sherwood nodded. The conversation then shifted to Iris Dalton, and he grew slightly tense. "The news of us claiming her has already gotten out. Our circle will soon know Iris is a Sherwood daughter. The main family branch in Valerium... they won't dig up any problems, will they?"
Leona Vaughn placed a soothing hand on his. "Don't worry. We've already spoken with the Monahan Family. They've agreed to an engagement between Iris and Milo Monahan, and we'll arrange it after school starts. With this marriage alliance, the main family branch in Valerium will have no reason to be suspicious. Iris is beautiful; she might actually catch Young Master Monahan's eye. We should start preparing, just in case."
'Since she's here to be a Sherwood daughter, her assets can't go to waste.'
'The Sherwood Family is a great house; they never make a losing deal.'
'As long as they could use Iris Dalton to rake in benefits for the family over the next two years, it wouldn't be a loss.'
The butler frowned, having a very low opinion of Iris Dalton. He couldn't help but remind them, "She's from some backwater village and has never even been to school. She's coarse and ignorant, nothing like the Eldest and Second Misses, who are well-read and cultured."
He stole a glance at the Sherwoods. "What if she's unruly and disobedient? If she offends Young Master Monahan, I'm afraid she'll bring disaster upon the Sherwood Family."
The butler had worked for the Sherwood Family for over thirty years and was a trusted confidant of the Sherwoods. Fiercely loyal to the family, he couldn't help but worry.
'Young Master Monahan is from the Monahan family in Valerium. Would he be happy having Iris Dalton as his fiancée?'
"COUGH COUGH!" Tristan Sherwood had just taken a drag from his cigarette and choked on the smoke.
He loosened his tie slightly, revealing his Adam's apple. A wisp of smoke curled from between his long fingers, making him seem arrogant and aloof.
He was twenty-six years old and, as the Sherwood family heir, had already cultivated the imposing, ruthless air of a man in power.
"Dad, Mom, isn't this going a bit too far?" Tristan Sherwood felt a surge of irritation whenever he thought of Iris Dalton's face.
'He felt as if there were some hidden connection between them that left him both frustrated and somewhat reluctant.'
'She was an orphan who'd had no one to rely on for eighteen years.'
'The Sherwood Family was supposedly raising her as a daughter, yet they were sending her to her death while profiting from her on the side.'
'This was just pure exploitation!'
'What's more, that Young Master Monahan had a violent temper and was known for being physically abusive…'
"Tristan, don't you forget, she is replacing Rosalind. Do you want something to happen to your own sister?" Old Mr. Sherwood said, his face grim.
His own granddaughter, Claire Sherwood, was twenty-two this year. Not only was she the number one socialite of Stellan, but she was also an outstanding graduate of Lumin-Umbra University.
She had won the favor of the famous Mentor Miles and gained exceptional entry into the most prestigious rare materials laboratory. She was now abroad on a research fellowship with her mentor, the youngest assistant researcher there.
The Rare Materials Laboratory was one of the three great labs at Lumin-Umbra University. Every single person who managed to get in was a talent of great renown!
'They were people who could do as they pleased among the Noble Clans.'
So many people envied the Sherwood Family for raising such an outstanding and exceptional daughter!
A daughter as dazzling as Claire Sherwood was the pride of the Sherwood family, utterly irreplaceable. And yet, the family's crisis required the blood of a daughter from the direct line to be resolved.
They would absolutely not let her make the sacrifice!
That was why they'd found a substitute.
Tristan Sherwood opened his mouth, but in the end, not a single word came out.
'He was right. Claire Sherwood was his own sister. He couldn't bear to send her to her death.'
'And his younger sister, Serena Sherwood, was the darling of the family.'
'Luckily, her blood didn't meet the requirements, so there was no need to worry about her being dragged into this.'
"You should be thankful. With Iris as a substitute, your own sister gets to escape this fate."
Simon Sherwood lectured his son earnestly. "The assessment for the Young Master Sherwood candidacy is just around the corner. We need to build connections with the powers in Valerium beforehand. Iris is exceptionally beautiful; maybe she can pave the way for you."
"That's right, Tristan," Leona Vaughn added. "Listen to your father. The assessment for the Young Master candidacy is what's most important. So many people in the main family branch are eyeing that position. You have to prepare seriously."
'They didn't feel the Sherwood Family had done anything wrong.'
'Iris Dalton had taken the Sherwood family's money and used their name. She had gained a great deal, so she ought to do her part for them.'
"But..." Tristan Sherwood still felt restless and uneasy. "Grandpa, that piece of land is an ancestral property. Transferring it to an outsider's name isn't proper, is it?"
'He felt something was wrong, but he didn't know what had been overlooked.'
"What outsider? From now on, Iris is your own sister. You must treat her as family, both in public and in private!"
Old Mr. Sherwood glared at him, disappointed. "No one else can know about the substitute. You must even hide it from your grandmother and your wife. If you can't keep a secret, the entire family will suffer."
'If those people noticed anything was amiss, the entire plan would go up in smoke!'
Seeing Tristan getting reprimanded, the butler quickly tried to smooth things over. "Eldest Young Master, don't overthink it. Iris Dalton's resemblance to the Sherwoods was manufactured."
The contract required her to undergo blood transfusions and facial reconstruction from a young age, all to make her look more and more like one of the Sherwoods.
The Sherwood Family had spent tens of millions on this plan.
'This was one reason the butler disliked Iris Dalton. He thought the girl was deeply calculating. She had wanted to worm her way into a great house since she was a child, willing to endure any hardship and abandon all her dignity to do so.'
'There were so many children at the research facility, but she was the only one who successfully received the Sherwood blood and had her face altered to resemble theirs. She stood out from eighty other children and was the one ultimately chosen.'
'What normal little girl had that kind of cunning and resourcefulness? How could anyone say she wasn't a meticulous schemer!'
"Eldest Young Master, don't worry," the butler explained cryptically. "The ancestral property is being transferred to her name, but the terms stipulate that it cannot be sold or gifted. She can only keep it for herself. And after two years... the property will return to the Sherwood Family."
'Putting that land in Iris Dalton's name didn't really matter.'
'Because in two years, she would be dead.'
'As a daughter of the Sherwood Family, her assets would naturally be inherited by them.'
Tristan Sherwood was stunned for a moment. A heavy, suffocating feeling welled up in his chest for reasons he couldn't quite pinpoint.
He forcefully crushed out the half-smoked cigarette. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking clearly. It won't happen again."
Simon Sherwood and Leona Vaughn exchanged a look, relieved by Tristan Sherwood's reaction.
'Finding a substitute wasn't exactly moral, but it was the best solution.'
'After all, they loved their own children and couldn't let their biological daughter be in danger.'
'As for Iris Dalton, she had lived eighteen years of hardship. Getting to enter a great house and live extravagantly for two years was a blessing an ordinary person couldn't hope for in several lifetimes.'
'Besides, they would do their best to treat her well and give her plenty of compensation.'
'They didn't owe her anything.'