After the meeting ended, Viktor left his men and headed to the interrogation room. The caught enemy spies were under strict surveillance.

As Viktor entered the interrogation room, a young man sitting in a chair spoke up.

“Captain, I want to talk to you about Miss Scarlett Crimson.” 

Viktor calmly dragged a chair over to sit in front of the man and opened his mouth. 

“What do you know?”

“We know much about the skills of the Crimson family.”

“…”

“Vestina is very interested in Miss Scarlett Crimson’s technology. If Miss Crimson comes to Vestina, she will remain a heroine in our history books. On the contrary, if she refuses to come to Vestina now, Vestina’s army will surely find her at the start of the war. Her treatment then will not be the same as what we are offering now. Either way, Miss Crimson will have to cooperate with Vestina in the end.”

“Get up.”

At Viktor’s words, the spy stood up.

Viktor beckoned the guards to drag him out, and soon headed to the guest room.

The embarrassed spy was Vestina’s soldier, who was waiting in the drawing room, and his face was relieved to find Basili, a Viktor Dumfelt’s childhood friend.

Basili waved to the spy, and welcomed Viktor. “Viktor, long time no see.”

Viktor smiled and headed to the table, and after a while the door closed.

♔♔♔

When Scarlett returned home, good news awaited her. Joanna, one of the laid-off artisans from Plant 1, had arrived dressed nicely to deliver the news to the store directly.

Scarlett discovered Joanna leisurely drinking tea served by Andrei and welcomed her.

“Joanna! How come you’re dressed so nicely?” 

“I have something to show you.”

Joanna proudly pulled something out of her bag. She took out two watches and some documents.

Before getting to the matter at hand, Joanna turned to Andrei. 

“By the way, the tea is delicious, Mr Andrei. Thank you.” 

“That’s a relief,” Andrei grinned.

As always, no fault could be found with Andrei’s hospitality. Andrei had no fault in entertaining others. He always tried to teach Scarlett his ways.

Joanna then turned to sit face-to-face with Scarlett and handed her the documents.

“This is the result, and this is…a document with the consent of a few members of the Crimson family.”

“There were people who sided with the Crimson family?” 

“The result is simply too obvious.”

Scarlett checked the documents Joanna gave her.

Scarlett’s Crimson part and Abel’s Crimson part were different in every way according to the documents. Scarlett’s watch was lighter and contained fewer flaws. Above all, the durability was the greatest difference between the two products. Scarlett’s Crimson part proved overwhelmingly superior in various durability experiments, including drop and shock tests.

Joanna waited until Scarlett had reviewed the documents. 

“With this, we’ll have a court decision very soon.” 

“Thank you, Joanna. Thank you very much.” 

“Of course.”

“And I have no shame...I look forward to your kind cooperation when it’s settled and the recall begins.”

Joanna’s gaze contained both pride and pity at her words.

“You didn’t cause the problem. You’re simply trying to remedy the problem.” 

“You really think so? Well, I think it’s quite good that this happened. This is an opportunity for me and Isaac.”

Joanna smiled at Scarlett’s forced bright reply. Scarlett’s eyes were filled with fatigue. One could tell how much pressure she was under.

Joanna turned to Andrei again.

“Please take good care of the boss, Mr Andrei.”

“I always take good care of her, so you just have to be good.”

The two women laughed merrily at Andrei’s unexpected reply.

♔♔♔

A week after Joanna delivered the results of the comparison, Isaac arrived at 7th Avenue.

At first, Scarlett was nervous about Isaac’s return to the Crimson Mansion. However, his life at the mansion resumed without any issues, so she was somewhat relieved.

Abel Crimson was on trial after admitting he stabbed Isaac with a paper knife first. Since then, Isaac kept an eye on him along with his aunts Anne, Arnold and Marilyn in the mansion. Scarlett asked him exactly how they managed to reach a compromise, but Isaac equivocated without giving an accurate explanation.

When Scarlett exited the store, she found Isaac waiting for her outside. He had noticed her first and walked over.

“Scarlett.”

“Isaac, how’s your eye?”

When Scarlett lifted her hands to take off his sunglasses, Isaac stepped back. 

“Oh, wait. I don’t want to show you yet…”

“Why? I don’t really care anymore.” 

“Everybody who sees it is surprised.” 

“Please show me. I wish to see it.” 

At Scarlett’s firm reply, Isaac took off his sunglasses.