At the spotless white dining table, the girl sat upright in her chair, looking terribly uneasy.
There were exquisite arrangements of tender meat and all sorts of dishes she had never even seen before.
Holding a knife and fork, Iris stared at the food on her plate, unsure where to begin.
Jonas, by contrast, felt none of that pressure... He cut into the premium steak before him, his unhurried movements remarkably elegant.
In a sense, this was a thoroughly despicable tactic.
He used various psychological cues to instill a sense of inferiority in the girl. Both the meal before her and his earlier act of taking her to change clothes were handouts bestowed by someone "above" upon an object of pity.
In other words, Mr. Jonas's seemingly meaningless series of gestures did not stem from sympathy for the girl, but from utterly selfish, despicable motives.
Jonas knew perfectly well that he was no kindhearted soul overflowing with compassion.
That was why he would use every means available to minimize the possibility of his subordinates harboring thoughts of betrayal.
He cut off a small piece of dessert with his table knife, then used his fork to place it on Iris's plate.
His gesture left the girl at a loss. She looked up in a fluster, only to meet eyes that seemed so clear she could see straight into their depths.
"Go on, eat."
Jonas's voice was calm, yet seemed to carry a magic that could soothe the heart.
As though under a spell, she murmured her assent, then obediently lifted the piece of dessert into her mouth with her fork.
Sweetness blossomed across her taste buds, a deliciousness Iris, who had lived in poverty since childhood, had never experienced before.
She couldn't help looking up, staring dazedly at the man before her as a strange feeling rose in her heart.
Like the sweetness blooming on her tongue, it vanished in an instant. Yet in that brief moment, an overwhelming sense of happiness left her lost in a daze.
-She wanted to keep looking at him a little longer.
No sooner had the thought surfaced than an intense sense of inferiority crushed it. Startled by her own desire, the girl dared not pursue it any further.
Sunlight cast the shadow of the spider plant on the windowsill onto the floor, and a faint floral fragrance hung in the air.
Exquisite food, a gentle female voice softly reporting the news nearby, a room filled with sunlight, and the man's slender fingers wrapped around his table knife.
Bleak memories flashed through her mind. Compared with that cramped room filled with nothing but darkness and oppression, this place seemed so beautiful.
The scene was forever etched into the girl's heart.
She feared that all of this would burst like a bubble, which was why she had kept resisting everything Jonas offered her.
But how could someone who had experienced the light willingly walk back into darkness...?
This was a gentle trap. Yet compared with dying alone in the dark, gently drowning in false sweetness surely seemed the better choice...
After spending these past few days together, Iris had adjusted to her new surroundings.
Every day, the purple-haired girl trailed behind Jonas like an inconspicuous little tagalong.
Perhaps the psychological scars left by her past ran too deep, for Iris resisted interacting with anyone other than Jonas.
This also left the girl intensely attached to him, following him almost everywhere like his shadow.
Eiffel was at her wits' end over the situation.
They had clearly agreed that this was to resolve the attacks on the Alt District's firewall, yet Jonas seemed to have forgotten the matter entirely and had even started playing house with Miss Iris.
It gave Miss Eiffel quite a headache, but there was nothing she could do.
This continued for three days, until Eiffel could bear it no longer and sought Jonas out for a serious talk.
Jonas finally decided to take Miss Iris to the Alt District branch office.
To be honest, Eiffel held no expectations for Miss Iris.
She merely hoped Jonas would stop fooling around.
What happened next, however, left Miss Eiffel utterly bewildered.
The Wetting Conglomerate's branch building, Alt District.
The purple-haired girl followed behind Jonas, clutching the hem of his clothes as she timidly surveyed her surroundings.
Everything around her felt unfamiliar, and she had a vague idea of what would happen next.
Jonas led her into a server room. At the far end stood an enormous screen, with streams of data constantly flashing across it.
Seeing them enter, the staff already in the room rose to greet Jonas.
"Mr. Jonas..."
Jonas rubbed her head without answering, then turned toward the other staff members and said:
"Next, you'll work with her to carry out the firewall counterattack."
The staff wore odd expressions, apparently unconvinced that a young girl like her could be more skilled than they were. Just as they were about to voice their objections, Jonas spoke again:
"I don't need your opinions."
At that, the staff could only shut their mouths.
He turned back to Iris and asked her earnestly:
"Miss Iris, I'm counting on you now. Sorry for the trouble."
Iris froze for a moment at his words, then nodded firmly.
"Yes!"
Looking at the man before her, Iris silently made up her mind.
-Even if it took everything she had, she would do something for Mr. Jonas.
This was her clumsy way of repaying his kindness.
With that thought, Iris hesitated no longer. She took a deep breath and walked forward.
Her figure gradually began to match the [Brain-Melding Witch] in Jonas's memory.
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