The target had to be Bruce

While Bird Man's brain stalled, Ririko held her left wrist out to Oswald, showing him the Tracker Bracelet he had put on her.

"Can we take this off now? It really doesn't go with the ring." She deliberately gave him a little encouragement so he would agree to remove the tracker.

Oswald huffed.

He lowered his head and pressed the clasp on the bracelet. It slipped off her wrist and landed in his palm.

Ririko rubbed her wrist, rested her head obediently on his shoulder, and went back to scrolling on her phone.

Oswald glanced at the phone he had given her out of the corner of his eye.

She thought removing the bracelet meant she was free, but he had already anticipated her move and hidden a tracker in the phone linked to his credit card.

On the day of Sofia's birthday party.

Ririko sat before the mirror in the Staff Dormitory, carefully applying her eyeliner.

The mole beneath her left eye showed faintly through her foundation in the mirror, like a dazzling star veiled by thin clouds.

She pressed her lips together at her reflection, spreading the cherry-colored lipstick evenly over them.

She raised her left hand, the heavy diamond ring on her middle finger adding a striking finishing touch to her outfit.

Bird Man's infatuation value had reached 40.

He was no longer that impervious man, like an archaeopteryx frozen in a layer of ice.

Perhaps in another week, he would be hopelessly infatuated with her.

But she couldn't wait that long.

She would use today's birthday party to win over Bruce Wayne, then say goodbye to every miserable thing in Gotham.

Today was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Bird Man and Butch were out, and even that idiot Jerome was nowhere to be found.

Maybe Oswald had sent that idiot back to Arkham. Maybe he was robbing a hot dog stand somewhere in Gotham. Maybe he was dead, or maybe he wasn't.

But that was Jerome's business, not hers.

Either way, she couldn't stay in this hellhole any longer.

She stood, the hem of her dark green gown slipping off the chair.

The green gown she had set her sights on from day one was finally going into the most important "battle."

Outside the club, luxury cars pulled up to the main entrance one after another.

A stretch Rolls-Royce, a black BMW, a red Ferrari, and several cars whose engines alone told her they cost far more than Bird Man's Aston Martin.

The Falcone family's display was even grander than she had imagined, as though announcing to every family in Gotham: Our young lady is a cut above the rest.

Ririko stood at a second-floor window, furtively hiding herself between the curtains.

A black Maybach pulled into the club, an eagle-shaped emblem on its hood.

The door was opened, and Sofia Falcone stepped out. With her dark hair and red gown, she resembled a dark orchid growing on a cliff's edge, keeping everyone at a distance.

Ririko studied that ambitious face. It was even more intimidating than the heavily retouched pictures on social media.

The system panel suddenly lit up.

[Core Character: Sofia Falcone has entered effective range]

[Current infatuation value: 0/100]

Ririko's eyes went wide as saucers.

She could build up the Falcone heiress's infatuation value too?

Did that mean she could pursue the Falcone heiress today as well as the young Wayne heir?

Oh dear, this really makes things difficult.

Just as she wavered between pursuing the Wayne family and the Falcone family, a car bearing the Wayne emblem pulled up outside the club.

Bruce stepped out in a dark suit, dressed more elegantly than he had been at Arkham. The shoulder line looked as though it had been drawn with a ruler, and the waist sat perfectly at his hips, neither too high nor too low.

His hair had been carefully styled too, revealing the contours of his forehead and taking his face another step from boyish toward manly, though he remained just as strikingly handsome.

The instant he stepped into the light, everyone outside the club turned to look at him.

The guests exchanging pleasantries with the Falcone family, the servers accustomed to seeing important people... everyone was watching him.

Ririko gritted her teeth.

What am I thinking? The target has to be Bruce!

The Falcone family had booked the entire club.

Every sofa and booth in the ground-floor hall had been covered in deep red velvet. Roses and silver candlesticks adorned the tables, and the usual three-piece band had been replaced by a twelve-piece ensemble.

Guests lined up to offer Sofia their congratulations.

The heiress sat on a sofa, responding coolly to her guests.

Servants accepted the gifts for her. She never even reached out, and the smile on her lips remained unchanged from the first gift to the twentieth.

She had little interest in this birthday party.

She hadn't invited a single guest, and none of the gifts were anything she wanted. The people before her had come only for the Falcone name.

She was tired of being nothing more than bait her father used to catch a wealthy son-in-law.

She was like an exquisite, expensive doll branded with her family's name.

Her gaze passed through the crowd, and she saw Bruce approaching with easy elegance.

The crowd parted for him of its own accord.

At last, Sofia's expression changed a little.

Wearing a perfectly measured social smile, Bruce said to her, "Happy birthday."

He signaled for a servant to present his gift, a dark blue box tied with a white ribbon.

Sofia rose from the sofa and accepted it herself. Inside was a lavish diamond necklace.

Her smile deepened a little, not because she had received a gift from Bruce, but because she knew he hadn't chosen the necklace.

She had once told a female classmate that the necklace on the first page of a jewelry magazine was "quite nice," and the Wayne family's assistant had done their research thoroughly.

She and Bruce had quite an understanding when it came to going through the motions in high society.

"Thank you." Sofia handed the box to a servant and looked away from the necklace.

Bruce also felt that his task was complete.

He had wished her a happy birthday and presented his gift, checking the box for "a respectable and appropriate interaction" between their families.

All he had to do now was exchange a few pleasantries with guests who had dealings with the Wayne family, then find a chance to leave and return to his study to read the latest issue of Science Magazine.

Seeing that he was slipping away even faster than she was, Sofia couldn't resist asking, "Aren't you going to ask me to dance?"

Everyone had been watching this "golden couple" out of the corner of their eyes. No one had expected the ever-proud Sofia to ask Bruce to dance, and they immediately began clapping and cheering.

Under the busybodies' gazes, Bruce felt his scalp prickle. His hand tightened slightly at his side, then relaxed.

He had thought Sofia wanted to avoid this sort of social occasion too, that they were both merely appeasing their elders. He hadn't expected her to turn it into a contest.

"Do you already have a dance partner?" Sofia stepped forward. She wasn't in a particularly good mood today, and she was determined to toy with this young heir whom everyone treated like a treasure.

After all, it was her birthday. She could do whatever she wanted.

Bruce's mind raced.

If he said yes, the excuse would soon fall apart, because he hadn't invited a dance partner at all...

If he said no, he would have to share the first dance with Sofia, undoubtedly putting a marriage between the Wayne and Falcone families on the agenda with his own hands...

Just then, a hand gently slipped into the crook of his arm.

Bruce turned to see a girl in a dark green gown standing beside him, her long hair cascading over her shoulders. The mole beneath her left eye pierced his heart mercilessly, like a sharp thorn.

She looked somewhat familiar, as though he had seen her somewhere before.

"Sorry I'm late," Ririko said, and the entire room fell silent.

Bruce looked puzzled.

Ririko leaned toward his ear, her lips brushing its rim. "If you dance with Sofia, all of Gotham will be calling you a couple tomorrow."

Bruce started, surprised that this girl could see right through his thoughts.

Almost at that very instant, Bruce took Ririko's hand and gave Sofia an apologetic nod.

"Sorry, I already have a dance partner."

He led her by the hand toward the dance floor.

Everyone was stunned. They stared as Bruce led another mysterious beauty onto the dance floor, and a roar of conversation erupted.

They stole glances at Sofia, certain that the heiress would be angry, disappointed, perhaps even hurt...

Yet Sofia's gaze followed that dark green gown the entire way. There was no embarrassment on her face, only a hint of... excitement?

She had never seen that girl at any social occasion. She searched her memories of every charity gala, gallery opening, private reception, polo match, and yacht party...

Yet she couldn't find a single trace of the girl.

She suppressed the inexplicable surge within her, unable to tear her gaze from the dance floor for a long time.