However, they were all so lucky that at the most critical moment of their lives, they met the most crucial person and escaped a desperate fate... White Night wanted to sit up, but found her arm was pinned down.
She turned her head and looked at Iris beside her, finding her fast asleep and hugging her arm, refusing to let go.
"Mmm~ Sister Bai Ye..."
Listening to her sleep-talking, White Night caringly caressed her cheek; it seemed Iris was uneasy even in her dreams.
Carefully extracting her arm and then covering Iris with the quilt, White Night got out of bed.
There were many things to do today. Besides hiring a carriage to leave the city, she also needed to buy a few sets of clothes for Iris, who was still wearing White Night's spare shirt.
White Night carefully drew back the curtains and found that it was still early; the sun was only faintly appearing on the horizon, not yet fully risen.
Even so, the morning in the Royal Capital was not peaceful today.
Through the window, she could vaguely see a troop of knights whose every inch, from man to horse, was covered in black armor, galloping toward the Imperial Palace, appearing to be in a great hurry.
"Have the Black Night Knights been deployed so soon? It seems Angelie has already guessed that I've left the Imperial Palace."
Rumors among the people said that since the Black Night Knight disappeared, the Black Night Knights had been marginalized and never sent to the front lines again.
In reality, it was just that Angelie was unwilling to let White Night go to the battlefield anymore. Since White Night was no longer on the battlefield, the mission of the Knight Order under her naturally changed.
The current Black Night Knights were responsible for guarding the Royal Capital, usually stationed in the camp outside the city. At critical moments, they were under the direct command of Angelie herself, so naturally, they would no longer be easily sent to the front lines.
Seeing this troop of Black Knights rushing toward the Imperial Palace, it seemed Angelie had personally given the order. There weren't many things that could make her mobilize the Black Night Knights; it was likely because of White Night's disappearance.
"It's better to leave the Royal Capital as soon as possible..."
"Ugh~ Mmm~"
As White Night was pondering, Iris beside her stretched and woke up.
"Sister Bai Ye?"
When Iris woke up and found White Night wasn't by her side, she actually panicked for a moment.
Fortunately, as soon as she turned her head, she saw White Night standing by the window, and she didn't panic too much.
"Sorry, did I wake you?"
"No, no!" Iris waved her hands hurriedly. "I just happened to wake up; it wasn't you who woke me, Sister!"
Iris's reaction was very cute, making White Night unable to help but smile.
"Alright, since Iris is awake, let's go eat. I bet you're hungry too, aren't you, Iris?"
"Mm."
...Even though it was still early, most shops had already begun operating. Although there weren't many customers, adhering to the belief that they should never earn a penny less than they could, merchants always woke up earlier than ordinary people.
"Sigh~ No customers..."
At this time, the Female Shop Manager of a clothing store was leaning against the door, sighing.
"It can't be helped. Yours is a high-end clothing store; customers are usually few, let alone at this hour."
A female clerk nearby chatted with her boss while tidying the shop, preparing for the day's opening.
"No quality customers have come lately. My 'babies' are really hoping for some beautiful girls to wear them!"
"Manager..."
The Young Miss clerk didn't know how to complain about the manager; she seemed not to care at all about how much money the shop made. By comparison, she seemed more concerned about whether her clothes could be worn by beautiful girls.
"Sigh~ Without beautiful girls, I don't even have inspiration for designing clothes..."
The Female Shop Manager leaned against the doorframe, looking as if life had no meaning.
"Good heavens, I don't even care about making money; just drop two beautiful girls from the sky for me."
"Not making money? You're really joking, Manager," the Young Miss clerk quipped from the side. "At least please earn enough to pay my salary."
"Don't worry, even if my shop goes bankrupt, I won't withhold your wages."
As the two were chatting, a pleasant voice suddenly came from outside the door.
"Excuse me, is the shop open?"
Hearing this voice, the Female Shop Manager suddenly jolted. With her years of experience encountering beautiful girls, someone with such a voice was very likely a beauty!
She hurriedly turned around, and as expected, she saw beautiful girls—and not just one, but two!
The two girls were one tall and one short. The shorter one was exquisite and cute, with a slender figure, looking just like a doll one could hold in their arms.
As for the taller Silver-haired Girl, she was even more extraordinary. Not only were her features delicate, but she also possessed a cold temperament. Combined with her head of silver hair, people would believe it if someone said she was a princess from some country!
"Open! Of course we're open!"
The Female Shop Manager seemed as if she had been injected with a stimulant, hurriedly making a gesture of welcome.
"Sister Bai Ye, maybe we should forget it. The clothes here look so expensive."
Iris tugged at White Night's sleeve, somewhat afraid to enter the shop.
Although the clothing store was not large, whether it was the Advanced wood used for the storefront decoration or the delicate texture of the fabrics, everything embodied one word: expensive!
Although Iris's father was a merchant and her living environment had been relatively superior, she had never entered a shop like this.
Thus, even though White Night had chosen this shop, Iris was truly a bit afraid to enter.
"Let's just leave. It doesn't matter if Iris doesn't wear new clothes." "Eh! You're leaving!?"
Before White Night could respond to Iris's suggestion to leave, the Female Shop Manager became unhappy.
Two beautiful girls had finally come, and they were leaving before even trying on her clothes? How could she accept that?
"No way. If they want to leave, they have to put on the clothes I designed first!"
The Female Shop Manager's mind raced; she was determined to get these two beautiful girls into her clothes today!
"Con-Congratulations to you both! You are the 10,000th customers to visit our shop. Everything you purchase today will be 50% off!"
To keep White Night and Iris, the Female Shop Manager was willing to take a loss. At 50% off, no matter which price point was sold, she was certain to lose money.
Hearing the manager's words, White Night was also stunned. She hadn't expected to encounter such good fortune just by coming out to buy some clothes for Iris.
She had been thinking about what reason to use to persuade Iris, but now it seemed she didn't need one.
"Iris, the manager is giving us a 50% discount. Such an opportunity doesn't come often."
"But..."
Iris hesitated. Even with a 50% discount, the price in a shop like this would still be very expensive.
"It's fine. Leave it all to... leave it all to me, your sister."
When saying this, White Night's expression was more or less unnatural. Referring to herself as "Sister," she really wasn't used to it.
"Manager, please pick out a few sets of clothes for this child."
"No problem."
The Female Shop Manager smiled as she took out a soft tape measure from her pocket. The girl before her was perfectly to her liking—vulnerable, submissive, and soft-cute. She was a rare beauty!
"Come, let Big Sister measure your size~"
For some reason, even though the Female Shop Manager was smiling, Iris felt a hint of aggressiveness in her gaze.
"Go on, Iris. Let the manager take your measurements."
Although she found the manager strange, since it was Sister Bai Ye who wanted to give her clothes, she decided to be obedient and not make things difficult for her Sister Bai Ye.
The Female Shop Manager gently wrapped the tape measure around Iris's body and measured her bust.
"Bust 82, heehee, cute... And the waist..."
The manager marveled as she measured Iris's figure. This well-behaved girl was perfectly to her liking.
Petite, cute, obedient, and soft—who could resist?
Speaking of which, she had made a white dress last week; it would surely suit the girl before her.
"Xiao Li, bring that white dress over."
The Young Miss clerk was stunned for a moment.
"The dress? Which white dress?"
"The one in my workshop."
"Eh! Are you sure? Isn't that one..."
"Stop talking and bring it quickly!"
"Alright, you're the boss, you call the shots..."
Before long, Iris had changed into the white dress the Female Shop Manager had mentioned.
Actually, this white dress was something the Female Shop Manager had designed on a sudden whim and hadn't intended to sell as a product.
However, the chance to have a beauty of Iris's level wear clothes she had made by hand was rare. Thus, the manager didn't hesitate and decisively had the Young Miss clerk bring out the dress she had put so much effort into making.
"Cute, so cute. Even the size is just right."
It was a pure white dress with smooth and delicate fabric. The length was perfect—not too long to look old-fashioned, nor too short to look suggestive.
Beneath the skirt, her soft and tender feet were wrapped in exquisite white silk stockings, with black ribbons tied at the ankles, stepping into a pair of white high heels.
Wearing this outfit not only highlighted Iris's purity and cuteness but also added a playful feel to her originally somewhat melancholy temperament, making anyone who saw her feel their heart flutter.
"Mm, not bad. We'll take this one."
Even White Night was stunned when she saw Iris in this outfit and decisively bought it for her.
"Eh! Is it okay? This dress looks very expensive!"
"It's fine. Who told Iris to be so cute?"
White Night rubbed Iris's small face with her hand. She really didn't care how much it cost; after all, Iris was so well-behaved and cute that anyone would want to spoil her.
"This dress is nice, but it's not very convenient for moving around. Manager, please pick out a set of casual clothes for Iris as well. Oh, and a set of pajamas too."
"No problem."
The Female Shop Manager nodded and said to the Young Miss clerk.
"Xiao Li, I'll leave Iris to you. Choose carefully for her."
"No problem."
Having handed Iris over to the Young Miss clerk, the Female Shop Manager then spoke to White Night.
"Actually, I recently designed a black dress. I wonder if Young Miss White Night would be willing to try it on?"
"Hm? Me?"
White Night was stunned for a moment.
"Forget it, I don't need to. Just pick out the clothes for Iris."
"Eh! You don't plan to try on any clothes?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Ehhh!!!" Hearing that White Night didn't plan to try on her clothes, the manager felt as if she had been struck by lightning.
Actually, compared to the soft and cute Iris, the Female Shop Manager valued the slightly cold-faced White Night even more.
Not to mention her appearance and figure, just with her head of silver hair and cold temperament, the manager could think of over a dozen outfit combinations.
From the first moment she saw White Night, she considered her the best model and the most suitable beautiful girl to wear her clothes.
Precisely because of this, the Female Shop Manager absolutely could not accept such a beautiful girl appearing before her eyes without wearing her clothes!
You've got to be kidding. How could she miss out on a beauty of this caliber?
Even if she had to use despicable means, she was determined to make Young Miss White Night change into the clothes she had personally made!
"Ugh~ Cough, cough!"
The Female Shop Manager began to cough violently, even taking out a handkerchief to cover her mouth.