Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Mascot

Jessie Sterling bit down on her finger, the pressure unconsciously increasing.

It was as if this was the only way she could confirm her head was still on straight.

“…Oh.” Jessie Sterling let go of her finger and bit her lower lip. “So, what do you think we should give for wedding favors?”

Victor Morgan could tell the person on the other end of the line wasn’t in a bad mood, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He really didn’t have much experience interacting with women outside of his family. Besides, this was Jessie Sterling, his future wife. Deep down, Victor truly wanted to get along well with her.

“Have you already decided on anything?” Victor asked first.

“I have. An Omega watch—men’s and women’s models depending on the guest—plus a small Hermès wallet. For the budget per favor, maybe around sixty or seventy thousand?” Jessie said.

“That’s great.” Victor Morgan nodded. After a moment of thought, he added, “Should we include a pendant too?”

“A pendant? What kind of pendant? Gold? Jade?” Jessie thought that sounded a bit old-fashioned.

Victor: “Let’s go with gold. We can have a factory make a mold for mass production.” Jade wouldn’t be nearly as convenient.

Jessie Sterling remained silent.

Victor spoke up again from the other end of the line. “Don’t you like to draw online? Just draw something you like, and I’ll find someone to take the design to a factory.”

If Jessie Sterling had been secretly complaining to herself about Victor’s old-fashioned idea just moments ago, his next words made her immediately retract that thought.

“Are you saying we can make our own wedding mascot?!” Jessie Sterling’s mind worked fast, and she immediately grasped Victor’s idea.

“Mhm.” The man’s steady voice came from the other side of the phone, sounding exceptionally calm, especially in contrast to Jessie’s unconcealed excitement.

Jessie Sterling couldn’t possibly be as unflappable as Victor Morgan. She exclaimed, “Wow! Victor, you’re a genius!”

Victor Morgan: “…”

“This idea is amazing!” Jessie had already jumped out of bed and couldn’t help but pace around her room. “I love it!”

“Good, as long as you like it. So, do you have any ideas yet? What do you want to draw?” Victor asked.

Jessie: “I haven’t thought of anything yet.”

Victor: “That’s fine. You can take your time to think.”

After they hung up, it occurred to Jessie: how did Victor Morgan know she liked to draw cute things online?

She was pretty sure she’d never told him what her hobbies were.

Puzzled, Jessie soon fell asleep.

The next morning, when Jessie woke up, she found that Quincy Sterling hadn’t gone to the office to work overtime.

She drank a glass of orange juice, then shuffled over to Quincy on the sofa. “Quincy, if I were to design a mascot for my wedding, do you have any suggestions?”

“A mascot?” Quincy couldn’t help but turn her head. “Do you think you’re hosting the Olympics?”

Jessie felt emboldened, now that she had Victor backing her up. “What? Can’t I? It’s my wedding, so I’ll do whatever I want. Victor said I get the final say.”

Quincy Sterling: “?”

’Did I say she couldn’t?’

“Oh, so you’ve made up with your brother-in-law.” Quincy looked away and went back to watching TV.

Jessie’s face flushed at her words. “We weren’t even fighting, okay?”

“Oh, got it.”

Jessie Sterling: “…”

’It felt like punching cotton. So frustrating!’

“For a wedding mascot, why not just use chibi versions of you two?” Quincy clearly knew how to placate the family’s easily-ruffled young lady. “You’re good at drawing that kind of avatar anyway, and it would be more meaningful.”

A smile quickly returned to Jessie’s face. She snuggled closer to Quincy. “Really? Well, I want to turn the mascot into a physical object to put in the wedding favors. Do you think that’s okay?”

’It feels a little narcissistic,’ she thought.

Quincy paused her TV watching, turned her head, and looked at Jessie with an expression of disbelief.

“That’s… quite an idea…”

’Something like that sounds easy, but it’s actually a lot of trouble.’

But Jessie completely missed the hidden meaning in Quincy’s words. She giggled. “Actually, it wasn’t my idea. It was Victor’s.”

Quincy Sterling: “…”

“Victor said all I have to do is come up with the mascot design, and he’ll take care of the rest,” Jessie said.

Quincy Sterling: “…Oh, that’s nice.”

“Quincy, you don’t even sound like you’re trying to hide how half-hearted that was!” Jessie grumbled, displeased.

Quincy wanted to facepalm. She did hope Jessie could continue to do as she pleased after getting married, but the thought of her future brother-in-law actively creating more work for himself filled her with a strange sense of admiration. Since the young lady had already found a new toy, then…

“You can discuss it with your brother-in-law,” Quincy said calmly.

Jessie: “How is that the same thing?”

“How is it different?” Quincy asked.

“He’s so busy. It wouldn’t be right for me to bother him during the day, too, would it?” Jessie said earnestly.

Quincy Sterling: “…”

’I’m busy too! How come Jessie has never been this considerate of me?’

Quincy suddenly felt as if an arrow had pierced her chest.

“Are you jealous?” Jessie suddenly reached out, cupped Quincy’s face in her hands, and stared into her eyes. “You’re being so dismissive all of a sudden. Is it because you think that since I asked Victor, I won’t ask for your opinion anymore?”

Quincy Sterling: “…”

Jessie giggled. “Don’t worry. Even after I move to Aethelburg, you’ll still be the most important person to me. Don’t be jealous, Quincy.”

Quincy sighed internally. She knew it. Jessie’s cleverness always manifested in the most baffling ways.

Like right now.

With the young lady holding her face, Quincy was at a loss.

“Let go first,” she said.

Jessie let go with a grin and muttered, “You’re such an elementary schooler! Getting jealous!”

Hearing this, the tiny bit of melancholy Quincy had felt about their impending separation vanished without a trace.

There was no need to argue over who the real child in the house was. Everyone already knew the answer deep down.

As for the mascot, Jessie decided to take Quincy’s advice.

Drawing a set of chibi-style characters of herself and Victor to serve as the mascot for the wedding favors seemed like a great idea.

But now there was a problem. She didn’t seem to have any pictures of Victor Morgan.

After a moment of hesitation, Jessie picked up her phone.

Asking a guy for his picture was something she’d never done, not even during her cringiest, most boy-crazy teenage phase.

And now—

[Jessie Sterling: Can you send me a picture of yourself?]

Jessie placed her phone on the desk, bit her finger, and stared intently at the screen.

’If Victor dares to show even a hint of curiosity,’ she thought, ’or gets the wrong idea, I swear, I’ll only design a mascot of myself! He can forget about being included!’

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