After settling on a studio budget of nearly a hundred thousand dollars, the tense, serious atmosphere in the basement instantly dissolved into a relaxed one. A wide, genuinely excited smile blossomed on Finley's delicate face. The young girl—whom many still mistook for a boy—quickly reached into the small backpack slung over her shoulder, pulling out a trusty tablet and waking the screen with sparkling eyes.
"I've designed a few rough 3D models of the studio for you and Miss Clara to look at! There are about five or six variations, just in case you find a style you really like," Finley chimed in enthusiastically.
Finley swiped across the screen, showcasing a series of meticulously rendered studio designs. Each model boasted a distinctly unique aesthetic: ranging from a Loft style that highlighted the raw, edgy appeal of exposed brick and bare concrete, to a Modern Luxury style radiating elegance with metallic accents and hidden ambient lighting, all the way to a clean, uncluttered Minimalist design. It was a comprehensive portfolio meant to cover any possible preference.
The moment Clara laid her eyes on the beautiful room renders, her beautiful eyes widened, sparkling like starlight. She eagerly took the tablet from Finley's hands, intently swiping through the various angles of each room.
"Wow~ Finley, did you design all of this yourself? It's absolutely gorgeous! You've paid so much attention to even the tiniest details," Clara couldn't help but praise, her slender fingers pinching the screen to zoom in on individual pieces of furniture in awe.
Hearing her 'little brother' being showered with compliments, Tess, who had been standing with her arms crossed, puffed up her chest with immense pride as if it were her own masterpiece. The tomboyish contractor immediately chimed in to elevate Finley even further.
"Of course! When it comes to design, you can completely trust this kid. If Finley wasn't here to help me draft such beautiful blueprints, I definitely wouldn't have this much work piling up. I'm telling you, this kid is a genuine genius!" Tess boasted.
Praised to the heavens by both Clara and Tess, Finley could only squirm shyly, burying her head to hide her deeply flushed cheeks. That timid, bashful demeanor only made her look exponentially more adorable and in need of protection.
Clara took only a few minutes to scroll through and weigh her options before tapping the screen to finalize her absolute favorite.
"I love this one," Clara said, turning the screen around for everyone to see. "This is a Nordic, or Scandinavian style, right?"
"Yes! It's an authentic Nordic style!" Finley nodded vigorously in confirmation.
Clara explained her reasoning with a gentle, warm smile. "You guys know I'm a huge nature lover. Just taking a walk in the park with Owen is enough to put me in a good mood for the rest of the day. This style answers that perfectly. It's simple, airy, and warm, giving off a relaxing vibe like being close to nature... It should do wonders to completely shatter that claustrophobic feeling of being cooped up in a basement."
"Miss Clara, you completely understand the core essence of this style!" Finley nodded rapidly, before launching into an articulate explanation laced with the pride of a professional designer. "Aside from keeping it airy, I deliberately applied the 50-40-10 color rule specifically for this room..."
The girl pointed at the details on the glowing screen. "I used Beige as the primary color for about 50 percent of the space, covering the walls and ceiling. It acts as an optical illusion to make the basement look brighter, more spacious, and softer on the eyes compared to pure white... Then, I used natural wood tones for another 40 percent on the flooring and main furniture pieces. It adds dimension and creates a warm, 'homey' atmosphere."
Finley looked up to meet Clara's eyes, flashing a wide, beaming smile. "And finally... Red, for the last 10 percent! Brother Owen told me that red is your absolute favorite color, Miss Clara. So, I intentionally used it as an accent color, splashing it onto decorative items like hand-woven rugs, sofa throw pillows, and some of the curtains to draw the eye and inject some lively energy, preventing the room from looking too bland!"
This profound level of attention to detail impressed Clara to the absolute core. She felt a sudden, overwhelming urge to pull the kid into a bone-crushing hug right then and there.
"Alright, since the design is settled, all of you head upstairs!"
Tess's gruff voice rudely interrupted the wholesome moment. The contractor clapped her hands together loudly to grab their attention, her eyes instantly shifting into a fierce, no-nonsense work mode. "I'm about to start the heavy lifting. If you guys stay down here, you're just going to inhale a ton of dust and get in my way. Go on, get upstairs!"
The action-oriented contractor didn't wait for any complaints. She marched straight out to the front of the house to grab her massive toolbox and demolition equipment from the back of her trusty pickup truck.
A few minutes later... Bang! Smash! The deafening sounds of sledgehammers shattering walls, tearing down old, damaged structures, and dragging heavy crates echoed relentlessly from the basement. It was a clear, unmistakable testament to her superhuman physical strength and ferocious work ethic.
To escape the chaotic noise and the thick clouds of dust threatening to seep upstairs, Owen, Clara, and Finley evacuated to the living room to relax and kill time with some light activities. They started by putting on an action-comedy movie and watching it all the way through, before pulling out a board game to sit in a circle around the low glass coffee table.
However, it seemed the Lady of the Ward household had absolutely zero interest in the board game in front of her.
Faced with Finley's new appearance—so fragile, incredibly soft, and radiating an overwhelming aura of weaponized cuteness—Clara simply couldn't hold back anymore. She completely abandoned her elegant, gentle lady persona and began treating the petite girl like her "favorite teddy bear."
"Oh my, you rolled such a low number. Come here, let me give you a hug to recharge your energy~"
Clara reached out, pulling Finley's delicate frame into an aggressive, affectionate cuddle. She practically manhandled the girl with sheer adoration—pulling her onto her lap, burying her face into her shoulder, playing with her hair, and rubbing their cheeks together with maximum fondness almost the entire time.
"Ah... M-Miss Clara... I-It tickles~"
Finley, completely unaccustomed to such intimate physical touch by a breathtakingly beautiful woman who exuded genuine, mature sensuality, could only sit there completely stiff. Her delicate face burned beet-red all the way to her ears. She shot pitiful, helpless glances at the only man in the room, seemingly sending out a telepathic SOS:
'Brother Owen... please help me~'
Yet... Owen Marlow, the man who was usually incredibly reliable in times of crisis, pretended to be completely blind to her desperate pleas for help. He simply leaned back comfortably against the sofa, a glass of cold drink in one hand, taking slow, leisurely sips. He watched the teasing display unfold before him with a highly entertained smirk, fully content to let the young girl fall victim to Clara's overwhelming affection.
...
"Ugh... M-Miss Clara... I can't breathe..." Finley let out a muffled protest as she was crushed so tightly she practically buried into the soft valley of the lady's cleavage.
'If this keeps up, I'm definitely going to die from lack of oxygen!' Finley's brain worked in overdrive to find an escape route. Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in her head. She struggled slightly against Clara's incredibly soft embrace and blurted out a distraction.
"Ah... That's right! I have a board game that I just finished drawing the artwork for. Do you guys want to try playing it?! It's a passion project I put a lot of effort into!"
The tactic worked perfectly. Seeing her 'little brother' offering up a brand new toy, Clara obediently loosened her suffocating hug, her eyes lighting up with genuine interest. "Wow~ A board game you made yourself? That sounds fun! Sure, let's play your game!"
Finley let out a massive sigh of relief, feeling like she had just narrowly escaped death. She reached into her trusty backpack, rummaged around for a moment, and pulled out a sleek black cardboard box adorned with exquisite dark fantasy artwork, placing it squarely on the glass table.
As Finley began unfolding the board and organizing the decks of cards, Owen, who was watching from the sidelines, raised an eyebrow slightly.
It was a Tabletop Role-Playing Game (TRPG) centered around a dark fantasy theme, boasting professional-grade artwork. However... when his sharp, perceptive eyes scanned the text on a few of the face-up cards and skimmed the rulebook, he nearly choked on his drink.
The text on each card didn't just dictate standard monster battles; instead, they were packed to the brim with incredibly 'erotic' conditions and blatantly excessive fan service. This was absolutely, unequivocally not a game for children!
Owen narrowed his eyes at Finley, who was currently explaining the rules with an impossibly innocent expression... In that moment, he profoundly realized a terrifying truth: beneath that adorable face and shy demeanor, Finley harbored a dark, obscenely perverted imagination!
"For this game..." Finley began assigning the roles, "Brother Owen will be the [Hero], I'll play the [Priest], and Miss Clara will be the [Mage]. Our objective is to journey together and slay the dragon at the Dark Tower."
Finley cleared her throat slightly, trying her absolute best to maintain a facade of innocence before explaining the game's golden rule. "The core rule is this: every turn, we draw a [Situation Card] and must resolve it using a randomly drawn [Command Card]. But the fun part, the real highlight of the game, is..." The girl paused dramatically, her cheeks flushing a deep red once more, "All players must strictly perform the actions dictated on the card in real life! Otherwise... the game won't be fun!"
Owen stared at Finley with intense suspicion... 'Did she seriously create this entire game just to satisfy her own dark desires?'
...
A few minutes later, the board game adventure officially began.
Just a few turns in, it was the little Priest's turn. Finley drew a [Situation Card] and read it aloud in a sweet, clear voice. "Ah... The Priest has suffered a severe leg injury from a goblin ambush and can no longer walk. How will we resolve this situation?"
She then reached out to draw a [Command Card] for the solution. The very second she processed the text on the card, Finley's face flushed a violent shade of crimson that spread rapidly to the tips of her ears. She read the text with a trembling voice, "T... To continue the journey... the Hero must 'carry' the Priest on his lap for the duration of the travels... U... Until the game ends..."
"Oh my~" Clara covered her mouth, giggling wickedly. Her eyes sparkled with mischievous delight as she saw a golden opportunity for some fun. "Rules are rules, Mr. Hero and Little Priest. Follow the command right now!"
Seeing that Clara was clearly enjoying the highly amusing situation, Owen simply smiled and shrugged, not thinking too much of it. It was just sitting on a lap, after all, and he definitely didn't want to spoil Clara's fun. The young man shifted back against the sofa and spread his legs slightly, opening up a comfortable space for Finley to sit.
But to Finley, this was nowhere near a simple matter. This was clearly a monumentally massive deal! It was a god-given opportunity for full-body skinship with Owen! Naturally, this made her unimaginably nervous; she gulped heavily, her face burning so fiercely red it almost looked like her actual skin tone!
Finley stood up stiffly, cautiously inching toward Owen while desperately trying to avoid eye contact the entire time, before carefully lowering her hips onto the man's firm, muscular lap.
Gulp...!
The very instant Finley's incredibly soft, perfectly peach-like rear made full, intimate contact with Owen's heavily muscled thighs, her newly modified biological reactions violently kicked into high gear!
Finley let out a faint shudder. Just experiencing the radiating warmth of Owen's body at such a close distance was enough to make her mind spin into a dizzying haze.
After sitting on Owen's lap for a mere few seconds, her fragile body began to melt into his arms like soft jelly. The girl's breathing grew frantic and scorching hot, her slender back pressing intimately against his broad chest. Driven by an overwhelming, instinctual craving, her soft buttocks subconsciously shifted, rubbing gently against Owen's crotch.
"???" Owen immediately realized that this board game... might be far more dangerous than he had initially anticipated. Finley's silent, completely involuntary assault had violently awakened his own primal instincts, causing him to unknowingly inhale deep breaths of the girl's intoxicatingly sweet scent, while his hands naturally tightened their grip around her slender waist, refusing to let go.
Fortunately, Clara happily interrupted, snapping both of them out of their dangerous trance. "Oh~ You two are just too adorable, look just like real siblings! It's Owen's turn next, right? Draw a card, my Hero. I'm dying to know what you get, hehe~"
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