After a few minutes, the elites gradually returned to their composed selves following the earlier chaos.
Jessie had already begun saying her farewells to the couple and the others present before casually tossing a helmet toward Angela.
Angel swiftly caught it before securing it onto herself.
By the time she finished, Jessie had already seated herself on the motorcycle, preparing for departure.
Just as Angel was about to get on, Camille Dreyer suddenly tapped Jessie on the shoulder.
The warning in Camille Dreyer's eyes was extremely clear.
If Jessie dared to break another window, she was fully prepared to throw hands.
Jessie immediately broke into a smug grin before casually brushing Camille Dreyer's hand away.
Then she gestured toward Angel to hurry up before motioning for Mimi to open the window.
Moments later, the motorcycle shifted into hover mode, slowly lifting off the ground in preparation to return toward headquarters.
Everything had already been prepared for departure.
But just before Jessie fully flew out through the open window, she suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Oh right," Jessie called out casually. "Rosie's going to come by later with additional documents and reports you guys need to handle over the next two weeks. Bye-bye."
The instant those words left her mouth, Jessie immediately accelerated.
The motorcycle shot forward and disappeared before anyone could properly process what she had just said.
After Jessie and Angela finally left, Camille Dreyer let out a long, frustrated sigh.
A thin smile briefly appeared on her face.
But the moment she processed who exactly had been assigned to deliver those documents, the smile instantly vanished.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Camille Dreyer muttered. "Was there seriously no other assistant they could send?"
Lena Corviss lightly shrugged from the side.
"I'm assuming she finished work later than the others," Lena Corviss replied calmly.
"So annoying," Camille Dreyer muttered under her breath. "She's genuinely becoming the bane of my existence."
As the elites gradually returned to their conversations, several individuals began congratulating Dr. Lucian Harrow regarding his recent promotion and newly established standing.
Despite the earlier chaos, the atmosphere remained fairly relaxed.
Well.
Relaxed for almost everyone.
Off to the side, Mimi stood completely frozen with an utterly ashen expression plastered across her face.
I am doomed.
The thought echoed repeatedly inside her head.
I am so doomed.
No.
Doomed was putting it lightly.
Mimi looked like her soul had already left her body and submitted resignation paperwork in advance.
The expression on her face was so exaggeratedly distraught that it almost looked cartoonish.
Her eyes were hollow.
Her posture sagged slightly, like someone who had already mentally accepted the end.
Angela, who had briefly glanced toward PewPew to make sure he was alright, suddenly noticed Mimi's horrifying expression.
Angela stared silently for a moment before eventually walking toward her.
"Are you alright?" Angela asked. "You don't look well."
"Oh, um… no," Mimi admitted immediately.
"I am not good at all."
"I have a feeling I'm going to lose my job."
"No, I'm definitely going to lose my job this time."
Mimi grabbed both sides of her head in panic.
"If I don't find something important to do immediately that justifies why I didn't return right away, I'm completely finished."
"The boss still needed assistance with important matters, and instead I'm here enjoying the banquet…"
"I should've already been there."
"I'm screwed."
Angela quietly stared at Mimi for a moment.
Then she finally spoke.
"It seems I forgot to have PewPew test his newly installed safety mechanisms."
Mimi blinked in confusion.
Angela continued calmly.
"In a real emergency situation, it would be difficult to determine whether the lethality of the modifications I recently added might negatively affect vital organizational structures."
The moment Angela finished speaking, Mimi's eyes sparkled like someone who had just been handed divine salvation itself.
"I can do it," Mimi blurted out immediately.
"I can take PewPew to the barracks for testing."
"I can document the bite force levels and report the lethality thresholds."
Then, almost like she was afraid Angela might change her mind, Mimi hurriedly added:
"Please. I can do it."
Angela looked at her quietly.
"Are you certain?" Angela asked. "This is not a simple matter."
"I can do it," Mimi repeated firmly, practically clasping her hands together in determination.
"I'll go right now."
Without wasting another second, Mimi immediately grabbed PewPew alongside his portable charging station before activating her mobile transport device.
The floating board rapidly materialized beneath her feet.
Then, using the same open window Jessie had left through earlier, Mimi shot forward and disappeared into the night at alarming speed.
The remaining elites watched the entire sequence unfold in silence.
For a brief moment, nobody said anything.
Then Vivienne Carrow finally broke the silence.
"Thanks a lot, Jessie," Vivienne Carrow said dryly. "Now even our dear youngest has developed a soft spot for that guide too."
Angela's expression remained calm.
"I genuinely did forget," she replied. "PewPew currently is not in a proper state to conduct testing independently."
"Right," Vivienne Carrow replied knowingly.
But before Vivienne could continue teasing her further, the doors to the banquet hall suddenly opened.
A young woman calmly stepped inside.
This young woman was one of the guide assistants.
Rosie.
Her role as a guide assistant placed her directly under the operational structure of the Piao system, though her background did not align neatly with that designation.
She originated from a branch tied to the Hightower lineage, but not one granted formal recognition. Born from an illegitimate connection within the Hightower circle, she was never assigned the Hightower surname. The official inheritance of the Hightower Corporation passed cleanly to Carla Hightower, the acknowledged heir of the main line, while Rosie remained entirely outside the formal family structure.
No title. No standing. No inherited protection.
Her mother's attempts to leverage her position had failed, and Rosie herself never pursued recognition. She refused both paternal and maternal affiliations, deliberately removing herself from all inherited naming structures.
That absence became its own classification.
Among elite circles, illegitimate lineage typically resulted in dismissal or quiet exclusion. Rosie did not escape that bias, but she was not reduced by it either. Her competence kept her visible even when her identity remained structurally absent.
That visibility created friction.
Some respected her detachment from lineage entirely. Others read it differently.
Camille Dreyer and Lena Corviss, in particular, respected her efficiency but interpreted her refusal to confront her origins as a lack of resolve. In their assessment, Rosie operated at full capacity in neutral conditions, but showed reduced decisiveness when the Hightower structure was indirectly involved.
That pattern became most noticeable when Carla Hightower entered the equation.
Rosie did not acknowledge her openly. She did not approach her. Carla's presence remained contained within observation rather than interaction, as if proximity itself would compromise a boundary she had deliberately maintained.
Camille Dreyer and Lena Corviss interpreted that restraint as weakness rather than discipline.
Rosie registered both interpretations without prioritizing either. They were simply predictable responses within the same system of observation and judgment.
The tension did not disrupt her work. If anything, it refined her precision in spaces like this one.
"Well, hello guys," Rosie said lightly, a faint controlled smile forming as she stepped into view.
Camille Dreyer and Lena Corviss met her immediately with sharp, dagger-like stares. Their expressions carried clear disapproval, not just for her delay, but for leaving the group waiting without explanation a while back.
The others reacted more mildly. There was general impatience, but no focus behind it. Only Camille Dreyer and Lena Corviss treated it as intentional rather than incidental.
They had already reached a conclusion.
Rosie had not simply been late.
She had been elsewhere.
More specifically, they inferred she had diverted herself again toward monitoring Carla Hightower, maintaining her usual distance until no further restraint was required, then returning as if nothing had happened.
Neither of them said it outright, but the assumption sat clearly in their judgment.
Rosie noticed the stares. She did not bother to address them.
As Rosie began distributing the files, Angela started her farewells with the gathered group. Her tone remained calm, but her departure carried a clear professional boundary. The information they were about to discuss would compromise her ability to maintain impartial judgment under the Male Protection Act framework, and she needed to remain strictly neutral in its enforcement.
She offered brief congratulations to the future groom and bride before turning toward the exit.
As Angela walked away, the atmosphere behind her shifted almost immediately.
Serena Veylan quietly pressed a tray of pastries into her hands, instructing her to stay safe on the road. Selene Veyra gestured for one of her assistants to drape a shawl over Angela's shoulders, insisting she be careful on her way back.
The others followed in turn.
Cassandra Riel handed over earmuffs.
Isolde Farren gave her a fluffy hat with 2 small pom-poms.
Vivienne Carrow provided an emergency contact bell "just in case."
Lena Corviss added a weapon for self-protection without elaborating further.
Dr. Lucian Harrow and Camille Dreyer signaled their bodyguards to accompany Angela to her hover vehicle, ensuring she would not be traveling alone.
Rosie watched the exchange with a faintly confused expression.
It took her a moment to realize the pattern.
Angela was leaving without her usual protection system, meaning the group was compensating collectively for that absence.
Rosie quickly checked her own belongings, as if searching for something suitable to contribute. Her hand paused on her necklace.
It had a built-in tracking function.
Without overthinking it, Rosie stepped forward and placed it around Angela's neck, adjusting it carefully under her collar.
"Keep this on," she said simply. "If anything happens, don't remove it. It ensures we can always locate you."
Angela nodded.
Rosie glanced once more at the growing collection of items being handed over. Her expression shifted slightly.
"This does not seem sufficient," she said.
A brief pause followed.
Then the group seemed to collectively agree.
More assistance was added, including additional bodyguards assigned specifically to carry pastries and supplies alongside Angela.
When Angela finally left the banquet hall, she was wrapped so thoroughly in gifts and protective items that only part of her face remained visible.
She resembled, from a distance, a moving bundle of layered fabric and supplies.
She held a box of pastries tightly against herself while walking, escorted by multiple bodyguards carrying matching boxes as they accompanied her toward the exit.