The next day.
Rest symbol.
A ray of morning light filtered through the hollowed curtains, dispelling the candlelight that had burned all night, and marked the end of a ridiculous farce.
“Ugh.”
The Prince slowly woke, his eyelids so heavy it felt as if they were weighed down with lead.
Before his eyes was the Little Queen’s serene, childlike sleeping face, her long lashes casting faint shadows in the morning light, a satisfied, gentle smile lingering at her lips.
On the other side, Laxana lay with her back to him, body curled, the silky sheet only reaching her waist, revealing a vast expanse of smooth, delicate skin—and a series of clearly visible, ambiguous pale pink marks.
“…………”
Wendy felt like a wounded soldier dragged off the battlefield, every inch of him, inside and out, screaming with soreness and exhaustion.
The memories of last night flooded his mind like a stream of fragmented data.
The two women’s jealous rivalry, the damned “poison”’s lingering effects, and finally, the ultimate chaotic battle that nearly broke the bed—
Wendy shuddered and shot up.
“Wake up! Wake up now!”
Ignoring his body’s protests, he grabbed one warm, soft figure in each hand and shook them vigorously.
“Mm… stop it…”
Yekaterina groaned in displeasure, turning over and clinging to him like an octopus, sleepily grumbling,
“It’s not even light yet, let’s sleep a bit longer…”
“It’s already morning! Still sleeping!”
Wendy was on the verge of madness, pointing at the mess near the door.
“Look at that door! And this chaos everywhere! If a handmaiden comes in to clean up, we’re all dead!”
The alarm finally took effect.
Yekaterina and Laxana opened their eyes almost simultaneously.
The Little Queen blinked in confusion, then, seeing the shattered state of the door, the laziness vanished from her face, replaced by a dawning panic.
Laxana’s reaction was even more intense.
She let out a low scream, yanked the blanket over her head, and cocooned herself tightly, leaving only a muffled voice:
“Oh gods, what did I do last night…?”
“This isn’t the time to play dead!”
Wendy yanked the blanket off her, issuing a firm command:
“Yekaterina, you’re the Queen—think of something! Get someone to fix the door and clean up all the evidence! Hurry!”
“I get it, I get it, why are you so fierce…”
The Little Queen grumbled, reluctantly crawling out of bed, grabbing a silk robe from the bedside, and draping it over herself. Barefoot, she walked to the edge of the bed and pulled a cord attached to a bell.
The crisp chime echoed loudly in the silent morning.
“Are you insane?! Calling someone in directly?”
Wendy and Laxana cried out in unison.
“What else was I supposed to do?”
Yekaterina shot them a righteous glare.
“I’m the Queen. My bedroom door is broken. I call someone to repair it—what’s the problem?”
She paused, then added,
“Relax, I called my personal handmaiden—she’s very discreet. As for you two…”
The Little Queen’s gaze swept over them, finally landing on the fallen screen nearby. She smirked wickedly.
“Go prop that up and hide behind it for now.”
Wendy and Laxana exchanged looks, seeing deep humiliation and helplessness in each other’s eyes.
At this point, there was no other choice.
Soon, a competent-looking handmaiden slipped quietly into the room.
Seeing the disastrous scene, her expression remained unchanged. She simply bowed respectfully, awaiting orders.
“The door was broken by the wind last night. Get the most trustworthy craftsmen to repair it immediately and restore everything to how it was. I don’t want anyone else to know about this.”
Yekaterina’s tone regained the Queen’s authority and coldness.
“Also, replace the sheets and carpet. As for this place…there’s no need to clean. You’re all dismissed.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The handmaiden bowed and quickly withdrew.
Crisis, temporarily averted.
Wendy breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at Laxana, who was also hiding behind the screen, hurriedly dressing, and asked in a low voice:
“What’s going on with Astreia? Did she really not get suspicious?”
Laxana fastened the last button, her face still sour, as if someone owed her millions of gold coins.
“Grant didn’t have any reliable mages on his side and tried to resist, but I used the ‘Loyalty Collar’ to bind all the mid- and high-ranking officers. Grant’s whole army surrendered—the rest were small fry.”
“When I left Blackshield Fortress, Astreia was meeting with surrendered generals, discussing how to reorganize the troops.”
“Then how did you get away? Didn’t she ask why you suddenly had to return to the Royal Capital?”
Wendy pressed.
“She did.”
Laxana adjusted her rumpled collar, her gaze drifting.
“I told her…a spy I left in the Royal Capital sent an emergency report through magic. Some Veid Faction remnants who hadn’t put on the Loyalty Collar were stirring and might threaten the Royal Palace. I had to return immediately to check.”
“She believed that?”
“Of course she did.”
There was a complex undertone in Laxana’s voice.
“The pain and itching brought by Empathy at that moment kept coming in waves. I probably looked terrible. Astreia just assumed I was worried about you and her sister’s safety, so I was anxious. She even wanted to come back with me.”
At that, Wendy froze.
“Fortunately, I reacted quickly.”
Laxana patted her chest, still shaken.
“I told her the surrendered troops at Blackshield Fortress were still unstable—someone needed to stay behind to keep things steady. I’d move alone, making it easier to investigate the Assassin. She thought about it, agreed it made sense, and let me go.”
Miss Klein paused, looking up at Wendy, her expression turning solemn.
“I told her I’d return to join her in at most three days. Wendy, we only have three days.”
“After three days, no matter what, we have to tell her what happened in the Royal Capital.”
The meaning behind Laxana’s words was clear.
They had to come up with a flawless explanation to tell Astreia what happened in the Royal Capital—to cover up that her best friend and little sister ended up in bed with her man.
Wendy’s head throbbed.
One lie required countless others to cover it.
At that moment, Yekaterina, now dressed in a luxurious court gown, gracefully walked over from behind the screen.
She held a silver basin of clear water and a towel, a sweet and innocent smile on her face, as if the wild S-Queen from last night was just Wendy’s hallucination.
“What are you discussing? So serious.”
She offered the basin to Wendy, picked up the damp towel, and affectionately wiped the lingering marks from the Prince’s face and neck.
“My sister… is coming back soon?”
Laxana’s expression instantly grew wary, like a cat protecting its food.
“None of your business.”
“How is it not my business?”
Yekaterina laughed softly, her wiping growing gentler, but her eyes full of challenge.
“We’re all in the same boat now. Miss Laxana, isn’t that right?”
She deliberately emphasized “same boat”.
Laxana ground her teeth, furious but unable to argue.
Wendy, caught in the middle, rolled his eyes.
Three days.
These damned three days—how were they supposed to survive?