“Reporting to the Young Master, Madam also asked Princess Amidina, and the princess’s answer was exactly the same as Madam’s.”
“She said that on Young Master’s territory, everything should be decided by Young Master himself.”
Oh?
Princess Amidina even respects people so much…
Actually, what reassured Lin Nuo even more after hearing this was that Amidina seemed to have no clue about what happened last night.
That made sense.
After knocking Xiafuya unconscious with a series of extreme moves, Lin Nuo used less than half of what he had learned of Cleansing Magic to clean every speck of the scattered wood ash off the bedsheet until it was spotless.
Then, he carefully wiped Xiafuya’s face, lips, and nose bridge—smudged with the ash—until perfectly clean.
He didn’t forget to feed Xiafuya a small blue pill to counteract the sleep-inducing effects of the Mihun Fern.
The castle guards would start their morning patrols early, so Xiafuya—who would probably wake up before Amidina thanks to the medicine—would likely leave the bridal chamber before she could verify what had happened to her last night.
Lin Nuo sighed softly, rubbing his forehead.
He had prepared everything he could, but he still wasn’t entirely sure if Feng Aotian would discover the truth of last night…
“Jiji… jiji ji…”
With Fatty Bird, who seemed to be singing, perched on his shoulder, Lin Nuo slowly walked toward the fountain garden to clear his mind.
At that moment, he overheard some maids chatting nearby.
Among them was the very maid who had last night boldly guided Feng Aotian disguised as himself using Illusion Magic.
“How strange…”
“Lin Nuo clearly woke up very early. I saw with my own eyes that he came out of the princess’s room at dawn. But Kaier just said he waited outside Young Master’s room for a long time before Young Master woke up…”
Lin Nuo stopped in his tracks.
‘Heh heh, that ‘me’ who came out of the bridal chamber was actually Feng Aotian disguised by Illusion Magic.’
“I saw that Lin Nuo looked strangely happy. He wasn’t ignoring people like last night. When I asked him if last night went well, he even proudly pointed to his lips and said the princess kissed him so hard his lips were swollen. Princess Amidina was so eager she kissed him until he nearly passed out…”
‘Heh heh, that swollen lip was from me hitting her.’
‘That person was the one I smothered unconscious.’
“When I asked how he felt, he flirtatiously swayed his waist and said Princess Amidina’s thighs were the best and most supple he’d ever touched!”
‘Heh heh heh! Those thighs he touched were mine!’
‘And Feng Aotian, you shameless woman, why are you swaying your waist in front of my maid?’
“But why did Young Master walk out of the bridal chamber this morning with a slightly girlish sway?”
Thinking of a certain maid’s unusual preferences, her tone grew more excited: “Could it be that Young Master actually likes those little women’s personal items… that kind of fetish is real! So he’s the one with weak knees, huh?”
‘Damn it…’
***
“Good morning, sister.”
After greeting her sister, Yulilian hugged her blanket, dragged her little slippers, and pitter-pattered over, burying her head into the soft bed to roll around.
“Hmm… good morning.”
“How did you sleep last night?”
“…Not bad.”
“Ugh~? You look so sleepy. Looks like you didn’t sleep much last night. Did something keep you up?”
Yulilian tapped Amidina’s shoulder.
Sisters should know it’s rude to sleep in so much just two days after arriving as a guest.
Someone as lazy as her woke up early today, unless Amidina knew that Lin Nuo wouldn’t blame her for sleeping late…
After some unknown amount of time, the sunlight filtering through the balcony adorned with flowers and herbs shifted slightly.
Yulilian poked her head out from her sister’s bed again.
“Sis…? It’s already noon. I ate too many sweet puddings this morning and forgot to drink anything… Sister?”
Amidina turned over, stretching her slender jade leg from under the covers.
“If you’re thirsty, go drink water. Stop bending my leg.”
“I’m bending your leg so you’ll get up and take me with you. I can’t find my way alone! And when I bend your leg, you don’t give me water to drink…”
Suddenly realizing something, Yulilian blinked her big eyes, which instantly brightened.
“I’m not an adult yet. You’re going to corrupt your pure little sister like that!”
“……”
“Right, when I went to eat breakfast this morning, I saw Lin Nuo. I deliberately sat across from him but didn’t talk. When I was eating the Truffle Pearls, those round desserts were so slippery I couldn’t pick them up with my fork. To keep up appearances, I was too embarrassed to use my hands…”
“Lin Nuo taught me to use two very thin jade sticks. Holding them like this, it’s easy to pick up the Truffle Pearls. I think it’s way better than forks and knives. I’ll demonstrate for you later…”
Yulilian sat up straight from the bed, recalled the moment, then extended two fingers.
She glanced at her sister and aimed for the giant pudding that looked like an oversized Truffle Pearl.
Amidina, sleeping soundly, softly hummed.
As if awakened by some memory, her bare shoulder exposed to the air trembled lightly.
‘Oh? That sound from sister didn’t sound quite right!’
Yulilian gave a puzzled look at her sister, who was curling inward.
“Then you keep sleeping. It’s definitely going to rain in the next couple of days. Since there’s still sun now, I, as your sister, will begrudgingly help you wash some clothes…”
Yulilian crawled deeper into the covers.
“If you don’t say anything, I’ll take off your skirt, okay?”
After a rustling sound from under the covers—
“Eh, sister, your skirt… why does it feel damp here?”
“……”
Suddenly, Amidina shot open her eyes and sat up.
She looked at Yulilian inside the covers, then lay back down, burying her face in the blanket.
Her voice was soft, as if rubbing sleep away from cotton, carrying a faint hint of inexplicable embarrassment:
“Kids don’t understand, so don’t ask too much.”
“…Oh!”
Yulilian, who was feeling around with a rather defiant tone, was pulled into Amidina’s embrace.
After rubbing her soft cheeks for a while, Amidina picked up her elven hair crown and tidied her long hair.
Barefoot, she stepped onto the floor and finally got up.
She walked to the balcony and sat on the carefully prepared stone bench.
Resting one hand on her clear, lovely face, her graceful peach blossom eyes reflected the faint rainbow left by the fountain’s spray over the garden.
“How did the Angekesai people handle Lin Nuo?”
“Well, the patrol captain went out on Lin Nuo’s orders, beat up that annoying and loudmouthed Ruding, then seriously passed on Lin Nuo’s command: if he’s seen again, there will be no mercy!”
Yulilian’s big eyes sparkled: “After the captain said that, he turned around sharply, and Ruding was so scared by the ‘Hey, we meet again’ that he dropped to his knees. When I went to see, Ruding had already been stripped and thrown into the river as fish food.”
“The knights in the guard wouldn’t dare do that. That kind of thing clearly came from Lin Nuo’s idea. Sis, don’t you think he’s kind of fun?”