“You still haven’t told me how you could be so sure there was an assassin based on this.”
Princess Amidina held the Liyang Grass under her nose and sniffed.
Her delicate face showed even more puzzlement.
There was nothing wrong with it—it was indeed a medicinal herb for health.
“In fact, it’s really hard to tell. She must have specifically investigated Claremont Manor’s layout. The herbal maid rarely shows herself, so with this identity, I guarantee even the Butler would have a hard time noticing anything suspicious right away.”
“Besides, in most noble households, the servants managing the herb garden usually have longer tenures. Fabricating a work history of nine years in the herb garden is just as believable, as is the trust in the herbs she brings…”
“But what she didn’t know was that Claremont Manor is different from other noble families. Here, maids are rotated every eight years. That rule was set by me personally.”
“There’s no such thing as a maid or servant working for more than nine years, even in the herb garden.”
“Chirp chirp…”
Fatty Bird nodded, indicating Lin Nuo was right.
“As for this herb, there’s really nothing wrong with it. In fact, its effect to perk someone up after taking it probably isn’t exaggerated—it might even be stronger than he said.”
Lin Nuo continued, “I’ve thought of many possibilities. Assuming her intentions weren’t pure, the most likely one is—she knew it would be hard to directly target you, the Water Saint Princess, inside Claremont Manor.”
“Unless you were worn out from overexertion, your combat ability weakened…”
“The only thing that could make you overexert yourself like that is that kind of thing. Conveniently, the people who theoretically should be exercising with you and who seem easy to manipulate… are all me.”
Lin Nuo left the words hanging.
Apart from this explanation, nothing else made sense.
The intruders were definitely hostile.
Princess Amidina’s peach blossom eyes showed an unusual look.
‘The Liyang Grass she bought from the herb garden nine years ago was also personally introduced by me… just from one sentence, I could clearly judge that something was wrong with the other party.’
Not only did they give no sign of suspicion in response, but within a very short time, they found the Soulstone in the dressing box and recorded it for themselves.
That decisiveness hidden beneath the surface was incredibly hard to believe.
“Chirp chirp…”
Amidina tucked a lock of her silky hair behind her slender ear, her clear and flawless half-face tightening with seriousness.
‘This bird should be able to fly out and inform the knights and guards.’
But judging from how Lin Nuo pretended to be tidying the curtains and then dropped the clip as a subtle warning, he might have realized the building was being secretly watched, so he didn’t take any rash moves that might alert the enemy…
Although he seemed the easiest to exploit, he actually possessed intelligence and composure beyond the ordinary.
Amidina’s gaze grew increasingly unexpected.
It was now confirmed that Lin Nuo’s wisdom and decisiveness in facing crises in the forest were no coincidence…
A person who spent all day reading delicate books really wasn’t as useless as others thought.
“You’re amazing—amazing in a way I never noticed before.”
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Amidina’s tone became more cautious.
“Since you’ve figured out they’re targeting me, staying in my room, without being able to call for help to protect you… doesn’t that put you in great danger?”
“Targeting you is just a rough guess. Honestly, I’m not sure if they’re after you, me, or maybe my parents.”
Lin Nuo said, “If I go out directly or send Fatty Bird to alert the guards, and I get spotted, they’ll definitely change their strategy, and it’ll be harder to catch them next time.”
“You know, I’m not that brave. If someone’s secretly trying to kill me, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.”
Is that really the only reason…
Amidina pinched her hand, silent, her peach blossom eyes dimming inexplicably.
“Besides, I really trust your strength.”
At those words, Amidina’s clear, bright eyes blinked, with a distinct joy sparkling within them.
“So,”
“If you think it’s feasible too, then let’s just get into bed quickly.”
“…?!”
Silence, a long pause born of silence, “…Rogue!”
Having realized what was meant, Amidina gathered her thin silk dress around her, as if forgetting that she was actually the stronger one in front of Lin Nuo.
Her lovely face was shy and angry at once.
“You want to do it again?”
Lin Nuo, who had just pulled the curtains shut and peeked through a crack at the darkening sky, then came back and blew out the candles, leaving only one beeswax lamp lit, and froze for a moment.
He gave Amidina a look, “What else?”
‘She’d already given me that kind of thing. If I just talk about life and not do something physical, how else can I get her to bite?’
“Why is it always me making those… embarrassing sounds?”
Amidina frowned, puffing her pretty cheeks, “Why can’t it be that I took this medicine for you… and then you’re the one pinned underneath, calling out loud enough for others to hear?”
“…”
“You really are naive, my princess.”
Lin Nuo said, “This time is different from last time. She gave me this stuff to lower your combat ability… Me? Do I look like the kind of person with high combat power who needs to be guarded against? Even if you pinned me down and knocked me out, our average combat power doesn’t change.”
“What pinned or not… and you still brought up last time!”
Amidina’s cool voice was even more embarrassing, “But you said you wouldn’t get mad…”
Lin Nuo started to speak, then stopped, then wanted to speak again.
Women really are complicated creatures!
“Don’t come closer… I’ll do it myself…”
As if she’d figured out that this yellow-haired boy in front of her, at best, was just a pretty little trinket she liked, a mascot to cheer her on from the sidelines during battle—a weakling.
Amidina’s fair fingers intertwined, and after a long moment, she seemed to have made a difficult decision, warning, “Lin Nuo, this is the last time…”
“…”
‘Two times total… Why does it sound like I agreed to letting you take all the advantages before?’