“Night~ class~ mate~”
An unfamiliar tone, yet a familiar cadence.
If it were two years ago, whenever Ye Xu heard a voice with this cadence, it meant he had done something wrong again and was about to get scolded by Navila.
But now, after two years had passed, with events unfolding one after another, and heartfelt exchanges with Navila time and again, the two had grown to understand each other more deeply.
Ye Xu had thought he would never hear this voice again, one that made his hairs stand on end just by sounding.
He didn’t know why hearing this voice made him tense; if he had to find a reason, perhaps it was just human intuition.
“Uh, Your Highness Princess Selan, is there something?”
Slowly turning around, what he saw was her smiling with squinted eyes, leaning close to him—so close that he could embrace her with just a reach of his arm.
Of course, Ye Xu himself wouldn’t do that, nor would he even think about it.
Even though, if he really just casually hugged her at this moment, nothing more would happen.
“Mm~”
“There’s a small matter I’d like to discuss with Nal classmate?
“May I borrow you for a word?”
Her mouth said that, but the action of grabbing Ye Xu’s arm clearly gave him no chance to refuse.
In that moment, Ye Xu could only sigh helplessly.
Thud~
In a quite modern toilet stall, Ye Xu was directly pushed against the wall, pinned in a wall slam.
At this moment, with her cheeks puffed up high like an aggrieved little pufferfish, Isxila said in a tone filled with endless resentment:
“The esteemed leader of the Eternal Night Rebel Army, the respected Night Princess of the empire—selling yourself for just seven silver coins?”
“You sure know how to win people over~”
Without a doubt, starting from nothing, single-handedly building the rebel army, leading them to miraculous victories time and again against the empire—Ye Xu undoubtedly knew very well how to win hearts.
Those Eternal Night rebels who, even now, continued their cause within the empire’s borders despite seeing no future ahead, were the best examples.
“Se, no, Isxila classmate, don’t be like this…
“I just helped Anlor classmate today, right? What’s this about…”
As a man, being pinned in the restroom by a girl like this, Ye Xu would feel embarrassed too.
But in the current situation, resisting wasn’t an option, nor was not resisting.
His intuition told him the problem was with him, but the issue now was that he had no idea what he had done wrong.
He thought it was fine; wasn’t he just seeing a pitiful girl with real talent and wanting to give her a hand?
“Heh.” Not mentioning it was better; the more it was brought up, the angrier she got. Isxila pinched Ye Xu’s chin, twisting his head—which dared not meet her gaze— to face her directly.
“Then, are you planning to give a home to every homeless girl in the world next?”
Knowing how to win hearts didn’t mean understanding hearts—this seemingly contradictory statement was vividly embodied in Ye Xu.
Harboring grand ideals, considerate to subordinates while knowing how to wield both kindness and authority.
Appearance, personality, talent—everything combined into absolute personal charm.
Keen intuition allowed him to quickly detect others’ intentions and desires, realizing whether they held goodwill or malice; strong action and judgment ensured every bet he placed landed in the most accurate spot.
Plus those creations rivaling miracles.
Those extraordinary individuals from all corners of the world thus willingly gathered by his side, enshrining him like a deity, serving at his left and right.
Like moths to a flame, drawn to the light and warmth in the silent long night, gathering around him, unhesitating even if it meant burning to ashes.
In fact, even as sects worshiping the Night Princess rapidly rose in the human world.
However, Ye Xu had never, in the rebel army, nor after being forced to become the emperor’s daughter, actively promoted, shaped, or even deified the slightest bit of his image.
The most arrogant thing he had done was, to maintain the dignity of a leader, avoid frequent contact with subordinates as much as possible, and have them call him “young master.”
But…
The problem lay right there!!!
If this were your lord.
Perfect features, unparalleled talent.
He wouldn’t bury any subordinate’s gifts, with an eye for talent, harboring grand ideals and aspirations, leading you step by step to turn the grand visions he painted into reality, opening dawn amid despair.
Then, how would you view him?
If same-sex, like those men in the Eternal Night Rebel Army and Knight Order, they would instinctively revere the protagonist, creating a sense of distance, becoming the lord’s most solid sword and shield.
…
But if opposite sex, then…
With such an outstanding opposite sex by your side, if the age difference was large, fine.
But if ages were similar, especially back when Ye Xu was proud like a cat, charming like a fox— and still without a spouse—what ideas would they have?
Not to mention those women personally brought into the rebel army by Ye Xu, serving by his side—each with unparalleled talent, proud and arrogant.
Naturally believing there should be a place for themselves by the lord’s side.
Of the nine Eternal Night Riders, three were female, and not one didn’t want to turn the tables and become the main consort.
Of course, Isxila also knew that she hadn’t succeeded in ascending yet, not much better than those few knights, and demanding too much wasn’t qualified to begin with.
But…
She was jealous!!!
“Woo~~~”
Why could a girl he just met get him to personally maintain her machine for seven silver coins?
She had known him for seven years, finally reunited with great difficulty; her first act was spending a huge price to help Earl Simar fish him out of the empire, and just two days ago she confessed—yet Ye Xu showed no indication at all?
She was angry; he had to coax her!
“I want too…”
Clearly, when she first arrived at the school, she had wanted to show as much as possible her current elegant and mature side as a princess.
But truly in front of Ye Xu, Isxila discovered she couldn’t control her emotions at all, liable to revert at any time to that barbaric “little blonde” from back then.
“Uh… what?” Somewhat not understanding what Isxila was trying to express, plus because of shyness, her voice was indeed a bit soft, causing him not to hear clearly.
Ye Xu cautiously tried to remove Isxila’s hands braced on either side of his head, and upon finding he couldn’t do so silently, chose to give up, asking again.
A big “#” appeared on Isxila’s forehead.
No, what else could she want? Didn’t he know in his heart what he had just promised Anlor?
Even if she really wanted Ye Xu to “sell” himself to her once, would he be willing to “sell”?
In that moment, she couldn’t help recalling one of the treasures her mother had taught her: [Sometimes, you just can’t be too good to the person you like; you have to be appropriately willful, a bit possessive, let him know how important he is to you—that’s how you can draw closer your relationship.]
“Rawr!”
“Hiss.”
Biting down on the collarbone below Ye Xu’s collar, leaving a small but conspicuous tooth mark, Isxila said to Ye Xu in exasperation: “From now on, my exclusive machine will also be maintained by you, got it?!!!”
“Got it…” Ye Xu had always felt he was very bad at dealing with women; it was so in his previous life, and still so in this one.
In his previous life, single from birth for thirty years, finally dying during a relaxation after consecutive overtime days.
In this life, relying on his good looks, he had tried to get along well with girls.
The results were all starting off seeming fine, but not long after, they would inexplicably get angry and ignore him.
Navila was, Virar was, Dragon Princess was, and now the reunited Isxila after many years was too.
Fortunately, it was only ignoring him on the surface; they still listened to commands and requests as they should.
So they say, a woman’s heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea.
“Mm, good…”
Looking at the tooth mark that seemed intent on leaving an indelible exclusive mark on him, so deep that it even seeped a trace of blood, Ye Xu rubbed it painfully.
—Wait, for such a small matter, why pin him in the women’s restroom and bite him? It’s not like he didn’t know how much Isxila had helped him; if she had brought it up to him, could he possibly not agree?