The wait was longer than expected.
In the resting room, Xing Yue picked a corner seat and sat leaning against the wall.
Around her were contestants with completely different vibes—burly men with bulging muscles, a blade-wielder with sinister eyes, and a few young people who looked barely older than her, nervously wiping away sweat.
She, looking like a noble lady—an “oddity”—naturally attracted quite a few stares.
But no one came up to talk.
Probably because her outfit and aura made it hard to gauge.
Xing Yue was happy to be left alone.
She glanced at the contestants, then quietly withdrew her gaze and cut half her attention back to the Demon King Castle.
Demon King Castle.
Xing Yue had already returned to bed, slipping into the covers that Emily had already warmed up.
At that moment, the two of them were lying on their sides, facing each other, very close.
Close enough to see the curve of each other’s eyelashes.
Xing Yue had gotten used to this feeling.
After all, she had slept with the little pink-haired girl for so long—there was nothing to feel awkward about anymore.
Plus, with two blankets separating them on the bed, there wouldn’t be any overly inappropriate physical contact between them.
She reached out and habitually ruffled Emily’s hair.
The little pink-haired girl’s hair was very soft, nice to the touch.
“Your Highness…”
Emily narrowed her eyes slightly, like a kitten being petted, a faint blush creeping onto her cheeks.
But she didn’t pull away.
She even leaned a little closer to Xing Yue.
“What’s wrong?”
Xing Yue blinked.
“Nothing…” Emily said softly.
“I just feel like today might be the last time like this.”
Right, tomorrow they were going to sleep in separate beds.
Seeing Emily looking so attachment-prone, Xing Yue’s playful side kicked in, and she asked in a teasing tone, “What’s wrong, you can’t bear to leave me now?”
Emily’s face turned even redder.
“I—I didn’t say that…”
She protested softly, but didn’t look away.
Those pink eyes shimmered gently in the candlelight, as if hiding a pool of spring water.
The more Xing Yue looked at her, the more she found this little pink-haired girl adorable.
She always acted so soft and sweet, making people want to tease her.
“Don’t worry, even if we sleep in separate beds, it’s not like I’ll ignore you.”
She ruffled Emily’s hair again.
“We can still read together during the day, eat together, go to the dungeon to see Wei Anna together.”
“It’s just sleeping apart at night.”
Emily nodded.
She paused, then said softly, “Mm…”
“Then, Your Highness… in the future, if you ever need someone to listen to stories at night, or to warm—warm the bed, you can still come find me.”
Xing Yue smiled.
“Sure.”
The two of them lay there quietly, chatting on and off.
The candlelight flickered, casting two overlapping shadows.
The mood was relaxed and natural, like best friends who had known each other for a very long time.
Xing Yue suddenly remembered something and looked at Emily, asking curiously, “By the way, Emily, earlier when you were talking about the Arena rules… you seemed really familiar with them?”
Emily blinked.
“I guess so… After all, I grew up in the Empire.”
“These rules are common knowledge for Imperials.”
“Have you been to the Arena before?” Xing Yue asked.
“No, I mean the kind where you actually fight.” Xing Yue corrected herself.
“I’ve watched a few times, but I’ve never actually gone down to participate.”
“But I did go to the Imperial Capital’s largest Arena for a friendly match once,” Emily said.
“At the time, the Empire’s king, the Iron Thorn Emperor, came to watch too.”
She paused, then added, “Although…”
“Although what?”
“Although I only went to watch occasionally, I didn’t—”
“Whoa!” Xing Yue’s eyes lit up, her gossip soul burning.
“So what was the result? Did you win?”
Emily nodded.
“I won.”
“But—”
She tilted her head, as if recalling.
“That was just a friendly match though, mainly for exchange and practice.”
“To save my opponent’s face, I deliberately held back.”
“So the whole fight was just back and forth, nothing particularly exciting.”
“I just dragged it out until my opponent surrendered, and then it was over.”
“It’s different from those real life-and-death duels in the Arena.”
Xing Yue nodded thoughtfully.
“You’re actually pretty nice, huh.”
She praised casually, then remembered something and asked, “Oh right, who was your opponent at the time?”
Emily thought for a moment.
“It was the Empire’s Great Princess, I think her name was… Fulan?”
Hearing this familiar name, Xing Yue’s expression froze.
She stared wide-eyed at Emily.
“Who did you say?”
“Fulan.” Emily blinked, confused.
“She’s the Iron Thorn Emperor’s daughter, the Empire’s next heir, a genius mage who reached Tier 4 at only sixteen.”
“Does Your Highness know her?”
Xing Yue opened her mouth, momentarily not knowing what to say.
Of course she knew her!
Ah! The target she was currently locking onto through the Jet Black Forbidden Book was Fulan.
That Eldest Princess of the Empire—who despaired from losing her power, suffered from being disdained by her father, and felt lost from being neglected by her sister—had actually sparred with Emily before?
But from Emily’s tone, that friendly match seemed like just an ordinary little thing to her.
Xing Yue took a deep breath and tried to look less shocked.
“I suppose I’ve heard the name before, but…”
“Why were you two fighting?”
“Oh, I mean, what was this friendly match about?”
In that instant, Xing Yue had already imagined the dark and cruel side of the Empire.
“Was it because of differing positions, or competing for the title of number one genius?”
“Or was it a show of dominance from the royal nobility…”
Emily listened in a daze.
After Xing Yue’s wild bout of speculation, she scratched her cheek sheepishly with her index finger.
“Huh? Um… I—I was actually just doing it for credits…”
She said matter-of-factly, “The old professor who was mentoring me at the time said there were credits to be earned from participating in this friendly match, so I went.”
Xing Yue: “…”
Well then.
Just for credits?
She couldn’t hold it together.
She had guessed so many possibilities, and it turned out the little pink-haired girl’s reason for competing was just to earn credits?
Emily felt a bit uneasy under her gaze.
“Your Highness? Wh-what’s wrong?”
Xing Yue looked at Emily with a complicated expression, momentarily unsure how to respond.
Xing Yue waved her hand, trying to suppress the speechlessness in her heart.
“Nothing…”
Whatever, now wasn’t the time to think about this.
It seemed like it was almost her turn at the Arena.
Arena backstage, resting room.
Xing Yue opened her eyes.
A staff member was standing in front of her, holding a booklet.
“Phyllis?”
“You’re up next.”
“Go get ready.”