“Butterfly, you’re being naughty.”
The voice came from the doorway, neither too loud nor too soft, carrying the scolding tone of a parent catching a child sneaking candy.
Ella turned her head and saw Yiwen leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over her chest, red pupils slightly narrowed.
Dieyi did not turn around.
She remained leaning against the edge of the bathtub, pink hair fanned out across the water’s surface, right hand propping up her cheek.
Her expression was as lazy as a cat that had just woken up.
“Hmph. Since when do you get to speak here, Yiwen?”
Her voice was light and airy, yet that lightness carried an unquestionable authority—not aimed at Yiwen, but declaring a certain territory.
Ella stood sandwiched between the two of them, wrapped in a bath towel.
Her wet silver hair clung to her shoulders, water droplets sliding from the tips and dripping onto her collarbones.
Her face was still flushed bright red from the base of her neck all the way to the tips of her ears, as if someone had poured boiling water over her.
Her hands clutched the edges of the towel so tightly her knuckles turned white.
What had just happened?
Her brain was still in a near-crash state.
That sensation—the soft, warm, tightly pressed feeling—had burned itself into the depths of her consciousness like a red-hot brand.
She only remembered her chest pressing against Dieyi’s chest, and then—
Right now she looked exactly like a victim who had just had her chastity taken.
She huddled in the corner of the tub, wrapping the towel tightly around herself, leaving only a pair of wary crimson eyes exposed.
“You didn’t bring Her Majesty back just to make her your mountain stronghold wife, did you?”
Yiwen stepped into the bathroom. Her gaze shifted from Dieyi to Ella, and her expression softened, like a mother looking at a frightened child.
“Now that the bath is done, I should pick out some suitable clothes for Her Majesty.”
“I can pick them for her.”
Dieyi finally moved. She sat up from the water, droplets sliding off her shoulders. Her wet pink hair clung to her back.
Her gaze passed over Yiwen and landed on Ella, the corners of her mouth curving slightly.
That smile sent a chill down Ella’s spine.
“No, you can’t.”
Yiwen’s voice remained that gentle, patient tone, but she took a step forward, positioning herself between Dieyi and Ella.
“Who knows what else you might do?”
Their gazes met in mid-air—red pupils against red pupils. One gentle but firm, the other lazy yet sharp.
“Her Majesty needs time to calm down right now. I believe she will understand everything soon—provided you don’t harass her.”
She turned around and extended a hand toward Ella.
The hand was fair and slender, nails neatly trimmed, palm facing upward.
“Let’s go, Your Majesty. I’ll take you to your room—the one we prepared specially for you.”
Ella looked at the hand and hesitated for a moment.
Her gaze flicked past Yiwen’s shoulder to Dieyi.
Dieyi had already leaned back against the edge of the tub, right hand supporting her cheek, eyes looking elsewhere as if the matter no longer concerned her.
But that smile still lingered on her lips.
The smile that made Ella extremely uncomfortable.
Ella bit her lip, then reached out and took Yiwen’s hand.
Yiwen’s hand was warm. Her fingers tightened gently as she helped Ella out of the bathtub.
The towel slipped from her shoulder for a moment; she hurriedly grabbed it and wrapped herself tightly again.
She was led by the motherly Yiwen out of the bathroom, down the corridor, past one door after another.
Her mind was still spinning.
In the bathroom, Dieyi had forcibly opened the door to a whole new world for her.
As an Insect Mother whose primary mission was reproduction and expansion, in her understanding men should be with women and women with men.
How could there be women with women?
How was that possible…
But… that sensation just now… was still deeply branded in her mind.
Her gaze unconsciously drifted to Yiwen’s hand, then away. To Yiwen’s side profile, then away. To Yiwen’s collarbone, then away.
Even the way she looked at Yiwen beside her had changed.
This woman wouldn’t do anything outrageous too… right?
Probably not.
She seemed much more normal than that madwoman Dieyi.
She might be the last normal person on this ship.
“This is your room.”
Yiwen stopped in front of a door and pushed it open.
Ella poked her head inside—
The room was not large, but it was clean. There was a bed, a desk, a chair, a wardrobe.
The window was on the wall beside the bed, offering a view of the dark sea and faint starlight in the distance.
Then she saw the second bed.
Two beds placed side by side, separated by a nightstand with a small lamp on it.
“W-Why is it a double room!”
Her voice shot up immediately. She pointed at the two beds as if identifying a crime scene.
“You’re making me stay in a place like this?!”
Yiwen tilted her head. The motion carried a natural, almost innocent casualness.
“Can’t be helped, Your Majesty. In my eyes, you’re still a naughty child right now.”
Her voice was gentle but left no room for argument.
“Zhuluo will stay with you to take care of you.”
Tch…
So it was just surveillance.
Calling it “taking care of me” was so hypocritical…
Ella pressed her lips into a thin line but did not protest.
Her gaze swept across the room, noting the positions of the window, the door, the wardrobe, and the two beds. Then—
She nodded.
“Good that you agree.”
A smile appeared on Yiwen’s face. She turned her head and looked down the corridor.
“Zhuluo, Her Majesty is in your care now. Take good care of her.”
Footsteps came from the end of the corridor. The black-haired girl emerged from the shadows.
Her golden pupils gleamed faintly in the dim light.
Her expression was as flat as always, the six eyes on her collarbones half-closed, as if in hibernation.
“Understood, Yiwen.”
What was with that attitude of reporting to a superior?
It looked like Zhuluo had the lowest status on this ship.
Wait…
It seemed like she herself currently held the lowest status on the ship…
Damn…
Ella cursed inwardly, keeping her face expressionless.
“Come, Your Majesty. Here are the clothes we prepared for you.”
Yiwen entered the room first and opened the wardrobe.
Her movements were quick—open, select, close. The entire process took less than three seconds, but in the moment the wardrobe door shut, Ella’s eyes still caught what was inside.
That was…
A maid outfit?
And… the extremely revealing kind. Black lace, white apron, skirt so short it barely covered anything.
The corner of her eye twitched.
Yiwen turned around, holding a simple set of pajamas—white top, white pants.
The fabric looked soft and comfortable.
“You can wear this while on the ship.”
She handed the pajamas to Ella.
Ella took the pajamas and looked down. Plain white, no decorations, the cut so simple it could almost be called crude.
“How shabby.”
She muttered.
This was nowhere near the clothes she used to have the swarm prepare for her.
Those had been woven from the finest silk-like secretions from insect glands, perfectly tailored, exquisitely designed, and highly defensive.
They could even fetch a good price at auction.
But now she was a prisoner, not the Insect Mother.
She had no right to be picky.
She removed the bath towel and began putting on the pajamas.
The white fabric slid over her shoulders.
Yiwen’s gaze lingered on her for a moment before moving away.
“There’s also a white hunting outfit in the wardrobe for going out. You would look very good in it.”
Her voice returned to that gentle, scholarly tone.
“Bras and panties are all there too. Let Zhuluo teach you how to wear them.”
“Got it.”
Ella fastened the last button and looked down at herself.
Hmph… Just you wait… I will definitely get my revenge on all of you… definitely…
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