Elena’s light blue eyes curved into a smile.
She raised a wrist as fair as mutton-fat jade and swept all the golden hair from her shoulders onto her smooth back.
The strands brushed against her delicate, clean shoulders and neck, leaving a faint itch.
She lay down beside the girl, picked up a strand of the snow-white hair spread across the bed, and brought it to her nose to sniff.
The elegant, misty orchid fragrance seeped from the tip of her nose deep into the princess’s heart.
“Shiya, you smell nice.”
The girl’s body tensed instantly.
Her voice carried a rare hint of gritted teeth.
“Elena, keep your hands to yourself. It’s time to rest.”
Ilya, who had no idea what was going on, gave the two elder sisters a strange look, then with a click, turned off the light hanging from the ceiling.
The room plunged into darkness.
Exhausted, Ilya fell asleep quickly.
Her small, doll-like face, delicate and serene, lay completely exposed in Shiya’s view.
A tender smile curled at the corner of Shiya’s lips.
She reached out and gently poked the little girl’s slightly plump cheek.
But the next second, she let out a soft snort.
She could feel the string behind her pure white silhouette being lightly hooked by a finger.
Shiya took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to turn around.
She closed her eyes and pretended to be fast asleep.
If she didn’t give that mischievous person the reaction she wanted, she would get bored and stop.
Unfortunately, the princess behind her didn’t seem inclined to let it go.
The warm, smooth sensation of fingertips kept moving back and forth along Shiya’s slender spine.
Shiya’s skin prickled.
She couldn’t hold back anymore.
She turned and glared at Elena, who looked utterly intrigued, as if she had discovered a new toy.
“Are you going to let me sleep or not?”
She asked in a low voice, trying not to wake Ilya.
Elena stared at the white kitten with its fur all ruffled.
After a moment of silence, she dropped her playful expression.
“Shiya, can you promise me you’ll stay in Flower God Village?”
Her tone was very serious.
For some reason, Shiya felt her eyes sting.
She simply closed her eyes, neither answering nor looking at Elena again.
But Elena kept talking to herself.
“Shiya, Flower God Village can help me secure the throne. That’s really important to me.”
Shiya felt a hot breath slowly scatter over her earlobe, causing a fine, dense itch, and the tip of her ear began to burn involuntarily.
“Shiya, I know this is hard for you to accept, and you won’t listen to reason.”
The princess paused for a moment.
“I was wrong before too. I ignored your feelings. So I’ll give you something very precious as compensation.”
Shiya finally couldn’t help opening her light golden eyes.
They were moist and lively, with a hint of bewilderment and confusion.
Only then did she realize that the trembling breath from before wasn’t an illusion.
At this moment, Elena was right next to her.
So close that they could feel each other’s heartbeat and breath.
Now in control, Elena pressed her palms against the mattress, her hands pinning the girl’s disheveled hair as she looked down at her.
But an indescribable emotion surged in the princess’s eyes.
“I, tonight’s me.”
Her voice was very gentle, but each word chiseled away at Shiya’s heart.
“Tonight, I’ll give you the process of my first sword practice.”
Shiya’s breath caught.
Golden and snow-white hair tangled together, impossible to separate.
“Elena, do you even know what you’re saying?”
Shiya’s voice was hoarse and trembling.
Elena looked down at the girl beneath her, her gaze unwaveringly firm.
“I know. For the throne, I can trade anything.”
At least with you, I think I can accept it.
The princess added in her thoughts, but didn’t say it out loud.
A girl’s heart is always hard to fathom, even Elena herself couldn’t figure it out.
“Then… let’s begin.”
Elena didn’t notice that her own voice was trembling uncontrollably as she spoke.
Her slender, elegant fingers gently grasped the soft, adorable palm.
She guided it step by step to form a sword seal, pressing it against the princess’s delicate, defined collarbone.
Then slowly traced it across her chest.
“No! I don’t want this!”
Shiya shouted abruptly, yanked her hand free from Elena’s grip, and pulled it away from that curved, full landscape.
She could no longer bear the sour, bitter emotion in her heart being squeezed out by some primal instinct.
Shiya absolutely didn’t want her relationship with Elena to be such a dirty transaction.
“Elena, can you not degrade yourself like this?”
Shiya’s voice carried a hint of sobbing, and she spoke bluntly.
Elena’s light blue eyes darkened.
The girl’s blunt reprimand did not dissuade her.
“Then what do you want, Shiya? Change the terms? Should I give you money instead?”
The princess countered.
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be you who gets degraded?”
Shiya’s lips trembled slightly.
She had no idea how to respond to this aggressive, overbearing princess.
Seeing the girl’s prolonged silence, Elena’s breathing grew heavier in the atmosphere thick with pink bubbles.
She had lost patience.
“Since Shiya is still hesitating, let me take the initiative to teach you how to counter a sword strike.”
She curled her thumb slightly, pressed two fingers together to form a sword seal, and steadily aimed it at the girl’s weak point.
Shiya, who had never practiced swordsmanship, was like a flower being plucked by a butterfly.
The slender stem quivered as she let out a whimper.
Beneath the blanket, patches of tear-soaked wetness spread.
But just as the princess pressed her other hand on the girl’s delicate shoulder, ready to launch a series of continuous sword techniques, a childish, adorable voice came from the side.
“Sister Elena, what are you doing?”
In an instant, Shiya’s face flushed red.
She snapped out of her dazed state and pushed the princess away.
Having narrowly escaped learning swordsmanship at the last moment, Shiya sat up abruptly and, without a word, moved Ilya to the middle of the bed, separating herself from Elena.
“Ilya, you sleep in the middle. I don’t feel safe when I sleep—I’m always afraid someone with ulterior motives will teach me things I don’t want to learn.”
Ilya didn’t fully grasp the meaning, but she blinked her light blue eyes and obediently said, “Oh.”
Then she wrapped her arms around Shiya, who was curled up at the edge of the bed.
“It’s okay, Sister Shiya. I’ll protect you.”
After being bullied all night, hearing such angelic words almost brought tears to Shiya’s eyes.
She gently rubbed her head against Ilya, making the little girl’s face blush, then finally relaxed, closed her eyes, and let sleepiness settle in.
Elena silently watched the two girls snuggle together and fall asleep in each other’s arms.
Then her displeased gaze locked firmly onto Ilya, who had unapologetically buried her face in Shiya’s chest and was sleeping peacefully.
The princess knelt up, let out a quiet sigh, and squeezed one arm tightly with the other hand, feeling helpless.
Shiya… she doesn’t seem to like me as much as before.
Pressing a hand over her violently pounding heart, Elena lowered her head.
She didn’t know whether she was forcing herself to make promises for the girl’s sake, or whether, when she saw the unguarded girl again, she simply wanted to perform a sword dance just for her.
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