“What is it?”
Elena scolded Shiya coldly.
Yet her pinky finger subtly hooked the girl’s palm, sending a tingling sensation through her.
Shiya couldn’t help but let out a soft moan, her body stiffening, and her legs instinctively tightened, locking Leonora’s shoulders.
The girl’s subconscious squeeze immediately made Leonora’s breathing heavier, a hot puff of breath escaping her lips.
In the sweltering summer heat, somewhere deep in the ocean, a line of blue-and-white waves seemed to be wrapped in warmth.
Shiya’s body began to tremble slightly, and her hands unconsciously pressed harder against Elena’s palm.
She seemed to sense something was off.
The young lady was actually supplying her with oxygen!
Shiya really wanted to drag this woman out from under the table and demand to know if she was some kind of pervert.
“Sister Elena, but I just wanted to secretly protect you and keep those random men from getting close to you.”
Uttering her lines with perfect professionalism, Shiya pressed her thin lips together, leaned back against her chair, and relaxed her focus, deliberately not looking at her.
Faced with the girl’s stubborn response, Elena looked down at her from a height.
“Shiya, you’ve caused me enough trouble. As a person, do you have absolutely no self-respect or shame?”
The girl turned her face away and sniffled.
A layer of mist gradually formed over her pale golden eyes.
It wasn’t a sudden burst of acting ability that allowed her to cry on command; rather, it was because a certain young lady was growing increasingly reckless in her “encouragement.”
Seeing the girl’s mournful expression, Elena arched her brow in delight, then pressed it down hard.
No.
There wasn’t a trace of negative emotion on Shiya’s face—
The tears sliding down her cheeks were purely physiological.
The princess felt a vague sense of unease and began biting the thumb of her other hand without regard for the setting.
Today, that arrogant duke’s daughter wasn’t clinging to Shiya’s side.
She felt something was off.
Partly as a test, partly driven by a deep, greedy desire, she suddenly had an idea.
The princess deliberately didn’t lower her voice.
She parted her lips and uttered words that stunned everyone present.
“And also, Shiya, lately you’ve been sneaking into Vice President Leonora’s office every chance you get and staying there all day.”
“Do you really think the student council members can’t figure out what you’re doing alone together for so long? That nothing inappropriate is going on?”
Elena had always been displeased that Shiya willingly latched onto the moment that other young lady gave her a single instruction.
She had warned the girl countless times that the duke’s daughter had ill intentions.
A single stone stirred a thousand ripples.
This upscale restaurant naturally had many guests who knew Leonora’s noble status.
Shiya’s heart tightened.
She could clearly feel that the young lady could no longer hold back.
Her smooth ankle gently pressed against the back of Leonora’s neck.
Shiya steeled herself and used her calf to pull the young lady forward, directly covering her mouth with that blue-and-white wave.
Since she was already suffering losses, Shiya decided to go all out!
Leonora indeed stopped moving, as silent and still as if she were dead.
But the increasingly heavy breathing…
“Sister Elena, we were just rehearsing lines for the play. I… huff…”
Halfway through her words, the girl’s breath inexplicably faltered.
Her body tilted slightly, and strands of sweat-soaked hair fell onto the dining table.
She could no longer think about what lines a yandere character should or shouldn’t say.
“I… and the young lady… are just friends…”
The girl’s cheeks flushed slightly, and her dazed, shy expression was fully visible to Elena.
The tip of her thumb was bitten, and a trace of sweetness spread in her mouth.
Was Shiya… savoring her time alone with Leonora?
Elena lowered her hand expressionlessly.
Her lips, as delicate as morning rose petals, tightened slightly.
Her gloomy gaze fixed on the girl with slightly parted lips, and then she spoke softly.
“Truly shameless.”
The always elegant and composed Elena had uttered such a foul word.
“A despicable person clinging to power.”
Instantly, Shiya and Leonora under the table both held their breath.
The young lady could no longer imagine how explosive tomorrow’s tabloid headlines would be if Elena discovered that Leonora was being restrained by Shiya and angrily dragged her out from under the table.
Here, the young lady must state it clearly.
She had just suddenly seen some scenery she shouldn’t have seen, panicked, and let out two breaths—
It was not “encouraging” Shiya at all.
As for the girl’s trembling body making her unconsciously exhale more, Leonora felt that was entirely not her fault; Shiya should look into herself for the problem.
But the young lady was overthinking.
Because as soon as Elena finished speaking, Shiya covered her mouth in panic.
Slandering Shiya’s purity?
What had she just said?
Falsely accusing her in front of so many people…
She had only wanted to catch this disobedient little tail and teach her a lesson with words.
To fill the girl’s heart with nothing but shame and utter disgust for herself, so she wouldn’t think about other women.
Elena knew that part of her heart had begun to rot and fester.
But why couldn’t Shiya grant her even this small wish?
Shiya let out a long sigh, mentally adding a debt for that certain malicious young lady.
Without Leonora’s interference, she regained her composure and cupped Elena’s palms with both hands.
“So Sister Elena has always thought I was despicable?”
“Despicable enough to be sold off like merchandise to the Flower God’s bride back in Flower God Village?”
The girl tilted her head playfully, placing the princess’s hand against her cheek and gently rubbing it.
A sickly, obsessed smile curled on her cherry-pink lips.
“If that’s the case, I don’t mind being Sister Elena’s despicable person.”
Though the Flower God Village incident had ended relatively well,
the fact that Elena had forcibly taken her there was like a thorn lodged in Shiya’s throat.
Since that was the case, Shiya didn’t mind forging that thorn into a poison-coated dagger and stabbing it mercilessly into Elena’s heart.
The effect was obvious.
Elena’s lips trembled uncontrollably, her face as pale as paper, and she shook her head frantically.
“No, Shiya, I didn’t mean to belittle you.”
“I’m sorry about the Flower God Village incident.”
“I never wanted you to be anyone’s bride. I actually… have some feelings for you…”
The final words of the princess were left unspoken.
Because Minister Kang Sitan, who had been sitting decorously all along, sternly admonished her.
“Your Highness, this girl has thrown you off balance.”
“Be cautious in word and deed. If you misspeak again, the rumor that you prefer women will be fully confirmed.”
“The ministers will not support a crown prince who rejects men and cannot bear children.”
Elena snapped back to reality, her body swaying unsteadily.
“I… understand.”
She slowly exhaled a heavy breath.
The palm that had been touching the girl’s cheek slid down bit by bit, finally pinching her neck lightly.
The princess knew what she was about to say.
But to quell the rampant rumors spreading through the Imperial Capital, she had to completely deny the emotional entanglement between them over this period.
Only then could she silence the ministers and make her two older sisters, who were manipulating everything behind the scenes, overlook the existence of an ordinary girl like Shiya.
Her grip wasn’t strong, nor did it hurt Shiya.
But Elena’s next words instantly suffocated her.
“Shiya, you’re always so easily moved by your own emotions.”
“The same goes for that time you tried to kill yourself after a quarrel. You thought that was love for me, but I only found it troublesome. I hate your personality—always overstepping boundaries without understanding your place.”
“In the end, your damaged vocal cords were your own fault. I saved your life, which was more than enough.”
“If you had actually died there, you’d only have dirtied the student council floor.”
“From now on, the debt of gratitude I owe your parents is settled.”
Shiya lowered her head, biting her teeth hard.
Her slender fingers, which should have been soft, clenched into fists.
The suicide was the original Shiya’s own decision, unrelated to the current Shiya, and she didn’t need to care too much.
Yet the vivid scenes of that stormy, raging sea at night still surfaced in her mind.
The original Shiya had risked her soul being torn apart to appear and patiently guide her in using the enhancement potion’s power.
Perhaps even the original Shiya herself hadn’t noticed.
The girl had been secretly watching her, observing those golden eyes filled with exhaustion and world-weariness.
Shiya was ultimately not the original Shiya and couldn’t empathize with her.
But she had fragments of the original’s memories, understanding how Elena had used words step by step to make the broken, orphaned original cling only to her.
Only to trample that deep trust into the mud again and again for various calculations of interests.
Shiya suddenly slapped away the princess’s hand and looked up at her coldly.
Elena lowered her eyes, the corners of her mouth curling into a satisfied smile.
Once again, she firmly pinched the girl’s slender neck with her palm.
Not allowing this caged canary the slightest thought of escape.
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