Chapter107

Elara: …

Was this man really standing in front of her in the middle of the night, stripping?

Looking at the half-naked man in front of her, Elara felt nothing despite his obvious charm. Her body and mind had been drained by the endless affairs of Marigold City.

Seeing Imani half-leaning over her with a hesitant look, Elara dropped her head back onto the pillow. After closing and reopening her eyes, she looked at him again.

"What are you doing?"

"Imani wants to serve Your Highness…" he murmured, his body close but not pressing on hers. His pale skin barely touched her, soft and light.

His handsome, fair face turned slightly red. He was very close to her, and his hoarse whisper brushed against her face, giving off a teasing shiver in the stillness of night.

Since most of the spies in Marigold City had already been controlled by the Wei family, Elara hadn't acted against Imani after arriving.

One reason was not to alert anyone, and the other was that he might be useful in the future as a connection to Lord Gregory. Since Lord Gregory had sent him here, Elara chose to let him move freely, only having people monitor him instead of interfering with his actions.

These days she had been too busy with everything in Marigold City. The daily reports from the spies had all been normal, and she had nearly forgotten this man was even here.

But he had been behaving properly until recently. After holding back for so long, he was finally making a move tonight. Was it because he received secret instructions from Lord Gregory, or did he come to find something out?

Thinking of this, Elara reached up and grabbed Imani's chin, forcing him to meet her eyes and keeping him from moving.

"How exactly do you want to serve me?" His skin was as smooth as jade, and he really did feel quite nice to touch.

Imani gave a low hum from the pressure but didn't resist. His flushed face leaned in closer, voice husky and tempting.

"Back in the capital, Your Highness always had someone to accompany you each night. But ever since coming to Marigold City, you've been so busy and exhausted that you've hardly had time to care for yourself. I couldn't help feeling worried. And I heard you haven't summoned any other companions lately, so tonight I took the chance to offer myself. I hope I can help Your Highness relax. Please show mercy to Imani..."

He looked completely sincere, as if he were deeply in love with Elara.

But Elara only wanted to sneer at that look. Her grip on his chin didn't loosen. Instead, she tightened it slightly, making his pale skin turn red.

"Did you forget how I had you serve me the first day you entered my residence?"

Imani winced slightly from the pain, but he didn't pull back. He bit his lip lightly and remembered how he had been frightened off by a whip on his first day in the princess's residence. He stared at Elara and suddenly leaned in further, his nearly bare body pressing up against hers. His tall, slender frame covered Elara almost completely.

"I was foolish back then. I ruined Your Highness's mood. If you're unhappy, you can punish me double tonight. This body already belongs to you. You can do whatever you want with me..."

A fresh and alluring fragrance came from his body, clearly designed to entice. Even though Elara knew he was a walking trap, his seductive scent still made her ears tingle.

Imani looked quite different from when he had first entered her residence over a month ago.

Back then, he still had that proud and immature air about him. But now… he was more like a refined and sharpened spirit, with a hidden danger beneath the surface.

Was it because Lord Gregory had harshly disciplined him?

On the way to Marigold City, the Wei clan reported that Imani had returned from Lord Gregory's residence with serious internal injuries. That memory surfaced in Elara's mind now.

Looking at the man practically pressed against her, Elara activated the System in her head.

System 92, you told me to keep the original personality until I slowly change how people view this body. How much of the original do I still need to maintain?

Master, Marigold City is far from the capital. The previous soul in this body had never been here. The people here may have heard of you, but they've never seen you. So you only need to keep the basic trait of loving beautiful men. Everything else can be changed without much trouble.

Imani only met you after your soul entered this body. He doesn't know how the previous soul acted. You don't need to follow the old behavior when dealing with him.

Also, it's been nearly a month since you returned to this body. A lot of things around you have already changed under your influence. Many characters now have new bonds and connections with you. Even if you return to the capital, you won't be as trapped by the old role. Your true personality has already started blending into this body. The hold of the original setting has weakened a lot.

After getting this confirmation from System 92, Elara relaxed slightly.

She was really tired. She just wanted to sleep. She had no desire or energy left to play any kind of S and M game with a whip.

Imani didn't know what she was thinking. He noticed she suddenly stared at him and went quiet. He pressed his lips together, thinking about the pain relief medicine his servant had already prepared, and slowly reached out his hand from where he was leaning against the bed, pulling out a whip he had readied in advance.

He wrapped the whip around his pale wrist and, with a deep and charming look in his eyes, offered it to Elara. "Your Highness, please use this."

But Elara frowned slightly, reached out and directly threw the whip from his hand. She then turned her face away, pulled the blanket over herself, closed her eyes, and said calmly,

"Enough. I'm tired. I'm not in the mood tonight."

Imani froze for a moment and looked at the whip that had been thrown to the floor. After a while, he turned back to look at Elara.

"Your Highness doesn't want to use the whip? Then I still have..."

Elara turned over to face the inside, closed her eyes, and cut him off. "Shut up. I said I don't want to play anything. Stop bothering me and let me sleep."

After she finished speaking, Elara closed her eyes and made no more sound. She didn't care what Imani would do behind her. She simply let herself fall into sleep.

Left behind was Imani, his clothes half-removed, leaning by the bed. The situation clearly didn't go as he expected. He looked a little lost and helpless.

After a long time, seeing that Elara's breathing had become steady as if she was already asleep, Imani finally came back to himself.

He unconsciously began breathing more softly. His gaze, which had been fixed on Elara, slowly started shifting around the room.

Her Highness had fallen asleep... but she didn't tell him to serve her or to leave...

Imani's gaze moved around the room.

Lately, Her Highness had been working endlessly without rest. Many important messages must be kept in this room.

Imani's clear eyes slowly swept over the scrolls and objects piled throughout the room.

After looking around carefully, his hand resting on the bed slowly tightened. His whole body suddenly stilled like a statue.

A long time passed, and the sky outside the window grew darker. Only then did his lowered eyes lift slightly again, landing on the girl already fast asleep in front of him.

The faint night light from the window fell inside, casting soft light on the girl's delicate and beautiful side profile.

Imani stared at Elara's pale face rising and falling with each breath. He silently propped up his upper body and leaned closer to her ear. With a voice so low it was almost inaudible, he whispered hoarsely,

"Your Highness... may I sleep beside you and warm your bed?"

The girl in front of him had clearly fallen asleep and couldn't hear his longing. Still, when he said this, Imani used a tone filled with desire and plea.

Her reply was only the soft breathing of sleep.

Imani supported himself beside her. He looked at her eyelashes gently fluttering in sleep. All the affection he had shown on his face faded away. But in his eyes, true longing and obsession slowly appeared.

"Your Highness is so beautiful..." His lips moved silently, his gaze full of obsession.

He stared for a long time before he reluctantly looked away. Then, as if he had made a decision, he slowly propped himself up. His tall and lean body moved with small, cautious movements, making no sound at all as he climbed onto Elara's bed.

"Your Highness, since you didn't answer, forgive me for being bold... I'll take it as your silent permission..."

His warm, lean body gently hugged Elara from behind. As an adult man, his long arms could easily pull her entire body into his embrace.

He did all of this with great care and didn't wake the sleeping girl in his arms.

When he finally held the one he had been thinking about since the day they met, Imani let out a silent sigh. The emptiness in his arms finally felt full.

Holding the soft and warm girl in his embrace, he couldn't help rubbing his reddened chin lightly against her hair. His handsome face showed undisguised attachment and infatuation.

"Your Highness, this life of mine was never mine to begin with..."

"If I can only be like floating duckweed, can I choose to follow you?"

"Your Highness... I want to belong to you..."

"I like you..."

"Your Highness..."

"I don't want to... betray you..."

The next morning.

Elara woke up in the warm embrace of a body.

Maybe because the "cushion" behind her was too comfortable and warm, she stayed dazed for a while before realizing she was actually being held by someone.