Chapter175

Elara lifted her eyes slightly and narrowed them. "Even you lost him?"

Uno immediately knelt on the ground and apologized to Elara. "I failed you!"

"Get up."

If it really was that mysterious expert, it was no surprise he could come and go freely in her residence even when all the Wei guards were gathered at the princess' manor in Marigold. The ones left to guard Marigold County this time weren't even the top ten. It made sense they couldn't catch him.

But Haochen...

She thought of the boy who had just clung to her in her arms, unwilling to let go, and sighed softly.

This child was the one she had personally rescued from the cage. As the biological grandson of that old man, he had lived a rougher life than anyone else.

Since she promised to keep him by her side, she planned to raise him properly. To make it easier for Haochen to study, she had even considered pushing forward the educational department's planning.

Over the past few days, whenever she had spare time, Elara had been recalling her previous life's elementary courses while compiling this world's beginner education materials.

Once the full set of basic books was ready, she planned to train her first batch of "teachers" and personally teach Haochen as well.

But now...

Elara's eyes turned cold. If there was something wrong with Haochen, or... if this Haochen wasn't even the one she was meant to raise... then everything would have to be reversed.

"Uno, send someone to keep watch on Oswyn. Report immediately if there's any sign."

"Yes."

"Also, tighten security at all checkpoints inside and outside the city. Report any movement right away."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The next morning,

Elara was reviewing various city progress reports when a servant outside suddenly reported that Imani had come to see her.

Elara put down her report, thinking about the man she hadn't seen in a long time. "Let him in."

After a period of rest and recovery, the Imani she had last seen nearly dying from poison now looked like a vibrant, blooming flower. That refined and striking charm had returned to him.

"Your Highness."

The moment he stepped inside, Imani bowed to her from a distance. His clear and pleasant voice held a sticky warmth, much like the gleam in his eyes as he looked at her. His fair fingers carried a box of unknown contents as he walked quickly to her.

Elara's eyes scanned him from head to toe.

Imani was tall, about 1.85 meters. Despite his height, he wore a loose, red, intricately designed robe that hung off his shoulders, revealing his pale, muscular chest and the faint outline of his abs.

Below the tightly cinched waist, his long white legs were bare, as he wasn't even wearing pants. Every step revealed perfect leg lines that made one want to strip his clothes off and take a better look at that body.

A grown man who could make himself look more seductive than the top courtesans of the flower house—that took skill.

No, wait. She had almost forgotten. According to his background, Imani had been raised in the flower house as the future top male performer. He certainly had the looks for it.

But the last time they met, Elara had made things clear. Why was he here again?

"What are you here for?"

Imani's thin red lips curved into a smile. He walked cautiously to her side and, seeing she didn't object, boldly sat down beside her.

His whole body was soaked in incense. As soon as he sat down, the fragrance filled the air around Elara. It wasn't unpleasant. The clean scent even had a refreshing effect.

"Your Highness has just returned from the front lines. I was worried about you. Thank goodness you came back safe and sound. Although I lack Oswyn's healing skills, I still wanted to do something. I brought a nourishing herbal soup that helps calm the mind and replenish blood. I hope Your Highness won't mind tasting it. If there's anything wrong, I'll go back and fix it."

As he spoke, Imani opened the box he brought and took out a bowl of steaming, fragrant soup. He filled another bowl with it and carefully placed it next to Elara's hand.

Elara glanced at the soup. "You know how to cook?"

"I just know a little bit. Please try it, Your Highness."

Imani smiled and picked up the bowl. He scooped a spoonful, blew on it gently to cool it, and then offered it to her lips.

Elara: …

She looked at the man's face, full of eager anticipation, and after a short pause, she opened her lips and drank the spoonful.

Seeing her do so, Imani's face instantly lit up with joy and satisfaction. He scooped a second spoonful to feed her again, but Elara spoke up to stop him.

"Leave it. I'll drink it later."

Imani paused but didn't stop smiling. He nodded, then scooted even closer to her. When she didn't move away, his wide, bare chest pressed against her back. His tall frame instantly wrapped around her.

His long arms slowly slid around her waist from behind, pulling her toward him. Then, lowering his head slightly, he whispered into her ear, his breath warm and fragrant.

"Let me be your cushion, Your Highness. Lean against me, and I'll give you a massage. Would you like that?"

As he spoke, his arms wrapped around Elara and gently kneaded her waist.

Elara grabbed his hands and turned her head to look at the man pressed tightly behind her.

It wasn't her leaning on him, but him sticking to her like soft candy with no bones at all.

She couldn't understand how such a tall and solid man could be so soft when leaning on someone.

"No need. Sit properly. But about Lord Gregory, have you truly decided to give up on him?"

Imani paused, and Elara could sense the slight shiver in his body when she mentioned Lord Gregory.

The next moment, Imani didn't sit up straight as she told him to. Instead, his tall frame clung to her even tighter like a beautiful dodder flower.

"You really see through everything, Your Highness." He whispered beside her ear, "Then you must know I've never betrayed you. Even though Lord Gregory almost killed me, I never gave away your true information. Your Highness, I... I admire you. Would you give me a chance…"

Before Elara could speak, Imani continued, "I've been nothing but a lowly, rootless drifter since birth. Always pushed by the current, stepped on by anyone..."

"Later I entered Lord Gregory's manor, thinking I could finally live the life of the wealthy and noble I'd always dreamed of. But in the end... heh, I was just the lowest of the high. Still someone anyone could trample on."

"I'm truly not skilled at anything, other than this barely passable face. I have nothing to rely on. Even my desires are shallow. I just want to find someone or something dependable, to escape this life where everyone can step on me and live the rest of my life peacefully."

Elara listened to the sorrow in his raspy voice. Her face didn't change, and she simply replied calmly:

"So, between Lord Gregory and me, you chose me?"

Imani paused slightly. Hearing her indifferent voice, he suppressed his disappointment and hugged her tighter, as if trying to absorb the warmth that made him so drawn to her.

"I didn't want to lie to you, and I can't lie to you. At first, that was exactly what I thought. Because the first moment I saw you, I thought if I could marry you, I'd have no regrets. And with your noble status, you could become the pillar I could rely on to live a stable life."

"But later..." Imani's voice suddenly carried uncontrollable joy. "You saved me, didn't you? Even knowing I was sent by Lord Gregory to spy on you... you still saved me..."

When the poison acted up last time, Imani thought he wouldn't wake up again.

He regretted a bit, having spent half his life clinging and scheming, only to die poisoned. But when he realized he had shielded Elara from Lord Gregory's investigation, even at the cost of his life, he was surprised at first, then felt a strange happiness.

Even if he had died then, it would've been the first time he died doing something he truly wanted.

He had drifted for so long, clung for so long, and in the end, buried his own life for the person he had finally fallen for. He didn't regret it.

What he didn't expect was that he actually woke up. After waking, the medical hall even delivered him medicine daily, saying it was the antidote for the deadly poison in him.

But the poison had been administered by Lord Gregory himself. There was no ordinary doctor who could neutralize it. The antidote must have come from the most precious and rare herbs.

In Marigold City, he had no family, no connections. The only person who could save him and give him the antidote was the one person who made his heart beat.

"Your Highness, it was you who saved me. So no matter what, this life of mine belongs to you now."

"I no longer have any desire to cling for benefit. Your status is already so noble, so maybe you won't believe me. But still, I beg you, please give me a chance..."

As he said this, Imani suddenly lowered his head quickly and kissed the corner of Elara's mouth.

Then, the moment Elara looked over, he hugged her tightly again and buried his face into her neck, whispering:

"Your Highness, please, I truly love you. Give me a chance. I'll prove it to you. From now on, you are everything to me. I don't need anything else but you..."

Elara felt herself being tightly wrapped in Imani's arms.

She was a little surprised. Although she had already suspected something when he'd rather die of poison than reveal her secrets, hearing his heartfelt confession now still made it hard to believe.

She and he hadn't spent that much time together.

She hadn't even spoken kindly to him a few times.

How had he fallen for her this deeply?

Perhaps Elara was naturally indifferent about love. In her past life, she had gone on blind dates, had a boyfriend and a fiancé. But her focus had always been on her career. Even marriage was just for continuing the family line and professional compatibility. So she really couldn't understand how the man behind her could offer everything to her after such short contact.

Elara instinctively began analyzing logically, trying to figure out how much of his words were true and how much were lies.

The conclusion she reached was that at least eighty or ninety percent was true.

Elara stayed silent and let him hold her for a long while before finally saying:

"As long as you don't do anything wrong in the future, no one will make things hard for you, and no one will treat you as lowly."

Since he had chosen her, she would naturally keep her promise.

The man behind her instantly lit up with joy. His handsome face brightened with excitement as he moved closer again and said, "Your Highness, you mean... you're giving me a chance? I'll do my best. Whatever you like, I'll become that!"

Elara turned her head to look at his now even more striking and dazzling face. Just as she was about to say something, a voice full of barely suppressed anger suddenly came from the entrance of the hall:

"What are you doing?!"