Inside the elven royal palace, in the inner chambers of the Crown Prince quarters, a pale blue figure was leisurely resting on a feather bed.
Soft and silky delicate screens surrounding and covering the bed fluttered in the wind as the snake's chest heaved up and down in a deep slumber.
Besides her, an elf with otherworldly beauty rested on an armchair.
The elf was gently looking at Tang Yue, eyes filled with subtle concern and sadness.
This elf was none other than Charlotte.
She anxiously raised her head and asked again for the fifth time.
"Are you sure that she is just sleeping?"
Hinata sighed and answered again patiently. "Lady Charlotte, please rest assured."
"His highness is personally checking on her condition every other minute."
"She is just fatigued from expending too much energy in the labyrinth and is resting for a few days."
"She should be waking up any time now. There is really nothing wrong with Consort Yue."
"Ok," Charlotte mumbled and nodded.
Her eyes returned to the gentle rhythmic movements of Tang Yue's chest and slender stomach.
She just absentmindedly sat there watching the snake princess resting in peace.
Hinata sighed uncomfortably and also returned back to her position which was in a corner of the chamber.
Xander had ordered her to not leave Tang Yue's vicinity so she couldn't exactly leave the chamber altogether.
The middle-aged maid shook her head helplessly and just stood there, also gazing at the sleeping princess.
Hinata still couldn't believe the things which had transpired these past few days.
A couple of days back, in the middle of the night, Xander had suddenly returned back to the palace, carrying intimately the wounded consort in his arms.
As if that was not shocking enough, the elf continued to personally tend to her and treated all her injuries and cuts.
He circled around her day and night and diligently kept an eye on her condition at all times.
The elf even barely left the chamber.
This alone was enough to shatter reality for Hinata.
But yesterday something even more unusual had happened!
Charlotte, General Salvatore's precious daughter had come knocking at the palace gates and adamantly waited in front of the Crown's private quarters, demanding for her to be allowed in.
This was in fact not something new. She did this often, so Hinata was not too surprised about this.
The part which threw her off came later!
When she reported to his highness Xander about how the General's daughter wanted to check on Tang Yue and express her gratitude, the man surprisingly had let her in!
And so... one became two, and the duo spent the entire day in the same chamber and continued to take turns and dote on the sleeping patient.
And from the looks of it, this scenario was about to repeat itself today as well.
It was only a few minutes after sunrise and Charlotte had already arrived at the palace, bright and early in the morning.
A few minutes after she arrived, Xander strolled in as well.
He was just returning from the meeting with the high council elders.
The man's crimson orbs gazed suspiciously at Charlotte but didn't linger. He didn't expect her to come in today as well.
"Greetings, your highness." Charlotte stood up and quickly greeted him, but her focus returned back to a certain someone after the formal curt greeting.
Xander's lips curved upwards in amusement.
He had already sensed the small but significant changes in Charlotte's attitude.
He had thought about this long and hard, but he couldn't understand this new development.
"Weren't these two fighting tooth and nails?"
"Just what the hell happened in the labyrinth?"
He quietly sat down on a chair next to the bed and started going through some reports.
On the other side of the bed, Charlotte as well sat back down on her chair.
But she wasn't doing anything in particular.
Her gaze lingered on the sleeping snake and she looked as if she was contemplating something serious in her mind.
Time continued to tick away and after a while, Xander's eyebrows creased slightly.
He couldn't help but feel that something was wrong here.
The elf sitting on the other side of the bed was looking at the snake with a somewhat intense and complex expression.
He couldn't help but notice that sometimes she didn't even blink!
Does she intend to stay here all day again? He loudly snorted in annoyance.
Xander initially didn't want to shoo away Tang Yue's new friend, but now, he was feeling very uncomfortable with her presence.
In the midst of this silent cold war, Hinata's feeble voice sounded.
"Your highness, it has already been more than two days."
"Shall I now help Consort Yue change her clothes and wipe her body?" She asked hesitantly.
But as soon as these words came out of her mouth, the two figures who had been calmly seated until now suddenly shot up from their armchairs.
"Let me do it."
"Let me do it."
They both responded in unison, with their eyes meeting each other and sparks flying everywhere.
It almost gave Hinata a heart attack!
"I… I…" She stammered, not knowing what to say.
Xander immediately threw a deathly glare at Charlotte, unleashing the full strength of his cultivation base.
Charlotte shuddered as she felt the huge pressure on her body, but that didn't stop her from clutching the edge of her robes and biting her lips in determination.
She met the glare of the crimson-eyed beast and refused to back down.
"Aren't you overstaying your welcome, Lady Charlotte?" Xander asked, without mincing his words.
This was the first time he had ever addressed her so personally.
Once upon a time, Charlotte would have given her everything just for a few seconds of conversation with him like this.
But now… only a bitter smile hung on her lips…
"Your highness." She bowed, continuing to withstand the pressure on her body.
"I think that Sister Yue will be more comfortable if I helped her change clothes." She answered resolutely.
"Hmph. Who gave you permission to talk in front of me? I think it's time for you to leave." Xander swatted her away.
Charlotte helplessly stared at the marble floor, with her head bent down.
She didn't want to leave just yet, but she also didn't have any other option.
Her mind and heart were completely muddled.
The man, who just a couple of days ago, had an addictive death grip on her, suddenly didn't seem to matter to her at all.
There were so many swirling emotions within her and her head was in a mess.
Charlotte knew that she needed some time and space to figure out everything.
But there was one thing that she was sure of.
Right at this moment, she simply wanted to stay beside the woman who had almost given up her life to protect her.
"I… I… Your highness." She mumbled, her lips whimpering.
Please don't make me leave. She wanted to beg him, but the words didn't come out of her mouth.
Huh? Xander's eyebrows twitched.
Somehow this miserable and sad expression she was making... only angered and annoyed him further!
His gut told him that something was amiss here!
He was just about to shout at her, something rude and cruel, when a faint sigh sounded near him.
"Mmm… Ummm…" Tang Yue woke up groggily.
She lazily rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms, letting out a big yawn.
And the next second, the two figures who had been standing and arguing in front of her for the past few minutes, suddenly disappeared!
They both ran away helter-skelter in opposite directions, with a very similar look of embarrassment on their faces!
Tang Yue blinked and opened her eyes in confusion. "I thought I heard something?"
But weirdly, no one was standing near her.
As she lazily stretched her limbs, she noticed Hinata who was standing further away and sweating profusely.
"What happened?" Tang Yue asked. "Why do you look like you just saw a ghost?" She chuckled.
Hinata awkwardly cleared her throat and snapped out of her trance.
How could she possibly tell Tang Yue what had happened!
Was she supposed to tell her that the Crown prince and the General's daughter were fighting over a rather weird issue just seconds ago and both of them suddenly disappeared when she woke up?
Even Hinata couldn't understand why the duo who were waiting on Tang Yue day and night had suddenly abandoned her when she was finally awake and conscious!!!
"Your highness, would you like something to eat?" She changed the subject tactfully.
"Mmm…" Tang Yue rubbed her stomach. She was indeed feeling a bit hungry.
"Bring me some food." She lazily mumbled but froze as soon as she saw the tattoo on her palm.
She suddenly remembered everything that had happened in the labyrinth and how she had tried to kill the human being.
"How am I still alive?" She clutched the edges of her blanket and asked the palace maid.
By now, almost everyone knew what had happened, so Hinata helped Tang Yue to fill in the blanks.