The Gregory estate
When Lord Gregory returned to the estate, he was hosting one of his usual extravagant feasts with the heads of the Zhu, Lin, and Yan families.
While they were drinking heavily and getting drunk, a servant quickly ran to Lord Gregory's side and whispered something in his ear.
The other family heads looked up. The head of the Lin family, drunk and smiling, said,
"Lord Gregory, is there more good news?"
Lord Gregory waved his hand. The servant bowed and stepped back. Gregory's narrow, triangle-shaped eyes turned cold as he looked at the Lin family head.
"Elara took the memorials. She said she wanted to see if there's any place in Plumera Kingdom that she liked. Hah."
The other three froze for a second. A bit of clarity returned to the eyes of the Zhu family head.
"That beauty-obsessed princess is actually interested in court papers now?"
The Yan family head laughed.
"She's probably just looking for another place to find good-looking people to amuse herself with. Haha."
But the Zhu family head shook his head, now looking more cautious. He turned to Lord Gregory.
"Lord Gregory, if the memorials were taken by that princess, then what do we do now?"
Before Lord Gregory could speak, the Lin and Yan heads jumped in.
"Tch. What do you mean, what do we do? Elara might hold the title of princess, but even that little emperor of theirs never really had control over the court. Affairs in Plumera Kingdom have always been decided by Lord Gregory."
"Exactly. They're just memorials. Without them, do you think those ministers would dare ignore Lord Gregory's will? Even if that princess stamps the documents without thinking, the ministers still have to check with Lord Gregory first and act based on what he wants. Haha. So there's nothing to worry about."
"You're right. That useless princess probably asked for them on a whim. Whether we have the memorials or not doesn't change a thing. In Plumera, Lord Gregory is everything. Lord Gregory is the true ruler."
With that, the Lin and Yan family heads drowned out the Zhu family head, who had wanted to suggest retrieving the memorials quickly. He didn't get another word in.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Lord Gregory seemed indifferent to the fact that the memorials had been taken. The Zhu family head cursed the other two inwardly but smiled on the surface.
"You're right. I was being overly cautious. Plumera hasn't really used memorials for five or six years now. They're not that important. Especially when everything needs Lord Gregory's approval first anyway. I was overthinking it."
Lord Gregory listened to their flattery without showing much of a reaction.
Since the previous emperor had become obsessed with spiritual pursuits, government order had crumbled. The court was no longer managed properly, and memorials had lost much of their importance.
He had only asked Benedict to fetch them so he could get used to handling them again. They weren't of real use.
But now that the princess had asked for them, and remembering how she acted at court today, Lord Gregory frowned and lifted his hand.
A black-clad guard appeared behind him.
"Keep a close watch around the Princess's residence. Track her movements. Report anything strange."
"Yes."
The guard retreated. Lord Gregory took a sip of wine. His wrinkled fingers tapped lightly on the table.
If she wanted to play with the memorials, she could play for a while. But it had to stay just play. Once she was done, she would return them quietly.
---
By the time Elara returned to the Princess's residence, night had already fallen.
After the long day, the bit of food she had eaten at Lianyi Tower was long gone. Her stomach growled with hunger.
Seeing the kitchen bring out a huge table full of so-called "pure natural" dishes, made without seasoning or technique, she didn't have the energy to care about taste.
While thinking that she'd need to personally train a real chef for the residence, so she could finally eat proper food like in the 21st century, she stuffed rice into her mouth.
She needed to fill her empty stomach first.
After eating and drinking her fill, Elara let out a long breath. She had someone bring hot water and took a relaxing bath. Her whole body felt refreshed, and only then did she change into the ancient-style bathrobe of this era before returning to her sleeping quarters.
She had done a lot today and gathered a great deal of information. Right now, all she wanted was to lie down on her bed, relax, and sort through her thoughts. As for the huge stack of documents brought back from Lianyi Tower, she had no plans to go through them tonight.
Elara had been busy for decades in her previous life. Even though her schedule was always packed, she deeply understood the importance of rest. Only by resting well could she work more efficiently and make her time more valuable.
She never forced herself to work overtime. When tired, she would lie down, and when energized, she would continue.
But when she walked into the sleeping quarters and saw someone already lying on her large bed, she froze.
Walking closer, she saw a man with delicate, refined features. His face was fair to the point of looking sickly. His brows were slightly furrowed as he slept, breathing unevenly as if caught in a bad dream.
He looked fragile and restless, like a sickly nobleman who couldn't withstand a breeze.
When her gaze moved below his neck, Elara understood why he gave off that impression.
The man was indeed injured. His slender, pale body was dressed only in thin white innerwear that was nearly see-through. The design was… rather suggestive.
Overall, it looked like only half of the clothing was covering him, while the rest revealed much of his fair, beautiful body.
Perhaps because of the fever from his injuries, his pale skin held a faint flush. The way he looked now gave off a feeling that made people want to commit sins. Unfortunately, Elara had no energy or interest after a long day.
Still, she could appreciate beauty. After quietly observing for a few seconds, Elara muttered that his proportions were indeed impressive, not much different from the top male models she had seen in her previous life.
But the visual appeal was somewhat spoiled by the many scars covering his body.
Elara looked him over from head to toe, then recalled who he was.
He was the same young master from the Pei family, Mathias, whom she had instructed the servants to heal properly so she could come back and "continue playing" with him.
It seemed the servants had carried out her orders quite thoroughly. The wounds on Mathias had clearly been treated. But compared to the healing aspect, the servants had clearly focused more on the "continue playing" part. Elara could only say they were very "considerate."
Looking at the dense web of scars on his body, and recalling the gory and speechless memories left in the original host's mind, Elara felt a trace of sympathy for Mathias.
But sympathy was just that. She herself had almost died twice today.
Even though Elara admitted that Mathias had suffered greatly, compared to her, who had been forced into this mess and nearly stepped into hell, she still thought she had it worse.
So she decided, before feeling bad for others, she should take better care of herself.
And she absolutely couldn't accept sharing a bed with a strange man. Although she couldn't throw Mathias out of her sleeping quarters due to her current identity, she still planned to keep the more comfortable big bed for herself.
"Uno."
A swift figure appeared instantly. "Your Highness."
Elara pointed at the man sprawled on her bed. "Move him to the side couch. And get two thicker quilts to cover him."
"Yes."
Uno didn't question her sudden change in behavior. He silently carried out her orders as always.
But just as he finished and was about to quietly leave, Elara suddenly called out.
"Wait."
Uno immediately stopped and dropped to one knee, bowing his head and waiting for her instructions.
Elara got up and walked in front of him, circling around once.
He had changed back into his shadow guard outfit, the dark, close-fitting clothing covering him completely. Not a single inch of skin was exposed, making his figure appear even taller and more upright.
The closer she got, the more Elara felt she smelled something metallic.
She frowned, and when she reached him, she leaned down and sniffed carefully.
Uno's body tensed slightly as she moved in.
"You're injured?"
Elara frowned and stared at him. After getting closer again, she was sure she hadn't imagined it.
There was definitely a smell of blood. And it was coming from him.
But there hadn't been any fight today. The only moment close to danger was when To Guard Yang drew his sword at the Jade Pavilion.
She had pulled Uno into her arms and shielded him then. Later, she even kept him from making any moves. So where did the injury come from?
Uno lowered his head and answered, "Yes, Your Highness."
Elara's brows knitted tighter. She straightened up and looked at him. "Where did you get injured? Why? Who was it? What group?"
Did someone already try to assassinate her without her knowing?
Uno, who always answered immediately, hesitated for a few seconds.
"There was no enemy. It was… me…"
Elara paused. Her frown deepened.
Seeing that he still had his head lowered, she reached out and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look up at her.
"You did it to yourself? What do you mean, Uno? You hurt yourself?"
Feeling the soft yet firm grip under his chin, Uno was forced to meet her eyes. His lips tightened slightly.
They only locked eyes for a second before his long lashes lowered again. His gaze dropped below her line of sight. Even when forced to lift his head, he maintained the posture of a loyal subordinate, never daring to overstep.
"Yes, Your Highness…"
Elara's grip tightened, and her voice grew cold.
"Why? Explain."
Uno was silent again for a couple of seconds. His eyes dropped even lower.
"Because… you were injured…"
Elara froze. She remembered the blood she coughed up after canceling the system's filter.
So it was because she got hurt. As her protector, he saw it as a failure. Uno had injured himself as punishment?
Her cold expression wavered. She stared at Uno, who still kept his eyes down, and after a brief silence, her voice lost its earlier sharpness. It grew softer, quieter.
"The blood I spat today had nothing to do with you all."
She had done that on purpose to deal with To Guard Yang. It didn't count as a real injury. Uno had been close enough to see the whole thing. She didn't believe he couldn't figure out the truth. Yang hadn't even touched her.
But Uno still kept his eyes lowered and replied in a steady tone, his voice low and firm. "But you, my master, bled."
Elara fell silent again, staring at Uno's quiet and expressionless face. For a moment, she didn't know what to say.
This foolish guy... It seemed like his years as a shadow guard not only strengthened his body and martial skills, but also made certain traits even more stubborn, like his rigid thinking. Honestly, it left her feeling a bit speechless and choked up.
Even though Uno's expression made her grind her teeth, Elara was someone who responded more to softness than force.
She stared at Uno's long eyelashes for a couple more seconds, then slowly relaxed her grip on his jaw. She suddenly stood up and walked to the large bed, pulling out a box from underneath.
The original Elara used to enjoy whipping and torturing people, but didn't want them to die too quickly, so she had stored many top-quality healing medicines under the bed. They were used to keep dying people barely alive, just to enjoy watching their final struggles.
Elara pulled the box out and searched through the messy memories she had inherited. Finally, she found a fine ointment that could stop bleeding and soothe internal injuries.
She held the ointment and walked back to Uno, who was still kneeling respectfully on the ground. She picked up a small stool from the side, sat down, and looked at Uno. Then she patted the empty stool next to her.
"Uno, come here. Take off your clothes."