Who understands? The aloof female ruler always flirts without even realizing it.

Karandal did not return to the home he shared with Shen Yan.

At the airport, he almost used all his strength to pry open Shen Yan's fingers, which were tightly gripping his arm, one by one, and drove away in a disheveled state amidst a sea of ​​shocked, envious, and jealous gazes.

The hovercar drove aimlessly over the city until its onboard intelligence warned him of low energy, at which point he realized he had nowhere to go.

Go back to that place filled with Shen Yan's aura? He couldn't face it.

Finally, following his body's instincts, he drove the car towards the officers' residential area. The keys to the private residence, returned by the Empire, were in his palm, cold and unfamiliar.

Pushing open the door, a long-dormant atmosphere wafted out. Everything inside was as it had always been—cold, tidy, yet lifeless. My fingertips traced the familiar outlines of the furniture, and those brief, warm days spent with Xiongzi felt like a distant dream.

Only his still-recovering wings and the desolation in his heart served as clear reminders of the harsh reality.

My gaze fell on the display shelf in the corner of the wall.

The place was empty, with only seven clear medal marks remaining, like seven pieces of flesh and blood that had been ripped from the heart.

They were taken away, and then returned to Shen Yan in a way of redemption... Looking back now, it's incredibly ironic.

She is the female ruler of the male lord, and according to imperial law, she, along with this house that has just been returned, belongs to the male lord's private property.

As long as the other party is unwilling to let go, he doesn't even have the right to escape.

"Kalandal! Are you in there? Please open the door for me!"

The urgent knocking and Shen Yan's hoarse, urgent shouts shattered the deathly silence inside the room like a thunderclap.

He still came looking for it.

His body stiffened instantly, emotions churning in his icy blue eyes before settling into a bottomless weariness. He didn't move, simply standing silently in the center of the living room, like a statue gradually losing its warmth.

"Kalandal! Let me explain! I was wrong about what happened on Blue Star! I really know I was wrong! Please open the door? Let's go home..." The voice outside the door, filled with sobs and desperate pleas, pounded on his heart.

In the past, I probably would have reluctantly opened everything up. But now, all that's left is fear.

She feared that this was yet another elaborate prank, that she would once again become his plaything for a fleeting whim, only to be utterly shattered after being given hope.

He finally reached the door, but did not open it.

Through the cold metal door, the voice sounded unusually calm, even with a barely perceptible tremor—a vulnerability forcibly suppressed.

"Your Mightiness……"

He paused, then lowered his voice: "I am your property. If you want to come in, I... have no right to stop you."

These words were spoken with difficulty, carrying the deep-seated obedience of the female insect, yet also revealing a heartbreaking despair. It was as if she were stating an unchangeable fact, a shackle that must be borne.

"but."

Her tone shifted slightly, her voice becoming softer, like a feather brushing past, yet carrying a heavy weight. "I... really can't bear to be... fooled again."

He didn't roar or accuse; he simply laid bare his weakness and vulnerability in a tone that was almost a statement of facts, tinged with his own wounds.

"Please, for the sake of... for the sake of the fact that I once tried to serve you."

His voice held a barely audible sob: "At least for now, give me a little... breathing time."

These words were less a refusal and more a humble plea.

He laid bare his wounds and vulnerability before Shen Yan, his wretched state a silent accusation against him, pleading for even the smallest bit of mercy.

The sounds outside the door stopped abruptly.

A deathly silence spread both inside and outside the door.

Kalander leaned against the door, clearly feeling his rapidly beating heart and the weariness emanating from the depths of his soul. He closed his eyes, forcefully suppressing all the surging emotions within him.

He knew that Shen Yan and Samuel were different.

The male does not inherently possess the same depraved nature as Samuel, who took pleasure in torture and humiliation.

Otherwise, based on today's repeated rejections and offenses in front of everyone at the airport, he would probably have been torn apart by the wrath of the powerful ruler long ago, and his fate would have been many times more miserable than when he was exiled.

Shen Yan, at least... never physically tortured him.

But it is precisely this difference that makes the gentle knife all the more cruel at this moment. He would rather face clear malice than have all his expectations and strength exhausted in this unpredictable cycle of warmth and coldness.

Outside the door, the expected footsteps of departure did not sound.

After a rustling sound, there was a heavy thud as someone slid down against the door.

Shen Yan did not leave.

He seemed to have all his strength drained away, or perhaps he was stubbornly waiting, fueled by the lingering effects of alcohol. He stood there, leaning against the cold metal door, huddled outside the Carlandall family home, silent and unspoken.

Karandal could even vaguely feel the faint warmth and subtle tremors emanating from the other person's body through the door.

At this moment, Your Excellency, the noble male insect, did not resemble a fierce conqueror, but rather a homeless, drenched dog... a stray dog.

In the most clumsy and humble way, he stood guard outside the door of the "master" he had chosen, waiting for mercy that might never come.

This silent waiting unsettled Karandal more than any of his previous vehement pleas.

He could almost picture Shen Yan looking like that.

Her disheveled hair fell down, her bloodshot eyes stared blankly into the void, and her face might still have traces of tears that hadn't dried. She hugged her knees, curled up into a ball, and stubbornly waited in the cold corridor.

A sharp, stinging pain suddenly pierced through my frozen heart.

He should harden his heart, he should ignore it, he should... but he found that he couldn't be completely indifferent.

That silent presence, like a fine thread, wraps around the heart, tightening and tightening.

He bit his lower lip hard, almost tasting the blood, before he could suppress the urge to open the door and check on the other person.

We must not be soft-hearted.

We must not repeat the same mistakes.

This could very well be another test of his bottom line, a trial to see if he will forgive easily.

He slowly, as if utterly exhausted, slid down the door panel and sat on the ground.

And so, they were separated by just one door.

Inside the door was a female insect, exhausted both physically and mentally, her defenses reinforced. Leaning against the door, she listened to her own heart pounding like a drum, resisting the pull of instinct and lingering emotions.

Outside the door, a male insect, filled with remorse and seeking refuge in alcohol, leans against the door, enduring a long wait in silence and cold, unsure if it will elicit a response.

Time flowed slowly in silence, and the sunlight outside the window gradually shifted, casting long, bright but cold spots of light on the ground through the window at the end of the corridor.

Kalandall hugged his cold arms tightly inside the door, the unhealed wound at the base of his wings throbbing faintly.

Afternoon sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, casting long, slanted beams of light into the empty room, where dust motes floated silently.

He didn't move, just stood there, his gaze seemingly trying to penetrate the door that separated them.

After an unknown amount of time, a faint, hoarse gasp came from outside the door. Then, Shen Yan's voice came through, no longer the uncontrollable pleas of before, but low, weary, and carrying an almost cautious probing tone:

"Kalandal, I don't know if you can hear me..."

His voice was soft, his drunkenness gradually fading, leaving behind a dryness from just waking up.

"I'm sorry about what happened this morning."

She paused, then said with a hint of regret, "I couldn't control my emotions and caused you trouble."

The female soldier inside the door tensed almost imperceptibly for a moment, remaining silent, but her taut jawline relaxed slightly. This apology, made after sobering up, seemed more rational than her previous drunken entanglement.

"I think... I need to explain my previous behavior. That indifference, that... hurt, was not my intention, or at least not entirely."

Her pale eyelashes trembled slightly.