You've found the Gusha-hime Knight, so put your hair up in a bun!

"Yes, Miss."

The Wells family's female bodyguard captain accepted the order with her hand on her chest, her eyes above her mask flashing with admiration and awe.

Anya dispelled the cleaning magic and habitually wiped her hands with a silk cloth.

Anya rubbed her fingertips together, then asked seemingly casually, "What's the situation with Xiao Xiluo right now?"

The female captain of the guard, who was instructing her subordinates to carry the black magician away, froze on the spot upon hearing this.

"Uh……"

Although it was their young master who arranged for them to be here as a backup plan, the female guard captain never expected that, in addition to capturing this dark sorcerer, the young master seemed to have another romantic target!

Is this something I can say?

If you say it, the young master will remember it; if you don't say it, the young lady will remember it.

The female guard captain was already drenched in sweat just by standing there.

"Young Master... seems to still be carrying out his own plans."

"Oh, really?"

Anya raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

"Yes, right..."

Seeing the guards cowering like quails, Anya smiled and waved her hand, saying, "Alright, why are you so nervous? She's just a young girl. As long as Xiao Xiluo likes her, that's enough."

Anya's calm and composed demeanor made the guard open his mouth, but when he saw the tightly clenched fist under her sleeve, he closed his mouth again.

"Yes, I understand."

After the guards left, Anya looked in the direction where Xiluo was, her expression unreadable.

I just felt a tightness and unease in my chest.

On the other side, Xi Luo, who was pretending to be unconscious, calculated the time. When he felt it was about time, he slowly opened his eyes and groaned, "Uh..."

The movement from his thigh immediately caught Ruby's attention. Seeing that Shiloh had woken up, the girl's face lit up with joy. She then carefully supported his back and helped him up.

"You're awake. How are you feeling?"

"I feel alright... cough cough."

Shiloh coughed twice, and Ruby quickly patted his back with her small hands to help him catch his breath.

"How much time has passed?"

"Not long, less than twenty minutes."

Xi Luo nodded, then said, "Let's not delay, let's bring Xiao Hua over first."

"Ah."

Ruby helped Shiloh up and they walked together toward Little Flower's hiding place.

After some time, Ruby, who had taken Little Flower back into her arms, and Shiloh boarded a carriage bound for a private welfare home in the capital.

"This is also for Xiaohua's safety. If you want to visit her, just let me know."

Ruby nodded, indicating that she understood the reasoning, but she still felt a little reluctant.

But Ruby also knew that sending Little Flower to the Wells family's orphanage was definitely better than having her live alone in that little cabin or have her running around with her.

Watching the orphanage director bow respectfully to Xi Luo and then walk into the orphanage with Xiao Hua in his hand, Ruby showed an expression that seemed both reluctant and relieved.

Looking back on those past experiences, it seems that I only brought misfortune to those around me.

Apart from……

Ruby pursed her lips, instinctively wanting to look at Shiloh beside her, but his warm body leaned in first.

Eek!

Ruby let out a quick, cute gasp, her body stiffening on the spot, her fists tensely raised to her chest, unsure whether to push it away or...

But a moment later, Ruby realized that she seemed to have misunderstood. Shiloh's heavy breathing was erratic in her ears, making the girl's heart jump.

"Loxi?!"

Ruby quickly steadied the unsteady Shiloh, looking at his abnormally flushed face with alarm.

Silo stopped Ruby from reaching for more potions and whispered in her ear, "Take me to a safe place. I need... to rest."

After saying that, Shiloh rested his chin on Ruby's shoulder, his warm breath constantly patting Ruby's neck, making her honey-colored skin blush with a lovely peach color.

"..."

After several encounters, Ruby seemed to have developed some resistance to Shiloh's body, so she forced a calm expression and helped him into the carriage.

After much deliberation, Ruby finally made up her mind to send Shilo to her residence in the capital.

"It's simply because it's safer there, and besides, he's someone important; if something were to happen to him, it could lead to a series of negative consequences..."

Ruby muttered to herself as she drove, as if this would make taking Shilo back to her private residence seem perfectly rational, thus extinguishing the blush on her face.

"Waaah~!"

But with a faint, mournful cry, Ruby's plan was finally declared a failure.

"I'm going crazy...!"

At that moment, lying in the carriage, Shiloh pricked up his ears, listening quietly to Ruby's adorable noises. He couldn't help but smile, thinking that this girl was indeed adorably naive.

Actually, the reason why Shiloh suddenly pretended to be weak and lay down next to Ruby was because he saw the figure of Aaron, one of the protagonists of destiny, at the street corner.

Logically speaking, Aaron, as the henchman of the Third Prince Meredith, should not be here at this time.

But it was probably because he had started to abduct the innocent girl Ruby, and the progress was so rapid that it caused a loss to his own luck. The resulting panic and unease drove him to come here.

In short, it's an extremely ominous feeling that comes from nowhere.

Before getting into the carriage, Shiloh seemed to see Aaron looking in their direction, but he wasn't sure if Aaron had caught up with them.

If Aaron catches up, things might get interesting!

Shiloh opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling of the carriage, recalling Aaron's personality traits.

Aaron had never really suffered much hardship growing up. He was born with extraordinary talents that others did not possess, and even as an adventurer, he could complete most missions with just a little effort.

Some even praised him as the "Destined Hero" of the new era.

Although Aaron appeared indifferent to such praise, he secretly felt pleased and proud.

In other words, the inconsistency between a person's inner thoughts and outward actions is their most prominent personality trait.

The same applies to relationships. The reason why the romantic storylines in the original work are almost non-existent is because Aaron has an inexplicable sense of reserve.

Even though he really likes a certain female lead, he always pretends to be indifferent to feelings and tries to get her to confess her feelings first before reluctantly agreeing to be with her.

Regardless of the fact that the most ambiguous thing in the original work is "chatting and looking at the scenery under the tree", and where exactly it can be extended to the feeling of "liking", that's how the synopsis is written from Aaron's perspective.

Thoughts like, "She's willing to enjoy the scenery with me, so she must like me."

Interestingly, the female protagonists never have any psychological descriptions related to this aspect, which makes it even more like "whoever agrees is the clown."

Looking back now, that copywriting really had a terrible sense of humor.

creak-

The carriage stopped in front of a secluded two-story cottage, and Shiloh seemed to smell a dampness.

Ok?

Is her residence by the river?

splash

Before the carriage curtain was pulled back, Shiloh closed his eyes and continued to feign unconsciousness.

Looking at Xiluo's peaceful sleeping face, Ruby couldn't bear to disturb his sleep, so she quietly carried him on her back and walked into the small building.

The small building was surrounded by all sorts of magical traps, and only after detecting Ruby's presence did they briefly lower their guard.

Ruby bought this little house from a family that had moved into the city, primarily because of its secluded location and riverside setting, which she really liked.

The truth is, this is the suburbs, so it's cheap.

The rooms are on the second floor of the small building, divided into a master bedroom and a guest bedroom.

Ruby didn't expect anyone to come over, so she simply converted the guest room into a training room and a place to store tools.

Therefore, she had no choice but to move Shiloh to her own room.

The room was very clean, with no special interior decorations. Everything was in line with Ruby's style: simple but also monotonous.

Ruby carefully placed Shiloh on the bed, took off his shoes and coat, and spread out the neatly folded blankets to cover him.

After looking at him for a while, Ruby carefully adjusted the position of the pillow, trying to make Shilo more comfortable, and tucked the blanket around his neck to prevent drafts.

"This should prevent me from catching a cold..."

Ruby stood with her hands on her hips, looking at her "masterpiece," let out a soft sigh, and revealed a satisfied smile.

But the next moment, the vibration from the terminal in her arms smoothed out that slight curve of her face once again.

Ruby knew whose letter it was before she even opened the terminal.

Chapter 146 The Heart Thief (3k)

"Is something wrong?"

Ruby tiptoed out of the room before answering the call and asking in a calm tone.

"What are you doing now? Why did you suddenly leave the team?"

Aaron's voice rang out from the terminal, his words of concern tinged with a hint of questioning.

"I will still carry out the mission, it's just a formality that I'm leaving the team."

"What's the reason?"

Ruby's attitude made Aaron frown, and he asked.

"Private matter."

After giving a brief answer, Ruby didn't want to say anything more and planned to close the terminal communication.

But at that moment, Aaron's voice, barely concealing his anger, suddenly rang out: "Private matters? How come I don't know you have any private matters?"

Upon hearing this, Ruby stopped what she was doing, her brows furrowed, and her attitude turned cold.

“What business is it of yours what I do with my private affairs? I had no idea I had to report to you before doing my own thing. You’re being a bit too nosy.”

"you--?!"

Aaron paused for a moment, then suppressed his anger, softened his tone, and earnestly advised, "I know you want revenge, but didn't we agree to enter the capital, gather intelligence, and then make further plans?"

"This can't be rushed. Calm down first, okay?"

Ruby was even more confused upon hearing this, and said, "What does this have to do with my revenge? I've already said it's my personal matter. I'll still do my job. Whether I leave the team or not shouldn't matter, right?"

Aaron fell silent on the other end of the communication line. After a few breaths, he said hesitantly, "Did you just get into a carriage on Roca Street?"

Upon hearing this, Ruby's pupils contracted, and she said in a deep voice, "You were following me?!"

From the moment they became teammates, Ruby and Aaron had a "three-point agreement," which was to keep business strictly separate and not to interfere in their teammates' private affairs.

Ruby is free to go wherever she wants outside of missions, and Aaron's following her is a breach of this contract!

“You’ve crossed the line, Aaron.”

Hearing Ruby's clearly angry voice, Aaron panicked and quickly explained, "You've misunderstood. I just happened to be strolling around there."

"...Even so, what do you want to achieve by bringing this up?"

Ruby's wary words made Aaron open his mouth, his fists clenching unconsciously, feeling a surge of frustration.

At that moment, he clearly saw Ruby helping a somewhat familiar male figure into the carriage. This scene left him feeling blank, followed by a deep sense of betrayal and deception!

Therefore, Aaron broke the agreement and secretly followed Ruby to her residence, where he witnessed her carrying the man into the house!

You know, after being teammates with Ruby for so many years and having a "close relationship" with her, I've never even been inside her home once!

As childhood sweethearts, Aaron had long regarded Ruby as a couple who were just waiting to be officially confessed to. Such a betrayal of their relationship naturally made him, who was proud, feel furious and resentful.

But... perhaps there's more to the story?