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

Upon hearing this, Zeno stiffened, somewhat annoyed, and dodged Shiloh's hand. He then elbowed Shiloh in the chest and said, "Can't I be like a woman?!"

"Oh, that's not what I meant..."

Xi Luo scratched his cheek and explained, "It's not that only gentleness makes someone a woman; a woman with a heroic spirit is also a woman."

Zeno blinked and asked, "So, in your eyes, what kind of woman am I?"

Without hesitation, Xi Luo replied, "Overbearing."

"..."

Zeno remained silent, a dangerous glint appearing in his golden eyes.

Seeing this, Xi Luo stopped teasing her, squeezed the jade-like hand in his hand, and smiled, "I'm not joking anymore. This time, we have to thank you for standing up for us."

The warmth of Shiloh's touch brought a touch of pink to Zeno's slightly cool hands. Her gaze was somewhat unfocused as she said, "Actually, without me, they wouldn't be able to pose any threat to you, would they?"

Xi Luo smiled noncommittally, and after a few moments of silence, suddenly asked, "What are your thoughts on the marriage alliance?"

"Ok?"

Zeno was stunned, not expecting that Xiluo would be so direct.

Should we say it at this time?

Zeno's heart pounded, and a blush crept onto her cool and beautiful face.

If you say it out loud here, you'll likely win!

Shall we go?!

Right now!!

"Well, this is beyond our control, isn't it? And given our relationship, it doesn't make me feel any resentment... Don't tell me that after something like that, you still want to marry my stupid sister."

Silo shook his head, his expression somewhat complicated: "That's true, but as a friend, I don't want you to feel restricted."

Zeno clenched his fist. Although he was pleased that Shilo was considering his feelings, Zeno felt uneasy about the way he was being rejected.

Damn!

Zeno was somewhat troubled. Hesitation had never been his style. It was like a wolf king who dared to hunt even lions and tigers, but when faced with a sheep's neck offered to him, he was bewitched and unable to take a bite.

Zeno was certain that he deeply loved Shilo, but for some reason, when it came time to actually express his feelings, he felt an indescribable embarrassment, and the words stuck in his throat.

"Actually, actually..."

Zeno grabbed Shiloh's sleeve, hesitated for a long time, and still couldn't come up with a coherent explanation; his awkwardness was almost palpable.

"Sigh, never mind, it's nothing... It's just that I'm not actually opposed to the arranged marriage. You, you... think about it again."

Seeing Zeno's hesitant expression, Xiluo asked curiously, "Could it be that you actually want to marry me? Wait a minute, I mean, you wouldn't happen to be interested in...uh-huh—"

Before Xiluo could finish speaking, Zeno pinched his mouth shut, silencing him.

The domineering queen, her pretty face slightly flushed, said coldly, "Don't say such nonsense."

After their playful banter, Shiloh and Cecilia began their journey home.

Inside the carriage, Cecilia leaned against Shiloh's shoulder, hugging him like a large pillow, her brows furrowed with weariness.

"Everything is getting better, isn't it?"

Cecilia murmured to herself.

Xi Luo held the soft, delicate body in his arms, nodded firmly, and said, "With me here, there is no fate that cannot be changed."

Feeling the inner connection that had developed through long-term Yin-Yang dual cultivation, Cecilia's heart was filled with a silent sense of peace, and a gentle smile appeared on her face.

"By the way, what are your thoughts on the arranged marriage?"

Upon hearing this, Xi Luo thought for a moment and said, "What I just said was my thought. After all, I have a very good relationship with her and I don't want her to do anything against her will."

Cecilia's expression was somewhat strange. After thinking for a moment, she still asked in a low voice, "Don't you think... Prince Zeno actually has feelings for you?"

"……Um?"

Shiloh looked at Cecilia in shock and asked, "So, in your opinion, Zeno seems like the kind of person who would fall for someone? Although our relationship might seem like that, she has said before that she only sees me as a good friend."

"what……"

Although Cecilia felt that Shiloh made sense, her woman's intuition told her that things were not as simple as Shiloh thought.

"There will always be a way to arrange a marriage; it may not necessarily have to be done."

"I'm speaking," said Shiloh, resting his chin on his hand.

"Oh."

Cecilia had no objection to this, but if she were to act solely on her personal feelings, she would naturally lean more towards Zeno, who had helped them.

Otivia didn't know how long she had been sitting on the bench, but at one point she suddenly felt a little cold, shivered, and then realized that the sky had become somewhat dark.

exhausted

For the first time since birth, Otivia has felt that her body is such an inconvenient thing.

Dragging her heavy body, Otivia clutched her chest and limped along the spacious, yet deserted streets of the palace, her eyes vacant as she headed towards her chambers.

Otivia is quiet and rarely interacts with others; to put it bluntly, she is aloof.

Therefore, Otivia chose a secluded place for her own palace after she came of age.

When she reached the front door, Otivia took a few breaths, wrapped her coat tighter around herself, and felt that the weather was unusually cold today.

She had long since dismissed the maids from her palace, leaving her all alone in the vast palace. At this moment, Otivia felt a sudden surge of loneliness.

However, the girl, who had always enjoyed solitude, did not know what kind of emotion this was; she only thought that her body seemed to have contracted a strange, sudden illness.

Pushing open the palace doors, Otivia entered the hall and suddenly looked up in surprise.

The palace, which is usually in a state of extreme energy conservation, was now brightly lit with several lamps on.

who is it?

Otivia has always had a good memory, and she remembers very clearly that she made sure to turn off all the lights before she left.

A look of vigilance appeared on her delicate face. Otivia narrowed her eyes slightly, her small hands quietly hanging by her sides, clutching the alarm used to summon guards.

Just as Otivia was about to press the alarm, the person in the kitchen, which she had never used before and which was lit up, seemed to have heard the noise outside and came out.

Upon seeing the figure, Otivia's fingers froze, her eyes widened slightly, and she asked in surprise, "Mother, is it you?"

Yes, this "uninvited guest" was none other than Otivia's birth mother, the Second Empress of the Empire.

When she saw her youngest daughter whom she hadn't seen in a long time, the well-maintained Second Princess smiled gently, walked forward lightly, reached out and hugged Otivia, gently stroking her hair.

"Little girl, how long has it been since you last visited your mother?"

A slightly reproachful voice rang out. Hearing the familiar voice she hadn't heard in a long time, Otivia wanted to warn her mother that her behavior was improper, but the words seemed to be stuck in her throat, and she couldn't say them.

Buried in her mother's bulging breasts, Otivia's cheeks were squeezed together.

For no apparent reason, a strange thought suddenly popped into Otivia's little mind: it seemed that neither she nor her boorish older sister had inherited their mother's exaggerated talents.

Realizing the absurd thoughts in her head, Otivia shook her head vigorously, causing a ripple that made the Second Princess exclaim in surprise. She then asked with a hint of amusement, "Why do you still like to act cute like before?"

Otivia froze upon hearing this. When she was a child and didn't understand things, she often snuggled in her mother's arms because it made her feel especially safe.

But as she grew older, she realized that this was not in accordance with the proper demeanor of a princess, and she never did it again.

Thinking of this, Otivia wanted to get out of her mother's arms, but the long-lost warmth made her stop and stay there silently.

The Second Princess looked tenderly at her daughter in her arms, gently holding her as she did when she was a child, patting her back, and humming Otivia's favorite nursery rhyme.

The soft, gentle melody drifted into Otivia's ears, making her eyes well up with tears again. Her hands unconsciously rose and hugged her mother's waist, like a wronged child instinctively seeking her mother's comfort.

As the song gradually ended, Otivia nestled in the Second Princess's arms and asked in a muffled voice, "Mother... in your eyes, am I human?"

"Yes, my little Ottivia is Mommy's most precious little girl."

"But humans...shouldn't they have emotions?"

Otivia slowly raised her head from the Second Princess's embrace, her pale golden eyes brimming with tears, but her pretty face remained strangely expressionless as she said, "I don't know what feelings are. I... I've messed up so many things..."

Before she could finish speaking, Otivia saw the Second Princess's eyes filled with heartache as she gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"But if little Otivia really has no feelings, why would she be sad?"

"Eh?"

Otivia was stunned. After a few seconds, she shook her head and corrected, "You misunderstood. This is just a physiological tearing reaction; it has nothing to do with sadness..."

"But, little Otivia became like this because of something little Shilo said, right?"

The words caught in Otivia's throat, turning into deep doubts that swirled and circulated in her little head.

Although there is an instinctive urge to refute it, from the perspective of objective reality, it seems to be true.

At this moment, Otivia.exe was in a state of confusion. On one hand, it wanted to refute, but on the other hand, its rational side told it that this was the truth.

Like a bug caused by an error in the underlying logic, Otivia became unresponsive, staring blankly at her mother, unable to speak.

The Second Princess smiled, tidied Otivia's slightly disheveled hair, and said, "Let's eat first. Are you hungry?"

Otivia nodded mechanically, then followed her mother into the restaurant.

The restaurant didn't serve a variety of fancy dishes, just a few simple home-style snacks—but those were Otivia's favorite foods.

Silently munching on the soft, fluffy cake, Otivia's mind was in turmoil. She tried to recall her mother's words, but ultimately could only sink into confusion.

Stroking her daughter's soft, white hair, the Second Princess Consort felt a pang of heartache in her eyes.

Although the Second Princess felt uncomfortable seeing her youngest daughter in this state, she also knew that her daughter's current state was "her own fault."

If I were Shiloh's mother instead of Otivia's, I probably would never forgive Otivia.

The Second Princess knew she was guilty, but fortunately her eldest daughter Zeno had a good relationship with Shiloh, so she used her daughter's help to provide the Wells family with many precious medicinal materials for repairing extraordinary circuits to express her apology.

Although she had almost exhausted her savings over the years, the Second Princess felt comforted to hear that Xi Luo had recovered.

Ugh……

"Little girl, have you thought about apologizing to Xiao Xiluo? I mean truly recognizing your mistakes, not just a superficial apology."

Upon hearing this, Otivia looked up blankly, pondered for a long time, then shook her head and murmured, "I don't know... what I did wrong. He clearly knows why I did what I did, but why is he still angry?"

"This is the answer you need to find."

The second princess leaned closer to Otivia, pursed her lips, and whispered in her ear, "Mother is telling you, you need to..."

Hearing the Second Princess's whispers, the confusion in Otivia's eyes gradually faded, and she said, "Is this all I need to do?"

"Well, if Otivia can't find the answer on her own right away, she should go and search for it with little Shilo. If he's that kind child, he'll definitely help you."

"But before that, Mom asks you to change your previous way of thinking and make your behavior just 'want' to do, rather than 'need' to do."

"I will try my best, Mother...Mom."

Chapter 181 A Motley Crew (Bonus Chapter on Rest Day)

The day after the controversy surrounding Cecilia was resolved in court, a commotion erupted outside the Wells family manor, where a group of indignant nobles had gathered.

Despite their varying statuses, they were all, without exception, loyal supporters of Cecilia—or perhaps more accurately, fervent fans.

"Siro! Release Cecilia! Release Cecilia—!!"

"Come out!! Come out!! Come out!!"

The protests resounded through the sky. Since these people all held official positions and were well aware of the rules of the capital, they were only protesting and shouting outside the boundaries of Wells Manor and had not crossed any lines. Therefore, the guards watching over the manor could only look gloomy, but they did nothing about it.

Elena and the others, who were supposed to go to the academy, were unable to travel because the road was blocked. Instead, they sat in the carriage and used recording magic to record the appearances of these people.

"These damn things—"

Irene slowly clenched her fist, her fluorescent blue eyes filled with ferocity.

During her stay in the capital, these clueless people have come knocking on her door time and time again, which has really infuriated the young girl.

However, Irene knew she couldn't act rashly and cause trouble for Shiloh, so she restrained her impulses and waited for his instructions.

Clang—

The door opened, and Shiloh and Cecilia walked out side by side, a hint of mockery flashing in their eyes as they looked at the motley crew gathered before them.

Cecilia's face was filled with anger. Due to the nature of the field, Cecilia had been trying to suppress the murderous aura in her heart through the Yin and Yang energies since yesterday.

However, the time was short, and this murderous aura had already had a significant impact on Cecilia's personality. Normally, she would at most have a cold and stern expression, but she wouldn't be so openly angry as she is now.