The morning sunlight spilled across the wooden floor, flowing like a stream.
The bed was a complete mess, with a few pillows scattered on the ground.
Adeline stretched out long and lazily, rubbing her eyes.
She had gotten seriously drunk last night. Holding her head, she wobbled as she climbed out of bed.
Defeated by alcohol again—what an annoying feeling.
She sat groggily on the edge of the bed, hair a little messy, clothes wrinkled and disheveled.
Her camisole straps had already slipped down to her arms, only staying up thanks to her naturally gifted chest.
If it had been someone else—like Daiyi or Miss Bernice—those straps would’ve slipped all the way down without any resistance.
“Good morning, Felyn.”
Adeline glanced at Felyn, still asleep in the corner against the wall, then got up, put on her bunny slippers, and walked to the door to get some water.
Her throat was bone dry.
And for some reason, her wrists and ankles were sore too.
She tried the doorknob several times, but no matter how she twisted it, the door wouldn’t budge.
Adeline, known as a genius, tilted her head, staring at the door in confusion.
After a while, she suddenly remembered.
Did I… maybe hit the security seal button last night?
She slowly walked back to the bed, passed the still-sleeping Felyn, and picked up the security seal tucked under her pillow.
Wait a second.
Wasn’t there something weird in the room that wasn’t here before?
“Felyn!”
Adeline jumped onto the bed, plopping into a proper duck-sit, hands pressed into the mattress, staring at Felyn with a dazed look.
So Felyn really couldn’t hold back last night—he must’ve done something to me while I was drunk!
“Adeline, you’re awake?”
Felyn squinted at her. Sleeping on the floor all night was no pleasant experience.
He stood up and stretched, joints creaking audibly.
He noticed Adeline biting her lip, looking like she wanted to say something but didn’t dare.
Why do you look like you’re the victim here? I’m the one who should be!
Felyn picked up a notebook from the table and walked a couple steps toward her.
“F-Felyn, why were you in my room last night? Did you… did you do something to me…”
Before Adeline could finish her sentence, Felyn handed her the notebook with a blank expression.
“What’s this?”
Adeline took it with both hands and saw a few lines of numbers written on the cover.
“Overtime compensation: 2000 crowns. You fell asleep last night and locked me in your room. I couldn’t leave.”
Adeline turned red—red from the soles of her feet to the tips of her ears.
She finally remembered.
Oh yeah, that did happen!
“I’m so sorry, Felyn! I really didn’t mean to, I didn’t know I pressed it by mistake…”
Felyn waved it off, signaling that it wasn’t a big deal.
“As long as the money’s there, everything’s fine.”
Adeline quickly pulled out 5000 crowns from her purse and handed them to him.
“Felyn, is this enough? I know I went a bit too far last night. Please don’t be mad…”
Felyn took 2000 from it—it was his overnight rate—and returned the rest to her.
“Felyn? You… are you mad at me? I didn’t mean to.”
“Hmm? I’m not mad. It’s all in the contract. There are very clear terms about compensation.”
Adeline blinked. Somehow, Felyn being a little snippy like this was kinda cute.
Hmph! Bringing up the contract and compensation—Felyn, you really are a little tsundere.
This is just like a couple fighting.
Felyn must just want me to coax him a little!
“Felyn, as compensation, I’ll agree to any one thing you ask—as long as it’s not too over-the-top.”
Adeline gripped the bedsheet tightly. She had already mentally prepared herself.
After all, it was her fault. If Felyn asked for a kiss or something, she couldn’t really say no.
“The contract spells it out very clearly, Miss Adeline. If an uncontrollable event extends the service period, it’s 2000 crowns per 12 hours.”
“Felyn, come on now…”
Adeline slid off the bed and gently tugged at the sleeve of his shirt.
A few strands of her hair still clung to the corner of her mouth, but she didn’t even bother to fix it.
“Miss Adeline, I think there’s something I need to say. It seems like you’ve misunderstood me.”
Felyn let out a sigh. Since this wasn’t contract time, there was no need to tiptoe around Adeline’s feelings anymore.
In fact, it was better to help her understand now—to keep her from falling deeper into the wrong assumptions.
“Adeline, have you been satisfied with my service lately?”
“Hmm? Satisfied. Very satisfied!”
Adeline was a little confused by the question. What was Felyn getting at?
“That’s good. I’m honored to provide emotional value for Lady Adeline. I’m also happy that you’re satisfied.”
Adeline sensed something was off. Whether it was the way Felyn kept calling her “Lady Adeline” or that distant, serious expression—something was different.
“However, a contract is still a contract. Everything I do is strictly within that scope. So outside of the service period, I’d prefer to keep some distance between myself and my clients.”
After all, Adeline was still his client. He couldn’t just blurt out something like, “Hey, delusional rich girl, don’t get any funny ideas—I don’t like you. Stay away from me, okay?”
Still, he had made himself pretty clear.
How would Adeline take it? Would she be sad? Embarrassed? Or… angry?
Felyn had encountered clients who’d gone into rage fits before.
If it came to that, the only choice would be to end the contract early.
“I understand, Felyn. I’ll keep my distance from you during non-contract periods.”
To Felyn’s surprise, Adeline only went quiet for a few seconds before obediently nodding.
That went a little too smoothly—it made Felyn wonder if she even understood what he’d said.
“Uh, Adeline, just to confirm… Do you understand what I meant?”
“Of course. What you’re saying is—you’re just doing your job, sticking to the contract. I shouldn’t think it’s because you like me.”
“Mm-hmm, exactly.”
Adeline answered so smoothly that Felyn actually started doubting himself.
Wait… maybe she never misunderstood?
Maybe I was the one overthinking it?
Felyn nodded, satisfied, relieved that he hadn’t said anything harsh and caused a misunderstanding.
Adeline nodded as well—completely satisfied.
She had no idea what Felyn was going on about, but figured she should just agree with whatever he said.
This is how you soothe a sulking boy, right? Go along with him and say yes to everything he wants.
That much, Adeline understood very well!
As for all that talk about contract and non-contract periods—Adeline gave it some brief thought.
Did I really misunderstand Felyn?
Could it really be just the contract that made him express such deep affection?
No way!
That sincerity, that passion in Felyn’s eyes—you can’t fake that.
And it’s not like Felyn is some master manipulator.
He was just someone who carefully catered to her, loved her dearly.
No one could fake those feelings! Unless he had been trained by that conniving drama queen Zervanie.
“Felyn, where are you going?”
Adeline’s thoughts were interrupted when she saw Felyn heading downstairs.
“I have to go home. I’ve got school today—I’m not wearing my uniform.”
“I’ll give you a ride. I’ll tell the driver to—”
“No need, Adeline.”
Felyn waved his hand. “That’s already covered by the 2000-crown compensation.”
Adeline crossed her arms and let out a helpless chuckle.
Seriously… Felyn was still mad? Still talking about contract compensation?
“Fine, fine. I’m the one who locked you in after all. I’ll just have to keep coaxing you.”
“Felyn, wait! At least take some breakfast with you!”
Adeline quickly ran downstairs and grabbed some bread from the kitchen.
Seeing Felyn nearly disappear out the door, she panicked and rushed after him.
She didn’t even realize she was still wearing that rather revealing nightgown.
“Felyn, wait for me! I was wrong last night. Let me make it up to you!”
Adeline chased after him to the door—only to find Felyn standing frozen in place.
“Felyn? What’s wrong?”
Adeline thought Felyn had forgiven her. A happy smile crept onto her face.
But the next second, that smile crashed like a roller coaster plummeting down.
Following Felyn’s gaze, Adeline saw the figure of a certain villainess—
Zervanie.
“So you’re saying… you were wrong last night?”
Zervanie repeated Adeline’s words, her face pale with rage.
“What exactly did you do to Felyn last night?!”
(End of Chapter)