"Staying silent means you agree."
"I don't—"
The rest of her words were swallowed by Evan Xiao.
......
In the end, she finally agreed to Evan Xiao and decided to join the Royal Bridal Tournament. Only then did he let her go.
Before parting, Grace reminded him again and again: "Cutie Pie eats a lot, so make sure to prepare extra food for it every meal. It loves raw roasted venison and red berries..."
Evan Xiao replied, "Mm, I like those too."
"Cutie Pie likes sleeping in warm places. It always sleeps with me at night. If it crawls into your bed, don't chase it away. It's very clean—I bathe it every day!"
Evan Xiao's lips curled up. "Mm."
"If Cutie Pie doesn't want to do something, don't force it. Otherwise, if you make it mad, it'll bite! Its teeth are super strong—it can even bite through swords!"
Evan Xiao pinched her cheek, "Got it! Don't worry! I promise I won't mistreat your Antler Serpent!"
"It understands human speech. It's really smart. When you get back, tell it I'll come to pick him up in a few days."
"Okay."
"Make sure you take good care of it!" she reminded him anxiously.
Evan Xiao suddenly went quiet, then asked, "If you could only choose one—me or him—who would you pick?"
"Huh?" Grace looked at him, puzzled. "You're my husband, and he's my spirit pet. They're both mine! Why should I have to choose?"
"But what if you had to pick?"
Grace thought about it, looking troubled. "Why bring up something so pointlessly heartbreaking?"
Evan Xiao's expression darkened, and he said nothing.
Grace laughed, "You're great at everything except obsessing over weird, pointless stuff! My aunt is probably looking for me, so I better go!"
After saying that, she waved at Evan Xiao and left the little grove first.
She couldn't help but laugh as she walked.
Such a grown man, still jealous of a snake...
When she got back to the Guardian Temple, only Samuel Summers was there—her aunt was nowhere to be seen.
"Brother Samuel, where's my aunt?" Grace asked.
"She already went back," Samuel said, looking a bit guilty. "Sorry, Grace, she found out."
Grace sighed, "It's fine. At worst, she'll just yell at me for a bit—she won't really do anything. Don't worry. But you, did you explain everything to her?"
Samuel's face fell and he shook his head. "I did explain, but..."
"But what?"
"It's nothing." Samuel looked at her and suddenly asked, "Huh? What's wrong with your mouth?"
"My mouth? What's wrong with my mouth?" Grace asked, covering her lips.
"It's a little swollen and red."
"Oh... um... I think a bee stung me just now. Ouch, I didn't notice before, but now it hurts!" Grace said, making a dramatic face.
"A bee stung you? Go put some medicine on it, quick! Let's go—I'll walk you home."
......
After returning to the manor, Grace ran into Maya Summers in the garden.
Maya gave her a cold look and turned away.
"Aunt!" Grace hurried after her. "Aunt, don't be mad! I did it for your own good!"
Maya suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Chloe Zhu! I'm already engaged, and you wanted me to meet Samuel Summers in secret—is that really for my own good?"
"Brother Samuel said he had something important to tell you!"