Dr. Marcus Guile's condition had basically stabilized—once he woke, he would be out of danger. On this point, Serena and the Valley Master had no doubts: with both of them working together, as long as there was still a breath left, they could drag him back from the brink.
Once Dr. Guile was settled, Serena was force-fed a bowl of bizarre-tasting medicine by the Valley Master—supposedly a tonic for replenishing qi and blood—and then was all but dragged off to rest.
Serena slept deeply and soundly, from morning straight through to evening. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Prince Nolan sitting by her bedside.
Their gazes met. Neither spoke a word; they simply looked at each other.
Prince Nolan looked utterly worn out—stubbled, with dark circles under his eyes and bloodshot gaze. One glance told Serena he hadn’t rested at all.
Serena’s heart ached for him. Ever since returning from the sea, Prince Nolan hadn’t had a decent rest. Now he was sacrificing even more of his sleep to keep watch over her here.
In contrast to Prince Nolan’s exhaustion, Serena had slept the whole day and, with the Valley Master’s special medicine, looked remarkably well—nothing like someone who’d just been injured. Prince Nolan was quite satisfied and resolved to increase the Valley Master’s research funding next year.
The room was silent and peaceful. Neither found it boring just to look at each other—until Serena’s stomach made an embarrassingly loud rumble, breaking their mutual gaze.
"Hungry?" Prince Nolan touched Serena’s forehead, brushing the stray hair from her face.
Serena nodded a bit sheepishly, bracing herself with both hands to sit up—only to be held down by Prince Nolan: "Don’t move, you’ve got a wound."