"What are they doing?"
If they say they weren't doing anything, would Ninth Royal Uncle believe them?
Serena and Dorian froze in place, both turning to look at Ninth Royal Uncle. Seeing his dark, terrifying expression, they jumped in fright and quickly let go of each other.
Serena stepped back, straightened her clothes, and managed a calm smile. "I was changing Dorian's bandages. There was a bit of an accident."
"Really?" Ninth Royal Uncle swept his gaze over them, expression unreadable.
"Of course! We didn't do anything." Dorian scrambled up to explain, but in his excitement rolled off the bed. His clothes somehow ended up half open, exposing his chest—no surprise, Ninth Royal Uncle's expression grew even darker.
Serena covered her face in exasperation. Dorian, you troublemaker—your explanation only makes things look worse.
"I believe you," Ninth Royal Uncle said, glancing at Dorian before walking inside and closing the door behind him.
This is an inn—there's a time and place for embarrassment. He's not shameless like Dorian.
Serena was thoroughly frustrated, feeling utterly wronged. She glared fiercely at Dorian, then tried to please Ninth Royal Uncle by pouring him a cup of water.
Ahem... Ninth Royal Uncle had overestimated Dorian. The moment his words landed, Dorian shamelessly flopped onto the ground again, howling at the top of his lungs.
"Bullying! Eastlyn’s Ninth Royal Uncle is bullying me! I won’t take off my clothes, not even if you kill me! I won’t do it! My innocence—no way, I won’t take them off..."
Ninth Royal Uncle looked utterly indifferent; Serena just stared up at the ceiling in silence.
He’s so embarrassing. Oh heavens, send down a thunderbolt and take him away.
Dorian kept howling, but Ninth Royal Uncle and Serena were used to it. Dorian had figured out that Ninth Royal Uncle couldn’t do anything to him when he acted this way, so he always used this trick. He never got tired of it.
Dorian kept up his performance, rolling around in new ways, but Ninth Royal Uncle wasn’t interested. He pointed at Dorian and asked, "Are you still going to help him change his bandages?"
How am I supposed to change his bandages like this?
To keep Dorian from making his injuries worse by rolling around, Serena wisely shook her head.
"If you’re not changing his bandages, let’s go," Ninth Royal Uncle said, getting up to leave.
Seeing this, Dorian immediately jumped up, looking confused at the two of them. "You’re leaving?" They hadn’t even started a fight, and now they were leaving—he’d wasted all his effort for nothing.
After all that howling, he wasn’t even out of breath—his technique was impressive. Serena shot Dorian a glare and snapped, "No, I’m not staying here just to watch you roll around. Even Zed isn’t as childish as you."
"Don’t compare me to Zed!" Dorian bristled, his cheeks turning bright red with anger.
Dorian had really suffered at Zed’s hands. He’d never lost out to anyone else, not even Ninth Royal Uncle, but Zed had truly outplayed him.
"I’m going to keep comparing you to Zed, so what? If you don’t want that, then hurry up and find him. If you do, I’ll stop." Serena thought grimly, if you dare scheme against me, just wait—I’ll feed you to Zed when the time comes.
Serena hadn’t realized it before, but now she was stunned.
Damn Dorian, stupid Dorian. She’d come to help him, and he’d set her up—almost getting her “caught in the act” by Ninth Royal Uncle. If he hadn’t trusted her, she’d never have been able to clear her name.
Dorian perked up, but he was just as easy to provoke. Serena’s words made him jump. "Fine, I’ll find Zed—he’s just a brat, and I’ll show you!"
"You make it sound easy. What if you can’t find him?" Serena was determined to get back at Dorian after today’s humiliation.
She was sure Dorian was making trouble on purpose, yelling loudly just to lure Ninth Royal Uncle in.
That brat—he wants to see me and Ninth Royal Uncle fight? Dream on!
No way I won’t find Zed. If I can’t, I’m not Dorian Owen.
Pfft… Serena sneered. "Zuo An says you’ve wanted to ditch the name Doudou for ages. Don’t try to use this as an excuse to change it."
"I did not!" Dorian’s face turned red as his thoughts were exposed. Suddenly he jumped up again. "Serena, I’m warning you, don’t call me Doudou—call me Lord Bean, got it?"
"Heard you, Doudou." Serena replied childishly, deliberately emphasizing the nickname and getting Dorian riled up again.
"I said don’t call me Doudou!"
"Find Zed first, then you can boss me around." Serena saw how energetic Dorian was and realized her worries were unfounded. She picked up the medicine tray, grabbed Ninth Royal Uncle, and left.
"Serena!" Dorian was furious and anxious. He wanted to threaten her, but remembering Zuo An’s warning, he kept quiet and just made faces at her retreating back.
Whether or not he killed Serena didn’t matter, but losing his life because of her would be a real shame.
Even if his master avenged him, he’d still be dead—so…
Dorian could only nurse his wounds alone.
Dorian was easy to handle—the real problem was Ninth Royal Uncle. After Serena returned to their room with him, his face was still grim. He sat down with a stony expression and said nothing.
Serena tried several times to say something, but every time she saw Ninth Royal Uncle’s face—black as a pot bottom—she couldn’t speak. She just obediently made the bed and washed up.
Ninth Royal Uncle had no intention of talking. He quickly finished washing up and got ready for bed.
There were two people in the room, but it was so quiet it felt suffocating.
Serena was worried, but since Ninth Royal Uncle was already in bed, she didn’t dare dawdle. She obediently undressed and climbed in, lying on the inside with a fist’s width of space between them…
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