- Long'Er -

Li Xun's mother hurried to his side, brushing aside his hair from his forehead.

"My son?" she asked worriedly.

His eyes cracked open slightly, and stared up at the ceiling blankly, not quite hearing the Empress.

She frowned at this, exchanging looks with Long'Er who immediately left the room to fetch the Royal Physician. After a thorough medical examination, the white-haired man reassured them with his diagnosis.

"There's no need for concern, Your Majesty. It's a side effect from the poison earlier. He's in a daze right now, but it should go away after tonight."

His reassurance didn't ease the worry in the Empress's eyes. She excused the physician and his helpers, before returning her attention back to her son. She sat by the edge of his bed, grasping his hand and giving a light squeeze.

Li Xun's eyes fluttered open, recognising her this time. "M-Mother?"

"I'm right here," she answered. "How are you feeling?"

He groaned and shifted under the covers. "Terrible," he complained. "I apologise for scaring you, Mother."

She released a sigh. "You better be. Did you know how worried I was? It wasn't just me. You even scared Long'Er."

"Long'Er?" His eyes widened immediately. Even in a muddled state of mind, he remembered her.

He attempted to sit up. "Where is he?"

His mother halted his movements, afraid that he might overexert himself. "I can't believe you. The first thing you do after you wake up is to ask for your precious bodyguard?" She mumbled in feigned sadness. "Don't worry, he's right here."

Beckoning Long'Er over, the Empress filled Li Xun in on all the details; what had happened after he lost consciousness and how Long'Er had saved his life once again.

As he listened in confusion, his head tilted to the side, his eyes locking with hers. She couldn't guess what was running through his mind but the piercing, intense look that he was giving her gave her the jitters.

When the Empress finished explaining, she turned towards Long'Er. "Child, can you do me a favour and keep an eye on my son? I've to check in on the Emperor's condition too. Knowing him, I must be there to alleviate his anger before he ends up frightening the innocent."

"Of course, Your Majesty."

Once she left, Long'Er was left standing awkwardly in the centre of the room. When she turned to look at Li Xun, she realised that he was still watching her.

"Come here," he whispered.

Her feet shuffled in his direction. "Your Highness, what's wrong–"

When she was within his reach, his hand reached out to grab her wrist and pulled her towards him. He threw his arms around her, nuzzling his face into her abdomen.

"You smell nice," he said innocently, sounding child-like. "And warm."

Her body froze. Never had she allowed a man to touch her like this. When his arms squeezed her, her nervousness triple-folded.

"Y-your Highness?" She cleared her throat awkwardly and held up three fingers. "What number is this?"

He glanced up, frowning. "Four?"

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen?"

"No. You're twenty-one," she muttered under her breath before turning her voice a notch louder. "What's my name?"

"That's easy. Long'Er."

She was speechless by his replies. He got almost everything wrong except for her name, which was awfully strange.

The poison must have really confused his mind badly.

He clung onto her, pressing his face against her abdomen. She didn't know where to put her hands and decided to settle with patting his back. She wasn't expecting him to behave this immaturely when he was hallucinating, but she had to admit that he looked rather adorable.

"Your Highness, I think it's time for you to return to bed."

His face perked up with enthusiasm at her suggestion. "Bed? Oh yes, we probably should."

Panic started bubbling in her chest when Li Xun had misunderstood her intention. "Erm, I don't mean we – I meant you."

"No, no..." He shook his head vigorously. Refusing to let her go. "Don't leave me, please don't. When Li Xue called you to her room, you went. But when I'm asking you to stay, you're refusing me. How is this fair?"

Long'Er's jaw dropped in sheer disbelief. "Your-Highness, wasn't it your fault that I was put in that predicament?"

"Me?" He fixed her a blank stare. "Oh, you're right. I did it. I'm so sorry, please forgive me. I-It's my fault... Don't hate me..."

The sight of him begging her was too much for her to handle. "Alright, alright! Let's get you into bed. You need to rest and recover."

He peered up at her suspiciously. "You won't leave?"

"I never said I'm leaving. I promised your mother I will take care of you in her stead until she's back."

Li Xun's face fell in obvious disappointment. "You're staying only because she ordered you."

"No! That's not the only reason," she answered quickly, frustrated at how ridiculous he sounded. "You said it before – we're friends. I'm concerned for you too and right now, you need ample rest."

He begrudgingly allowed her to tuck him into bed. When she gently pushed against his shoulders to lie on his back, he surprised her by pulling her down with him. Rolling her around until she was buried underneath his arm and half of his body.

With a pounding heart, she let out a squeak. "Y-your Highness?"

"This is so much better," he said, pressing his face into the crook of her neck. "And comfortable."

"Your Highness, it's not comfortable for me. Can you let me go?"

However, he ignored her. His body slumped over her, unmoving, forcing her to struggle with his weight. She attempted to lift his heavy arm off her body, but he tightened his hold on her.

He sounded upset. "Stop moving."

Long'Er was appalled. If people were to discover them in this intimate position, she would definitely become the worst enemy in every woman's eyes.

"Listen to me, Your Highness! You can't have me pinned on your bed. What if Her Majesty returns? If she sees us like this, we'll get into trouble."

However, he didn't seem the slightest bit concerned over this. "I highly doubt so. In fact, I think she would be happy to find her wish fulfilled."

"She will most definitely kill us – wait. What did you say?"

Whether it was a pretence or not, he didn't answer her. He remained unmoving, oblivious to how anxious and fidgety she was. Gripping his sleeves, she swallowed hard. "Your Highness, you should let me go. I'm dying from suffocation here."

Still, he didn't respond and she figured that he might have fallen asleep from fatigue. She carefully pried his arm off her and pushed against the weight of his body away from her. Once she freed herself, she attempted to climb over his body to get off the bed.

Without any warning, a pair of hands grabbed her arms. Li Xun flipped her onto her back and slid his body over her, pinning her under him.

"Where are you going?" he questioned her.

She stared at him wide-eyed. "I-I–"

Candles flickered in the dark. His eyes glinted as he held her gaze with an unfathomable expression. Unable to wrench her eyes away from the bewitching prince towering above her, she was unprepared for what was about to happen next.

His hand reached up to her ponytail, loosening her hair tie, and his fingers brushed through her silky hair. "It's really soft."

She was stunned by his proximity, feeling a fire settling on her cheeks. "Your Highness, I–"

Her words caught in her throat. She didn't know how to handle this situation–should she push him off or coax him to sleep again? But all her thoughts were lost when she felt him tucking a lock of her strayed hair behind her ear, and the place where his touch met her skin had her earlobe flushed red-hot. When she noticed him reaching for the knot of her mask, she started panicking on the inside.

Before things could advance any further than this, Chief Eunuch decided to choose that timing to interrupt them; asking the Crown Prince if he was hungry.

Hearing his voice, Long'Er jolted and regained her senses.

She pushed Li Xun away. As she adjusted her mask in place, she scurried to the window and made her escape hastily. Knowing that there was no way in hell she could walk out of his bedchamber when she was this embarrassed and dishevelled. People would, without a doubt, notice her strange appearance.

Once she was a safe distance away from his quarters, she leaned against the wall in a quiet corner and struggled to catch her breath. Her heart was still fluttering madly.

Touching her earlobe, she reimagined what had just happened a moment ago, and her cheeks burnt in embarrassment.

She had almost allowed Li Xun to discover her secret. Almost.

***

- Li Xun -

When he woke up, memories from the night before flooded his mind. The blood drained from his face as he realised the grave mistake he had made from his indecent act.

Oh no.

What had he done to his bodyguard?