The smell of smoke gradually faded as Bai Zhen began to cook the fish and boil water. Although it was still early, fresh fish didn’t keep well, so it was better to cook it to make it last longer. Her ice wolf could lower the temperature to keep things cold, but given the current shortage of Little White Pills, Bai Zhen thought it best to use her spirit animal as little as possible.

After this series of tense and exciting adventures, Hua Mu finally felt a bit exhausted. She had thrown up everything she’d eaten that morning. After the fright, worry, and exposure to the wind, her nose now felt itchy, her throat sore, and her head dizzy.

She didn’t even have the energy to be angry. She just sat on the banana leaf, hugging her arms and sneezing.

“Achoo… Achoo…”

Whether it was due to her upbringing or simply her nature, the Young Lady sneezed like a kitten, making only a small, quiet sound with her mouth closed.

Hua Mu had a feeling she was about to get sick.

But that Sentinel, with her back to her, was still grilling that damned fish!

Hearing Hua Mu’s sneezes, Bai Zhen quickly fanned the fire a few more times before picking up the already hot wild ginger soup, using a banana leaf to protect her hand.

“Miss, please have some hot soup…”

The Sentinel hadn’t even gotten close before Hua Mu smelled the overwhelmingly strong odor.

“Achoo… What is… achoo… what is this stuff?”

She covered her nose and turned her head away, looking as if she couldn’t escape it fast enough.

“You might have caught a chill. Drinking some ginger soup will help drive out the cold.”

Hua Mu shook her head vigorously. “I don’t want it. How can you make—achoo—soup with ginger to drink…”

“A comrade told me about this during a mission. It’s very effective. Please just try to bear the taste.”

“No way! If you want to drink it, drink it yourself!”

Hua Mu felt incredibly wronged. Bai Zhen had put her through the wringer all morning, and not only had she gotten sick, but now she was being forced to drink ginger soup!

“I’ll drink after you do.” Bai Zhen knelt beside Hua Mu, patiently and clumsily trying to persuade her. “If you drink it now, you’ll feel better quickly. It will only get worse if you let it drag on.”

As the second in line to the throne, Hua Mu had always managed her health meticulously. Though she looked thin and frail, she rarely fell ill.

Of course, when the Young Lady did get sick, it wasn’t just a minor ailment; it was a cataclysm. The entire Grand Duke’s residence would be thrown into chaos, and even the Queen herself would come to visit.

“I don’t want it. It must taste horrible—achoo…”

“But you’re sneezing.”

“I’ll just sneeze a bit and I’ll be—achoo—fine.”

Bai Zhen clearly didn’t agree, but she couldn’t bring herself to force the Young Lady. She could only hold the ginger soup and gaze at her with a worried expression.

“Wh-what are you doing? If you want someone to drink it, drink it yourself!”

Hua Mu grew flustered under her stare.

Bai Zhen seemed to sigh in resignation, then raised the ginger soup to her lips.

“!” Hua Mu leaned back slightly, feeling both nervous and faintly expectant.

N-no way. Is a scene from a novel about to happen? How could this foolish Sentinel suddenly get a clue? I-if Bai Zhen leans in, what should I do? If I can’t refuse, how can I make it look like I’m being reserved?

Besides, it’s n-not the first time. The mouth-to-mouth resuscitation that day was quite…

The Sentinel took several large gulps, drinking half the bowl of ginger soup. Her body instantly warmed up. The wild ginger tasted more bitter and pungent than the cultivated kind, but fortunately, its ability to dispel the cold seemed just as potent.

Bai Zhen was partly trying to set an example for Hua Mu and partly afraid that if she fell ill, there would be no one left to care for her. So, she obeyed the “order” and drank half first.

“Miss, you see? You just have to endure it for a…”

Hua Mu stared, dumbfounded, as Bai Zhen held out the half-drunk bowl of ginger soup to her. She wished she could faint on the spot.

“I’m not drinking that!”

Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot!

“But you look cold.”

“Even if I am, it’s none of your business! I’m not drinking ginger soup that you’ve already drunk from!”

This crude, dense, boring, clueless, stupid Sentinel who doesn’t know how to treat a lady! Who would want to drink after her!

Bai Zhen seemed to freeze for a moment, then slowly set down the coconut shell. Hua Mu hugged her knees, refusing to look at her, crying silent tears in her heart.

“Th-then I’ll make you another bowl.”

The Sentinel tried her best to push aside the hurt she felt.

It was only natural. For someone of the Young Lady’s status, it was perfectly normal to be bothered by this. It was my own thoughtlessness, my own presumption.

“I don’t want it!”

Bai Zhen was at a loss. She turned around and silently finished the rest of the ginger soup. After a moment’s thought, she boiled a fresh bowl of water. Ginger soup was the most effective, but since the Young Lady refused it, she would try mint instead.

Mint could induce sweating to reduce fever and soothe headaches and sore throats. It might be useful right away.

She put the mint water on to boil and glanced back at Hua Mu. Seeing her sitting with her back turned, curled into a ball, Bai Zhen didn’t dare bother her further and began tending to her own wounds.

Bai Zhen’s healing ability was extremely strong. After only a few days, her previous wounds had already scabbed over. Even the most severe injury on her shoulder looked to be recovering well. Once she was able to apply the herbal poultice, she removed the piece of fabric from Hua Mu’s skirt, washed it clean, let it dry, and set it aside.

Hua Mu had stopped sneezing, because her nose was now completely stuffed up.

The temperature in the cave wasn’t particularly low, yet she was shivering uncontrollably. Every gust of wind that seeped through the crack in the wall made her tremble.

Sniffling, Hua Mu was now absolutely certain that she was well and truly sick.

But what is Bai Zhen doing?

In the end, she couldn’t resist turning her head to look.

She saw the Sentinel, back turned, applying medicine to her bare torso. The sight of the wounds on her back, and her impossibly beautiful shoulder blades, made the sulky feeling in Hua Mu’s heart instantly dissipate.

This person is just a little dense, but she really does care about me.

But Hua Mu still felt wronged.

Why isn’t this idiot coming to comfort me? I’m sick!

“Cough, cough, cough…”

Her throat hurt, her nose hurt, and her head ached.

As if hearing her silent summons, Bai Zhen hastily pulled on her sports bra and approached again, carrying the hot water.

“Miss, since you don’t want the ginger soup, please have some hot mint water instead.”

Hua Mu sniffled, asking in a pitiful voice, “It doesn’t taste like ginger?”

“No, I washed the bowl clean. You can rest assured.” Seeing that she seemed willing to drink it, Bai Zhen moved to hand her the hot water. “The outside is a little hot, so please be careful.”

But Hua Mu had no intention of taking it.

“Feed me.”

Bai Zhen was so happy her eyebrows shot up. She asked, with a hint of apprehension, “Th-then, may I come a little closer?”

Only then did Hua Mu realize that for some reason, the other woman was kneeling quite a distance away. Confused and feeling wronged, she said, “Why are you so far away from me? I’m freezing.”

“Then I can block the wind for you. I-I’m very warm…” Bai Zhen was eager to prove her usefulness to the Young Lady, but her clumsiness left her unsure how to best offer her help.

“I-if you’re warm, then hurry up and get over here…” Hua Mu didn’t know why she was suddenly feeling a little warm herself.

Bai Zhen shuffled forward on her knees and settled behind Hua Mu, shielding her from the draft. Then, she brought the hot water to her lips.

Hua Mu took a small sip.

“It’s hot. Blow on it for me.”

Bai Zhen quickly blew on it a few times before offering it again. “It’s better if it’s a little hot. It will help you warm up.”

In truth, Hua Mu didn’t care how much the Sentinel cooled it down. She just wanted her to be the one to do it.

“Mmm…”

Even though it was just hot water, a few sips made Hua Mu feel considerably better. With the Sentinel’s body heat radiating from behind her, she gradually started to feel warmer.

But it wasn’t enough.

“I’m so cold…”

The Sentinel’s chest, warmed by the fire, was right behind her. If only she could get a little closer.

Bai Zhen didn’t know what to do; her jacket was still soaked from earlier.

“Let’s move closer to the fire, then.”

“No, it’s too smoky.”

Heavens, my delicate, soft body is right here in front of this Sentinel. Can’t she take a hint and just hold me?

“Th-then I’ll go dry my jacket first.”

“I’ll have frozen to death by the time your jacket is dry!” Hua Mu gave up on her. She grabbed Bai Zhen’s hands and wrapped them around herself. “A-aren’t you warm? It’s your duty to warm me up!”

Bai Zhen was so happy she felt like she might faint.

“Y-yes.”

She hugged Hua Mu carefully. The sensation at her fingertips, the scent filling her nose, and the slightly cool body temperature immediately overwhelmed her senses. The Young Lady, apparently dissatisfied with her stiff posture, settled herself onto Bai Zhen’s lap and leaned her entire body into her embrace.

The sk-skirt is too short.

Feeling the contact on her thighs, Bai Zhen’s attention gradually zeroed in on that spot. Having a Sentinel’s overly acute senses really wasn’t a good thing; it was far too easy to become hyper-focused.

After shifting around for a while without finding a comfortable position, Hua Mu patted Bai Zhen’s leg and complained, “Can’t you sit properly? This position is not comfortable at all.”

Bai Zhen was somewhat distracted by the Young Lady’s scent and touch… or rather, she was so intoxicated by the intimate contact that she hadn’t heard a word.

“Bai Zhen!”

Hua Mu turned her head in annoyance, about to scold the Sentinel for daring to ignore her, but the sight of those dark eyes, so close to her own, sent her heart pounding and scattered her thoughts.

Does Bai Zhen always look at things so intently?

“Achoo…”

Hua Mu’s romantic thoughts didn’t last long before the sneezes she had just managed to suppress started up again.

Bai Zhen finally snapped back to reality, her brain processing what she had just heard. She helped Hua Mu sit up properly in her arms and asked apologetically, “Miss, are you still cold?”

Hua Mu covered her nose, saying nothing. She felt like she was about to be defeated by her tears and runny nose.

She must look so ugly and pathetic right now, and she felt absolutely miserable.

Hearing her constant sniffling, Bai Zhen rummaged around and produced the piece of fabric from Hua Mu’s skirt.

“Miss, if… if you don’t mind, you can use this to wipe it.”

Hua Mu immediately snatched the fabric from her hand, covered her nose, and blew with all her might.

What else could she do? Her only handkerchief was being used for something else… and since she had already accepted that other use for it, what was so hard to accept about this?

Besides.

Hua Mu thought with a sense of resignation.

Did she have any image left to maintain in front of Bai Zhen anyway? They had already been through far more embarrassing things. Right now, she felt miserable. All she wanted was to be held, and she couldn’t be bothered to worry about anything else.