Henry Blake nearly shook the bed apart, racking his brains to come up with shameless flirtatious lines that even he found embarrassing.

The cold and beautiful heroine still bit her lower lip, her tearful eyes fixed on Henry Blake, refusing to let outsiders hear any indecent sounds.

But as the filthy words and physical teasing continued, her expression clearly changed—her face flushed, her breathing grew unsteady, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

Outside the room, only the creaking of the old bed and Henry Blake's ever-changing lewd remarks could be heard.

Fortunately, Henry Blake's acting was convincing enough that the constables outside finally let down their guard, and low voices drifted in:

“He looks decent enough, but his mouth sure is slick... What does ‘backdoor stick’ mean?”

“It’s an advanced technique for attacking from behind. I’ll show you someday. Nothing worth listening to, let’s go, let’s go...”

……

Tap tap—

After two soft sounds of someone vaulting over the wall, the courtyard fell completely silent.

Inside the sealed room.

Henry Blake secretly let out a sigh of relief, turned his head toward the window, and listened carefully.

The woman’s previously icy expression was long gone, replaced by a rosy, fair complexion with a dewy glow, sweat beading on her forehead, and her beautiful eyes shining like peach blossoms.

Her cheeks were flushed with color, making her look breathtakingly beautiful, like a celestial maiden after a dazzling ordeal.

Staring at the handsome profile so close to her, the woman—perhaps from being ashamed and angry for so long—now found herself unable to muster any more ‘anger.’ Instead, she just felt hot all over, the cold poison in her body mostly faded, yet she was even weaker than before, panting softly, her eyes showing utter exhaustion.

“You... ah~...”

Once the officers had left, the woman was just about to question him when she realized the thief’s hand had moved again.

Earlier, it was just a forced act, something that could be explained away, but this time—it was real!

And with no one outside to hear, her psychological defenses crumbled, and she let out a cry, half-sobbing.

She never dreamed she could make such a ‘shameful’ sound. She quickly covered her mouth, her eyes flashing with murderous intent as she glared at the man above her:

“You...”

Henry Blake turned his head, looking baffled:

“Can’t let go? Then should I hold on again?”

The woman was no pushover. The soft sword at her waist flashed out, sending a cold gleam through the air.

Henry Blake reacted instantly, leaping away and landing inside the room, gripping his knife handle:

“What are you trying to do? Burn the bridge after crossing it?”

The woman pointed her soft sword at Henry Blake, her eyes full of anger:

“Shameless thief...”

“Heroine, which of us is the thief here, don’t you know?”

Henry Blake looked at her tear-streaked, beautiful face, even her anger carrying a unique charm:

“If I hadn’t done that, how could I guarantee the officers wouldn’t come in to check your face and injuries? You know we’re in grave danger, yet you stubbornly refused to make a sound—were you trying to get me killed?”

The woman’s eyes were icy, but she couldn’t hide the confusion and helplessness deep within them:

“I know you were just putting on an act, but you... you took advantage of the situation for real! Preying on someone in distress...”

Henry Blake retorted, “If I really took advantage, you didn’t cooperate at all. But when it was just an act, you played along fine? Don’t you have a daughter? Don’t you know how to act? Or is it that when you did things before, you’d just turn your head, close your eyes, and not make a sound?”

Faced with such ‘filthy talk,’ the woman’s eyes filled with even more shame and anger:

“You’re shameless!”

Henry Blake looked displeased: “Just now you asked me to cover for you, I risked myself to help, and now that the officers are gone you call me shameless? If you’d kept your cool and cooperated, would I have touched you?”

“……”

The woman glared at Henry Blake, but she knew he was telling the truth. After biting her lip for a long while, she finally lowered her soft sword:

“Since you helped me out of righteousness, I... I’ll let you off this once...”

Only then did Henry Blake look satisfied, stepping closer to the bed:

“You said you’d teach me martial arts. Go ahead.”

?

The woman lifted her eyes, full of anger:

“After treating me so lightly, I let it go, and you still...”

“Lightly? You think I wanted to? I haven’t even mentioned how you took advantage of me.”

Henry Blake, seeing she was trying to renege, grew unhappy. He picked up a small mirror from the bedside and held it so both their faces were reflected:

“See for yourself—which of us is better looking? Would I risk my life and reputation for you?”

?

The woman, perhaps never having had her beauty belittled before, found this utterly ridiculous, but when she glanced at their reflections in the mirror:

She had just been through an ordeal—her hair was a mess, tear stains on her face, and she was still fuming. No matter how good her looks, at this moment she was less than half as stunning as usual.

Meanwhile, the little thief beside her had sword-like brows, starry eyes, and an impressive bearing—his features and aura were flawless...

From under the bed, Lucy, who had been hiding for ages, now popped out to play judge. Standing between the two, it looked back and forth for a long time, then pointed its wing at the young woman:

“Jii.”

It meant: Big Watermelon Sis is still prettier.

?

Henry Blake was speechless at the silly bird’s betrayal.

The woman understood Lucy’s meaning, and a faint trace of pride flashed in her eyes. But with this interruption, it was hard to insist that the handsome thief coveted her beauty. She could only say coldly:

“This... this never happened. You’re not allowed to speak of it, or not even the gods can save you.”

Seeing the young woman wasn’t being unreasonable anymore, Henry Blake tossed the mirror aside and straightened his clothes.