Chapter 32: Seeking Forgiveness

"While you are there, make sure to take back a little souvenir," Mu Luming added, his voice playful yet laced with a certain coldness. "A little hairpin or even a piece of cloth will suffice."

He was smiling, but there was absolutely nothing warm about the grin.

"Or even better yet, bring back the Empress's head—" He inhaled sharply. "Dress. I can only imagine how beautiful the Empress's headdress would be."

Before Kesi could even fully register Mu Luming's words, Little Seven dropped to the floor, tears streaming down the sides of her face.

"Your Highness, Your Humble Servant apologizes for any offense that she may have inflicted on Your Highness. Your Humble Servant will be careful to watch her tongue from now on."

Dipping her head down low, Little Seven's voice came out in a hoarse whisper. The entirety of her stoic mask cracked, splintering to a thousand pieces and leaving only a frightened child in its place.

"What's there to apologize for?" Mu Luming's wide eyes glittered dangerously in the dim lighting. "It was just a dare. This is just a game, after all."

Her head bobbing up and down, Little Seven choked out,"Yes, Your Highness… Yes, Your Highness. This was just a game."

His gaze was fiery. "This was just a game, so why would you give Nanny Rong a task that could cost her her life?"

Never did he even raise his voice. For some reason, this child barely half her size made all the hairs on her body stand on end. As Little Seven knelt there, more than anything, she wished that she had only held her tongue earlier.

"Your Humble Servant had a bit too much to drink."

"You had a single cup of alcohol. Although I do not drink, I do not think that it should be too much for you to handle."

"Your Humble Servant wasn't thinking properly."

"Are you now?" Mu Luming twirled his own empty cup on the table carelessly, letting go and seeing it "accidentally" fall to the ground. The porcelain shattered into a million pieces right in front of the kneeling Little Seven, a little piece of it flying across her cheeks and nicking her skin.

There was something different between this Mu Luming and the one Kesi was used to, and she had to admit that even she temporarily forgot that he was a mere child.

"Your Humble Servant apologizes to Your Highness. This was a mistake!" Her hands shaking, Little Seven tugged on the edges of Mu Luming's robes, pleading. "Your Humble Servant will only be loyal to Your Highness from now on!"

"From now on?" Mu Luming raised an eyebrow. "Then what about before?"

These interrogation tactics were familiar to Kesi, a common type that she would often use in which intimation broke down the person's mental lines of defense one by one.

Suddenly, she had an overwhelming suspicion. Could it be that Mu Luming wasn't from this world either?

She could easily see him as part of her previous agency. Whether it be his natural acting or his various skills, he seemed well-suited for her previous role.

Could it be that he was also from her world? Perhaps he was another one of the the lost souls sent here to atone for his sins.

"Nanny Rong, would you say that you are alright?"

She looked up to Mu Luming's concerned wide eyes, so pure that there were no other traces of his previous anger. There was something about them that made her guilty of ever doubting him.

"Your Highness, I think you're making too big of a deal out of this."

Against her better judgment, she still warned him. It would be unwise to make the Empress their blatant enemy this soon, and there was no telling if the pairs of eyes planted in the Eastern Palace would spice up the story before relaying it to the Empress.

At least, if she were the one reporting back, she would fully capitalize on Mu Luming's line about wanting the Empress's head. Almost certainly, Kesi would omit the part about the dress.

From her point of view, there was almost certainly no reason for Mu Luming's childish actions.

"But she could have hurt you." His voice was soft, so soft that she barely heard the words with her aged ears.

He plopped his small head into his hands, pouting as he sank back into his chair.

No, Kesi corrected herself. Mu Luming was too foolish to be an agent. Even if he was acting like a child to fool her, he was already taking it too far.

She thought back to how he cared for her wounds and supported her when she was about to fall. There would be no way an agent would ever put someone else before themselves, unless they wanted something.

But what could she give Mu Luming? He was her life source, and not the other way around. He was the Crown Prince, and she was just the aged nanny.

Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she focused back on the present situation. She couldn't let Mu Luming continue on his little tantrum.

"Little Seven, I must have dozed off a little bit earlier. Why are you on the floor? The floor is cold, so hurry up and get up!"

Bending down, Kesi tried to pry Little Seven from the floor, but she seemed to be almost glued there.

"Oh, come on, the Crown Prince was just toying with you, wasn't he?" Casting a disappointed look at Mu Luming, she internally screamed back for him to come back to his senses.

Luckily, he seemed to have snapped out of his temporary mood.

"Oh please, Little Seven, it was just a joke! My dare was to see how you would react under pressure!"

Still a bit shaken, Little Seven wiped the tears from her face.

"Let's just call it a night. My old bones can't handle this sort of tension." Feigning a yawn, Kesi motioned to leave the table. "Remember to save the alcohol for another day."

—

That night, the Empress received a rather shocking report from the Eastern Palace.

"All is well. Nothing is outside of the ordinary."