The night was cool, and it was already late summer. After dinner and washing up, the little boy kept asking Liliana to stay and watch him fall asleep.
Liliana thought the people from the Qi family were just trying to annoy her. She was a ghost and didn't need sleep. It was only a habit she had kept for many years.
So every night she closed her eyes to rest, but she couldn't sleep. It felt like insomnia. She tried to relax, but she never got sleepy.
After Liliana started staying in Chutai Hall, Prince Allennon had a bed prepared for her in the side room so she could rest there.
"Liliana, can you sleep with me?" Prince Allennon asked softly while looking at her smooth fingers.
Since his parents died, he became a child under his uncle's name. Other than his younger brother, he had no close family left.
Liliana turned to look at him. Tonight, Prince Allennon was acting extra gentle, very careful, not like usual when he often annoyed her.
Her eyes moved slightly, and she started thinking.
"You're having your crown ceremony soon, right?"
"Liliana, I'll have it on the nineteenth of the twelfth month."
"I remember that after the crown ceremony, you can get engaged. Since there are so few women in this world, you better find someone early, or you'll stay single." Liliana joked. In her old world, men had their crown ceremony at twenty. Maybe because women were rare here, they did it four years earlier.
Prince Allennon's thin lips pressed together. In this country, boys had the ceremony at sixteen. After that, they could talk about marriage. Liliana was right.
But hearing it from her made him feel upset.
Why should he talk about marriage? Wasn't Liliana a woman? Wasn't having her enough?
"Liliana, I..." Prince Allennon looked at her, feeling something inside that he couldn't explain.
If he got married, what would happen to Liliana? Would she leave him and find someone else?
But no one else could even see her.
That made him feel special. It made his heart feel better.
"What's wrong?" Liliana asked when she saw the boy's face change between happy and worried.
What now? She was even telling him to date. If she had dated at sixteen, she would have been in high school, probably called out by the school head during the Monday meeting.
"It's nothing." Prince Allennon thought this wasn't right. He didn't want to marry anyone else. He didn't need another girl. He was happy with Liliana. She was enough.
His father never married either. It didn't matter if he had no kids. He had a younger brother. That brother could have a child and give it to him.
The room became quiet. The flame on the candle flickered, just like the thoughts in his heart.
"Liliana, can you sleep with me?" he asked again.
"Boys and girls shouldn't be too close. Didn't anyone teach you that?" Liliana raised her finger and pretended to flick his forehead.
"I know, but you're not a girl." Prince Allennon smiled softly because of her action.
"What did you say? Say that again. How am I not a girl?" Liliana was very angry.
She had lived twenty-six years. No one had ever said she wasn't a girl. She had her figure, her slim waist. Was it all for nothing?
Liliana was annoyed and pointed to her body.
"This, this, and this. Prince Allennon, look carefully. Do boys have this? I think I really need to give you a class on basic human biology."
Prince Allennon's eyes followed her hand as she moved. From her pale neck down, she really didn't look like the women shown in those old study books the palace servants gave him.
She looked better. Her shape was even more beautiful.
"Well? Am I a girl or not?"
From his ears to his neck, Prince Allennon turned red. He looked down. Liliana had been bold just now. She didn't even take off her clothes, just pointed at her body a little, but he felt like she was teasing a decent young man.
"What I meant was, Liliana, you're not alive anymore."
Liliana felt like she was going to explode from frustration. Just now he said she wasn't a woman, and now he claimed he wasn't even human. This boy was going to make her grow a tumor from anger.
No. She had to stay calm. Getting angry only gave the devil an opening.
"What I meant is, Liliana, you're a ghost now. So it's fine if you sleep with me." Prince Allennon looked up at her as he tried to explain, realizing what he said earlier might have sounded off.
"Call me big sister."
"What?"
"Call me big sister, and I'll sleep with you." Liliana, wanting a bit of payback for being called "not a woman," decided to tease him. Since guys loved to mess with each other and make the other say "dad," she figured as a girl, having him call her "mom" would sound weird, but "sister" was fair game.
Prince Allennon, who had just calmed down, turned red again.
"Sis… sister…" His voice was soft, sweet, and strangely tender.
Liliana had expected him to refuse out of pride or stubbornness, but instead, he just said it. No hesitation.
"Sister, can you sleep with me?" Prince Allennon looked up at her, like a puppy waiting for its owner to come home—hopeful and sincere. He reached out, hand hovering near the edge of her robe.
Liliana was stunned by his response. This kid wasn't following any kind of script.
Well, whatever. He was only thirteen, about the same age as the kids at the orphanage she used to visit. Back when she was alive, she'd often bring food and gifts to the orphanage on holidays. There was one little girl there, with short hair and a sweet voice, who called her sister and shared her small bed at night.
Looking at Prince Allennon's puppy-dog eyes, Liliana's heart softened.
Besides, she was a ghost now. It's not like he could do anything to her.
"Alright."
"Then you can sleep on the inside. I'll stay on the outside." The young prince, prepared to be rejected again, happily scooted over to make space.
He really looked like a dog just waiting to be petted.
Liliana didn't need to take off her shoes. She floated gently onto the inner side of the bed.
Prince Allennon blew out the candles, and now only the soft moonlight from the window lit up the room.
The moonlight fell over them as he lay on his side, facing her direction.
Liliana was just too nice. He had barely acted cute, and she already gave in.
Not wanting her to see the silly expression on his face, he buried himself under the blanket, leaving only his eyes visible, watching her.
What does Liliana actually look like?
Meanwhile, in a residence in the capital city, the night had grown deep. The usually composed and upright Lord Arthur, known for his strict presence in court, was drinking alone in the courtyard.
Wearing a blue robe, his long fingers repeatedly lifted a white jade cup, determined to drink until he could no longer.
As if sensing something, he reached into his robe and pulled out a small item.
It was a rough, little wooden carving of a tiger. From how worn it looked, it was clear that the owner had handled it often. The tip of the tiger's horn was smoothed down.
Arthur gently brought the little wooden tiger to his lips, kissing it as tenderly as if it were his beloved.
"Chuchu."
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Mini Scene 1:
Liliana: Call me sister.
Prince Allennon: Sister! Sister! Sister! Sister! Wifey! (Super loud)
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Mini Scene 2:
Arthur: sobs I miss my wifey so much.