Chapter 216
Lance bent down and scooped her into his arms. “At your service, my queen p>
Camilla leaned into his chest. All that anxiety and fear from minutes ago just faded away. She muttered, “What took you so long? You know, you’re really not a very good knight p>
“My mistake for making my queen worry. How about you punish me?” Lance spoke softly, gently pushing open the door to another lounge. He set Camilla down and reached for his phone, ready to call a doctor, but she grabbed onto his arm and refused to let go.
“You just said I could punish you, so why are you leaving? Are you tricking me p>
Her voice was almost childlike now, innocent and a little dazed, nothing like her usual logical and cool self.
Lance’s resolve wavered under how clingy she was being.
He didn’t try to leave again. He sat down right next to her, soothing her with a hand while typing a quick message to his assistant.
“I’m not lying to you. I’m right here. What punishment do you have in mind p>
“I…” Camilla’s mind felt all tangled up. She didn’t even know what she was saying anymore.
But even through her blurry vision, Lance’s impossibly handsome face was sharp as ever.
Her fingertips reached up to his face, tracing the lines of his jaw and cheek, searching, almost in awe. Eyes hazy, she murmured, “Have I seen you somewhere before p>
“Of course. I am your knight, after all.” Lance smiled and played along like she was a little kid.
But Camilla stubbornly shook her head. “No, not now. A long, long time ago. I think I met you before. I p>
She rubbed her temples, frustrated. “Why can’t I remember? You’re so good-looking. I should remember you p>
Lance wasn’t one to argue with someone who clearly wasn’t all there, but hearing her say he was good-looking brought a smile to his lips. He leaned in a little closer. “Take a good look. Am I really that good-looking p>
“You are,” Camilla said, her pupils a little unfocused. Then she asked, almost shy, “Can I kiss you p>
“Nope.” Lance’s answer was instant. When he saw her disappointment, he added, “I have principles. Only my girlfriend can kiss me. No one else p>
“Do you… have a girlfriend p>
“Not yet p>
Camilla tilted her head, thinking it over, then slid her arms around his. “So if I become your girlfriend, does that mean I can kiss you p>
Lance glanced down, meeting her earnest, lopsided smile.
He knew she wasn’t thinking straight, her words probably meaningless, but his heartbeat still thudded painfully hard against his chest.
Before he could say anything, Camilla brushed her lips, soft and quick, against the corner of his mouth. He heard her mumble, almost like a little kid, “Then it’s settled. I’m your girlfriend now p>
Her eyelids drooped. Energy gone, she tipped sideways, snuggling into his shoulder and fell asleep.
Lance watched her, both helpless and a little amused. His thumb traced her lips softly. Even though she couldn’t hear him, he whispered, “Yeah, I know… girlfriend p>
His phone screen kept lighting up with new messages from his assistant.
Lance tucked Camilla into bed, then got up to open the door. The assistant and a doctor came in not long after.
The doctor ran a quick check. “She’s okay, Lance. Looks like someone drugged her, but thank God it wasn’t much. She’ll be fine after some rest p>
Lance nodded and sent the doctor away. “How’s everything on the other side?” he asked his assistant.
“Abelard is handling it himself,” the assistant reported.
Lance just waved him off and went back to the bed.
He sat at Camilla’s side, watching her sleep quietly, then gently poked her cheek. “Girlfriend, I hope you remember what you said when you wake up p>
He sighed a moment later. “No… maybe it’s better if you forget p>
He wanted something real with her, yet he couldn’t bring himself to wish for her memories of all the pain.
Camilla slept restlessly.
She got dragged from one confusing dream to the next. Every time she tried to wake up, she wound up somewhere stranger, never finding an exit.
Sometimes, she’d run from monsters and ghosts, but they always changed into Barnard’s face, terrifying and relentless, clutching at her, trying to pull her deeper into the darkness.
She remembered struggling. Over and over.
But in the end, she never got away.
She kept falling, falling… then, instead of landing in darkness, she was surrounded by blinding light, held by endless blue sky.
She thought she saw the pendant she had carved for herself morph into a lion, shooing away the nightmares, then suddenly change into Lance’s face.
She could almost hear Lance’s low, warm voice calling her girlfriend.
Camilla blinked awake, the unfamiliar room making her tense up all over again. A wave of panic rushed through her as she kicked off the covers, searching her body for anything out of the ordinary.
A soft chuckle came from her side. “Miss Hedgehog, what exactly are you looking for p>