The Crown Prince said, "If I cut off this leg, you won't be going anywhere. I don't mind keeping a cripple by my side. As for braving mountains of blades and seas of fire, there are others for that. I don't need you."
Shen Yangge murmured, "...Then Your Highness has no shortage of people whose legs you could cut off, either. What have I done to deserve being kept by Your Highness?"
[-You bastard. You clearly have ulterior motives, yet you insist on making up all these excuses.]
After grumbling inwardly, Shen Yangge poked his neck a little farther out of his collar.
In the candlelight, his fair neck stood in stark contrast to his black robes. It was so pale that one couldn't help wanting to leave a few marks on it.
The Crown Prince's eyes darkened. Holding Shen Yangge's foot, he drew it toward his side, gradually closing the distance between them.
As their breaths mingled, the Crown Prince narrowed his eyes and stared at that small stretch of exposed neck. "Shen Zhuanxie, has anyone ever told you that you're very much like a cat?"
Shen Yangge's heart lurched.
Shit, had this guy noticed something? But when I changed back from a cat into a human, he should have still been far away. It was so dark that he couldn't have made out exactly where I was, apart from that beam of white light.
Besides, the system had explained that if someone really witnessed his transformation, he couldn't possibly still be alive and well.
[-This fucker shouldn't know.]
Shen Yangge asked tentatively, "Your Highness must be joking. I'm a person. How could I resemble a cat?"
The Crown Prince answered with unruffled composure, "In your words and actions."
[*-I thought he'd discovered something. My words and actions are