How come I am still being controlled by them even though I have changed my ways?

The "resource collection" commission Luvilia chose this time had a fixed route within the adventurer activity area.

So, Jill just searched around the edge of the forest near the village, and found the figure of Princess Elu among the low bushes and grass.

"Ouch...it hurts when I touch it. There's no way I can walk back like this."

I saw a blonde girl leaning against a tree in a somewhat awkward manner, illuminated by the last rays of light from the setting sun.

The clothes and skirts that were so exquisite and beautiful in the morning were now covered in mud, torn, and dirty; the luggage bag used to contain the commissioned results was also dropped aside, and the large and small pyroxene stones inside were scattered like glass marbles on the ground; however, the most troublesome thing was definitely the eldest princess herself.

She was kneading her left ankle with her hands with a bitter expression, but every time she touched it, she grimaced in pain.

This time, Jill was really shocked - Elu had sprained her ankle.

I felt helpless: this eldest princess was spoiled and had no common sense. It was clearly an adventurer activity but she was dressed like she was on a spring outing. Now she is suffering, right?

Gil swallowed these sinister thoughts back into his stomach. He thought it was one thing, and he had to rely on the "Princess's forgiveness" to reform himself.

Although he felt a little gloating, this eldest princess, who was and is still a "giant baby", is in trouble. Isn't it a good opportunity for him to help and show his "sincerity" at the same time?

"Princess? Are you there?"

Thinking of this, Jill took a deep breath and leaned over while speaking.

"Eh!? Ji-Jil!?"

Hearing Jill's voice, Elu, who had just been trying to stand up, let out a terrified cry as if Little Red Riding Hood saw the Big Bad Wolf, and fell back down.

"You...why are you here!?"

Then, there was a flurry of activity! Leaning against the tree, they watched his every move nervously, as if ready to retaliate with magic at any moment.

If you didn't know, you might think that the injured female knight encountered a goblin.

It was obviously Jill who should have asked this question: As the eldest princess of the kingdom, how could she not have some means of contacting others in an "emergency"?

But at this moment, Elu would rather grimace in pain than ask for help. Isn't this "suffering in vain for the sake of face"?

Seeing through the situation but not saying anything, Jill quickly explained, "Princess, it's already past the gathering time. The sun is about to set, and it won't be long before it gets dark."

"Gu..."

"You haven't met us yet, so I came to find you. Princess, you sprained your ankle..."

"No...no!" Elu interrupted Jill hurriedly before she could finish her words.

As Jill expected, the girl was hiding the fact that she was injured - she was in so much pain that she couldn't even stand up, but she just kept pretending to be tough.

"I, I just came back with a lot of things and sat here to rest for a while~"

While saying this, he did not forget to threaten Jill with his eyes: Don't let him come any closer!

"Who, who asked you to pick me up? Stand back from me! Otherwise, I'll think you're up to something bad and I'll kill you with Ikkigami magic!"

Ah, yes, yes!

Elu's stubbornness gave Jill a headache: it was getting late, and the four of them had traveled light because this adventurer's commission didn't require any "camping," so they didn't bring any tents or other equipment.

The sky at the edge of the forest will darken faster than in the city. Later, the way back will become dangerous because of the darkness.

Besides, he had told Luvilia that he was here to pick up the eldest princess, and now he was in a hurry to go back and report to Feng Aotian.

So, without caring about anything else, he came in front of the girl.

"Wait... Jill!? You... you... you really want to take advantage of the situation and give me..."

"You almost got it, Elu, but you're still pretending?"

Jill thought to herself: I hope you can be so tough when you are in bed with your boyfriend in the future.

"Are you injured? Sprained your ankle? Is there anything else wrong with your body?"

Just as he was about to check, Elu, who had already taken off his boots, kicked him in the stomach.

"No, don't come here!"

Now Jill has to use her "trump card"!

He immediately lowered his voice and said coldly, "Then I'll go back and tell Luvilia and Silin the truth. Just tell them that you, Elu, have sprained your ankle and can't go back for the time being."

"Eh?"

"Your Highness, you don't want Luvilia and the others to see you in such a miserable state after being injured, do you?"

"Gu...Kill me."

The girl who was so stubborn and arrogant just a second ago suddenly lost her temper - she was caught.

Jill had no choice but to use the same rhetoric she had used when she was forced by the Yellow Hair System to become a Yellow Hair Young Master. Otherwise, the arrogant yet somewhat overconfident Princess would not have obeyed.

After all, she was one of the targets of the Huangmao system, and he knew the princess too well.

Even though the girl still had an expression of disgust on her face, Jill was finally able to get close.

He squatted down and slowly took off the black stockings on Elu's left leg, which were already pulled, torn, and dirty, revealing her slender bare feet.

Just as Jill thought: Elu sprained his ankle, and his left ankle was bruised and purple. Fortunately, it was not serious. Thanks to Jill's previous "transformation life" at the border of the kingdom, he now knew how to deal with it simply.

"You're so swollen, Elu, you're not going to try to be brave and walk back, are you? Then you won't have to get out of bed tomorrow."

Jill curled her lips and said, "Wait a moment, I'll make you a simple ice pack to apply."

As he spoke, he turned around and began to fiddle with the items on hand - he still had some simple first aid supplies with him. Next, he just needed to tie the ice pack to Elu's ankle and apply the ice for a while.

After returning to the royal capital, it was no longer his turn to worry about the eldest princess's injuries.

Then, he lifted up Elu's little feet with his hands.

The girl in my sight had already blushed with shame and anger! She had a completely "I'm not clean" expression on her face!

She even covered her face with her hands immediately after looking into his eyes!

But he was stubborn: "You...you'd better not have any bad intentions, otherwise I will definitely tell my father about your conspiracy!"

Almost done.

Jill thought: If he really is a yellow-haired character with some "bad intentions", and he takes advantage of the opportunity at this time... the eldest princess in front of him can't resist?

However, it’s better not to be stubborn with Elu at this time - the princess is already like this, why not just go along with it?

"Of course not, Elu, didn't I tell you? I've changed my ways now."

While pressing the ice pack against Elu's ankle, he wrapped the ice pack with a bandage while hearing the girl's somewhat hoarse breathing next to his ear.

“Who…who would believe you!?”

The girl was still stubborn.

But his hands and legs, which had been tense just now as if defending something, were now much more relaxed.

His bright blue eyes were fixed on Jill's every move.

He licked his dry lips, but could only swallow his saliva, his throat moving.

Restless.

33. Ah, you said you had nothing better to do than to flirt with the princess. Why are you doing that?

Ice compresses and bandages are emergency measures that Jill, who has been "reformed" at the border of the kingdom for some time, is now proficient in.

So, soon, after tying the bandage on the eldest princess' ankle, which had been iced for emergency use, the pain seemed to be relieved a little. Elu also supported her body, tiptoed, and stood up shakily.

It's this little mouth that still refuses to give in, it's almost as strong as a platypus.

"Hmph...it seems you're not completely useless after all~"

"Hiss...it still hurts a little."

Just as he was about to try to take a few steps, he suddenly found that... Jill had half-crouched in front of him and bent over.

For a moment, Elu's little face, which had just calmed down from the tension and panic, was flushed again.

"You, what are you going to do again!?"

Isn’t the answer obvious?

If the two people's positions had not changed now, Gil could not afford to offend the eldest princess, otherwise he really wanted to punish this troublesome woman with an iron fist on the head - after the bandage was completed, it was already dark, and he was still wasting time!

Fortunately: Although Elu was tough on the outside, at least her mind was still normal - this kind of time obviously did not support her anymore, so she limped over to meet Luvilia.

So, after hesitating for a while, he clenched his fist and waved it, as if to "warn" Jill, then hopped behind Jill and slowly transferred the weight of his body to her.

Jill then tightened his grip around Elu's legs and slowly stood up.

"Hey! Jill, the harvest in the duffel bag..."

"No, it's already this late and we can't possibly pick them up one by one, right?"

While saying this, he took a step forward.

The girl behind him also let out a regretful sigh and hugged his neck with both hands.

Carrying someone back wasn't a problem for Jill, who, thanks to the "yellow-haired system," was now a "sports student." Not to mention: Her Royal Highness's body was a classic example of "slender branches bearing fruit"—she looked curvaceous, but her figure was actually incredibly soft, and her waist incredibly slender.

Not heavy at all.

Thanks to this, Jill was able to spare some energy to give a reminder on the way back to meet Luvilia and Sirin.

"By the way, Princess, when you see them, just tell them you're tired and let me carry you."

I thought: Anyway, this proud and arrogant princess will definitely not admit the fact that "she sprained her ankle and fell over", right?

Instead of letting Elu come up with all sorts of excuses to shift the blame to him, it would be better to make the decision for Elu as soon as possible.

"...Nah, nag! Do I look like someone who won't admit his mistakes?"

Silence fell, and Elu herself was too embarrassed to ask for responsibility.

There was silence between the two of them for a while.

This made Jill feel a little uncomfortable: he thought that the eldest princess would find fault with him in order to hide her embarrassment, and would chirp like a sparrow all the way.

But at some point, Elu's legs slowly tightened around his waist, and Jill heard the girl's soft murmur in his ear.

"Before……"

"what?"

"I was reckless that night. It turns out that bath water in the kingdom is always cold from the start."

Jill twitched her lips: "Isn't this nonsense? Do I need to praise you?"

Moreover, rather than an apology, he would rather hear the eldest princess "forgive him" - otherwise, he didn't want to be ordered around by this troublesome woman.

Jill didn't answer.

And after that, there was only silence between the two of them.

Is he tired after all that mess? Elu is so quiet right now.

But Jill could not get the answer to this doubt - the figures of Luvilia holding torches and Silin beside her had already appeared in his sight in the flickering firelight.

The four of them reunited successfully, and the Royal Capital Knights even sent a carriage to greet them because "the two princesses had not returned yet" - so the princess said "don't come to pick me up", so she really won't come?

Do you still want to make progress?

After boarding the carriage, it was even less likely that the group would encounter any accidents.

Luvilia took the two princesses home first, while Jill got off the car halfway and delivered the gains they had made from the adventurer's commission today to the Adventurer's Guild, which immediately exchanged them for corresponding rewards.

What he and Xilin gained was purely at the level of "slackers" - the two of them were busy acting, but Luvilia's remuneration was full, and she had already agreed with him on the way back that the entire remuneration would be counted on him and Xilin.

In this way, Gil gained a lot from this "odd job". Whether the economic crisis that Xilin encountered after her "bill book was confiscated" can be solved remains to be discussed, but at least he doesn't have to eat bread and steamed buns every day in the future.

Princess Elu is now living in his dormitory as a "supervisor", and he doesn't want to be picked on by this troublesome woman about issues like "three meals a day".

Jill thought.

the other side.