"Miss, time to get up."

The next morning, while Marcus still had his arms around the beautiful woman sleeping beside him, Chloe pushed open the bedroom door and stepped inside, only to find that Anya had not gotten up yet.

"Ah!"

A startled gasp escaped her. Clothes were scattered across the carpet, and on the large white bed, her noble and breathtakingly beautiful mistress was sleeping peacefully in the arms of a strong, muscular man. Anya was nestled comfortably against Marcus’s chest, one arm draped around his neck, a faint smile resting on her face as though she were having the sweetest dream.

For a brief moment, Chloe found herself staring at the scene. The two of them looked perfectly suited for one another, so natural together that it was hard not to feel a little envious. Then her expression changed.

’The Phoenix Cry.’

The thought struck her like a bolt of lightning.

"Miss!"

She hurried toward the bed, panic rising in her chest. How could this have happened?

The previous night, after seeing that Marcus and Anya had finally cleared up their misunderstanding, Chloe had assumed they needed time alone. She had quietly returned to her own room and left them together. As Anya’s personal guard, Chloe’s martial training had sharpened her senses far beyond those of ordinary people. Even with her door closed, she had been able to hear every word they exchanged in the living room.

"That playboy really knows how to sweet-talk women..."

Listening to Marcus shower Anya with affection, Chloe had felt a strange sourness in her heart. After muttering a few complaints under her breath, she had deliberately used her inner energy to dull her hearing so she would not continue listening. Partly because she felt it was inappropriate—as Anya’s handmaiden, she should not be eavesdropping on private conversations—and more importantly, Marcus himself was there. With a martial arts expert of his level by Anya’s side, there was no reason to worry about her safety.

What Chloe had not expected was that Marcus would move so quickly. Nor had she expected to fall asleep so deeply.

After pouring so much energy into activating the Thunderbird’s Feather, she had been exhausted. Lying in bed, knowing that Marcus and Anya had finally reconciled and that her mistress would no longer have to suffer in silence, she felt an enormous weight lift from her shoulders. Before long, she had drifted off. In her dream, she remained by Anya’s side as always, serving both her mistress and her future master. With her hearing suppressed and her mind completely relaxed, she never noticed anything happening in the room next door.

And now this.

Seeing Marcus and Anya together in bed, Chloe’s heart nearly stopped. She should have known. When it came to Marcus, Anya had never been good at refusing him. The more Chloe thought about it, the more she blamed herself for being careless.

It was not that she opposed Anya being with Marcus. Quite the opposite. But she was Anya’s attendant and protector. If anything happened to Anya, Chloe would bear responsibility for it. If the family learned that Anya had lost both her virginity and the Phoenix Cry, Chloe would almost certainly face severe punishment. Worse, she might be removed from Anya’s side forever—and she might never see that infuriating playboy again. The thought alone made her anxious.

Her earlier gasp had already awakened the couple. As Marcus and Anya slowly opened their eyes, Chloe rushed to the bedside and asked urgently, "Miss, did you..."

She wanted to ask whether Anya’s cultivation art was still intact. Deep down, she desperately hoped they had simply fallen asleep together and that nothing more had happened.

Unfortunately, the moment Anya saw Chloe standing in the bedroom and realized what the scene looked like, embarrassment washed over her. Instinctively, she tried to sit up. The movement immediately aggravated the soreness from the previous night.

"Ah!"

Anya let out a soft cry.

"Miss, what’s wrong?" Chloe instantly forgot what she had been about to ask. Concern replaced her panic as she hurried forward.

"Anya, slowly." Marcus reached out to support her, his voice gentle.

"I’m fine." Although she answered quickly, Anya’s face turned even redder. After trying to move again, she realized she was in no condition to get out of bed comfortably. Looking at Marcus with a mixture of embarrassment and apology, she said softly, "Marcus, I don’t think I can help you get dressed this morning. Let Chloe do it instead."

"Sounds good." Marcus agreed immediately and turned toward Chloe with a grin.

What he did not know was that families like Anya’s still preserved many old traditions. A husband occupied an extremely important place in a noblewoman’s life, and girls were taught from childhood how to care for their future husbands, especially those expected to marry into families of even higher standing. Unfortunately for Marcus, the person Anya had just volunteered was Chloe. And Chloe was not exactly the gentle, accommodating type.

"Ah!" She gasped once again.

As Anya sat up, Marcus had also climbed out of bed. Now he was sitting right beside her with absolutely no concern for who happened to be watching. The sight of his bare, well-built body appearing so suddenly, less than ten feet away and with no warning whatsoever, caught Chloe completely off guard.

"Pervert!" Her face instantly turned red. Before either of them could respond, she spun around and fled from the bedroom.

For someone who had spent most of her life focused on martial arts and serving Anya, being confronted with a completely naked man first thing in the morning was far beyond anything she had prepared herself for.

Marcus watched her disappear.

"..."

Well, so much for having someone help him get dressed. Then he glanced at Anya, who was still looking at him apologetically from the bed. A different idea immediately came to mind. Since Chloe had already run away, there was no reason he could not stay a little longer and take care of Anya himself. A playful smile spread across his face.

"Sweetheart, let me help you get dressed..."

Before Anya could react, Marcus leaned forward and pounced toward her.