"Master, should I inform the doctor?" Butler Rupert, who stood at the side, asked cautiously.

Xander shifted his gaze toward the old man, who looked genuinely worried for Ivy. Meanwhile, Ivy quickly shook her head in denial.

Please don’t call the doctor. I don’t want to be forced onto another diet. I’m starving, she begged inwardly.

Ivy desperately wanted to avoid being alone with Xander after the embarrassing text she had sent him. But when both Xander and Butler Rupert continued insisting on calling the doctor, panic rose inside her.

"No, no... I think I’m feeling much better now," she blurted out suddenly, instantly drawing both of their attention back to her.

"I’ll just eat dinner in my room and rest. There’s really no need to call the doctor," she added weakly.

Butler Rupert exchanged a worried glance with Xander before the latter finally gave a small nod.

"Bring my dinner too," Xander ordered calmly.

Ivy froze in shock.

Her lips parted as if to protest, but Butler Rupert had already left to carry out the order, leaving the two of them alone in the room.

What on earth just happened?

She had expected them to leave her alone, not for Xander to join her instead. Now that they were by themselves, her heart began racing uncontrollably.

Xander remained seated, silently observing Ivy with an unreadable expression. The way she was acting made him wonder whether she was truly sick.

Then his eyes caught sight of her flushed face.

"Are you sure you don’t want the doctor to check on you?" he asked quietly.

Xander’s thoughts were conflicted, but he didn’t want to take any risks. Ivy had already undergone surgery once and still hadn’t fully recovered.

The moment Ivy met his gaze and noticed the concern flickering in his eyes, she let out an awkward laugh.

"Haha... there’s really no need. I’m sure I’ll feel better after some rest."

Xander studied her for a few more seconds before finally accepting her answer.

Silence soon settled between them.

However, Xander’s thoughts continued drifting back to the message she had sent him earlier.

Those heart emojis had made his heartbeat strangely uneven, and the longer he stayed near her, the more unsettled he felt.

Does this mean she likes me? he wondered.

Xander was unfamiliar with romance. He had long convinced himself that he simply wasn’t made for such emotions. Ever since his parents’ death, empathy had become something distant to him. The only exceptions had been the night he spent with Ivy and later, when Leo entered his life.

But now, after so many years, his heart was reacting to a feeling he couldn’t understand, and it left him strangely uneasy.

Meanwhile, Ivy narrowed her eyes while curling deeper into the duvet, secretly watching him from the side.

Why did he suddenly go quiet? Is he planning to scold me for sending that indecent text?

Ivy wanted nothing more than to escape the embarrassment, but now that they were alone, she wondered if coming clean would be the better option.

I can’t stay silent forever, Ivy thought nervously.

The longer the silence stretched, the heavier the embarrassment became.

Meanwhile, Xander sat there looking unusually serious, which only made her panic even more.

Finally, Ivy took a deep breath and slowly raised her head.

"About that text..." she began cautiously, causing Xander’s eyes to instantly shift toward her.

His calm expression only made Ivy even more nervous, but before she could say anything further, he interrupted her.

"About that, you don’t have to explain anything."

The moment those words left his mouth, Ivy’s eyes widened in surprise.

"I understand what you meant by it," he added calmly.

She could only stare at him in confusion.

After a few seconds, her mind finally processed his words.

Does that mean he isn’t upset about the emojis? Does that mean he’s not going to scold me?

The heavy weight pressing against her chest instantly began to lift, and the corners of her lips slowly curled into a relieved smile.

But before she could say anything, Xander interrupted her once again.

"I’ll consider it."

"...What?"

Ivy’s smile immediately faltered.

Consider what?

Before she could ask further, the bedroom door opened and Butler Rupert walked in, pushing a food trolley behind him.

"Dinner is ready," he announced politely as he began setting the dishes on the table.

"Let’s eat," Xander said casually.

Meanwhile, Ivy remained frozen in place, still stuck on his earlier words, while Xander calmly returned to acting as though nothing had happened at all.

Which somehow made things even worse for her.

What exactly is he considering?!

The more she thought about it, the more suspicious it sounded.

Meanwhile, Xander picked up his glass of water with complete composure, though inwardly, even he wasn’t entirely sure why he had said that.

But the moment he noticed Ivy staring at him with visible panic again, the corners of his lips almost threatened to rise.

Almost.

By the time they finished dinner, Ivy had come to understand one thing—Xander had suddenly started becoming considerate toward her.

She couldn’t understand the reason behind the sudden change, and somehow, it made her feel strangely uneasy.

Still, when he carefully tucked the blanket around her and made sure she was comfortable before leaving the room, she finally let out a long sigh of relief the moment the door closed behind him.

Only then did she realize how tense she had been the entire time.

However, one question continued lingering stubbornly in her mind.

"What did he mean when he said he was considering it?" she muttered softly to herself.

The more she thought about it, the more confused she became, and the more confused she became, the more her mind spiraled out of control.

"Ah! I don’t want to think about it anymore," she snapped in frustration at her own thoughts.

With a huff, she reached for the banana plushie beside her and hugged it tightly against her chest.

"You better help me fall asleep, or I’ll pull all the stuffing out of you," she warned while glaring at the innocent plushie.

Only then did she finally close her eyes.

Meanwhile, the poor banana plushie remained trapped in her arms, silently enduring threats it absolutely did not deserve.

***

The next morning, after Xander left for work, Ivy decided to visit Sal at the guest house.

The moment she entered the room, she noticed the number of guards outside had doubled compared to yesterday, making Sal scowl dramatically in annoyance.

"Hah! I already told them I was simply testing their capabilities," Sal groaned while tossing a grape into his mouth. "Then why did they tighten the security outside my room even more? This is discrimination!"

Ivy rolled her eyes before crossing one leg over the other.

"That’s because you’re still suspicious, Sal," she said bluntly. "Xander might be feeding you and treating you like a guest, but you’re still under suspicion."

Sal immediately pointed a finger at himself in disbelief.

"Me? Suspicious?" he gasped dramatically. "Look at this face. Does this look like the face of a criminal?"

"Yes," Ivy answered without hesitation.

Sal clutched his chest in fake heartbreak.

"You wound me."

"You literally tried escaping yesterday."

"I wasn’t escaping," Sal defended himself shamelessly. "I was conducting a security inspection."

"Yes, by pretending to be sick."

"That’s because it was the easier way I found?" he argued confidently.

Ivy stared at him in complete disbelief.

"You got caught in less than thirty seconds."

Sal opened his mouth to argue but then closed it again.

"Fine," he muttered reluctantly. "I admit I’m not as skilled as you, but still, I did everything I could in that moment."

Ivy shook her head, wondering why she had expected anything smarter from him in the first place. With Sal’s brain running in ten different directions at once, the best escape plan he could come up with had been pretending to be sick.

"By the way, why are you here this early?" he suddenly asked in confusion.

After learning what had happened to Raven and how she had awakened inside Ivy’s body, Sal had already given up trying to believe life made any sense. Compared to her situation, even his own life suddenly felt normal.

Ivy, however, paused for a second, contemplating whether she should tell him or not.

Eventually, she sighed and pulled out her phone before turning the screen toward him.

"What do these heart emojis imply?" she asked seriously.

Sal looked at the phone. Then at her. Then back at the phone again.

Disbelief slowly spread across his face. But before Ivy could explain further, Sal suddenly gasped dramatically.

"Raven..." he whispered in utter shock. "Did you confess your love to someone?"

Ivy nearly choked.

"What?! No!"

Sal immediately scooted closer like an excited gossip aunt.

"You totally did!"

"I did not!"

"Then why are you asking me about heart emojis this early in the morning?" he argued while pointing accusingly at her phone. "Normal people don’t wake up at sunrise questioning the meaning of hearts unless feelings are involved!"

Ivy watched him in complete disbelief, because the second Sal told her the meaning behind it, she finally understood what Xander meant by considering it.