"Use your words, not your body, to thank someone," Xavier said sternly, his voice carrying a reprimanding tone.


    Hera thought that Xavier only thinks of her best interest by saying that and wouldn’t want Bry to give her a hard time. "It’s okay Brother Xavier. It does not bother me." Hera said as she smiled sweetly at Xavier.


    Xavier was momentarily speechless, his lips pressed into a thin line as he pondered. Meanwhile, Bry slipped out of his grip and darted behind Hera, mischievously sticking his tongue out while clutching onto Hera’s arm like a yful child.


    Hera felt gratified to see Bry returning to his yful, bubbly self, confirming to her that she had made the right decision.


    Amidst their yful banter, the balding man returned, this time apanied by an entourage of professionals—a veterinarian, his own stable boy, and several others. Surrounded by five men, he strode purposefully toward his horse, which happened to be stationed right beside Hera’s.


    As he passed by, he cast Hera a flirtatious nce,plete with what he likely thought was the most dashing wink and a pouty expression.


    "Is he trying to pull off the Prince Charming act?" Zen muttered to Hera, his face twisted in disgust as if the sight was making him queasy. "Ugh! My eyes!"


    "Right... Prince Charming of Shrek," Hera said with a deadpanned expression. The mental image struck Zen’s funny bone, and he burst intoughter, clutching his stomach. Hera’s delivery of the insult only made himugh harder. Bry, still clinging to Hera, overheard her remark and joined Zen inughing like there was no tomorrow.


    "Sister, you’re savage!" Bry gasped between breaths, struggling to contain hisughter. The mental image of the balding Prince Charming from Shrek was hrious, and both Bry and Zen found it uproariously funny. If Zen was not forced by his sister to watch Shrek before, he wouldn’t have known what the character looked like.


    Hera wasn’t intending to mock the man’s appearance; she merely mentioned what he reminded her of. It wasn’t meant to be a snarkyment, but now she refrained from correcting the two because she didn’t want to draw more attention to the situation and she didn’t want to look too guilty.


    As if he felt that they wereughing at him, the man shot them a sidelong nce with narrowed brows. However, when his gaze met Hera’s, he shed her another suggestive smile, which triggered Xavier’s irritation. Xavier pulled Hera closer to his chest, adopting an intimate stance as if to assert his role as her fiancé.


    Heraprehended Xavier’s intentions, so she didn’t resist. Instead, she yed along, embodying the role of a loving fiancée relishing her partner’s affectionate gestures. She’s trying to show a mixture of shyness and a desire for more, although in truth, she was repulsed whenever the balding man cast his suggestive gaze her way, as if mentally undressing her. The sensation was nauseating to the extreme.


    She drew closer to Xavier, wrapping her arms around his slender waist, her voice dripping with sweetness and affection as she whispered in his ear, "Vier, I miss you!" Ending with the sweetest smile she could muster, she conveyed a sense of genuine longing and tenderness.