Under his gaze, her scalp tingled slightly, and goosebumps rose from head to toe.

She suddenly realized that Eric Carter might never have trusted her, nor ever wanted to cooperate with her.

He was indeed shocked by that kiss, even flustered, but quickly realized that it came with a price.

He might yield to a kiss, but not to a kiss that was clearly transactional and insincere.

Lily Bennett instantly broke out in a cold sweat.

She almost forgot that, despite his cold and hollow appearance—like a soulless wax figure—he possessed an extremely sharp mind.

What others took a month to learn, he could master at a glance, and of course, he could also see through her rhetoric in an instant.

The good news was, for some reason, he had punished the Nanny who hurt her.

Maybe he wanted to repay her sympathy, even if her sympathy had ulterior motives; or maybe he just wanted to find someone to vent his murderous urges on.

As for whether his punishment would land her in even greater trouble, that was not within his consideration.

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Lily Bennett's mind, but none of them were enough to resolve the predicament before her.

After a moment, she gritted her teeth and made up her mind—whatever happens, she had to make him stay first.

If a kiss couldn't make him stay, what about a hug?

Every time she had made his expression change, it was because of physical contact.

He was reclusive and eccentric, and extremely wary; people around him even felt repulsed just mentioning him, so how could anyone possibly have physical contact with him?

Maybe a hug could close the distance between them.

Lily Bennett felt like she was playing a dangerous game—he held a dagger, every move completely unpredictable, and hugging someone like that was no different from courting death.

But if she just let him leave, leaving her alone in a room with the gravely injured Nanny, she wouldn't be far from death herself.

Lily Bennett hesitated no longer, leaned forward, and hugged him tightly.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still.

Eric Carter froze.

Even his heavy breathing stopped.

Lily Bennett's chest tightened with nerves, far from as calm as she appeared—no one could guess what Eric Carter was thinking; he could stab her in the back with his dagger at any moment. Just the thought of it made her legs go weak.

But fortunately, her guess was right.

He couldn't resist physical contact.

She could feel the muscles in his arms tense and relax, as if he was hesitating between pushing her away, killing her, or just staying as they were.

He was thin, even thinner than she had imagined, almost just a handful of sharp bones, like a large predator in the wild—hungry but still muscular.

Someone like that could easily restrain a strong adult woman with one hand, yet could also be trapped by a hug with ulterior motives.

A strange feeling welled up in Lily Bennett's heart—she couldn't tell if it was sympathy or something else.

She didn't know how much time had passed when Eric Carter suddenly moved—he let her hold him, leaned forward, drew his dagger, turned the blade slightly, and pressed it against her back.

At that moment, her heart almost stopped, her blood froze, and she thought she wouldn't live to see the next sunrise.

Luckily, he only brushed the blade against her back, then sheathed it back into his boot.

Lily Bennett let out a sudden sigh of relief, as if her throat had been gripped and then released, nearly blacking out.

…No matter what, she had bet right.

He hadn't left, and she was still alive.

"Thank you…"

Lily Bennett didn't even know what she was thanking him for. Having just escaped death, she couldn't help but want to say thank you.

If she had known her life would turn out like this, she would have become an animal trainer instead of an actress, or volunteered at a wildlife park.

"You should lie down for a while," Lily Bennett wiped away her involuntary tears. "I'll go stop her bleeding. She can't die here—I still have things I want to ask her."

Eric Carter gave no response.

Nanny had already fainted from blood loss. Lily Bennett sprinkled some hemostatic powder into her palm, fed her an ibuprofen to prevent fever, dehydration, and shock, then got into bed.

Afraid that Eric Carter might change his mind in the middle of the night and stab her, she buried her head in his arms, clutching his arm tightly, not daring to let go.

Maybe because he truly craved physical contact, she made it through the night unscathed, with all her limbs intact.

Nanny also woke up, looking at them with a strange expression.

Lily Bennett took out the gold pocket watch, glanced at the time—it was five in the morning, still a while before the others would wake up.

Nanny saw the gold pocket watch on her and stared in disbelief.

Lily Bennett ignored Nanny's gaze. She quietly slipped out of the sleeping bag, but no matter how gentle her movements, Eric Carter still woke up—or maybe he had never slept at all.

A whole night was enough for her to recover from the terror of being on the brink of death.

Although her legs still felt a bit weak when she met his eyes: "...Are you hungry?"

No answer.

Lily Bennett was already used to his silence: "I want to ask Nanny some questions... about you. Do you mind? If you do, I won't ask."

No answer, no movement.

That meant it was fine.