Shen Ying couldn't see the Crown Prince's expression at that moment. The sudden restraint and the looming sense of catastrophe would have left anyone else tense.

But not her. Her entire demeanor, from her expression to her muscles, was completely relaxed, as if she were lounging on a beachside vacation chair.

Hearing the Crown Prince's voice, Shen Ying smiled. "How nostalgic. I haven’t heard such a composed tone from you since the first day you were imprisoned."

"What? Did escaping prison put His Highness at ease?"

The Crown Prince’s expression darkened instantly.

He even roughly turned the chair, forcing Shen Ying to face him.

Then he leaned over her, his arms braced against the armrests on either side, exuding an overwhelming sense of dominance.

With a mocking smile, the Crown Prince said, "I recall you saying something in the Sky Prison."

"You said that from the moment I appeared there, I no longer held any status—just a prisoner, your possession."

"Doesn’t that mean the situation is now reversed?"

Shen Ying: "As far as I know, palace staff are hired under employment contracts. I haven’t heard of the imperial family reviving feudal customs from thousands of years ago."

"And as a public servant of the Empire, unless formally accused or tried, even His Majesty the Emperor has no right to decide my life or death."

"Much less the Crown Prince, who hasn’t even ascended the throne yet."

The Crown Prince scoffed. "The law didn’t grant you the right to toy with prisoners either."

"You’ve done plenty to me."

His voice grated out as if ground between his teeth.

Shen Ying studied the Crown Prince before her. He looked far more dignified now than he had in prison.

He had changed back into the royal robes he’d worn when they first met—white with gold trim, a pristine and sacred design. The golden-haired heir seemed untouchable, like a deity on high.

The sheer allure of the uniform made Shen Ying’s eyes gleam with desire. The moment she showed this expression, the Crown Prince noticed.

Annoyance flashed across his face, but deep down, he felt an inexplicable relief.

He vaguely realized that her shameless staring, which used to infuriate him, was still easier to bear than her indifference.

Just like when he escaped—she hadn’t even bothered to look up from her game.

As if his prison break, something that should have been a pivotal moment, meant nothing to her. That was what he couldn’t accept.

His emotions were a tangled mess, but his words remained sharp. "I heard when they brought you here, you were with escaped felons."

Shen Ying smiled. "Your Highness, I’m still with an escaped felon right now."

The Crown Prince stiffened before retorting, "All the charges against me have been proven false."

"Your words now are slander against the Imperial Crown Prince. I could have you sent to court immediately."

Shen Ying: "Even if the charges were false, Your Highness’s prison break was very real."

"Procedurally speaking, that’s still illegal."

The Crown Prince had long since learned not to take her sophistry seriously.

He straightened, looking down at her with cold authority. "This isn’t the Sky Prison, where you held all the power."

"Here, I decide everything."

His gaze swept over Shen Ying. She was wearing a beautiful dress now—a simple black spaghetti-strap slip dress, revealing large expanses of skin, a stark contrast to her prison attire.

Back in prison, she had always worn the warden’s uniform. Though she never acted formally, her body had been tightly covered.

This was the first time he’d seen her stripped of her warden’s identity.

No—not the first time.

A voice in his mind immediately corrected him.

He knew her far better than he’d admit. He knew exactly what lay beneath that black dress. He even remembered the unique traits of certain intimate parts of her body.

He had once traced every inch, kissed every mark, trying to overwrite the humiliation and pain she had inflicted.

The memory made him tremble with fury, especially when he recalled how she hadn’t even glanced at him when he escaped.

A surge of violence rose in him. He pressed a hand against Shen Ying’s head, forcing her to look up and meet his gaze at close range.

Their faces were so near it felt like he could devour her.

His voice was icy. "I told you, didn’t I? Everything you did to me, I’d return tenfold, a hundredfold."

Shen Ying: "Did I ever do anything truly unforgivable to Your Highness?"

Her shameless smirk made him laugh bitterly.

His grip tightened. "Forcing me to drink unknown drugs, humiliating me, toying with my mind—do you consider these trivial matters?"

Shen Ying: "Weren’t those just basic disciplinary measures?"

"If even Your Highness could act so brazenly without consequences, what kind of example would that set for the other prisoners? Would the Sky Prison still have any discipline left?"

"Compare the punishment for the first inmate who challenged me to yours. Even Lien complained I was too lenient with you."

Hearing her mention Lien, the Crown Prince’s mood soured further. The moment she arrived on the Imperial Star, she had sought him out.

He didn’t believe for a second they hadn’t been in contact before.

He knew Lien’s stance—the fool wasn’t even hiding it anymore.

But the more he thought about it, the more an uncontrollable anxiety gnawed at him.

The Crown Prince stared deeply at Shen Ying. "You still have the nerve to bring him up. Do you really think I won’t do anything to you?"

Shen Ying nodded confidently. "Of course."

The Crown Prince: "What makes you so sure?"

Shen Ying: "Because Your Highness has too much pride."

The Crown Prince: "That’s it? After all the humiliation and deception, you expect me to spare you out of pride?"

Shen Ying’s smile turned strange. "Your Highness seems to have misunderstood."

"I wasn’t complimenting you. I was telling you that, in front of me, you’re still a complete loser."

"And a loser wouldn’t dare claim victory before he’s evened the score."

She watched as the Crown Prince’s expression grew darker.

With a soft laugh, she continued, "Your Highness doesn’t cling to many things, but dignity is definitely one of them."

"Your arrogance, your pride, your psychological fastidiousness—could you really stomach reveling in a victory handed to you?"

The Crown Prince’s face twisted.

"Doesn’t it infuriate you? Weren’t you upset that I ignored you that day?"

"Because it was too pitiful to watch. Someone who only escaped because I let him—what kind of expression could he possibly have had? I couldn’t bear to look."

The Crown Prince's entire body tensed, his breathing growing slightly ragged as that day's bitterness and humiliation were ruthlessly torn open once more, laid bare under the harsh light.

He took a deep breath and sneered, "Are you implying I should kill you to free myself from that disgrace?"

Shen Ying: "It’s not like I haven’t considered that possibility."

"My decision to let Your Highness leave was twofold: first, the billions of people on the garbage planet need a way to survive, and second, the Empire should not descend into chaos due to prolonged political strife. It has nothing to do with who you are as a person."

"Whether you pride yourself on nobility or hide behind hypocrisy and cruelty, it won’t influence my final choice."

"Since I’ve chosen to release you, I’ve already prepared for the consequences."

Shen Ying considered herself quite capable, and she loved this highly advanced technological world. If possible, she would naturally prefer to enjoy it for as long as she could.

But the lives of billions were not something her mere political value, as represented by her status, could sway.

Even if she could achieve it, the effort and time required, along with the inevitable sacrifices, went against her principle of lazing around and indulging in pleasure.

When weighed against fleeting enjoyment and countless lives, Shen Ying admitted that even she, as cold-hearted as she was, couldn’t stand idly by.

So while some plotlines could be altered, others simply couldn’t.

Shen Ying looked at the Crown Prince, her smile unflinching. "No matter how Your Highness wishes to deal with me."

"But you must remember—you never escaped that prison. Victory was never yours. The reason you hold the upper hand now is because I allowed it."

"It wasn’t an accident, nor carelessness, nor luck. It was a decision I made after careful consideration, with not a single ounce of credit belonging to you."

"Do you understand? 3078!"

3078.

3078!

The number acted like a trigger, sending the Crown Prince’s mind into a dizzying spiral, making him almost believe he’d been dragged back into that cage where every move was controlled.

Yes, he had never escaped.

His current position was entirely at the mercy of this woman’s charity. From the moment he misjudged the situation and entered that prison, everything had spiraled beyond his plans.

His victory, his secure throne, the Empire he was about to command—all of it could be snatched away by this woman with a single thought.

Only she had chosen to relinquish it, handing him the spoils for the sake of billions.

An overbearing sense of pride wasn’t always a virtue. Like now.

Rationally, the Crown Prince told himself that facts were all that mattered—unrealized possibilities held no meaning.

But his arrogance refused to let him accept this victory, gifted by an enemy, with any semblance of peace.

His face darkened, and with a flick of his hand, the white restraints binding Shen Ying’s limbs loosened and fell away.

She was free once more.

The Crown Prince glanced at her, his expression still haughty. "I’ll have someone escort you to rest. After tomorrow’s coronation ceremony, you’ll be formally summoned."

He retreated in disarray, but Shen Ying wasn’t done.

Just as the Crown Prince turned to leave, she called out sharply, "I haven’t dismissed you yet, 3078."

The Crown Prince seethed, his voice low with fury. "What more do you want?"

Shen Ying: "In prison, attempting to control the warden is a serious offense."

"What punishment do you think such a crime deserves?"

The Crown Prince stared at her in disbelief, but a jolt of electric sensation shot straight to his brain.

Was this woman really planning to discipline him—in his own palace, his own chambers?