Davis still had a cold face, not at all amused by her reply.
Seeing his ice-cold face, sadness flashed passed through Shirley's eyes before she quickly hid it.
She took a deep breath and bowed deeply, "I wanted to thank you for saving me at that time! You have Felicia's and my gratitude!"
"Evelynn, I'm sorry! Please forgive me!" Suddenly, she kneeled down as she shouted guiltily without even waiting for his reply.
"What? Prin... Shirley, get up! Why are you doing this!? This isn't appropriate..." Evelynn looked taken aback, she couldn't understand why she would kneel down and ask for forgiveness.
Shirley looked at her determinedly as she confessed, "If it weren't for Prince Davis who saved me from the clutches of a madman, my body would've been sullied! If it weren't for him who wasted his time on me, nothing would have happened to you!"
"What do you mean?" Evelynn narrowed her eyes, she glanced at Davis to see him remain silent.
Shirley then explained what had happened to her at that night, as well as how she had been saved by Davis.
She also played the contents of the Imagery Crystal to Evelynn, removing any misunderstanding that might have been formed from her explanation.
"What I meant to say is that if it weren't for me, you wouldn't be in this... this situation right now." Shirley looked at Evelynn's arms and replied guiltily. Her eyes were full of remorse.
"What are you saying? It's not like he knew that I was in danger. If you hadn't told him that you weren't the one who invited him, then it might've been truly the end for me!" Evelynn warmly comforted her from the bottom of her heart. A moment later she shook her head, "Besides, I am also glad that something bad didn't happen to you!"
Shirley was taken aback by her magnanimity, "... But... I, you! Look at you! It's all my fault for delaying him. You don't have to twist the truth to comfort me."
"Alright, then what should I do? Give you a punishment?" Sighing gently, she asked as she lifted her severed hand.
"Yes! That's what I came here for! Or else, I won't be able to forgive myself!" Shirley shouted determinedly.
Evelynn turned speechless.
"She wants self-satisfaction and to be self-forgiven, fulfil her wish, Evelynn. She doesn't care about your plight at all." Davis uttered coldly, he felt that something was wrong with this Shirley.
Shirley shuddered, she quickly uttered, "No! I..."
"Am I wrong?" A cold voice quickly and pressure quickly shattered her hopes.
Shirley stayed silent and gazed down.
Davis continued while turning his face to Evelynn, "Your injuries doesn't warrant her to come and beg for punishment no matter how I see it. You two aren't that close anyway, neither are you two bound by a hierarchical relationship."
"Is that true...?" With Davis being so blunt, Evelynn sighed as she questioned.
Evelynn was no fool, she already had an inkling of what the other party wanted, but she held a faint hope that she will be able to enrich the relationship with her new friend. That was her character, something which she couldn't change easily.
Shirley looked down on the floor. She wanted to disagree, but her thoughts said otherwise. Who was Evelynn to her? A friend at the level of an acquaintance.
She looked back up and gazed at Evelynn with clear eyes, "Honestly, it might be true that I don't care about you that much, but I do think that it was my fault that all this happened to you. I have decided to turn a new leaf over, and that's why I asked for your forgiveness."
Evelynn could feel her gaze and the determination in it.
Shirley held her skirt and continued, "It's the first time! It's the first time I killed a person with my own hands. With my status, I didn't need to dirty my own hands, but in this case, I didn't hold back. I killed that madman who tried to violate me, as well as his subordinates in cold blood during this week. There's no going back now, I need to change my personality anew, I can't be the same old Shirley, nor am I the same old Shirley anymore!"
"I understand." Evelynn replied solemnly, "You can leave..."
"Uh?" Shirley got dumbfounded.
Davis's eyes widened as he smiled slightly, 'Ruthless! She gave the worst possible punishment that Shirley could endure. That is if she really had wanted Evelynn's forgiveness in the first place.'
"But, I haven't been punished yet!?" Shirley cried out in confusion in a low voice.
"What are you saying? I've already punished you..." Evelynn responded back with a serious look.
Shirley thought back and couldn't find when she was punished, "No..."
"Haven't you realised what your punishment is?" Davis asked in a cold tone.
Shirley turned to look at him, her eyes were full of complex emotions "What?"
His cold face turned into a slight grin, "Your punishment is that you'll never gain the forgiveness you wanted from her."
Shirley's eyes widened, a few seconds passed before she stood up and left the palace absentmindedly.
To them, It was unknown what she was thinking.
A few minutes passed before Evelynn opened her mouth, "It doesn't matter if I forgive her or not, she has to find it in her heart to forgive herself..."
When Davis heard her speech, his thought changed as he shook his head, "Ah, she wasn't being ruthless, she was just being kind... Sigh."
...
The next day, as per planned, Davis and Evelynn left the Ashton Empire's Royal Capital, mounting on the Golden-Horned Wyvern.
When the Golden-Horned Wyvern saw Evelynn, it angrily roared and destroyed the walls in its surroundings. It didn't do anything later but obediently let those two, mount on it.
Since it would be considered rude if he left without saying anything, he just gave them the wealth required for fixing the walls and left right after being sent off by the Ashton Empire's elders.
In a distance, a beautiful figure clad in red robes gazed at the leaving Golden-Horned Wyvern. A single tear could be seen dripping down from the eyes of that figure.
That figure's mouth moved a little as an anguished mutter could be heard in the serene-like atmosphere, "I wanted your forgiveness, not hers..."