Lucien's too strong and too calculating—hard to take down. Silas? That one's all cunning, probably just as difficult. Edric? No, that snake has plenty of tricks too. Corvin? He's a fool, easy enough, but there's no rush. Right… the half-dead wolf. The one who insulted me and told me to die. I'll start with him. … The next morning, just as Corvin stepped out of his room, he froze at the sight of Malrik kneeling in front of Silas' door. Shocked, he hurried over. "Malrik, what are you doing kneeling here?" Did he offend Silas or something? he wondered. Merlin's voice was still weak, but he smiled humbly. "I'm waiting for Ms. Tibarn to wake up." Corvin blinked. "But… why kneel here?" Merlin looked genuinely puzzled. "Isn't this what a suitor and mate are supposed to do? Heaven's sake, don't you guys serve Ms. Tibarn like this every morning?" Corvin fell silent. That's… definitely not how we do things. No one ever said anything about this. And Emma's never asked for it either. Feeling guilty, he dropped to his knees beside Malrik. "I didn't know before, but now I do." From now on, he would kneel and wait for Emma to wake up too. He couldn't let Malrik, who'd joined them later, outdo him. The feline wasn't actually dull. Soon, Lucien and Edric emerged from their rooms—only to find both Corvin and Malrik kneeling in front of Silas' door. "Corvin, Malrik, what on earth are you two doing?" Lucien asked. What nonsense are they up to this early in the morning? Corvin replied with a straight face, "Waiting for Emma to wake up. Malrik said that as suitors and mates, this is how we're supposed to serve our huntress." He even shuffled aside to make room for Lucien and Edric. Malrik spoke softly, still sounding fragile. "This is the custom I was taught in the Enchanter Clan. As long as I can serve Ms. Tibarn well, I'm willing to do anything. Prince Lucien, if you're not able to do this, that's fine too. Ms. Tibarn hasn't demanded it from you." Merlin bowed his head silently at that. Huh! The Aurelia prince—he's used to people kneeling to him. He'll never kneel to anyone, surely, not even to his own huntress. But once Ms. Tibarn comes out and sees Corvin and me kneeling while Lucien's standing… maybe the first time she won't mind. But over time? She'll start to notice. She'll start resenting him. Edric stared wordlessly at the two kneeling idiots. Malrik acting up was one thing, but Corvin joining in? Unbelievable. Just then, Marcus climbed out of his crystal coffin. He caught Merlin's last few words, and after a moment's thought, slowly walked upstairs. When he reached the landing and saw Lucien and Edric kneeling too, he hesitated briefly—then flopped down beside them. Kneeling was exhausting; lying down should count, right? Merlin hadn't expected Lucien to actually kneel. Rage flared in his chest. This prince really will do anything to steal favor. … Moments later, Emma and Silas stepped out of the room—and froze at the sight of everyone kneeling by the door. "What's going on? Why are you all kneeling here?"Before Lucien could answer, Corvin spoke eagerly. "We're waiting for you to wake up, Emma, so we can serve you!" "Serve me?" Emma blinked, utterly baffled. Silas, standing beside her, shot the Enchanter a cold glance. He didn't even need to ask—this was clearly Malrik's doing. Corvin nodded earnestly. "Malrik said that as suitors and mates, we should kneel every morning to wait for our huntress to wake up and serve her. I'm sorry, Emma. I didn't know there was such a rule before. But now that I do, I'll make sure to follow it from now on." "That's enough." What kind of nonsense is this?! Emma hauled Corvin to his feet, then pulled Lucien and Edric up as well, giving Marcus a sharp kick for good measure. "All of you, up. There's no such rule here. When you wake up, just do what you normally do. If I need something, I'll let you know." Then, she turned to Malrik, whom Corvin had helped up. "And you, stop kneeling. I don't like this." "Yes, Ms. Tibarn. I understand. I'm so sorry—I didn't know you disliked it." Merlin's eyes dropped as he spoke meekly. "I just assumed that since Prince Lucien and the others had been with you longer, they'd already learned your rules and preferences. I didn't expect them to follow my example." Everyone immediately shot daggers at him with their eyes. Lucien finally spoke, his voice filled with guilt. "I'm sorry, Emma. As your first mate, I should've known better—and taught the others properly." In truth, there had never been such a rule among his kind.