After a series of twists and turns, Shekh arrived at an extremely remote old palace.

Flowers and plants concealed the palace entrance, but Shi Jinzhe controlled the vines and branches to spread to both sides, opening an entrance to the interior.

"This is the old residence, isn't it?" Yan Ruoying skillfully conveyed the message that this place didn't seem to be where the Queen lived.

“This place impressed me the most. She lived here for a long time, so we should be able to find clues.”

Schech entered the flower-lined corridor and continued deeper until he came to a room.

The old bedroom, covered in cobwebs, had an open window that revealed a tall white stone wall.

That wall was very familiar to Shi Jinzhe and Sher; it was the marble maze where they first met.

Shi Jinzhe couldn't help but step forward and open the window as wide as possible, "...Didn't you destroy this maze?"

He almost died in the maze, and when he finally found a glimmer of hope, he encountered Shekh, which terrified him.

So Shi Jinzhe will never forget this place, including its collapse, sinking, and layer-by-layer descent; he remembers every detail vividly.

"You'll know once you go in and take a look." Shekh corroded the obstacle in front of him and stepped over it.

"Be careful." Shi Jinzhe stared at her, while instructing the three people behind him to check the room.

In front of the white stone wall, Shekh slowly reached out his hand, his fingertips carefully touching it.

The moment I touched the cold stone, a memory rushed into my mind like a long vortex.

Are you happy?

It was that childish voice again.

However, this time Shekh knew that the voice belonged to the queen when she was young.

Those blue eyes were so beautiful, small and round. She seemed to be hugging her own legs, tilting her head back and talking to herself, her pronunciation unclear.

Are you happy?

"Standing like this for a long time must be tiring."

With her chubby cheeks puffed out, she sighed like a little adult, "I'm so tired. My legs always ache when I'm punished by standing. You've been standing here without moving, are you feeling uncomfortable?"

"Sigh, I don't want to study anymore."

She changed her posture, from hugging her legs to leaning against herself, squatting on the ground, resting her chin on her hands and complaining, "I really want to grow up quickly, so that when I can grow as tall as you, I won't have to stand as punishment anymore... Oh, I guess not, you still have to stand as punishment."

"Don't you feel uncomfortable listening to all that nonsense from them every day? It's so boring. They'll come to you if they're sick, they'll tell you if their dog is lost, and they're already thinking about next year's crops before this year's harvest is even over."

"It's raining. When I came here, I told them to bring a big umbrella so we can share it."

The light drizzle grew heavier and heavier. In Sheh's unchanging view, the rain pounded the ground, turning it white, and the splashes of water rose higher than the little girl crouching at her feet.

She hugged her knees to shield herself from the rain, lowered her head, and muttered habitually, "Looks like they're not listening to me again. It's okay, we can get wet together."

The heavy rain washed over the ground, and the lace trim of the pink princess dress resembled the edge of an open umbrella. Several streams of water flowed continuously downwards. The little girl at his feet went from squatting to leaning against something weakly, and finally fell to the ground, losing consciousness.

After that day, Sheikh didn't see the little princess for a long time.

However, the next day, a young boy sneakily placed an umbrella at her feet. At first, he tried to jump up and down several times, but in the end, he couldn't reach it and had to settle for second best.

When I saw this little princess who loved wearing pink dresses again, her face had become much thinner and she had grown up a lot.

Behind her followed a boy who was more than half a head taller than her. Shekh remembered him; he was the boy who had brought her the umbrella.

The little princess introduced him to her, saying that he was a guard she had personally chosen, who would follow and protect her forever.

So Shekh went from listening to one child nagging every day to listening to two children nagging. Although it was one child talking and the other listening, she still found it a bit noisy.

But after a while, I got used to it and it wasn't so bad.

"I'm very happy today. My teacher praised me, saying I'm smart and learn very quickly."

"I learned how to make a dessert today. It's really delicious, but you probably can't finish it. I'll let you smell it instead."

"You only have this one piece of clothing, it's so plain. Let me give you a new one."

"It's very sunny today. Your body temperature has changed. Did you get too hot? Let me fan you."

As time passed, the desserts in front of him, the sheets hanging on his body, the wilted banana leaves—every day brought new surprises for Sher to discover.

She no longer heard only complaints, pleas, and cries; she also heard some happy things.

It was a strange experience; the emotions she absorbed were no longer just pain and despair. Amidst the unspeakable suffering, a glimmer of joy caught her attention.

This little princess was the first human to share happiness with her.

Sheh didn't know how much time had passed, but the scenery in her eyes never changed. No more flowers appeared on her left, and the clouds in the sky never sank. All the sights she could see remained constant.

Besides these two children.

As they grew up and changed, they rarely did anything ridiculous or rude anymore, which made her realize for the first time how fast time had passed.