At these words, Andrew Shaw’s heart, which had just settled, leaped back into his throat.

‘I knew it! I just knew it! How could she possibly not have heard? Her hearing is so sharp, and she was right behind me at the time.’

‘She’s just doing this on purpose. Waiting for me to let my guard down, then saying something like this to put me back on tenterhooks. She’s just torturing me!’

His face crumpled as he sidled up to her. “My lady, my lady, I was wrong! I’m scum! Please, just forgive me!”

“What are you so afraid of? It’s not like I’m going to kill you.”

Stella Sterling walked ahead, her voice laced with amusement.

Hearing this did little to improve the look on Andrew Shaw’s face.

‘She wouldn’t kill me, no, but she’d definitely find other ways to torture me.’

‘Like eating delicacies in front of me while I get nothing but steamed buns.’

‘Or deliberately messing with me in some way. In short, she’d always keep me off-balance.’

‘She wouldn’t take my life, but she’d make it miserably unbearable.’

‘And the worst part is, I’d be fuming but wouldn’t dare say a word.’

He pressed on, “To be honest, I was just worried about you!”

“Mm, I know.”

Stella Sterling nodded calmly.

Andrew Shaw looked at her. ‘She knows. If she knows, does that mean she’ll let me off the hook?’

But Andrew Shaw’s hopes were immediately dashed. He heard Stella Sterling say, “However, what you said really annoyed me. So, you’d best be careful for a while.”

As she said this, Stella Sterling shot him a look heavy with meaning.

That single glance sent a shiver down Andrew Shaw’s spine, filling him with dread.

‘But she’s already said her piece. Anything more I say will be useless. I just have to be on my guard, be smart for the next few days, and watch her every mood. I absolutely cannot get on her bad side.’

‘I just have to hope that after a few days, by the time we get back, she’ll have forgotten all about this.’

‘Then I can escape punishment.’

After leaving Caeluna Base, Stella Sterling and Andrew Shaw got straight into a car and drove off.

In the car, Andrew Shaw kept stealing glances at Stella Sterling, looking like he wanted to say something but didn’t dare.

Stella Sterling shot him a cold glare. “If you have something to say, spit it out. Watching you fidget like that is exhausting.”

Even after hearing that, Andrew Shaw still hesitated, unsure of how to begin.

He wasn’t even sure if he should ask Stella Sterling at all.

‘He was afraid that once he asked, certain things would change. Stella Sterling might even become suspicious of him.’

‘That wasn’t the outcome I want. But if I don’t ask… not getting a clear answer will leave me in suspense, and the anxiety is killing me.’

“Either ask your question or shut your mouth!”

Stella Sterling’s tone was impatient. With anyone else, she would have slapped them by now.

At this, Andrew Shaw finally made up his mind. He looked at Stella Sterling and said, “Can I ask you a question?”

He had barely finished speaking before he quickly added a guarantee, “But you have to believe me, no matter what I ask, I have absolutely no ulterior motives. I have nothing but the utmost respect for you now! I just want to cling to you for support; I have no intention of ever opposing you!”

He first had to establish his position before asking the question, lest Stella Sterling suspect his loyalty.

‘He had to pave the way first.’

“So you want to ask me a question, and you’re already making demands? I’ll be the judge of the situation after you ask.”

Stella Sterling tapped the steering wheel, her tone laced with displeasure.

After her words, Andrew Shaw grew even more anxious, but he steeled his resolve. “Are you…”

“I am.”

Before he could even finish, Stella Sterling simply nodded in response.

Andrew Shaw’s eyes widened. “You knew what I was going to ask?”

‘I hadn’t even asked, and she just answered. What is going on?’

Stella Sterling pulled the car over to the side of the road. She looked at him, her tone casual. “You were just going to ask if I, like you, was reborn. You’re making such a big deal out of nothing.”

The man had been acting strange ever since she met him. Stella Sterling hardly needed to think about it to figure it out.

Earlier, she hadn’t been in top form and had let it slip, blurting out the exact time of the insect plague’s arrival right in front of him.

That was something Andrew Shaw had never mentioned to her before, so from his perspective, she shouldn’t have known that detail.

But she had stated the time with perfect accuracy. As long as Andrew Shaw wasn’t an idiot, he could put two and two together.

With a little thought, he would be able to guess that she also knew what was going to happen next.

And what other reason could there be for knowing future events in advance, other than being reborn? So she figured he had already guessed.

Since he had already figured it out, Stella Sterling had no intention of hiding it any longer.

After all, the current Andrew Shaw was in no position to betray her. He could only follow her orders. Even if he knew the truth, it didn’t matter.

She hadn’t told him before because she saw no need to. It also allowed her to test whether Andrew Shaw’s submission was genuine and if the things he told her were true.

She had confirmed it over the past few days. Although the man was a bit flaky, he had never lied to her about these crucial matters. The future events and their timing that he described all matched what she remembered from her past life, with only slight variations in this new timeline.

The man hadn’t deliberately tried to lead her into any traps.

That’s why, even though Andrew Shaw could be a pain, Stella Sterling didn’t hold it against him.

At least he was absolutely loyal to her. For that reason alone, she wouldn’t do anything to harm him.

His loyalty had been proven. So even if she exposed the fact that she was reborn, Stella Sterling didn’t mind. Besides, with the guarantee of the Loyal Servant Pill, she had no reason to worry about him betraying her.

Therefore, when Andrew Shaw asked, she told him the truth without a moment’s hesitation.

Hearing Stella Sterling’s words, Andrew Shaw could only stare, his eyes wide with shock. He had assumed she would hide the truth, that she wouldn’t tell him. He never imagined that she would, without a second thought—before he’d even finished asking—directly confirm that she was reborn.

‘This wasn’t what I predicted at all!’

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