Regret and Prince Damien Comes Calling

Prince Nolan was never one to drag things out. Once he decided to return to the Capital, he didn’t linger. He instructed Zuo An to protect Serena Feng, left behind half his shadow guards, and then rode back at full speed with William Wang Jinling.

Whether for public duty or private reasons, Prince Nolan would never leave William behind.

The moment they arrived in the Capital, Prince Nolan was buried under piles of state business—far more than ever before. It wasn’t that William and Felix Fuller were deliberately making things difficult; there were simply matters that only the emperor himself could decide.

Previously, with the young emperor on the throne, William could act as chief minister and review memorials on his behalf. But now the Emperor of Eastlyn is Prince Nolan. Even without a formal enthronement, he is the emperor, and neither William nor Felix can approve documents in his stead.

By custom, whenever the emperor travels, memorials are sent daily for his review. Prince Nolan had spent nearly a month at Mystic Healer Valley, ignoring outside affairs and focused solely on pursuing his wife. But—

He still hadn’t succeeded.

William and Felix could only sigh in frustration. If they’d known, they would never have let Prince Nolan go—wasting a whole month for nothing. William in particular finally found a chance to go on official duty, but after just one day in Mystic Healer Valley, he had to come back; most of his time was spent on the road.

Prince Nolan was swamped, but Serena Feng wasn’t much better off. After nearly three months recovering in Mystic Healer Valley, she’d been cut off from the outside world just as long. Now she needed to catch up quickly so she could plan for the Phoenixfield Clan’s future.

Want to rest and wait peacefully for childbirth?

Other women could, but Serena Feng could not. Her three months in Mystic Healer Valley were already the limit. Without father, brothers, or husband to shield her, even pregnant, she still had to do what needed to be done.

Fortunately, this time Prince Nolan had sent Jada Tang. With Jada around, it was much easier for Serena Feng to mobilize people when she needed them.

Serena’s top priority was clarifying the situation with Ezra Phoenixfield and Clara Phoenixfield. Whatever Clara chose was beyond Serena’s control or concern—her real worry was Ezra.

Would he really betray the Phoenixfield Clan for Clara?

Serena knew exactly how united the Phoenixfield Clan was. Even though she’d always guarded against Ezra, she didn’t want to believe he would truly betray her.

Serena ordered Jada Tang to immediately contact their people on the grasslands and get news from there as quickly as possible.

Serena’s intelligence network across other states and cities wasn’t as broad as Prince Nolan’s, but on the grasslands, that territory was absolutely hers.

The grasslands were mostly home to nomadic tribes, each tribe small and weak, surviving by attaching themselves to great powers and constantly migrating. Other states didn’t care about the grasslands, but Serena had planted people there early on, doing business with every tribe and weaving the grassland forces into a single Phoenixfield-centered network.

Mira Tang managed Phoenixfield assets all over the realm from the Capital, but the clan’s biggest operation was now on the grasslands. It wasn’t hard for Serena to get news from there—sure enough, Mira quickly relayed the latest updates.

Lady Min and Clara Phoenixfield were indeed on the grasslands—and had reunited with Ezra. However, Ezra had made no moves, and those watching him had no idea what he planned next.

"Keep a close watch on Youge." Serena refused to believe Ezra would betray the clan for Clara and ignore his own legitimate son. If Ezra were truly that ruthless, he would have bowed to her for survival long ago.

"Yes." Jada Tang never asked Serena for reasons—she just carried out orders.

"I want Lady Min kept alive." As for the others, Serena didn’t mention them—their lives or deaths were irrelevant, including Clara’s child.

That child… Serena had already given Clara a chance: if she’d quietly raised her child, that child could have grown up safely. But Clara refused to stay quiet.

If Clara had truly been forced, then once she reached Ezra’s territory, she could have broken free—Lady Min’s handful of followers were no match for Ezra.

Everything Clara was doing now was voluntary. Serena knew that, as much as Ezra disliked Clara having a child out of wedlock, if she really gave birth, he wouldn’t drown the baby or abandon mother and child.

It wasn’t that Serena was cruel—it was Clara who wasted the chance she’d been given.

"Baby, don’t blame your mother for being so bloody, and don’t resent me for letting you see all this before you’re even born. You’re different from other children—one day you’ll be more exalted than others, and you’ll suffer more too." Serena stroked her belly and sighed softly.

No matter what happened between her and Prince Nolan in the future, the child in her belly was his. From what the Valley Master had said, this might be Prince Nolan’s only child. Someday… everything that belonged to Prince Nolan, everything that belonged to Serena, would be this child’s.

Call her vain, call her ambitious—if the day ever came when Prince Nolan wanted to give the realm to her child, she would accept it without hesitation.

If her child could become master of the realm, why settle for being ordinary?

Ordinary people can never reach the top of this world. Without the Phoenixfield Clan behind her, no matter how hard Serena worked and saved, she could never reach William Wang Jinling’s level in several lifetimes—let alone stand as Prince Nolan’s equal.

In this world, having money doesn’t guarantee status. If it did, Vincent Su wouldn’t have…

Serena took a deep breath and forced herself not to dwell on it.

Every time she thought of Vincent Su, Serena couldn’t help but cry, her heart twisting with pain.

Even if Prince Nolan hadn’t said it, she’d already guessed: when the Ghost King tried to kill them, the figure who threw himself at the Ghost King was Vincent Su.

Vincent Su died to save them!

Because of this, Serena couldn’t blame Prince Nolan for letting her go—at that moment, Vincent was in even greater danger. But in the end, they still couldn’t save Vincent Su. That was Serena’s deepest regret; every time she thought of it, she was overwhelmed with remorse…

She wished she’d never given Vincent Su the dagger, wished she’d tied him to a boulder so he couldn’t rush in—if only hindsight were worth a thousand gold.

At the same moment, Prince Damien of Southlyn lay in bed, echoing Serena’s thought: hindsight is worth a thousand gold.

If he’d known, he’d rather have died at sea than be ‘rescued’ by Ghost Hall.

"Ah…" Prince Damien’s face turned blue with pain, his body convulsing, but he couldn’t move at all—not just his lower half, but everything below his neck was paralyzed.

Not only was he immobile, but it felt like countless ants were burrowing through his flesh and bones, gnawing away at him from the inside.

"Go… find Serena Feng. Tell her… Ghost Hall… exchange." Prince Damien could barely speak, biting his tongue until it bled.

"Cousin…" Wendy Summers’ face was pale; the last person she wanted to beg was Serena Feng, but Damien insisted she go.

"Go. Only she… can save me."

Prince Damien spoke each word with great effort. When he finished, he suddenly vomited a mass of foul filth—on closer inspection, it was crawling with tiny worms…