Neither Ninth Royal Uncle nor Serena Feng paid much attention to Princess Serenity's affairs. When Nolan brought it up, it was only to make sure Serena wouldn't wrong herself for his sake, and to remind her that she had no reason to endure humiliation just because he was 'ill.'
He wasn't going to be 'sick' forever—his 'illness' would be gone in a few days.
Serena Feng, however, didn't think that far ahead. Nolan's attitude toward Serenity left her chilled, and with her body feeling unwell, she grew even more listless. She wanted to go home, but Nolan refused to let her off, bombarding her with questions. Serena was impatient, but she had no choice but to endure.
Serena was unusually agreeable today. Although Nolan wasn't in the best spirits, he couldn't help but talk with her a bit more. Yet, after thinking it over, Nolan realized that aside from serious matters, he and Serena had nothing to chat about.
With no topic to discuss, Nolan could only bring up the upcoming duel: "Are you confident about tomorrow's contest, Serena?" If she wasn't, he could at least help her prepare.
"To answer Ninth Royal Uncle, no," Serena replied, forcing down her impatience and speaking respectfully.
Nolan knew her well enough—how could she have any confidence in a contest of etiquette? Her family never had a governess to teach her noble manners. Whatever etiquette she had was thanks to her excellent mentor.
Her mentor was well-respected internationally, often invited to academic conferences in Europe and America. Sometimes the mentor would take Serena along, and before each trip, would assign etiquette instructors to teach her social and even aristocratic manners—saying that she mustn't embarrass Chinese people in front of foreigners.
The reason she could hold her own among the powerful, and not lose face in front of William Wang Jinling, was all thanks to what she'd learned in her previous life. But no matter how well she learned, she couldn't compare to Su Wan.
Every gesture Su Wan made was textbook-perfect, while Serena's actions always carried a hint of casualness. There's no way to cheat in an etiquette contest. Serena honestly couldn't see how she could win, so she answered calmly and truthfully.
Unfortunately, Serena had acted too well before, so Nolan simply refused to believe she hadn’t prepared anything. He waved it off, saying, "Just do your best. If you need help, just ask me." Seeing Serena’s awkward expression, Nolan added, "If you lose, I’ll lose face too."
Serena rolled her eyes inwardly. She wanted to say, if he was so afraid of losing face, he shouldn’t have agreed to let her compete with the Su Clan in the first place. But her head was throbbing, and she had no energy to argue with Nolan. She just lowered her head silently, hoping he’d let her go.
Serena being obedient was always what Nolan wanted, but seeing her so passive and unassertive, not showing any of her own opinions, made Nolan frustrated. This wasn’t like Serena at all.
But with Serena acting so meek, he had no idea how to deal with her. This version of Serena made Nolan uneasy—he felt like she was drifting further and further away from him.
Nolan didn’t want to let Serena leave. After thinking it over, he came up with an idea: "Serena, Prince Titus of Lyndaria’s wound isn’t healing well. Since you’re free today, come out of the city with me."
Nolan calculated in his mind—if he rode out of the city, it probably wouldn’t be a big problem.
Change the medicine? Serena felt a wave of annoyance. Wasn’t there someone at the valley hideaway to do that for him? And it’s only been three days—what medicine needs changing already?
But with Nolan giving the order, could she refuse?
Serena gave a bitter smile, ignoring the dull ache in her knee and lingering dizziness, nodding in agreement.
Nolan’s favors were never easy to accept. He helped her block Princess Serenity once, and now she owed him one. That command token of his—she might as well hang it up and forget about it.