Study Room for Talks of Business and Love

She could think what she wanted, but after making a mistake just now, Serena Feng dared not provoke Prince Nolan further—in fact, she had to tread carefully and even try to please this petty-minded man.

Eager to move past the incident, Serena quickly steered the conversation back, asking naturally, "Prince Nolan, do you know what really happened at Shunning Marquis Manor? Judging by the testimony from Shunning Marquis Manor’s advocate today, I’m sure this wasn’t a premeditated conspiracy—it must have been a coincidence. Otherwise, Shunning Marquis Manor wouldn’t have left such a glaring flaw."

Her expression and tone were so natural, it was as if she’d never doubted Prince Nolan at all. Prince Nolan seemed unwilling to argue with Serena, and both of them acted as if nothing had happened.

Prince Nolan shook his head: "I don’t know. Shunning Marquis Manor isn’t a particularly prominent house, nor do they hold any real power. Even if I pay attention to them, it wouldn’t be to their inner courtyard. I’ve already sent people to inquire, but I doubt it’ll yield much. After the incident, Shunning Marquis Manor executed a large number of servants—most likely, only Simon Sun and Marquis Sutton himself know the real story."

In other words, Shunning Marquis Manor has already eliminated any potential threats. It would be very difficult for Serena to find solid evidence.

"Such ruthless methods—there must be some secret at Shunning Marquis Manor that we don’t know about, and that secret must threaten the very foundation of the estate. Otherwise, they wouldn’t go to such lengths." Serena considered herself ruthless, but she couldn’t compare to Shunning Marquis Manor.

"To execute so many servants—maybe it really is a scandal. Those rumors you spread this morning might actually be true." Prince Nolan thought of Serena’s little tricks and shook his head again.

Say what you will, Serena had plenty of tricks up her sleeve—and sometimes, those tricks were especially useful. If she hadn’t spread those little notes, even if the Emperor allowed her to target the Bloodcloak Guard, he would have taken some advantage for himself, instead of simply granting her a favor and tacitly approving her actions.

"No way—did the young lady of Shunning Marquis Manor really commit adultery? Or maybe it wasn’t just adultery—if it were, Shunning Marquis Manor wouldn’t have gone so far. Maybe it was..." Incest.

Serena didn’t say the last two words aloud; she sucked in a breath and looked at Prince Nolan, seeking confirmation.

Seeing Serena’s shocked expression, Prince Nolan found her utterly adorable. His heart stirred, and he pulled Serena into his arms, resting his chin on her head and nuzzling her gently.

"Whether it’s true or not, what does it matter to us? You’re so flustered over a trivial thing—it’s just Shunning Marquis Manor. With me here, even if Simon Sun really did kill their sixth young lady, nothing will happen to him."

With them in the Capital, Shunning Marquis Manor wouldn’t dare make any reckless moves.

"I was just startled for a moment. If things are as I suspect, then maybe this whole setup was orchestrated by the deceased sixth young lady herself." Serena became more convinced: Simon Sun must have stumbled upon a scandal at Shunning Marquis Manor. Otherwise, why would they be so ruthless as to hand Simon over to the Bloodcloak Guard? Still, there was one thing she couldn’t figure out.

"Why didn’t Shunning Marquis Manor just kill Simon outright? Dead men keep secrets, don’t they?"

"No idea. Maybe they didn’t get the chance—after all, your maid was also in Shunning Marquis Manor. Besides, sending him to the Bloodcloak Guard was as good as a death sentence. The fact you managed to rescue Simon is thanks to the Bloodcloak Guard’s various factions looking out for him—Simon doesn’t have any marks of severe torture."

If no one had secretly watched over him, with Simon’s looks, even if he wasn’t killed by torture, he’d have been ruined by other inmates. The Bloodcloak Guard’s dungeon is full of violent offenders, and with no women around, delicate men like Simon are their favorite target.

Some of the jailers even prefer young men. For Simon to suffer only superficial injuries was a stroke of luck—in fact, his worst wounds weren’t inflicted by the Bloodcloak Guard at all. The Guard just ended up taking the blame.

"True, the wounds on Simon aren’t really from torture. I guess I misjudged the Bloodcloak Guard. When I get a chance, I’ll go thank Holden Cui, William, and of course, I won’t forget Prince Terrence of Lyndaria.

And I’ll have to sit down with Commander Lucan Lu. If he finds out the Bloodcloak Guard took the blame for Shunning Marquis Manor, he’ll be more than happy to cause trouble for them." Serena thought wickedly to herself. She had made a mess for the Bloodcloak Guard, causing them huge losses—she wondered if they’d kill her when they saw her.

Of course, Holden Cui and William wouldn’t hurt her, but as for Prince Terrence and Commander Lucan Lu, there were no guarantees. Those two suffered the most losses—Commander Lucan Lu might even be risking his life.

Watching Serena list off so many names, even cheerfully discussing what gifts to bring William and Holden Cui, Prince Nolan kept waiting and waiting, but after all that, Serena never mentioned him.

Prince Nolan grew frustrated and, quite unhappy, asked, "And what about me?"

He’d helped too, hadn’t he? The worst injuries on Simon Sun were to his head and internal organs—those were all inflicted by Shunning Marquis Manor. The Bloodcloak Guard had actually looked after Simon quite well, and Prince Nolan had contributed the most, since he understood the Capital’s movements better than Serena.

"You? You’re one of my own—I don’t need to thank you." She’d deliberately left Prince Nolan out, teasing him whether she was in a bad mood or a good one.

With the Master of Dark Robe Valley on their side, Simon Sun wouldn’t lose his life. After this ordeal, Simon would grow; with the Emperor’s support, she didn’t have to worry about Bloodcloak Guard’s revenge; and with Prince Nolan by her side, why would she fear a mere Shunning Marquis Manor?

All her troubles vanished the moment she saw Prince Nolan—how could Serena not be happy? The more she looked at the man in front of her, the more pleasing he became; she was all smiles.

Prince Nolan’s lips curled up slightly—the words "one of my own" put him in a great mood. But...

"Even your own need to be thanked—and the gift should be even bigger." Prince Nolan said shamelessly.

"Fine, tell me how you want me to thank you." With the problems solved, Serena was in a generous mood—and besides, even teasing Prince Nolan had its limits.

When she was in a bad mood, Prince Nolan would coax her willingly, never getting angry no matter how she acted. But now that she was clearly in high spirits, if she went too far, Prince Nolan would turn on her.

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"How should you thank me? Let me think." Prince Nolan didn’t miss the laughter in Serena’s eyes, and with a show of seriousness, he suddenly scooped her up, spun around, and set her on the table behind him.

"This will do as thanks."

Ah—Serena was startled and quickly clung to Prince Nolan.

Cover your ears!

Cover your eyes!

Outside the door, the shadow guards hurriedly raised their hands, but got tangled up, unsure whether to cover their ears or their eyes. In the end, they decided to cover one ear and one eye each—this way, they could still protect their master while neither seeing nor hearing anything.

Brilliant! The shadow guards smiled to themselves, feeling a bit proud.

With a loud crash, Prince Nolan swept the pens, ink, paper, and inkstone off the table and leaned in, pressing Serena beneath him. "How about repaying me with your body?"

Ever since their return from Lyndaria, Left Bank had been the third wheel the whole way—Prince Nolan hadn’t gotten a single chance. Now that they were finally back in the Capital, he’d wanted to hold Serena, but a mountain of problems came crashing down. Now...

With Serena delivered right to his arms, he’d be a fool to let her go. Of course, he didn’t dare go too far—just taking a little advantage was enough for now.

Before Serena could say a word, Prince Nolan deftly undid her cloak. By the time she realized what was happening, her outer garments were nearly stripped away.

"Shh, don’t speak." As soon as Serena moved, Prince Nolan pinned her down, pressing his finger to her lips.

"Uh..." Serena froze, never expecting someone as serious as Prince Nolan to have such a wild side.

This is a study—a place for serious business. Prince Nolan was being far too wicked.

Boom...

A wave of heat rushed through Serena’s body. She couldn’t see it, but she was certain even her toes were red by now. Prince Nolan was about to devour her right on the study table—wasn’t this a bit too impatient?

"This is the study," Serena whimpered in protest.

"So? Isn’t the study a place for getting things done?" Prince Nolan replied, words laced with double meaning. He didn’t actually plan to go all the way here—he just wanted to tease Serena.

Don’t think he didn’t know Serena left him out on purpose. Seeing her nervous and shy, Prince Nolan couldn’t resist getting playful.

Their lips met. Prince Nolan captured Serena’s lips in a deep kiss, and while she was dazed, his tongue slipped inside, conquering her completely—Serena nearly fainted from the kiss.

Looking thoroughly satisfied, Prince Nolan drew back and planted a trail of kisses down Serena’s neck, his large hand sliding inside her collar, tracing her curves.

If he couldn’t have the meat, at least he could drink a little soup first.

The calluses on his fingertips brushed over Serena’s smooth skin, making her breath quicken and her cheeks flush. She squirmed restlessly, gasping out, "No..." with what little self-control she had left.

"No can do. This is my reward—your refusal isn’t allowed." As if punishing Serena for resisting, Prince Nolan’s hand slid down to her lower abdomen—dangerously close to forbidden territory.

Serena was mortified and frantic. She never imagined that a conversation with Prince Nolan would end with her stretched out on his study table—his office, no less! If word got out, she’d never show her face again.

With both arms around Prince Nolan’s neck, Serena pulled herself down and buried her face against his neck, gasping, "This is the study. If you want your reward, fine—but at least not here."

She’d die of embarrassment!

"So if we change locations, it’s fine?" Prince Nolan realized his greatest pleasure wasn’t just watching Serena’s many moods, but seeing her blush, get flustered, and surrender beneath him.

This side of Serena was the most beautiful in his eyes—utterly irreplaceable.

Serena wanted to cry. Prince Nolan, how could you be like this? People say you only get lustful when you’re well-fed, and she hadn’t even eaten yet!