A sudden gust of wind swept by, mixed with the sharp screams of Xia Wan and the others. Serena Feng froze for a moment, but her body reacted faster than her mind—she instantly stepped back, shifted her stance to dodge the collision, and assumed a fighting posture. When the man in blue rushed at her, Serena grabbed his arms with both hands, but couldn't throw him down. Clearly, the man was quite skilled himself.
"Wait, it's me." Just then, the man in blue spoke up, lifting his head to reveal a face that was somewhat dirty.
"Felix Fuller? Why is it you?" Serena Feng released her grip, staring in confusion at the man before her. It had only been a few days, yet Felix now looked like a stray dog—so different from when he taught her a lesson for stealing his horse. The contrast was almost unbelievable.
Felix let out a bitter laugh. "Who else would it be? Serena Feng, you've really made things hard for me."
"I've made things hard for you? What happened?" Serena gave Felix a quick once-over. Though he looked disheveled, his eyes were still sharp—clearly, he hadn't suffered too much.
After Felix entered the city, Ninth Royal Uncle took him away, promising to get him properly registered. Felix, of course, didn't refuse. Who could have guessed that as soon as Nolan entered the capital, trouble would keep piling up? Ninth Prince Manor was sealed, and there was no time to deal with a small fry like Felix.
Felix was living at Ninth Prince Manor when the Imperial Guards found him. Upon investigation, they discovered he was an unregistered vagrant and immediately tried to throw him in jail—which would add another charge to Nolan: harboring vagrants.
If this vagrant turned out to be connected to a foreign country, Nolan would face yet another accusation—colluding with enemy states—and be even closer to death.
Naturally, Felix wouldn't just let himself be captured. He ran on the spot, and the Imperial Guards have been hunting him all over the capital. He's a major witness, and the more charges they can pin on Nolan, the more it looks like the whole city wants him dead and the Emperor is wise and mighty.
Felix might be skilled, but he couldn't escape the imperial capital. After two days of hiding, the Imperial Guards finally found him. One chase led straight to Serena Feng.
Just as Felix finished explaining, the Imperial Guards caught up. Once again, Serena Feng found herself facing off against them. This time, the squad was unfamiliar—Serena didn't recognize their faces, and judging by their attitude, they didn't recognize her either. When they saw Felix and Serena standing together, they rudely said, "Who is this lady? Best stay out of other people's business. We’re on official duty; anyone who gets in the way will be treated as an accomplice."
A low-ranking Imperial Guard asking questions like that didn’t warrant a reply from Serena. Mira Tang stepped forward, produced a waist token, and displayed it clearly: "My lady is the eldest miss of the House of Loyalty Marquis."
As for her name, there was no need to tell a few random Imperial Guards. That was how a true noblewoman showed poise and pride.
"The House of Loyalty Marquis? The Miss Feng from the West District courtyard?" Only then did the Imperial Guards realize who was standing before them, their eyes widening in shock.
Just yesterday, they’d heard colleagues talk about how Serena Feng had forced Imperial Guards to kneel. How could they have run into her today? Such a beautiful young lady, yet so audacious.
Thinking of those few colleagues’ fearful expressions, the Imperial Guards looked at Serena Feng with a bit more dread. Unable to help themselves, they showed a hint of wariness. Still, they remembered they were on official duty—this time, their justification was rock solid. Even if Serena tried to invoke the late Emperor or the Saint-Min Empress, it would do no good.
"That's right, my lady is exactly who you think she is." Mira Tang answered proudly, her posture radiating confidence.
Serena Feng stood there, smiling. She hadn’t said a word from start to finish, yet no one dared ignore her presence. A few Imperial Guards quietly tried to look her over, but the moment they met her cold, commanding gaze, they flinched and quickly lowered their heads, not daring to look again.
Both sides held their ground. Serena’s group was small, mostly women, but their aura didn’t lose out to the armored Guards. Felix watched this scene unfold, sizing up Serena’s gaze—her lashes flickered, concealing a strange glint in her eyes.
Because there were officials present, even the people on the main street who wanted to watch didn’t dare get too close. They only snuck glances from afar, pretending to be busy. Serena waited a while, seeing the Imperial Guards stand frozen for ages, and started to get a bit impatient.
She’d already been the center of attention twice in one day, and Serena was honestly fed up. She had no interest in constantly becoming the talk of the town—after all, that was never a good thing. She shot Mira Tang a look; Mira caught on immediately and spoke up: "Gentlemen, this young man is my lady’s honored guest, new to the capital and unfamiliar with local customs. If he’s committed any offense, please forgive him. My lady will come to apologize properly another day."
Her words made it clear: Serena intended to take Felix Fuller away. But the Imperial Guards weren’t having it. "Miss Feng, we’re sorry, but this gentleman is from Ninth Prince Manor. He’s not on the official roster, and the government has no record of him. By law, he’s a vagrant. Even if he’s not, everyone from Ninth Prince Manor has been detained, and he can’t be an exception."
They were just following procedure. Even if Felix had a household registration, at this point he was living in Ninth Prince Manor, so he’d be treated like everyone else there—rounded up and locked away.
Of course, the Imperial Guards weren’t foolish enough to argue with Serena. They suspected Felix might be a foreign spy.
"This gentleman is my guest, temporarily staying at Ninth Prince Manor. He has no connection to the manor’s affairs." Serena was getting a bit annoyed—she knew she couldn’t handle this situation, and today she might not be able to protect Felix.
The charges against Nolan were set by the Emperor himself. Even if the case hadn’t been tried yet, the Emperor had already issued the order to seal Ninth Prince Manor. Everyone inside was detained; there was no way Felix could be treated differently.
Could Serena’s friends really have nothing to do with Ninth Prince Manor?
The Imperial Guards grumbled to themselves—Serena was blatantly lying. Her relationship with Ninth Royal Uncle wasn’t exactly a secret, and her friend living at Ninth Prince Manor obviously had ties to the household.
Of course, the Guards only dared complain privately—they wouldn’t say it to Serena’s face. None of them wanted to get on her bad side and end up humiliated in front of their colleagues. Instead, they said politely, "Miss Feng, we’re just following orders. If this gentleman truly has no connection to Ninth Prince Manor, you can go to the Capital Prefecture Court and claim him after he’s been processed."
The Imperial Guards wanted to take Felix in, but also gave Serena an out. Once Felix was in custody, it wouldn’t be too hard to get him released—unless someone higher up got involved. They certainly weren’t going to mention that to Serena, except for Felix Fuller himself.
If trouble arose later, it wouldn’t be their problem—they just had to bring in the suspect.
Felix Fuller stood off to the side, his expression shifting, but he never spoke. In Eastlyn Imperial Capital, he had no voice. Serena thought and thought, finally deciding to go along with the Imperial Guards’ procedure.
Yesterday, she’d had the upper hand, but today she had no leverage. Even if she wanted to save Felix, there was nothing she could do right now. She gave Felix an apologetic look and was just about to speak when someone suddenly interrupted...