Research and Teaching the Emperor a Lesson

Waaaah...

Beanie cried his heart out. He wasn’t faking it—he was genuinely devastated.

Day after day of training was boring, but he honestly liked army life and desperately wanted to be a general. Now he couldn’t even go back to camp—how could he ever become a general, or fulfill his ambitions, or finally stomp Left Shore into the ground?

He couldn’t beat Left Shore in a fight, wasn’t as good an assassin, and let’s not even mention his sense of direction… The only thing he might have over Left Shore was his army experience. He couldn’t give up his one chance to outdo him!

"Serena, help me think of a way! Worst case, I’ll take whatever military punishment comes." Beanie gritted his teeth, looking every bit the tragic hero.

Serena had a headache...

She really did have a headache. Most of the army rules were set by her, and one of them was specifically about dealing with deserters. For someone like Beanie, who’d snuck out of camp, getting caught meant only one thing: death.

Every soldier she commanded belonged to her private army—an existence that couldn’t be revealed to outsiders, so discipline was even stricter. But Beanie was clearly someone who didn’t play by the rules, and he’d gotten in through her back door, breaking all protocol from the start.

People like him were a nightmare to deal with. If she sent Beanie back to the army as if nothing had happened, everyone else would resent it and say he was taking advantage of his connection to her, ignoring all discipline and treating the rules as a joke.

If things went on like that, who would ever take the rules seriously again?

"You really are a troublemaker." Serena had originally wanted to let Snow Wolf rough Beanie up to vent her anger, but seeing how pitifully he cried, she gave up, just kicked him once, and left him alone.

Serena didn’t kick him hard, but Beanie still managed to go flying several steps. Serena knew he was just putting on a show and didn’t bother to call him out.

When it came to playing the victim, Ninth Royal Uncle was miles ahead of Beanie—Beanie still had a lot to learn.

Sure enough, as soon as Serena went inside, Left Shore saw Beanie hop up from the ground, not a trace of sadness on his face. He dusted himself off and gave Left Shore a goofy, innocent grin.

"Aren’t you afraid Serena will beat you up?" Left Shore was confused—Beanie had just been bawling his eyes out, and now he was grinning.

How thick-skinned was Beanie, anyway?

"Serena can’t bear to really hit me." Beanie said smugly. Left Shore ignored his annoying grin and asked, "You’re not worried at all?" He knew just how much Beanie wanted to be a great general.

"With Serena handling things, what’s there to worry about? Don’t stress, Left Shore—she’ll fix everything for me. Her heart’s too soft; if I act pitiful, she’ll help me out." Beanie patted his chest, trying to reassure Left Shore.

Even if the sky fell, Serena would be the one holding it up.

Damn, Beanie had gotten way more cunning than before.

Left Shore looked at Beanie as if he didn’t know him, eyeing him strangely.

Was this really the same second fool he knew? Beanie actually had clever moments—he’d even tricked Serena! The kid was finally growing up.

"L-Left Shore, why are you looking at me like that?" Beanie felt creeped out by Left Shore’s stare and asked cautiously, "Your eyes are scary."

"I’m just proud of you." Left Shore withdrew his gaze and patted Beanie on the shoulder. "I’ll be waiting for the day you become a great general."

Someone this crafty shouldn’t be wasted—not leading troops would be a real loss of talent.

Beanie’s eyes lit up. He instantly forgot his earlier caution and blurted, "Left Shore, you really think I could be a great general?"

"Definitely. I’ve got high hopes for you." If Beanie didn’t make it as a general, Serena would probably be driven crazy by him.

Suddenly, Left Shore felt sorry for Serena. Having to deal with someone like Beanie—she really was unlucky.

Hopefully, when Feng Jin grows up, he won’t turn out like Beanie. If Serena had another one like him, she’d probably lose years off her life.

Honestly, just one Beanie was enough to turn Serena’s hair gray from worry. If Feng Jin ended up like him too, Serena might as well give up.