Supervision, Poor Scholars and Sons of Great Houses

Before, people only whispered about Prince Damien of Southlyn leading the Four Kingdoms and Nine Cities' navies to their doom at sea. Now? The rumors are cold, hard fact.

Eastlyn’s scouts came back, and their report is brutal: no Lu Family Isle exists, and every last ship from the Four Kingdoms and Nine Cities is gone—swallowed by the sea.

Eastlyn might not have courtroom evidence pinning it all on Prince Damien, but nobody from the Four Kingdoms or Nine Cities cares. Not one bit.

They only sailed because of Damien’s treasure map. Now their navies are wiped out, and whether Damien played them for pawns or not, the blame falls squarely on him. No escape.

The foreign envoys get it—the disaster’s too big, too ugly. They don’t dare linger and all ask to leave. Prince Nolan doesn’t block anyone; he even lets Southlyn and Night City’s envoys go.

If Eastlyn really wanted payback, keeping a couple of envoys hostage would be a joke. Real revenge means raising an army and marching out for blood.

Liancastle’s delegation leaves with the crowd. Maybe it’s guilt, maybe nerves—either way, their envoy doesn’t reach out to Jason Lan before leaving. Even when Jason drops hints about escaping together, they turn him down flat.

It’s not that Liancastle doesn’t care about their Young Master. They’re just scared. With all the envoys watching each other, bringing along two extra people would set off alarms. Better to let Jason slip away solo in the chaos than risk the whole group.

Jason Lan just can’t figure out why the envoy left him behind. Eastlyn is on edge, and he can’t stand leaving empty-handed. If he can’t take Serena’s life, he’ll do whatever it takes to ruin Nolan’s future—even if it means making sure Nolan never has an heir.

He’s been laying low in Eastlyn for months. Except for that one time—when he used his planted men to try killing Serena and pinning it on Prince Jason of Zhou—he hasn’t found another shot.

Jason Lan is bitter—he can't accept leaving like this. That's why he hesitated when the Liancastle envoy came to him. But when they left him behind, he was left stewing, stuck and furious.

Something big is brewing. Jason’s sharp—he can sense trouble coming just from this tiny shift.

Right now, Prince Nolan has ordered everyone to keep quiet about the navy’s annihilation. No panic allowed. Only when the Ministry of Revenue scrapes together enough silver for compensation will the truth break.

With Jason Lan’s current clout in Eastlyn, if the Liancastle envoy hadn’t tipped him off, he’d be totally in the dark.

But no matter how sharp Jason is, it doesn’t change the brutal reality: he’s outmatched, and Nolan holds all the cards. When Nolan hears Liancastle didn’t take Jason, he just sneers, “Keep an eye on him. He’s not some rat who can hide forever.”

As long as Jason’s still in Eastlyn, Nolan’s got him boxed in. This is Nolan’s turf—if Jason tries anything, he’s basically signing his own death warrant.

Paying compensation to the sailors’ families is a monster of a task. If any official skims off the top, the silver shrinks by the time it reaches the grieving families.

It’s always been like this—old dynasty or Four Kingdoms, doesn’t matter. Fake soldiers, stolen military pay... corruption just won’t die.

Nolan won’t let things go wrong this time. He’s been grilling his ministers for days, demanding a plan that makes sure every coin lands in the right hands.

The ministers have plenty of ideas, but Nolan’s not impressed. Sure, the rules sound good—but there are always loopholes for the greedy to slip through.

Nolan isn’t some clueless emperor raised in a golden cage. He knows the ugly truth: if officials stick together, even the throne can’t touch them.

He might have power to burn, but he can’t just kill off every minister. Who’d run the country then? And who says the next batch wouldn’t be just as rotten? If he keeps swinging the axe, Eastlyn would tear itself apart before any foreign army even arrives.

Nolan’s been so stressed about this mess, he’s got blisters at the corners of his mouth. Serena sees him like this and can’t help but chime in: “If you want every coin to reach the families, you need to pick the right people for the job. First, announce the compensation standards loud and clear—then pay out by the book, and send someone to check up after.”

“The prime minister suggested having local officials supervise payouts, but I don’t trust them. If they get bribed, all the rules in the world won’t help. For some officials, silver talks louder than anything. This isn’t just about policy—it’s about picking the right team.”

“Actually, I’ve got a batch of candidates—but I bet you won’t like them.” Serena sees how worn out Nolan looks, so she slips behind him and starts massaging his temples.

Nolan lets out a satisfied hum, relaxing under Serena’s touch. “Who are they? Spill it. If they’re good, I’ll think about it.”

“Those pampered sons from the big aristocratic families—not the ones who cause trouble, just the idle young lords with nothing real to do.” Serena practically bites off the word ‘aristocrat.’

“Them? You really think they can handle it?” Nolan’s skeptical.

“Maybe not on their own, but their families can. These young lords have cushy lives, no real jobs. Give them a shot at honor and reputation, and they’ll bust their backs to succeed. Even if they slack off, their fathers and brothers will shove them forward. Put them in the right spot and they’ll shine.” Serena doesn’t buy the idea that all noble sons are useless; they just need the right push.

And here’s the kicker: these guys are used to seeing huge sums of money. A little compensation silver won’t tempt them. They aren’t short on cash. What they really want is your favor. In the capital, most young lords aren’t bad—just pampered, spoiled, and lazy from never having to fight for themselves.

Being a second-generation aristocrat isn’t a crime. But if every pampered young lord suddenly got ambitious and grabbed a seat in court, Nolan would have a real headache.

Too much power in one family? That’s a nightmare for any ruler.

“I’ll think it over,” Nolan says, half-smiling. It’s also a good chance to quietly win over some of those old aristocratic families.

Those old families might not run the court, but their marriage ties are everywhere—a web that could be a huge asset if used right.

If you’re still worried, you can have poor but ambitious scholars from humble families supervise, or split the duties between them and the noble sons. These two groups have always been rivals. The scholars will fight to do better than the pampered lords, and those young nobles won’t let themselves lose to anyone ‘low-born.’ That way, you harness their competition—and give the underdogs a rare shot.

“Good idea. I’ll bring it up with the ministers.” Serena’s hands work magic, and Nolan’s voice grows softer, trailing off into gentle snores...

The fact that he can sleep like this just shows how wiped out Nolan is lately.