Master Ian Reed’s move didn’t just slap the royal family’s face—it shoved their scandals into the hands of their enemies. The rival kingdom is laughing, and the Lyndarian Emperor wants him dead. Who could blame him?
Everyone present looked at Master Ian Reed with sympathy, forgetting that after decades of endurance, he wouldn’t choose today to lash out unless he had something to fall back on. At the very least, Prince Nolan—who’d backed him before—wouldn’t just stand by and do nothing.
Sure enough, Prince Nolan—who’d been quietly watching the drama—glanced at Master Ian Reed and spoke up to support him: “Your Majesty, I see the prime minister’s eyes are clear, his words sharp—he hardly seems deranged. As for what he said, I can vouch for him. Not long ago, I ran into the Princess Royal at Skyvault Fortress. At the time, her bedchamber guest was none other than Prince Damien of Southlyn, who’s supposed to be a prisoner. Besides me, plenty of martial world experts know about this. If Your Majesty doubts it, send someone to ask around.”
If Master Ian Reed’s words were a boulder dropped into a calm lake, Prince Nolan’s were a thunderclap out of nowhere. Not only Lyndarian officials, but even the Eastlyn ones were stunned—then the hall erupted in a fresh wave of chatter.
If only Master Ian Reed had spoken, Lyndaria could claim he was smearing the Princess Royal. But with Prince Nolan stepping in, Lyndaria can’t possibly stand up and insist he’s slandering her too.
No one knows the Princess Royal’s true character better than Lyndaria’s own people. If she’s rotten, she can’t blame others for calling her out.
“Prince Damien of Southlyn? That useless prince was also the Princess Royal’s bedchamber guest? She’s truly shameless.”
“Disgraceful, absolutely disgraceful—she’s brought utter shame to the royal family! A woman like this should’ve been drowned in a pig cage long ago. This time, no matter what, the Emperor can’t protect her.”
Someone muttered, and the hall instantly fell silent. Heads bowed—no one dared speak, afraid the Emperor would single them out and have them killed.
“Ahem…” Prince Nolan, just as the Lyndarian Emperor wished, stood up: “Your Majesty, if one can’t keep their own house in order, how can they rule the world? This is Lyndaria’s family business—I won’t intrude. As for the banquet, there’s no rush. Once you’ve investigated the Princess Royal, we can discuss it again.”
After Prince Nolan stirred up the whole pond, he just left the mess behind, patted himself off, and walked away—leaving the Lyndarian officials staring at each other in shock.
He did that on purpose, didn’t he?
“Could you be any more wicked?” Serena listened to Prince Nolan’s account, her face twitching. At this point, she couldn’t decide whether to pity Master Ian Reed more, or the Princess Royal.
Master Ian Reed and Prince Nolan had completely ripped away the Princess Royal’s last shred of dignity. Now, even if the Lyndarian Emperor wants to protect her, he’ll have to consider what the moral guardians think.
The Princess Royal’s actions weren’t just a provocation against Master Ian Reed’s family—they were a direct challenge to male authority.
In a world that worships men, as long as no one exposed the Princess Royal’s scandals, everyone could pretend not to know. But Master Ian Reed dragged everything into the sunlight. If the court ignores it now, it’s as if they’re letting a woman trample all over them. Most importantly...
The scandal has already reached Eastlyn. If they don’t handle it well, the shame will spread there too.
“The bigger the scandal, the safer Master Ian Reed becomes. I just wonder what the Princess Royal will do.” Serena couldn’t help admiring him—a desperate, burn-the-boats courage not everyone has. Master Ian Reed must’ve truly been driven to the edge.
Prince Nolan peeled a grape and fed it to Serena, speaking calmly: “No matter what the Princess Royal does, she won’t be able to kill Master Ian Reed. He may be the Prince Consort, but he’s also the prime minister—the only consort in Lyndaria with real power. He’s no simple man, and he won’t just sit and wait for death.”
His status is set. After this, the Lyndarian royal family’s reputation is ruined, and Master Ian Reed probably won’t remain prime minister for long. But if he can use the post to break free of the Princess Royal, I bet he’ll be happy to trade it.
“Not necessarily. No one can predict the future.” Prince Nolan replied, mysterious as ever, making Serena curious: “Do you know something, or are you secretly plotting something?”
“This is Lyndaria—what could I possibly be plotting?” Prince Nolan laughed, feeding Serena another grape.
The crystal-clear grape made Prince Nolan’s fingers look even paler. Serena took the grape he offered, and lightly bit his fingertip as she did.
Hiss... Prince Nolan sucked in a breath—the tingling in his finger made his mind wander.
Serena grinned mischievously and lay back down before Prince Nolan could react, saying confidently, “I don’t know what you’ve done, but I know you wouldn’t let this chance slip by. You’ve got people around the Princess Royal, don’t you?” If she were Prince Nolan, she wouldn’t pass up a chance like this either.
“That’s right. I do have people close to the Princess Royal.” Planting agents at her side wasn’t all that hard—she’s always surrounded by servants and loves showing off, never goes out without an entourage. There are plenty of gaps to exploit.
“With your people around her, things get much easier. The Princess Royal has been losing ground lately, and with the Cui clan suppressing her, she’s almost at a dead end. Without strong outside support, she’ll soon vanish from Lyndaria’s power game, with no chance of a comeback. Given her personality, she’ll never accept that. At a moment like this, all it takes is a little push and she’ll risk everything in a desperate fight.” As Serena spoke, she sat up straight, her eyes growing serious. After a moment’s thought, she suddenly looked up at Prince Nolan.
“Is the Princess Royal planning a rebellion?” Serena’s jaw dropped—the more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
If she doesn’t rebel, she has to admit defeat—and with her temperament, there’s no way she could stand that.
Prince Nolan’s eyes shone with appreciation. He nodded: “You’re absolutely right. But the Princess Royal isn’t just thinking about rebellion—she’s already done it. After Master Ian Reed entered the palace, she slipped out of her residence that very night. She’s already outside the city by now.”
Prince Nolan shared all the intelligence he’d received with Serena, holding nothing back.
“What...” Serena was stunned. “She’s already rebelled? No warning, just rushing into it—doesn’t she worry about failing?” If rebellion were that easy, Prince Nolan would’ve done it long ago.
“Dummy. If the Princess Royal’s had this on her mind, she’s definitely prepared. By striking while the iron’s hot, she might just have a slim chance.” Prince Nolan pressed Serena back so she wouldn’t strain her wound. “Don’t worry about any of this—no matter how far she goes, she can’t hurt you.”
“Okay...” Serena obediently lay down, but didn’t close her eyes—instead, she stared right at Prince Nolan...
Prince Nolan didn’t come to Lyndaria just to fetch her, or to visit the National Preceptor, did he?