New Year’s Eve, Chaos in Lyndaria’s Inner Palace

Although Serena Feng is not considered an enemy by the Four Kingdoms, she is definitely seen as a public enemy by the assassin world. Having Zuo An protect her is only a temporary measure—it cannot solve the problem at its root.

On this issue, Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan and William Wang Jinling share the same view: Serena must take the Assassin Alliance for herself. Only then can the bounty problem truly be resolved.

Of course, this isn’t a simple task. Even Nolan covets the Assassin Alliance, but he has to admit it’s a tough bone to chew—one careless move and it could break your teeth.

But this hard bone must be chewed—otherwise, Serena will never know peace.

Thinking of the waves of assassins lately, Nolan’s head aches. It only strengthens his resolve to subdue Zuo An—let Zuo An deal with those headaches instead!

"Serena, you don’t need to worry about the Lyndarian royal family. I’ll shield you for a while. What you need to do now is find a way to win Zuo An over. Three to five years is enough—if we have those years, we’ll find a way to handle the Assassin Alliance."

"I understand. Let me think about how to make Zuo An willingly protect me." Although there were no assassination attempts on the way to Lyndaria, the occasional scent of blood made Serena keenly aware—

It wasn’t that no assassins came; it’s just that Nolan’s men dealt with them ahead of time. Finding someone truly capable to protect her is a must. Winning Zuo An over is easy, but making him genuinely care about her safety is much harder—after all, her life or death means nothing to him.

Serena does have a few ideas, but they’re only auxiliary levers. Good enough for Nolan to recruit Zuo An, but not enough for her to win his wholehearted protection.

Serena paced back and forth inside the room. Nolan didn’t rush her, just sat quietly, waiting for her to come up with a workable plan. They still had time—no need to hurry.

This trip to Lyndaria had two goals: one was to find Zuo An, the other was to prepare a spectacular wedding gift for Princess Yara. Nolan had not forgotten how Prince Terrence kicked them when they were down, nor Princess Yara’s attacks on Serena.

Since those siblings struck first, Nolan had no qualms about striking back twice as hard.

That night, Serena still hadn’t figured out a good solution. Nolan didn’t rush her—he simply told her he’d be going out and asked her to be careful while alone.

“Go ahead, I’ll be fine.” Serena helped straighten Nolan’s collar, smiling as she saw him out the door. If you ignored their true identities, they really did look like a newlywed couple. Even Nolan’s mood seemed warmer as he left the inn.

It wasn’t easy for Nolan to come to Lyndaria, so while he was here, he had to meet the agent they’d planted years ago—and make some moves of his own.

The innkeeper had already made preparations. Nolan left the inn and quietly boarded a plain, green-curtained carriage, heading straight for Lyndaria’s largest pleasure district.

Passing Sleeve Street, the carriage slowed, pulling alongside another identical green-curtained carriage at the corner. It stopped briefly, and the other carriage’s passenger quickly slipped out and into Nolan’s carriage.

“Master.” The newcomer ducked into the carriage and immediately knelt, somehow managing it in the cramped space.

“Rise.” Nolan studied the agent he’d planted in Lyndaria fifteen years ago.

Fifteen years ago, Owen Ouyang had been just a poor, struggling scholar on the verge of starvation. No one could have predicted that, years later, he’d become Deputy Commander of Lyndaria’s Brocade Guard—the kingdom’s top intelligence agency.

No matter how capable Owen was, he couldn’t have climbed from a destitute scholar to Deputy Commander in just fifteen years without Nolan’s help. Nolan had paved his way from the shadows, and now it was time for Owen to repay that debt.

After learning about Lyndaria’s situation and the network’s progress, Nolan affirmed Owen’s work but pressed him to accelerate the placement of new agents.

Once Owen gave his assurance, Nolan ended the lecture and issued new orders: “Tell Ruby Redsleeve to act at the New Year’s Eve banquet, and make sure she spends more time with the Empress beforehand.”

“Understood.” Nolan didn’t spell it out, but Owen caught the meaning immediately.

Ruby Redsleeve was their pawn in the Lyndarian harem—the favored consort who’d recently conceived a royal heir. Nolan’s order meant she was to deliberately miscarry at the banquet.

Spending time with the Empress beforehand wasn’t about framing her; it was about showing the Empress’s support—so the real target would be Lady Yvonne.

The Empress was Prince Titus’s mother; Lady Yvonne was mother to Prince Terrence and Princess Yara.

By succession law, Prince Titus, as the legitimate firstborn, should have been the natural Crown Prince. But as a child, he was abducted and crippled, losing his claim to the throne.

Prince Titus once suspected his mother was behind his crippling, but after a frank conversation, new doubts arose.

Though he still couldn’t fully trust his mother, circumstances forced mother and son to unite against outsiders.

Although there was still no hard evidence, all signs pointed to Lady Yvonne, who gave birth to Terrence and Yara, as the most likely culprit behind Titus’s crippling. She benefited most from his downfall.

Lyndaria’s Brocade Guard was just like Eastlyn’s Bloodcloak Guard—a royal ace, officially a brutal interrogation force, but in reality the largest intelligence network in the realm. It lurked in the shadows, gathering information and carrying out secret missions for the Emperor, much like Nolan’s own Divine Tactics Corps.

“Thank you, Master.”

Owen Ouyang lifted his head, but the moment he saw Nolan, he froze in shock.

He’d always known his master was exceptional, but he hadn’t expected someone so outstanding. Nolan’s reputation as Eastlyn’s Ninth Royal Uncle was legendary, but seeing him in person was a whole different shock.

Owen stared, completely dazed, until Nolan’s expression turned cold and he tapped the carriage wall. Owen snapped out of it, bowing his head and not daring to rise. “I deserve punishment, Master. Please discipline me.”

“Go to the punishment office and receive your discipline.” Nolan was not soft-hearted; for an intelligence officer to lose focus so easily was unacceptable.

“Yes.” Owen broke into a cold sweat and hurriedly agreed, realizing that while his master was dazzling, he was definitely not easy to serve. Nolan’s presence was so overwhelming that Owen nearly forgot how to speak.

Even facing the Emperor, Owen had never been this nervous.

Seeing Owen finally subdued, a cold glint flashed in Nolan’s eyes. Owen’s loyalty was good, but he was still young—if Nolan didn’t assert control at their first meeting, who knew if Owen would stay true?

Nolan let Owen keep kneeling and began questioning him about Lyndaria’s current situation and the progress of their network.

Gathering intelligence required all kinds of people; Owen alone wasn’t enough. Over the years, he hadn’t openly betrayed Lyndaria—his mission was to gain power and plant agents.