Twenty Miles of Punishment and Small Happiness

I've been waiting for you. I wanted to be the first person you saw when you came out.

It was a line that could make anyone's heart flutter. For a split second, Serena's heart skipped a beat, but she quickly calmed herself. Meeting Ninth Royal Uncle's gaze, Serena naturally looked away and walked toward him.

"If His Highness wished to see me, a formal summons would have sufficed. No matter how bold I am, I would never dare defy the Regent Prince's command." Now only half a step away, Serena stood before Prince Nolan, looked up at him, and smiled brightly...

She was clearly smiling, yet the look in her eyes made Ninth Royal Uncle's heart ache: such a bitter smile did not belong to his Serena.

It seemed he had made another mistake.

After a moment of silent self-reflection, Prince Nolan stiffly replied, "That was official business."

With a single sentence, he tried to brush aside everything that had happened before—was it really that easy?

Serena gave a cold laugh and followed his lead: "Thank you for the reminder, Ninth Royal Uncle. I am well aware of my status. Sent here by imperial order, I will not let the court down."

In the past, Serena would never have quibbled with Prince Nolan over such trivial matters. When two people are together, they have to tolerate each other's little tempers and quirks—just as Nolan always tolerated hers. But today...

Please forgive her—she's so busy she's dizzy, she can't even think straight.

"May I ask what official business brings Your Highness to me? If there is nothing else, please excuse me." Seeing Prince Nolan's expression turn blank, Serena couldn't help but jab at him again.

Forgive her for acting like a porcupine right now, recklessly bristling at Prince Nolan. If it hadn't hurt so much before, she wouldn't need all these spikes to protect herself.

"This is personal business now." Prince Nolan frowned, realizing Serena was truly upset. But that was for the best—it's better to show dissatisfaction than to bottle it up. Being too calm with each other wasn't healthy either.

"Personal business? Your Highness really knows how to keep work and life separate," Serena mocked. "Since we're in the military camp, you should set an example and stick to official matters."

Afraid she might say something even more hurtful, Serena took a step back, circled around Prince Nolan, and headed toward her own tent.

Ninth Royal Uncle didn't get angry or try to stop her—he simply followed silently behind Serena.

The two of them walked one after the other, their pace and rhythm perfectly in sync. Early risers in the camp saw Prince Nolan obediently trailing behind someone and rubbed their eyes, thinking they must be seeing things so early in the morning.

"Quick, go call the generals over. What a spectacle—this is a once-in-a-millennium event!" Under Ninth Royal Uncle's strict standards, the soldiers had suffered plenty, so seeing him humbled now made them gleeful.

"This new Dr. Feng is something else—first day here and she's already got Prince Nolan eating out of her hand. Legendary." The rough soldiers weren't exactly refined, but they knew better than to badmouth their superiors outright. They kept their voices low, making sure Prince Nolan couldn't hear.

But what they didn't know was that, with Prince Nolan's keen hearing, he caught every single word. He wasn't going to bother with them right now, but they'd better pray Serena let him into her tent—otherwise, none of them would have a good time.

At the entrance to her tent, Serena stopped, turned, and blocked Ninth Royal Uncle's path. "I've been up all night and I'm exhausted. I really can't host you right now—please do as you wish."

Without waiting for Ninth Royal Uncle to respond, Serena went inside and dropped the curtain. Just one thin curtain between them—he could have lifted it and entered, but Serena knew he wouldn't. That was his pride as a man.

Inside the tent, the Eighteen Riders, having learned Serena was coming back, had already prepared hot water for her and stood guard at a distance, making sure no man but Prince Nolan could approach.

Poor Dorian Owen had finally heard that Serena was back and was excited to see her after half a year apart. But the Eighteen Riders blocked him outside. He tried shouting to let Serena know, but instead of alerting her, he ended up drawing Prince Nolan's attention.

Prince Nolan had waited almost the entire night, only to be turned away at the door. He was in no mood for pleasantries—and Dorian Owen couldn't have picked a worse time to show up.

Prince Nolan walked over and, without waiting for Dorian Owen to salute, ordered, "Everyone—ten miles, fully loaded."

"Huh?" Dorian Owen was stunned, not understanding at all. Nolan's gaze turned even colder: "Fifteen miles."

"What?" Dorian's eyes went wide. Now he understood, but what had he done to deserve this? How did it jump from ten miles to fifteen?

"Twenty. Miles." Prince Nolan pronounced each word slowly and clearly.

Dorian Owen was about to explode—Prince Nolan was being completely unreasonable. He wanted to argue, but remembered that every word he'd spoken had added five miles to the punishment. If he said any more, it might go beyond twenty. So he could only grit his teeth and nod, reluctantly replying, "As you command."

"Very good." Prince Nolan left, satisfied. Before he went, he gave the Eighteen Riders a special look—prompting them to quickly lower their heads and pretend to be fascinated by the patterns on the ground.

"You guys are unbelievable." As soon as Prince Nolan left, Dorian Owen came back to life and started scolding the Eighteen Riders.

These jerks actually pushed him out as the scapegoat—too much! He swore to let his snow wolves loose on them when he got back.

The Eighteen Riders weren't afraid of Dorian Owen. They brushed off his hand and smugly replied, "You brought this on yourself. Prince Nolan was standing right there and you didn't notice? You were asking for it."

Prince Nolan's icy aura was so strong, they could feel it from a distance. Dorian Owen walked right into it—if they hadn't let him take the fall, they'd never forgive themselves.

"You bunch of jerks!" Dorian Owen was so frustrated he could scream. Beating his chest and stomping his feet, he shouted, "Ahhh... Heaven, you're too cruel! Twenty miles with extra weight, and I didn't even get to see Serena—what a ripoff!"

The Eighteen Riders just cleaned out their ears, acting like they hadn't heard a thing. Dorian knew he was no match for them alone, and in the military camp, he couldn't break discipline to fight them. So he could only glare at them and, full of resentment, lead his men off to carry out Prince Nolan's orders.

"One, two, one, two..." In the dead of winter, a group of men ran until sweat poured off them, stripped down to just their thin shirts.

The shadow guards hid in a corner, munching on steamed buns and smacking their lips, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.

For the past two years, they'd been sent back for special training by Prince Nolan every few days. Seeing these men punished now finally made them feel a bit better.

Well, finally someone else is as unlucky as we are. Life is almost too good right now!

Just as the shadow guards were feeling smug, a voice rang out behind them, making them jump: "As shadow guards, where has your vigilance gone? I was standing right behind you and you didn't notice."

"Please punish us, Master." The shadow guards dropped to their knees with a thud, faces pale, silently lamenting: Prince Nolan's skills were leagues above theirs. If he wanted to hide, they'd never spot him—no way.

This time they really ran straight into the muzzle—caught red-handed by their own happiness!