Between us, is there anything we can't talk about...?
William felt a sting in his nose, and his smile almost faltered. Serena's words pulled out all the feelings and longing he had tried so hard to hide.
He and Serena truly have no secrets, but that's only because he has always kept strictly to the role of 'friend.' That's why they can talk about anything—anything except feelings.
From the very start, Serena treated him as a friend and made her refusal clear. He, too, saw her as a friend, a confidant, never considering her gender—never imagining that one day, he would fall for such a woman.
At first, Serena was simply a friend worth knowing in his eyes. He doesn't know when his feelings changed, but Serena still treats him as before: a friend to share everything with, a trusted old companion.
It is his honor, but also his sorrow. William doesn't know whether to blame fate or his own unruly heart for bringing him to this point.
William gave a bitter, silent laugh, blinked, and lowered his head to hide the pain in his eyes, locking away his feelings so Serena wouldn't notice a thing.
Serena sat across from William, not understanding what was on his mind. She simply asked with concern, "William? Is something wrong?"
"Nothing." William looked up, smiling and shaking his head. His eyes were as gentle as ever, perfectly calm—so calm that even he could believe it himself. That’s how deeply he’s hidden his feelings for Serena.
He would always remember the promise of friendship.
Serena didn’t suspect anything and let out a sigh of relief. "You scared me. You were silent for so long, I thought something had happened to you."
"The Wang clan is under my control now. Don’t worry, what happened last time won’t happen again." It cost Caleb dearly, but the peace of the Wang clan was bought at that price. William would never allow anything to go wrong under his watch.
"That’s good. By the way, how’s Caleb doing? Is he recovering well?" Serena asked casually, not realizing William had steered the conversation away, making her forget to press him about his earlier odd mood.
"Very well. He can stand up now." William shared a few updates about Caleb’s condition. After finishing, he finally asked his real question for coming today: "Serena, how long do you plan to stay at Ninth Prince Manor?"
"Uh... Is there a problem?" Serena immediately sensed there was something behind this question.
William gave a gentle laugh, reassuring her: "Nothing serious, just some unpleasant rumors going around outside."
Serena paused, then nodded. "I understand."
Of course, William wouldn’t repeat the details of those rumors—they were too vulgar to say aloud, and Serena didn’t ask. If William had come in person, it meant the gossip was especially nasty.
William knew Serena had her own plans, so he didn’t push further. He stood up to take his leave: "Serena, if you need anything, send someone to find me. I’ll be in the Capital for a while."
"Alright." Serena didn’t refuse and got up to see William off, but he declined: "I can go by myself." After a moment, William suppressed his gentlemanly impulse and said, "Serena, I know you don’t care about some things, but... it’s best to make arrangements early."
Even if she didn't care about herself, she had to consider the late General Feng and Madame Feng. If Serena did something out of line with society's norms, people wouldn't just curse her—they'd curse General Feng, Madame Feng, and say the Feng Manor had no upbringing, no shame.
It wasn't just Serena who would lose face—the whole Feng Manor would suffer.
Serena and Prince Nolan being together was never something society accepted. The gap between them was obvious; once their relationship was exposed, all eyes would turn to Serena, accusing her of social climbing and seducing Prince Nolan.
But Prince Nolan was always the forceful one, making it clear he was the one pursuing Serena. He’d show up at Feng Manor every few days, while Serena stayed reserved and rarely visited Ninth Prince Manor—and even when she did, she never stayed overnight.
People still talked about Serena, but since Prince Nolan was always the one taking the initiative, there was a limit to how bad the gossip got. But now things were different: as soon as rumors spread in the Capital about Charlotte Chu marrying Prince Nolan, Serena moved into Ninth Prince Manor, looking like she planned to stay for good. Once that got out, the criticism against her grew even nastier.
William had always supported Serena. Even if it broke with tradition, he wasn’t one to cling to old rules—but that didn’t mean he could stand outsiders insulting and slandering Serena.
In all this, Serena was a victim too. If only Prince Nolan were decisive and married her outright, people might still say she was social climbing, but at least it would be legitimate.
But now? Serena was condemned by the world, yet hadn’t received anything she deserved. It was just too unfair to her...
William left, but Serena stayed frozen in place, rubbing her right hand along the armrest, dazed, her eyes brimming with tears that didn’t fall.
She understood what William hadn't said, and she knew his worries. Life in Ninth Prince Manor was comfortable, but it felt like losing a limb—she didn't really belong here, couldn't go out freely, and news from outside was filtered through the butler before reaching her.
"What am I even doing?" Serena choked out, lifting her head so her tears wouldn’t fall.
Loving Prince Nolan wasn’t wrong, and being with him wasn’t wrong—but throwing away her family and her reputation for him was.
"There’s only me left in the Feng Manor, and I’m still bringing shame to it. What am I doing?" Serena bit her lip, refusing to let the tears fall.
"Just thinking of myself, not the whole Feng Manor—could anyone be more selfish than me?"
There weren’t many servants in Ninth Prince Manor, and the butler was busy. Everything revolved around Prince Nolan, so no one kept constant watch over Serena. She sat in the flower hall, undisturbed and unnoticed.
Serena snapped out of her thoughts and realized she’d been sitting in the flower hall, lost, for a full half hour—no one had come to check on her. She forced a smile uglier than crying.
That’s the difference between your own home and someone else’s. In Feng Manor, everyone put her first; if she sat alone for half an hour, or even just the time it takes incense to burn, a servant would come show concern, bring tea or snacks, or at least check on her.
The butler wanted her to go out and declare her sovereignty over Prince Nolan, but here in Ninth Prince Manor, she had no sovereignty at all. Outwardly, the staff treated her as the lady of the house, but in reality...?
She didn’t care about titles, but without a legitimate name, her words didn’t count. Even if everyone saw her as the mistress of Ninth Prince Manor, she was still just a guest—a shameless guest living under Prince Nolan’s roof.