Liancastle, Won’t You Give Me an Explanation

Serena Feng’s feelings toward Zed were complicated. She always saw Zed as a child—and as her patient. The darkness in Zed’s nature really was an illness, but unfortunately, it was one she couldn’t cure.

Zed was undeniably cruel, but Serena didn’t want to see him die miserably before her eyes. Learning that he wasn’t involved in the current chaos finally let her breathe easier. She asked, “Do you know who it was?”

To see Nolan’s expression, Serena had to tilt her head up. Before long, her neck grew sore, so she tugged at Nolan’s sleeve, signaling for him to lower his head—she was tired.

So annoying. He was a whole head taller than her, yet liked to stand right in front, forcing her to crane her neck just to see his face—even though most of the time, Nolan’s expression didn’t change at all.

Nolan indulged her with a doting smile and lowered his head to look at Serena. "There’s no proof, but I can guess. If I’m right, Prince Damien of Southlyn probably isn’t dead."

Only someone foolish enough to court death would do something like this. In Nolan’s eyes, Prince Damien was exactly that kind of person.

Prince Damien always loved playing with fire, taking the most dangerous paths. The riskier the game, the more he enjoyed it. A man like him was bound to get burned one day.

"You suspect Prince Damien? He actually survived the disaster at sea?" Serena couldn’t help but marvel—Prince Damien was tougher than a cockroach. Even that couldn’t kill him. What a character.

There didn’t seem to be a single clue, yet Nolan nodded firmly. "If there’s no body, you can’t prove he’s dead. I can’t think of anyone else so stupid. To ally with the evil ones is like bargaining with a tiger for its skin."

Why call those old cultists ‘evil ones’? Not just because their actions were wicked, but because they were unpredictable and treacherous. Aside from someone like Prince Damien, driven to desperation, no ordinary person dared get close to them—afraid they’d be sold out at the last moment.

Those evil cultists never understood what trust meant. Plenty of people had been betrayed by them and ended up miserable.

Serena nodded seriously. "Dealing with evil ones always turns out badly. We should be careful. If it really is Prince Damien behind this, we can’t just ignore it. But if it has nothing to do with him, let’s stay out of it—jianghu matters should stay in the jianghu. We’re not part of that world."

At least not officially. There’s no benefit for them to get involved. If things go well, all the credit goes to Ling Tian for persuading them; if things go badly, it’s Nolan’s fault for lacking ability. It’s a thankless job—better to keep out of it.

"Mm. I’ll send someone to investigate. Don’t worry about Ling Tian—I’ll deal with him myself." Nolan was clearly trying to vent Serena’s anger. She was annoyed with Ling Tian too, but considering Sean Xuan’s position, she added, "Just don’t make it too ugly. He’s still someone we know."

"Mm." Only Nolan knew what he really meant by that. Serena didn’t press further. After finishing her rant about the mess on the road, she brought up the palace.

"The Taishang Emperor summoned me to the palace in Empress Dowager Xie’s name." Serena didn’t hide anything—she doubted she could hide it from Nolan anyway.

"That won’t happen again." Empress Dowager Xie would no longer have that power.

Serena didn’t care about that—no one in the Eastlyn palace could put her in her place. What mattered to her was: "The Taishang Emperor said the assassins who attacked me on the street were from Liancastle. Don’t you owe me an explanation?"

She had no feud with Liancastle. After thinking it over, Serena was sure this had something to do with Nolan.

Sure enough, Nolan’s body stiffened slightly. He said, "This matter is indeed related to me."

"You knew all along?" The smile on Serena’s face faded a little. "Why didn’t you tell me? Did you think I wouldn’t be able to find out, so you tried to hide it from me?"

What exactly was between Nolan and Liancastle? Or maybe, what was Nolan’s connection to Lance Quinn?

Nolan admitted his fault without hesitation, sounding tired. "Serena, I have my reasons. But I want you to trust me—I’ll give you an answer you’ll be satisfied with."

"Alright, I trust you." Serena turned and gripped Nolan’s hand. "But I don’t want this to happen again. I’m really afraid of dying. Especially of dying before I get to kill you for abandoning me—forced to go to the afterlife all alone."

Nolan’s anxiety vanished the moment Serena said that. He pulled her into his arms, breathing in the scent of her hair, and solemnly promised, "Serena, I won’t let you die alone."

"Good. Otherwise, even if I turn into a vengeful ghost, I won’t let you off." Serena stood on tiptoe and bit Nolan’s shoulder hard. He stiffened at the pain, but quickly relaxed and let her bite him.

Serena bit down so hard that the taste of blood spread in her mouth before she finally let go, licking the blood from her lips and declaring proudly, "If there’s a next time, it won’t just be your shoulder bleeding."

"And what would it be?" His shoulder stung, but Nolan didn’t care. He pressed his thumb to Serena’s lips, gently wiping away the blood.

"If there’s a next time, I’ll cripple you." As she spoke, Serena raised her right knee, pressing it against Nolan’s crotch. The ice-mountain prince finally showed fear, pleading, "Serena…"

"Hmph… Good, you know to be afraid." Serena kept her proud air, poking Nolan’s chest with her finger. "Listen, Eastlyn Nine—if you ever act like your imperial brother, using me or our future children as pawns and risking our lives, I won’t just cripple you. I’ll eat your flesh, drink your blood, and turn you into a dried corpse that won’t rot for a thousand years, so you’ll never find peace in any lifetime."

Those words were venomous…

"I won’t." Nolan’s face was expressionless, but he wasn’t scared by Serena’s threat. "I’ll protect you all. No matter how difficult things get, I’ll do my best to give you a peaceful and prosperous life. If one day I can’t protect you, I’ll still stay by your side—always."

This world was too unpredictable. Nolan didn’t dare promise he could keep Serena safe for all eternity. He only promised that, whatever happened, he would always be there…

"Remember what you said." Serena’s voice softened as she leaned into Nolan’s embrace, whispering, "I’ve been so uneasy lately, afraid I’d end up like Empress Dowager Helena and the Eighth Prince. But hearing you say this, I finally feel at peace."

"I’ll never treat you that way." He wasn’t his imperial brother. He had only Serena as his woman, and only she would be the mother of his children. He’d never sacrifice his woman or his children. If he couldn’t guarantee their safety, he’d never let them take risks.

"Mm." Serena said nothing more, just leaned against Nolan, listening to his steady heartbeat, her arms around his waist, holding him tighter and tighter.

Golden sunlight slanted in through the crack in the door, sometimes landing on the hems of their robes, flickering playfully but never able to come between them.

They cherished this moment. In a world wracked by chaos, finding even a brief moment of peace wasn’t easy. Both of them were far from sentimental—no matter how deeply they loved, they would never lose themselves, never abandon duty or country for romance…