Royal Blood Will Never Truly Harm Each Other

Serena Feng carefully helped Titus of Lyndaria put on his shoe and sock, showing not the slightest hint of disgust or disdain. She naturally placed his foot back down, completely unembarrassed.

For a doctor, this was perfectly normal—though most of the time, nurses would do this sort of thing. On the battlefield, Serena had long since gotten used to working without nurses, so doing it herself felt routine.

What was normal for her, was not normal for others.

Boom...

Titus sat motionless, his mind blank, as if a powerful force had suddenly crashed into him, instantly drowning out his reason and softening his cold heart.

In that moment, Titus saw no one else—only Serena Feng, only the calm scene of her helping him put on his shoe and sock.

All these years, palace maids had washed his feet and dressed him daily, but never once had it felt so shocking, never once had it made his eyes sting with emotion.

Since his foot was ruined, this was the first time someone looked at him with the eyes of a normal person; the first time someone didn’t show disgust or fear at his disability; the first time someone dressed his foot like it was nothing special, instead of doing it with anxious caution and unease.

Serena Feng... truly was different from everyone else.

"Ahem..."

Serena Feng had already returned after washing her hands, but Titus was still lost in thought. Nolan had to remind him out loud. Fortunately, aside from her initial daze, Serena showed no other reaction; otherwise, Nolan would have been utterly exasperated.

"I was distracted," Titus said, catching Nolan's warning look. He laughed openly; though he found Serena remarkable, he wouldn’t fall out with Nolan over her.

His life belonged to Nolan—he would never forget that.

The silent contest between the two men went unnoticed by Serena. She dried her hands, turned, and said to Titus, "Second Prince, years ago your left foot bones were crushed by a heavy object. The physician’s treatment was inadequate, causing everything below your calf to waste away and die. Unless a god appears in this world, your left foot cannot grow back."

"The physician's treatment was inadequate? Miss Feng, what do you mean by that?" Titus automatically ignored the rest; he’d long known his left leg couldn’t be restored, and now pinned his hopes on a transplant—though success was far from certain.

"Exactly what it sounds like. The doctor who treated you back then was either an incompetent quack or had been bribed. Your left leg was ruined because something went wrong during the fixation process, which caused secondary injury."

Serena was the type who never shied away from trouble. Normally, no physician would say such things—especially when the patient was royalty. Anyone could guess the tangled mess behind this.

Ordinarily, she wouldn’t have said it either. But tonight, she was in a foul mood—a very foul mood. The reason was simple: Nolan had set her up, giving her such a thorny case to treat, clearly just to cause her trouble. Yet, as a doctor, she couldn’t simply walk away.

Of course, it wasn’t her own diagnosis—she’d checked the Smart Med-Pack’s scan results while washing her hands. The Med-Pack had performed an X-ray of Titus’s left lower leg, and from the image, Serena could confirm that the damage was due to secondary injury, and deliberately inflicted.

"So it was the doctor’s fault? They ruined my leg on purpose?" Titus’s pale face twisted, and his eyes, usually lifeless, turned fierce and terrifying.

"Mother... it was Mother... why—?"

Titus’s veins bulged, cold sweat pouring from his forehead as his entire body convulsed. At first glance, it looked like a seizure, but up close it was clear—he was writhing in agony. Afraid he might bite his tongue, Serena grabbed a teacup lid from the table and shoved it into his mouth.

"Calm down." Serena signaled for Nolan to hold Titus down, while she massaged his calf and stretched his limbs. After a long while, Titus finally regained his composure, the teacup lid falling to the floor with a bloody snap, shattered to pieces.

"I—I’m fine," Titus gasped, his face deathly pale as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Good. That’s all that matters," Serena replied, not saying more. From Titus’s words, she could tell his disability was connected to his mother. A tiger may not eat its cubs, but the women of the inner palace were truly terrifying.

Still, none of that concerned her. To Serena, Titus was just a patient; she followed her duty as a doctor and told him the truth about his condition. As for the secrets behind it, she was sorry, but that wasn’t her concern—she was just the physician.

"Thank you, Miss Feng," Titus said, wiping the blood from his lips. His cheeks were flushed from the struggle, his eyes misty, giving him an unusual allure—but neither of the other two present paid it any mind.

"No need to thank me, it’s my job. If you want to thank someone, thank Ninth Royal Uncle—I’m only here because I owe him a favor." Serena pointed at the silent Nolan.

She didn’t need Titus to remember her kindness; as long as he remembered Ninth Royal Uncle’s, that was enough.

"Miss Feng cares a lot about Ninth Royal Uncle," Titus remarked, his tone tinged with envy.

Nolan’s face was expressionless, but the corner of his lips curved ever so slightly—a hint so small it was barely visible. The next moment, that smile froze as Serena said, "Second Prince, you’re overthinking. I just want to clear my debt to Ninth Royal Uncle so he’ll stop scheming against me."

Nolan’s expression stiffened. He opened his mouth to say something, but when he saw Serena’s provocative look, he swallowed his words and just cursed her ingratitude inwardly.

What did she mean by ‘scheming against her again’? He only schemed because she was Serena Feng—he wouldn’t bother with just anyone.

He schemed for her because he cared; because he believed only she was worthy to stand by his side through storms.

If he didn’t trust Serena’s ability to handle emergencies, he wouldn’t always include her in his plans. He just wanted her in his world, close enough not to drift away—but she never appreciated it.

Uh... Titus was stunned. He hadn’t expected Serena to speak so sharply, nor for Nolan to say nothing in response.

He realized, then, that their relationship was far from ordinary; the rumors outside didn’t even begin to describe it.

One was proud, one was indulgent; they cared deeply for each other, yet constantly competed—neither willing to yield.

Watching the two battle it out with their eyes, Titus finally gave a genuine smile for the first time that night.

He had a feeling—no matter what happened, these two would never truly hurt each other. To have someone like that by your side for a lifetime meant life was not wasted.

He was envious, he was jealous...

"Miss Feng, is there still hope for my leg?" Titus saw Serena and Nolan lost in their own world and had to remind them that there was a third person present. He was a grown man, yet had been so thoroughly ignored...