AT DINNER THAT evening, Myrina was brought to the guest receiving hall, which had been transformed into a space for a large banquet. She was led to her seat, the one on the right of the main seat, where Ryan sat. Her uncle had smartly placed Asteria on the left rather than himself, avoiding any conflict regarding the seating.

Myrina did not comment on it as she waited for Ryan to take his seat before she sat down as well. Like dominoes, everyone began to sit down as the person at a higher position than theirs settled.

Ryan played the role of the aloof, cold and unimpressed Crown Prince. He frowned at every dish that was served and all the performances given by the dancers and singers. He only talked to people from their party rather than any of Myrina's relatives, who Myrina watched from the corner of her eyes.

Uncle Fang looked irritated. Uncle Qiu slightly fearful, and Uncle Xu bored. Most of her cousins were far older now than she remembered, and treated her with about as much respect as they did before. At one point Myrina saw Mai Du, the oldest song of Uncle Fang, want to say something to her, but he was interrupted with a glare from his father before the words left his mouth.

Myrina ignored them. Her station was far above them now, and she was past the age of being the young girl who could be manipulated and controlled. They must have realised this by now, though the change itself seemed to be happening at a slow pace.

The food was served the same way as she remembered it: slightly too strong for her taste. She preferred less seasoned dishes, but the rest of her family disagreed.

"A bit salty," she murmured to Ryan, just loud enough for her nearest uncles to hear. Uncle Qiu's head snapped upwards and he turned to Myrina, outrage on his face, but then he swallowed it all back again as he remembered himself.

"I agree," Ryan whisper-shouted back. "Is this meant to be a Li Han specialty?"

Myrina slowly shook her head. "Not as I remember you."

"I think a pint too much salt was added," Asteria said grimly, "that's all. This is the kind of food that would make Danna squirm." Danna, who was from Xiang Zhou and preferred dishes with even less seasoning than Myrina.

"It is overall still quite excellent," Ryan murmured.

"The food is sourced from the nearby farms and villages, I'll bring you to visit some tomorrow."

Ryan nodded. "Wonderful, wonderful. It'll be excellent talking to some people outside of Hong Cheng. I think that life is very different out there, away from the big, bustling cities. Not that Li Han is small and unbusy by any means, just nowhere as intense as Hong Cheng, you know?"

"Of course, few places can measure up to the capital," Myrina murmured in agreement. They were all being so fake, putting up this show. It made her feel odd, extremely odd, but she knew that it would be worth it in the end. So it didn't matter. They were just working towards their goal, and then they could all be themselves again.

Uncle Fang cleared his throat then, awkwardly pushing his way into the conversation. "Your Highness, are you pleased with the accommodations? I'm aware we could have done better, but ah, we had little time to prepare. Perhaps next time..."

Ryan raised his hand, raising one brow as he sent the man a stony glance. "It could certainly be better, but for Lady Mai's sake, I will let it pass. Lack of time is not an excuse, Mr Mai."

Uncle Fang bowed his head. The rest of her relatives all glanced at each other and showed varying degrees of surprise and shock on their faces, before gazes turned to her instead. Myrina ignored them, taking a small sip of her tea, not meeting anyone's eyes or betraying an inch of her inner glee on her face.

Ryan was doing excellently. This wasn't the kind of plot he usually embroiled himself in. This was more of Irina's thing. Ryan was the boy-king in the sun while Irina was the spymaster hidden in the shadows. That was how they'd always worked. Ryan was not someone who relied on trickery and deceit to get to his goals, but for her, for this once, he participated. He not only participated, he led it.

He'd be a fine leader. He was someone who could tread the waters between the things that could be exposed to the rest of the world, done under everyone's scrutiny, and the things that had to be done behind closed doors. He was going to be alright. Irina didn't need to worry at all.

Malcolm started then. "Mai Wenqiang? Which one of you is Mai Wenqiang?" Wenqiang was the eldest son of her second Uncle Qiu, and it did not take a genius to figure out why Malcolm, an admiral in the navy, would pay special attention to him. Wenqiang was renowned for being a strong combatant, arguably one of the finest swordsmen in this area of the empire. Or so he liked to claim.

Cousin Wenqiang, who was one year younger than Myrina (to his eternal dismay) was sitting behind his father's table, and he stood immediately, leaning forward in a bow with his arms curved together in greeting. "I am, Admiral."

"I hear great things about your swordsmanship. I happen to be a swordsman myself."

"I saw your skill with the sword once many years ago, sir, and it has stayed with me since. Your ability with the weapon and with combat in general is unrivalled." Flattery, flattery and flattery. Malcolm was not that great with a sword. In fact, Justine had easily beat him the few times the two had properly duelled. Iolanthe Mi could beat him even easier. But Malcolm against Wenqiang?

Myrina hated to say it (she did not), but Wenqiang had never gone against anything of a truly good calibre. When he was challenged by someone he thought he'd lose to, he tended to push back the match interminably rather than try to even attempt it. It was this strategy that had allowed him to keep his unofficial title of the best swordsman in Li Han and its surrounding towns.

"I am hardly good," Malcolm mused. "In fact, I'd say even your cousin, Lady Mai, stands a strong chance against me. I am not much of a swordsman, me."

Startled eyes to Myrina again. Malcolm had to know what was afoot, he had to have been told by Ryan or figured it out by himself by now. He was helping in his own way. Her uncles had traditional values of power. They valued the masculine ability over that of female qualities, and one of those was military strength and power. This was Malcolm's way of showing that Myrina was capable in that area too.

Truth be told, the only reason Myrina had ever managed to win that lucky fight against Malcolm when they were sixteen was due to her wiccai physiology. Malcolm's skill and experience far exceeded hers. Myrina was Asteria's opponent, which was still fairly impressive by itself, since Asteria was trained by Lady Kuroki, but Asteria's true talents lay with the rifle. She was a sniper, excellent with her aim.

But no one else needed to know any of this.

Wenqiang, nonplussed, murmured, "I... I was not aware you knew how to fight, biaojie." That meant older female cousin. Once upon a time, Wenqiang would rather die than willingly call her that. It had always been Mai Zimi, or Myrina. Nothing else. It was as if referring to Myrina as someone older than he would immediately give her power over him. It was hilarious.

"Well, we have not spent much time together," Myrina murmured. "I do not think I could easily beat you, Admiral Man. You are too humble."

"I think it is you who are too humble, Myrina," Asteria laughed. "You can beat me at any rate, and my father trained me well."

All her relatives had gone uncharacteristically quiet. Uncle Fang's wife managed a weak, "How wonderful," before shooting daggers at her husband, who did not meet her eyes.

Her aunt's ambition to make her own husband and son the earl and heir had never been hidden. She was of a noble background and well-educated, arguably even smarter than her husband. However, she allowed herself to be confined by old-fashioned gender ideals. Uncle Fang was one of the few men in Sai who still had a concubine. Concubines who had belonged to men prior to the abolishment of that particular law had been allowed to stay with the same treatment provided that both sides agreed to it. Instead of putting her skills and talent to better use, Aunt Fang instead placed all her efforts in dealing with this concubine.

It would have been almost sad, if Myrina didn't dislike her aunt so much.

And everyone returned to their food, unsure what to say.

But all these efforts so far would be useless if Myrina could not wrestle true control over her properties and the mansion. They were striking fear into her relatives' hearts now, letting them realise what they were messing with and hoping that it made them more willing to cooperate. But Myrina had a feeling that they would not hand everything over on a platter so simply.

Tomorrow, she'd start taking some more appropriate action. Going through the ledgers, talking with the nearby townspeople and villagers to see if she could catch onto any of her relatives' failings in these years. Anything that would potentially allow her to regain control with a good reasoning. That was the plan, at any rate.

There was no outright disagreement or declarations made at the dinner, but the underlying tension was clear. Her relatives would be panicking now, trying to get together a plan. They had to know that her generosity would not extend if she did come into control of the entire estate again. All these years she'd allowed them to live in her manor, using money from her treasury. It would not continue. It was already kind of her to not even consider making them pay all the money back.

Mostly because she knew it would only give them a chance to push back on her, to make her seem selfish and unfilial, and she wanted to have as little relation to them as possible. The more disconnected from them she could be, the better for her own future.

As they left the hall, Ryan scooted over to her, whispering, "Portal to mine tonight. I could use a few private words with you, and I'm still scared they have eyes around this place."

Myrina gave a small nod. She wanted to avoid being with Ryan in private if possible—it was far less awkward now, especially with their prior few conversations, but people had been present there at all times. It was still slightly disconcerting to be alone with him again, given how that had gone the last time.

But he'd have learnt from it. And he'd wisely stay away from alcohol tonight. He hadn't drank much at the dinner, and she doubted he was about to indulge in any more.

He shouldn't be offering her any more proposals of marriage. She'd made her response to that quite clear already.

She was not the suitable choice.

It was at this point she realised that she'd almost completely forgotten her goal of finding Ryan a bride in the past day or two. In her defence she'd been busy—between the temple and then dealing with her relatives, her mind had been fully occupied with other things. And she doubted she was going to find a worthy candidate here, among her relatives. She had a few female cousins, one or two who were the correct age, but Ryan would not appreciate the suggestion and Myrina enjoyed the idea even less. It would boost the Mais status greatly—they had produced imperial concubines in generations past, ones who had climbed to extremely high rank too, but never an Empress. But at the same time, Myrina did not think she trusted any of her female cousins to either be capable enough, or even if they were, to necessarily have her best interests at heart.

She was starting to take her power more seriously. Using it to serve not only the better of the empire, but also for herself. The days of her being completely and utterly selfless were over, because she now had things to lose. There was no temple for her to run back to if everything went wrong anymore. She'd made her choice.

She was becoming, she realised, more and more like a proper politician. Someone who plotted and planned and schemed. She wasn't completely pleased with it, but it didn't disgust her like she thought she would either.

Her relatives did not know of her wiccai powers. Some of the most trusted servants knew, but she hadn't seen them yet and she had a striking suspicion that they'd all already been replaced. Her father had kept it a secret, knowing that his brothers coveted his position, no matter how much they seemed to respect and revere him to his face. The fact that his firstborn was a girl was disappointing enough, since the Mais were among the minority of families who had not taken kindly to the new, sweeping reforms taking over Sai in the aftermath of the rebellion. A girl who was also wiccai? Myrina might have been better off thrown in the streets.

She'd always been sworn to secrecy. Even as a little child, her mother had whispered to her over and over again, do not use your powers, do not use your powers. Yin cang. Hide away.

So she kept it in. Irina had to take a long time to have her properly have control over her abilities, with much assistance from Rhys and Dom. She'd suppressed them for so long that for the first year or so, they regularly malfunctioned and she'd end up teleporting herself to random places rather than her planned destination. Those had sometimes been terrifying.

She entered the house that had been assigned to her. Chunyi and Chunju had unpacked everything thoroughly, since they'd be here for a while, not in a hurry to move onto another destination. Li Han and the Mai Manor were the true purpose of this journey anyways, not that they'd publicly say it or tell that to anyone.

"Everything has been suitably prepared for you, my lady," Chunyi said with a curtsy. "Would you like a bath?"

"Yes. I'm rather tired and would like to go to bed earlier tonight. After I shower, you have the rest of the night off."

Both maids curtsied in thanks before rushing off to help her get her things ready. It seemed best not to have them be aware that Myrina was going to be portalling into the Crown Prince's residence for a midnight meeting. Misunderstandings would be awkward and painful to explain. She wanted to avoid it at all costs.

Myrina rubbed her temple. There were no statuettes of Hongyun or the like for her to pray here. Her family was decidedly non-religious, and most of them had been extremely displeased when she'd wanted to become a priestess. Most likely because that meant she could no longer be used as a pawn in their political games for power, to be married off to someone of a higher status or the like to form alliances. She was glad for that. If she had not chosen to become a priestess, she most likely would already be married to one lord or another and have kids by now. Some of her oldest friends from her childhood, of similar families to hers, were in such a state. She did not keep in contact with them often.

Myrina still wanted to pray, though. She whispered the shortest prayer she could manage, finishing just before Chunju came back in. "My ladyship, the bath is ready."

"Excellent."

After her shower, which was relaxing and comforting and allowed her to fully relax her muscles after a hard day at work, Myrina got herself cleaned up in a cotton nightgown. Once Chunyi and Chunju had left her to her own devices, she wrapped a cloak around herself before forming a portal to where she knew Ryan's chamber was.

Of course, he'd made sure to clear anyone inside it too. She gave a brief curtsy. Nothing else. Something had changed, something that made all the manners and courtism not as needed anymore. She'd still offer it, it felt wrong otherwise, but she didn't put as much of a fixation on it.

"You're here," he said mildly. "Take a seat."

This was a large change compared to what had occurred last time.

"What are we to discuss?" Myrina asked politely.

"The itinerary says we are to be here for a while?"

"Well, it's all flexible, to be fair, depending on how quickly we get our issues sorted. There is actually quite a lot to visit around here. The farmlands, the city itself, there's much to see."

"Of course, of course," he murmured, offering a nod. "So. Your uncles. You told me about them, but tell me about the rest of your family. There wasn't much information regarding them, and I didn't think it necessary to check before arriving here. I was slightly preoccupied with an assassination attempt, you see."

Myrina's blood cooled for a second. "Has there still been no news about it?"

Ryan shrugged. "I told them to stop putting it as their first priority the day I left Hong Cheng. There was not a single clue. No point wasting time on it, especially when the assassin hadn't struck again."

"That is fair enough, but do try and keep safe, Ryan."

"I can promise not to purposefully put myself in danger. But I can never quite promise to remain safe, Myrina. It's quite a difficult thing to do in my position, as you might be aware."

"Yes, so many people with guns loaded with bullets that have your name carved on it."

"What an excellent life my parents have chosen for me."

"Do not tell me you'd prefer anything other than this." She could not see Ryan as anything other than what he was now. He seemed to be born for this role, intended for it from the very beginning, even though Myrina knew that was not true.

"Sometimes, I think I actually do," he let out a laugh, leaning back in his chair. "Imagine if I was still just a young lordling with nothing to worry about. But we are getting off-topic now. Back to the matter at hand. Your relatives."

"Aunt Fang is the second daughter of a viscount. Smart, but spends most of her time and energy dealing with the concubine that my uncle still keeps. You do not need to worry about her. Her children, my cousins, are imbeciles and idiots."

"Harsh words," Ryan said, brows raised. "Have they done anything in particular?"

"No," Myrina mused, "but they have a reputation of not being the smartest, even among the rest of my family. Their oldest son still has some of his wits with him, but the rest cannot differentiate between an orange and a tangerine. Even if said tangerine was hanging off a decorative plant during the New Year."

"Such flowery metaphors."

"It is not a metaphor. It is a true story from... I must have been fourteen then. The last Saian New Year I spent here."

"The rest were all in the Scarlet Palace, I suppose."

"And the temple, at one point."

"I could not imagine being away from home for so long."

"I could. And so could Irina."

"You women always seem to have it tougher."

"It has been a theme throughout history."

Silence for a moment, as those words sunk in. Then, Myrina continued, "And then, Uncle Qiu. Wenqiang, you met at dinner just now. He crowned himself the best swordsmen in Li Han many years ago and has refused the challenge of anyone who he believed had a chance against him. Thus, the best swordsman he still remains."

"Dear heavens," Ryan murmured, "they're all pieces of work, aren't they?"

"I will not go into Uncle Fang's two daughters, because both of them are fairly irrelevant. Uncle Qiu's daughter, though, she is a clever one. I actually quite like her. She is not here now, though, she married a wealthy landowner some time back. I've kept tabs on her, and she is enjoying life there. But she is the only good one within that batch, I am sad to announce. The rest all inherited Uncle Qiu's personality."

"And Mai Xu?"

"His children are intelligent. If anything, they'd be the one I'd consider the most threat to my position. However, given his status in the family, which is not very high at all—perhaps even lower than that of Uncle Qiu, actually, they do not stand a single chance. The children tend to try and stay out of everything. They see no point in invoking my rage, you see."

"Clever people."

"Practical. Just like their father. Uncle Xu does not like what the other two are doing, I can tell, but he goes along with it anyways because he thinks I am weak and unable to manage anything. If you are seeking an ally among this cesspit of snakes, he is the one to befriend."

"I do not enjoy befriending snakes, Myrina."

"What a pity, then, for you have surrounded yourself with them." She gave him a pointed look. It was the truth. They both knew it. You did not make it into the inner circle of the Crown Prince of Sai without the wiliness of a fox or the cunning of a serpent. Those were the most basic conditions, ones that you must cross to even be considered.

"I surround myself with snakes I trust, who grew up with me," Ryan commented. "I do not surround myself with ones from foreign nests."

"How exclusive."

Ryan shot her a sharp look. Myrina ignored it. "But I actually do quite like Uncle Xu. He was a rare bit of warmth in this cold, isolated place. He was kind to me, for starters, even though I'm certain half of that kindness had an ulterior motive. But then again, that's most kinds of kindness, is it not?"

"Since when did you become such a cynic?" Ryan asked, bemused.

"I always have been," Myrina said cheerlessly, "I just hid it well. Years of practice and all of that, you know."

"What a tragedy."

"And thus we stray from the topic of our conversation again, Your Highness."

"Uncle Qiu and Uncle Xu's wives, please?"

"Uncle Qiu's wife is the daughter of a rich merchant. She is not very well-educated. Has ambition, but lacks the skills, nerves and power to execute any of her schemes. Uncle Xu's wife died three years ago during childbirth, I'm afraid."

"I thought he remarried," Ryan said, furrowing his brows.

"That wife was his second wife. His first wife was a sickly woman of poor constitution, and she died five years ago."

"Tragedy after tragedy."

"It is simply pure luck," Myrina murmured. "I've investigated. There was no ulterior motive. Since those two had died, Uncle Xu had been insistent in his refusal to marry."

"That's a slight point in his favour, I suppose. Some men would have kept carrying on."

"The women of my family," Myrina said quietly, "tend to have tragic endings, I've realised. Do you remember Consort Shu, my aunt?"

"The only one who truly loved the former Emperor."

"I think she would have chosen to go with him if not for the honour and safety of our family," Myrina commented sadly. "So instead, she put herself through years of torment of her heart before sickness finally engulfed her. And then, my mother."

"Many women die in childbirth, Myrina."

"Yes. Many."

They were silent for a moment, processing that.

"There were many others at the dinner tonight," Ryan murmured. "The families of your cousins and more? They live here, all of them?"

"I believe some were hastily summoned from their own nearby villas and mansions," Myrina replied. "Not all of them live here, of course, but most of them do. There are many households. Ten or so, I think. I think it's to make me feel bad if I ever decide to kick them out."

"Do you feel bad, then?"

"No. It has always been mine in the first place."

A smile stretched on Ryan's lips. "That's what I like to hear. You've changed a lot in the past few months, haven't you? You're a lot more cold-hearted now."

"Well, I do not have Irina to balance out with my softness anymore. I have to be a little bit stronger. I have no interest in being like Naeva."

"No one would dare treat you like Naeva," Ryan said softly. "You're a countess."

"She is still the daughter of a baronet, and the fiance of an admiral of the navy. It has not deterred anyone. Rank matters little if you have no power to back it up with. Speaking of Naeva, though, we truly ought to give Malcolm an ultimatum. This cannot be dragged on."

Ryan let out a bitter laugh. "What, that he could choose to marry Naeva now to protect her, or quickly tell her to break the engagement? Neither of them want the former, and neither of them can do the latter. They are at an impasse."

"Surely Sir Li realises there are other ways to help his family than tie his daughter into a loveless marriage where she would be miserable."

"He is an old-fashioned man," Ryan said, outstretching his arms. "You cannot reason with him like that. In his view, daughters are no more than bargaining chips in a grander game of politics he desperately wants a part in."

"And so Naeva must suffer like this? A few years more, and she will be past the prime marriage age. She is not me or Asteria. She does not have the power to still make her a sweet deal in the eyes of young men."

"They will marry," Ryan said firmly. "It is the only way."

"Surely not."

"It is an engagement marred with blood," he said, pained. "If Naeva's brother was alive, perhaps, they could call off the engagement. Sir Li might even agree with it, if only because he thinks his son could continue on with the glory of his house and rebuild it. But with him dead? Malcolm will not agree to call it off if only because he feels guilt towards his old friend—though clearly not enough guilt for him to treat Naeva with the respect she deserves. Sir Li will not call it off because he believes it is the only chance he has at saving his family. There is no way around this, Myrina. You, Irina, Asteria, you all tell me to do something about this daily. Do you truly think that I have not tried?"

Myrina let her eyes shut, thinking, pondering. "No way out, then."

"No way out," Ryan confirmed.

"Then at least give Naeva a boost, then. Give her a title. Nothing too high. A junjun, maybe? A lady of the first rank? A title of her own right, to at least give her something to rely on?"

Ryan tilted his head. "I could arrange that, I think. Xianzhu would be too high a title for her—she is still only just the daughter of a baronet, but a junjun would be acceptable. She has done enough for us in the past years, as a student of Lady Kuroki's."

"Yes, I think that would be of great assistance to her."

"I will discuss it with my parents. If they agree, which I'm sure they will, it will be done swiftly."

Myrina nodded. "She hasn't had it easy. But in all truthfulness, Malcolm's behaviour towards her has been incorrigible. I know his nature, and I know he may not necessarily mean to hurt her, but he is an adult who is perfectly capable of realising the consequences of his own actions."

"I will speak to him more firmly."

"Just speaking is not enough, action is necessary."

"I will see to that as well."

"I will make sure to remind you," Myrina told him. "Just in case your memory fails."

He glared at that. "I may not have your memory, Myrina, but mine will work perfectly fine. You will find the reminder completely unnecessary."

"It is just in case."

"Utterly unnecessary, I assure you."

Myrina offered a one-shoulder shrug in return, wrapping her cloak tighter around herself. "It's my job. Do not make things difficult for me, Ryan."

"Alright then. Is there anything in particular you want me to do in the following days? Might as well list them all out now, so I am not taken by surprise when the time is near."

"Yes, actually," Myrina murmured, straightening. "There are a few things."

"By all means, do tell me now, then."