"THREE ESTATES," UNCLE Fang growled, eyes flickering with hatred and desperation from where he sat opposite her.

  Ryan refused to let Myrina deal with this herself, afraid that she would anger herself once more. Instead, he oversaw this final meeting himself.

  They left tomorrow. They had to sort this all out now.

  "Two," Myrina replied, taking a sip of tea. "Two for each of your families." She could spare six small estates around the country. Some of them had been purchased by her uncles anyway, and counted under property of the Mai family. It was technically her money, but her uncles had managed to earn some money throughout these years.

  That, and the fact that they would never agree without some degree of hefty reparations. Myrina cared little about these estates. She had earned enough herself over the years to buy a dozen more if she so wished. Being the lady-in-waiting to the Princess, and then advisor to the Crown Prince paid very well.

  If she could reclaim all the power over the Mai title and estates, along with a majority of the properties, she could rebuild the Mai fortune within a matter of years. Especially with the support of Ryan.

  Though she did not necessarily want to think of Ryan at the moment.

  "Three," Uncle Fang said with a shake of his head.

  "Two. Last chance, or you're only getting one," Myrina shot out, placing her teacup down beside her with a loud thump. Uncle Qiu gave a slight jump, perhaps still remembering the last time Myrina was in his presence with a teacup in hand.

  He was scared. That was good.

  He should be scared.

  "This is ridiculous," Uncle Fang exclaimed. "You are depriving us of our livelihoods! You are kicking us out with nothing! You promised us you'd grant us enough to stay alive!"

  Myrina let out a sigh. "Uncle, with all due respect, you have three estates under your personal name. Those are all remaining under your control. I won't even start with your lands and shops around the country. Uncle Qiu might have a bit more trouble, but being such an excellent older brother, I'm sure you'll be willing to help."

  Uncle Qiu looked slightly annoyed. From what Myrina had heard, he hadn't been too happy after realising both of his brothers had been secretly preparing for this moment for years, while he was the only one who hadn't. If Myrina did not give him anything, he truly would be homeless and penniless on the streets.

  "Do not try to destroy our trust and relationship," Uncle Fang said firmly. "I do not know where you have learnt such heinous, lowly tricks."

  "I learnt these heinous, lowly tricks from the courts of the Scarlet Palace, Uncle. Though I suppose you will be unfamiliar with them, since you have not been invited to court for years. You are merely the brother, and then the uncle to an earl and a countess, after all. Not important enough to attend any celebratory events."

  They hadn't even been invited to attend Irina's engagement party or wedding, though Myrina suspected that had less to do with their status and more to do with the fact she did not want to see them. She'd left them out on the initial guest list, and no one had added them back on.

  "Zimi."

  Myrina shook her head. "As the Crown Prince has told you many times, I am not Zimi to you. I am Lady Mai."

  "I used to hold you when you were a baby."

  "While you contemplated how you'd suck out the very power and control over Mai estate from me and my father?"

  "I never ever considered doing it to your father, and you know it. Do not accuse me of something I never did."

  "Well, you considered doing it to me."

  "Only after you became Countess. Unlawfully."

  Myrina tilted her head. "I don't think it was unlawful, Uncle." After all, whatever the imperial family said was law. Thus, whatever Irina had done would not be punishable by law.

  "Whatever you consider it," Uncle Fang spread his hands. "Three estates."

  "Two, and that is final. You will be given two estates, which I will select. They will be wholly under your name, and I promise to never interfere with how you use those estates. I will give you three months to pack and leave."

  Three months. That was the amount of time she and Ryan agreed upon. It had been painful enough, convincing him to let her deal with the final stretch of all this. To stare her uncles in the eyes as she took back all that was meant to be hers.

  "Mai Zimi—"

  "It is done, then." Myrina spread her hands. "Uncle Qiu, do you have any protests?"

  She ignored Uncle Fang completely, eyes fixing on her second uncle, who refused to meet her eyes and said nothing.

  "I suppose that is a no." Myrina stood. "When I return in three months, I do not wish to see any of you here. My servants will give you the name and address of the properties before we leave for Hong Cheng. I expect you will await the news with great joy, it is all very exciting."

  "You..." Uncle Fang's voice trailed off. "You can't just do this to us, Zimi."

  "Actually, I can. I really, really can," Myrina said with a swift nod. "As I've said many times already, Uncle, you really need to stop underestimating me. Or the people by my side. You are a titleless aristocrat whose only remaining attachment to nobility is me. If I were you, I'd pay a lot more respect."

  "Myrina Mai Zimi! Is this how you repay your father?"

  "As you've insisted again and again," Myrina said, picking at her sleeves, "he did not pass this title to me. At least, he never intended to. I owe him nothing. It is my title now, my estate, my properties. I may do as I please. Good day to you both. Chunyi, Chunju, show them the way out."

  Despite initial protests from her uncles, Chunyi and Chunju were surprisingly forceful in their removal of the two men. The hall fell quiet again, and Myrina tilted her head. "You can come out now."

  Ryan stepped out from behind the beautifully embroidered screen, tilting his head. "Well, I think this situation is done and dusted with." He'd insisted on being there, just in case. And if her uncles resisted more than they thought they would, he could always have stepped out to help. Fortunately, that had not been necessary.

  "Thank you," she said quietly, "for helping me with this. They would not have been so cooperative had you not been here."

  "Well, we've earned a lot from this trip," Ryan hummed. "We caught assassins, got your estate back..."

  "We did not manage to tour anywhere."

  "That is unfortunate. But that can be done later on."

  "War is starting soon, Ryan. We won't be able to afford frolicking around the entirety of Sai. I am sorry this tour was interrupted."

  "We can hold another one before the war restarts," Ryan said, face darkening. "I think it will be useful. My father and mother would agree too, I think."

  "It will be hectic. But I suppose it will be helpful."

  A moment's pause, and then he asked, "Have you made up your mind?"

  It was a question he'd asked every day since that afternoon. So far Myrina's answer was the same: I am still considering it. He did not seem impatient. Not yet. She was grateful for that.

  Myrina's silence was an answer by itself. He hesitated for a moment, then said, "We leave tomorrow."

  "I don't think I can make a decision here, while I'm so far away from the place I may be choosing to bind my life to forever. Give me some more time, Ryan. I'm sure you'll enjoy using it as an excuse if your parents ask."

  "Do you want me to tell them?" he asked quietly. "You know that if they know, they will do everything in their power to move you."

  Yes, because she was the best choice these days. The Emperor and Empress cared far more for the political advantages than anything else, especially since it wasn't as if Ryan and Myrina were perpetual strangers who'd never met. After marrying Irina to Prince Stephen of Arecia, the Emperor and Empress would be inclined not to do the same for their only son.

  "I do not mind," she told him. "It is your decision. I will not be easily swayed by anyone else either way. My judgement will be my own."

  "Yes, I do believe that." Myrina was stubborn when she needed to be. No one could change her mind. He knew this, and so did she.

  "But, I need time."

  "I'll give it to you," he promised.

  She tilted her head in thanks. "Do have some tea. It's freshly brewed and very good indeed. I think my uncles must have spent a fortune on this. Uncle Xu always did like his expensive teas."

  "He seems like that kind of man, yes."

  "I think most of the money he took from me went there," she murmured. "The rest, probably to his secret properties littered all across the place. His shops and fields are all very profitable, you know. I quite admire that. At least he made good use of the money, unlike Uncle Qiu."

  "Who we have established is not the sharpest tool in the box."

  "That, he has never been. Even my father has admitted that to me. I remember it very fervently, that night my father returned home and ranted for an hour about how idiotic he thought Uncle Qiu was. It was entertaining and scary for eleven year old me."

  "Glad to see he hasn't changed."

  "Made the job far easier, no?" Myrina laughed.

  "Actually, that may not be so. It makes him far more desperate than the other two."

  Myrina shook her head. "I'll give him enough until he can get back on his own two feet. His family are stupid, but not so idiotic that they cannot take care of themselves without the support of the Mai estate."

  "I do not know what I hope for in the future of Uncle Qiu. It is all very conflicting."

  "You should wish him the best, I think. I certainly do." She paused. "No matter what, we are family. Blood is blood and nothing can change that."

  "You are far too kind." He sounded sarcastic, but at the same it was the truth. It was a painful choice, choosing the kindest choice when it was often the most difficult. Myrina tried her best to stick to those values, nonetheless. Her tribute to Hongyun, the very little she could do in a career such as this one.

  Politicians could not afford to be kindred spirits, charitable people offering help to everyone they came across. They had to balance the advantages with the disadvantages, even if it went against their very soul. It was why Myrina was a poor politician, and she did not particularly want to become a good one either.

  It seemed like a miserable life for her. She'd constantly be hating herself.

  "I try," she replied.

—

  THEY SET OFF early, since they had little time to spare. With two captives (though one was far more willing than the other), they could not afford to waste too much time on the road. It was too dangerous. And more assassins could be sent after them, once the mastermind realised that the attempt on Ryan's life had failed.

  It did not make the journey any more comfortable. Lady Ru and her brother were placed in a separate carriage this time around, leaving Asteria and Malcolm in the same carriage as Ryan and Myrina instead. Dom and Rhys flanked them, in their red, black and silver Iron Wolf robes. A warning.

  "My parents must have received the letter by now," Ryan pointed out. "They'll have precautions when we get back. Most likely, I'll be forced to stay in the Scarlet Palace for a while instead of heading back to the Eastern Palace."

  "I shall stay with you, then?" Myrina asked, raising a brow. Her old residence in Irina's old Hall had been cleared a while ago, but she could still rest in one of the guest quarters until they returned to the Eastern Palace.

  "Me as well," Malcolm said. "Your safety is our greatest priority right now."

  "I will have to head back to my own estate," Asteria said. "It'll look extremely suspicious otherwise. And my father will be missing me."

  "Yes, that should be alright."

  "And then we play the waiting game."

  "And we find the brother of Pandi," Myrina reminded.

  Ryan glanced at her. "That might be slightly difficult. The address Pandi gave us is not at all precise, and her brother may have been long moved."

  "It'll give clues to who might be behind all of this," Myrina insisted. "It'll be useful. And we cannot just allow a young innocent boy to die. Saving her brother also ensures Pandi remains loyal to us."

  Asteria let out a little splutter. "I don't think loyalty is the right word to use for that girl. She doesn't strike me as the type to care who wins or dies as long as she survives in the end."

  "It's an admirable trait."

  "But also makes her unreliable," Asteria said with a shrug. "I know you are quite fond of her, but don't be too trustful of her. If she thinks we'll lose, she'll be the first to stick a dagger into our back."

  That was true too. But for now, Myrina wanted to not be awfully suspicious of all her newfound allies and friends. And Pandi...

  Pandi reminded her of herself. Perhaps if she was a bit more desperate for survival, if she was in another situation and life rather than as a privileged young noblewoman, she would have become Pandi too.

  Certainly, they both shared the infliction of being a girl in a family who desperately preferred their male progeny.

  Pandi didn't seem awfully religious, but she did mention she was trained in a temple. And the only temples that would most likely offer combat training to young women were temples of Hongyun.

  But she didn't say any of that, because it made her sentimental and made her seem weak and irrational. Her friends would think her judgement regarding Pandi could no longer be trusted, because they'd fear she wasn't able to separate her own personal feelings from that of logical rationality.

  It was a valid fear, and one Myrina wanted to avoid. She was too used to everything she said being irrelevant.

  So they continued on with the conversation. They plotted and planned until they finally stopped at the inn after the night was already dark. Myrina's back and bottom hurt, and she was sure everyone else was aching as well, but not a single word of complaint was uttered as they entered the inn and into their respective rooms. Even Chunju was quiet as they all got ready for bed, as the next morning's journey was to start at an unholy time. They would arrive at the Scarlet Palace by the evening, perhaps just in time for a late dinner.

  Or at least that was what she hoped. Technically speaking, if they pushed to their very limits, that could be done.

  Nighttime passed quickly, and the next morning they were back in their carriages again at full speed. Myrina pitied the poor horses.

  But it was for a good cause.

  It was a relief when they entered Hong Cheng right as the sun started to set, as Myrina looked out to familiar streets. Carriages and people made way for them as they went through, everyone recognising the exuberance of the imperial carriage, as well as the insignia it dawned.

  "Didn't expect to see these streets so soon again," Ryan commented.

  "I was looking forward to a break," Asteria said with a yawn. "But I suppose that was far too much to ask for."

  "Eventually, we'll have a proper tour."

  "Not for another few months, I presume," Malcolm remarked. "It better be quick, though, before the war restarts."

  "You'll be back on the battlefield soon," Myrina murmured.

  "Not the battlefield. That's Justine. But I will be on my warships again. I don't miss it, but it will feel more like home there than down here."

  Myrina blinked. "Really."

  "I never quite feel like I belong in these fancy palaces and courts."

  "That is surprising," Myrina said. Malcolm always seemed so at ease. He was always flirting, socialising, talking to all manners of people and charming them. That would all be alright, if not for the existence of Naeva. It did put all of Malcolm's actions in a more unflattering light.

  "I think I'll go talk to Naeva after we arrive."

  Malcolm glanced at Asteria, blinking. "What for? Is she even in the Palace?"

  "It has not been that long since we left the Scarlet Palace. I think she's most likely still here. If not, she's at the Li manor in the city, which is en route my way back home anyways. In our absence, she and Justine most likely had to take on some of our responsibilities."

  "But what for?"

  Asteria shrugged. "I'd argue she knows the nobles of the Scarlet Palace far better than anyone." And with a hasty glance in Malcolm's direction, she added, "And their worst sides. They don't hide themselves around her. They think she's useless and powerless, and most of the time the latter is true. The former, not so much."

  Malcolm made a great show of not revealing any emotion on his face in response to that. He had practised that face many times over the years.

  And Asteria wasn't lying. Naeva dealt with quite a lot of paperwork. Letters, reports, all kinds. She was a student of Lady Kuroki's much like Asteria had been, but she never excelled physically or on the field, which was why she was never placed on missions like Asteria, Danna, Io or Luciana may have been.

  If the handwriting hadn't been forged, Naeva might recognise it.

  "We are nearing," Ryan said mildly, breaking the awkward silence.

  "That is good," Myrina said, letting out a breath of relief. "I am exhausted. My bones throb."

  "You planned this," Malcolm laughed. He was the least affected, since he was used to turbulent journeys.

  "Not because I wanted to," Myrina replied, rubbing her brow. "I think I will faint in my bed tonight."

  "Don't," Asteria said ruefully, "as much as I wish for the same. We have too much to do tomorrow."

  "We can take it slowly," Ryan promised. "No rush."

  "We'll run out of time," Malcolm muttered. "I think we do have to rush, actually. Get some good rest tonight, folks. Rise nice and early tomorrow so we can get down to work."

  "We have friends," Myrina pointed out. "We can put them in charge of things for a little bit while we recuperate. Me, for example, I have a good reason for wanting that recovery time."

  Ryan's eyes flickered towards her, full of concern. "Are you feeling uncomfortable again?"

  "Just fatigued."

  He seemed to let out a breath of relief. "We ought to get the imperial physicians to do another check-up on you, just in case."

  "I will do that tomorrow."

  Asteria and Malcolm said nothing as they travelled through the gates of the Scarlet Palace and back into the world they were all so familiar with.