Serena's heart surged with an impulse.

She wanted to leave this dark place more than ever and go to Achillea.

Far away from these dreadful individuals.

Jenaro lifted his hand and pressed it heavily on her shoulder.

She dared not move, like prey caught in the jaws of a predator. She knew that if Jenaro truly did something terrible to Corina, he would no longer have any reservations in front of her. He would boldly step forward and possess her completely.

She would be with such a man, sharing him with a body neither alive nor dead, for the rest of her life.

A tremor ran through her heart, but her posture remained upright, her expression devoid of any ripples.

At this moment, all she could do was pray for Corina's continued good fortune.

Jenaro's complexion was still somewhat pale, but he no longer showed any signs of shock or despair. He waved away the attendants and instructed Serena to pour wine for him.

"To Acesia King!" Jenaro drank up the wine with a smile and said loudly, "Sere, fill up!"

Serena handed him the wine and then sat quietly aside.

She felt like a respectable maiden captured and brought into a bandit's den.

Sitting beside Jenaro, she could easily lift her eyes and see Isidoro across from her.

Isidoro seemed somewhat disinterested, tilting his chin upward slightly, gazing at the stars outside the hall, pouring and drinking wine on his own.

"Heh." Suddenly, he chuckled softly and said, "Belleria King, are you so afraid of me?"

Jenaro's thick eyebrows furrowed slightly, his gaze probing and cold, falling on the slightly delicate neck of Isidoro.

Isidoro casually remarked, "With one drama after another, are you afraid that I, in my boredom, will decide to massacre Belleria Capital?"

Jenaro followed his gaze outside and saw smoke rising under the eaves, with fierce flames already emerging.

The messenger hurriedly arrived and said, "Report—Cooling Hall is on fire, and the fire has spread to the Phoenix Pavilion! The Lord Commander is already working to extinguish it!"

Isidoro, not treating himself as an outsider at all, stood up lazily upon hearing this, supporting himself on the table, and walked leisurely outside.

Jenaro took a deep breath and followed quickly. The officials in the hall hurriedly pushed aside the tables and got up, following their lord in haste to the scene of the incident.

Aunt Sandra took a cloak from a servant's tray and helped Serena put it on, supporting her to watch the excitement from afar.

The fire started from the Cooling Hall.

Jenaro had just ordered his guards to deal with Corina in the Cooling Hall.

Then trouble struck.

The palace guards were all cultivators. They carried huge wooden barrels filled with water, fetched from the moat, and rushed back, pouring the ton of water onto the burning spot.

Some people leaped up, descending from above like rain, pouring entire barrels of water down from the roof of the hall, creating a thunderous roar and splattering countless large and small water droplets.

The palace was heavily decorated with wood, with large carved wooden windows and doors, and layers of draped curtains inside. It quickly caught fire.

The fire was soon extinguished, leaving only billowing smoke behind.

The Cooling Hall was completely blackened, and the nearby Phoenix Pavilion was also partially destroyed by the flames.

With the situation stabilized, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and began to prepare for the aftermath.

Then, the head guard came forward, looking conflicted, escorting two drenched individuals to Jenaro's presence.

Ivana and Benito.

This was purely accidental.

She only wanted to save Benito's life and scare Ivana a little.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Who would have thought there would be a fire?

Ivana was truly terrified, clinging to Jenaro like a little chick, not letting go: "Jeno! Jeno! He, he ran into my chamber and set it on fire! Jeno, please help me, I'm so scared!"

Ivana used to be so arrogant, mainly because she had the support of Grey, a powerful Lingming realm cultivator—she would kill and set fires, and Grey would clean up the mess. Now that Grey had been executed by Jenaro, she was like a blind and armless person, her mind immediately collapsing in the face of trouble.

Benito was also deeply frightened. He was awakened by the smoke, and when he opened his eyes groggily, he found himself lying in bed with Jenaro's concubine, with thick smoke billowing outside. He was so scared that he practically ascended to the heavens, immediately waking up Ivana and urging her to flee.

But this woman didn't know what was good for her, she actually clung to him, screaming and shouting. While the two were entangled, they saw someone rushing into the hall with a huge bucket, pouring a ton of water directly onto the bed where the man and woman lay, giving them a chilling surprise.

It was truly an embarrassing situation.

"Master, it wasn't me who started the fire. I don't know how I ended up there, I didn't do anything, really, Master." Benito looked like a drenched little mountain chicken, wilted.

"Jeno, please help me!" Ivana cried halfway, suddenly seeing Isidoro standing nearby with a smirk, her tears, snot, and voice all stopped, her wet clothes seeming to freeze instantly, trembling like a sieve.

"Brother, King." She let go of Jenaro, trembling, and moved towards Isidoro.

She intended to bow respectfully, but halfway through, her legs went weak, and she fell straight down, performing a full prostration.

Isidoro chuckled lightly.

"Princess, after so many years, you seem to have become even more polite than before. It seems that Belleria King has trained you well."

As soon as he spoke, silence fell like a shroud around him, as if he had a silent aura. Occasionally, there was the sound of crackling wood, which seemed unusually abrupt.

Benito was also dumbfounded.

The entire scene of the fire ruins seemed like a silent boundary, strangely frozen, with all attention focused on Ivana, waiting for her to break the deadlock.

Ivana fainted decisively.

Isidoro looked strangely amused, stepping forward two steps, reaching out with one hand, pinching the thick ornamentation on the back of Ivana's collar with his thumb and index finger, lifting her upper body like a small insect.

He slightly bent down, tilted his head, looked at Ivana's face, and then innocently looked at Jenaro. "The princess fainted with joy upon seeing me."

He dropped Ivana and stood up, wiping his hands with another silk cloth, glancing sideways at Benito.

Benito shrank behind Jenaro in fear.

"Oh," Isidoro sighed, "Belleria King is so generous. When a guest from Fredericia arrives, he lets his little sister entertain me so graciously. Such a considerate gesture."

Jenaro's face turned even greener.

Isidoro chuckled like a little devil. "Don't send imitations anymore, Jeno. I want Serena."

With that, he glanced meaningfully at Serena from afar.

Jenaro choked back his anger and was about to retort, but then Isidoro turned gracefully and left.

Serena pressed down the rage boiling within Aunt Sandra.

"It's fine," she said dismissively.

She turned around and walked towards her Caelius Hall.

Jenaro's cold voice drifted from afar: "Protect Lady Serena with all your might. Tonight, anyone who approaches the Caelius Hall will be killed without mercy!"

Serena didn't think Isidoro would come to snatch someone.

He wasn't a fool obsessed with women, he was just deliberately making trouble for Jenaro.

If she guessed correctly, Isidoro would probably do something detrimental to others tonight. She wondered if Jenaro, who had been led into a trap, had any energy left to consider other matters.

Serena naturally wouldn't remind him.

Men were unreliable. She had found her position, always prioritizing Achillea's interests. That was her natal home and would be her ultimate reliance.

As for Belleria and Acesia, they were both no good anyway. Let them fight it out!

As Serena had guessed, the night passed quietly. Even Jenaro didn't show up.

When the first light of dawn appeared, Aunt Sandra, who had been secretly investigating outside the hall all night, came back with news.

Aunt Sandra's face was very ugly.

It turned out that after Corina's assassination attempt failed and she was locked back in the Cooling Hall, she immediately set fire to it and escaped while her attendants were busy putting out the fire.

When Jenaro's guards arrived at the Cooling Hall to deal with her, the fire was already burning, the scene was chaotic, and despite searching everywhere, they couldn't find Corina.

It was only near dawn, when they heard that Jenaro's living hall had called for hot water several times, that they suddenly realized.

No wonder they couldn't find her! Turns out she was hiding in the Lord's bed!

What exactly happened in between was unknown to outsiders. In any case, Corina escaped from the Cooling Hall, sneaked into Jenaro's living hall, and after he found her, instead of harming her, they rekindled their old flame and spent the night together.

"This scoundrel!" Aunt Sandra trembled with anger, "What does Belleria King think he's doing, putting the princess in such a position!"

Serena snapped back to attention, unconcerned. "He's always been like this."

After receiving so much annoyance from Isidoro yesterday, Jenaro's pent-up anger had to find a release. Serena wasn't fully recovered, so at a time like this, Corina delivered herself to him, how could he let her go?

The question was whether Jenaro would still be willing to harm Corina after a night of passion.

Serena chuckled inwardly.

Of course he wouldn't.

Jenaro entered.

Despite his efforts to suppress it, the satisfied expression in the corners of his eyes and brows couldn't be concealed.

Serena calmly met his gaze.

He came over quickly, took her hand, and asked the attendants to leave.

Serena signaled Aunt Sandra not to worry.

Aunt Sandra left the hall with pursed lips, gently closing the carved wooden door.

"Sere," Jenaro's expression was heavy, "last night, my poison flared up, and that woman happened to end up in my hall by chance. My heart was overcome with poison, and I almost took her life."

Serena nodded silently.

"Sere, it wasn't favoritism," he explained, "for her, it was actually torture. Sere, I cannot and will not let you suffer such a fate."

"Oh," Serena asked calmly, "then why not harm her? Even if you did, you could still use her."

He paused, then rubbed her head, "Are you teasing me, Sere? I know you're not that cruel. Rest assured, from now on, this person will never appear before you again, and no one outside will know of her existence."

Serena smiled.

Indeed, the most convenient and expedient battlefield to conquer a man is the bed.