Chapter 781: Night and Lanterns

During the day you protect my father, mother, and sister; at night when you're tired, you come to protect me?

Sounds fine on the surface, but if you're so tired you fall asleep right away, then who's protecting whom here?

After hearing Li Ang's words, the freckled prince stared blankly for a full ten seconds before finally untangling the logic, then burst out angrily:

"Damn bastard! I'm filing a complaint against you with the Clearance Bureau!"

"Mm-hmm."

Li Ang, exhausted from a full day of guarding the Princess, had no energy to respond; he simply closed his eyes sleepily and replied indifferently:

"Go ahead and file. But the headquarters has been busy lately—they might take longer to process it, or even send it right back to our branch for self-resolution."

"Luckily, our chief is swamped too, so I'll probably be the one handling your complaint anyway. So if you're okay with that, go ahead—file as much as you want. I'll take it all."

"..."

I file a complaint against you, and then you're the one who handles it? What's the point of complaining at all!

Enraged to the point of turning pale, the freckled prince instinctively reached for his weapon—but this bastard was unlike anyone he'd ever met; if pushed too far, he'd truly slap him hard across the face.

"This is unfair!"

Remembering the beatings he'd endured in the past, Joshua forced himself to swallow his anger, stomped his feet twice, and shouted:

"I'm the prince! Why do you protect Veronica during the day but only come to protect me when you're too tired to stay awake? What if danger strikes at night? What if something happens to me?"

Huh? So you've learned to argue logically?

Li Ang opened his eyes in mild surprise, glanced at the freckled prince making his case, paused thoughtfully, then said with a strange expression:

"Fine, if you want to switch, I can do that—but I'm your personal guard."

"Aren't you and your uncle, the Minister of Finance, actively courting the old aristocracy and negotiating with the Lower House to overthrow the Princess? If I'm with you during the day, aren't you afraid I'll leak your plans?"

"..."

Now that he put it that way... wait a minute!

"How do you know who I'm negotiating with?"

"I saw it on your sister's desk... Also, you don't seriously think this is still a secret, do you?"

Looking at the freckled prince's shocked face, Li Ang sneered:

"The old aristocracy were never united, and the Lower House is full of gossip—information leaks like a sieve. Your efforts to court them? It was already in the papers last Wednesday."

"..."

Honestly, you're really weak...

Watching Joshua, rendered speechless by Li Ang's scathing remarks, Li Ang couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

Forming alliances with the old aristocracy and courting the Lower House is an open strategy—if the Princess still wants to extract wealth from the old nobles and big merchants, you can't stop them from coming together, and it's not meant to be hidden.

But you've turned what should've been a quiet operation into a city-wide scandal. Even when visiting, you refuse to change your carriage—how could anyone possibly miss it?

With your level of competence, it'd be a miracle if you could outmaneuver the Princess.

"Any other problems?"

Li Ang, tired from a full day of bodyguard duty and nearly forced to "stay the night" by the Princess, yawned loudly again, ignoring Joshua's flushed, shifting face.

"If you've got nothing else, go to sleep. Your sister will rise before five tomorrow to fight the Minister of Finance over the new Tax Secretary appointment—I plan to watch too..." "Wait!"

Seeing Li Ang pull the thin blanket over himself as if to end the conversation, the freckled prince stomped his foot again and shouted:

"Get out! I don't need your protection! What right do you have to sleep here? Get up! Go sleep in the servants' quarters! Or else I..."

"Have I been too nice to you?"

Seeing Joshua still provoking him after all his explanations, Li Ang—already under heavy work stress—flung back the blanket, sat up, rolled up his right sleeve, and narrowed his eyes:

"I'll give you two choices. First: go back to bed now and sleep straight through till morning. Second: I'll beat you up, and you'll stay unconscious till morning. Pick one."

Not this again!

Seeing Li Ang preparing to strike, the freckled prince stepped back half a pace and blustered:

"You're... violent! Brutal! Using force is the worst choice! A true superior should..."

"A true superior is the one with the bigger fist."

He raised his clenched right hand, making Joshua retreat another half step; Li Ang then lay back down.

"Also, the right choice is the useful one—why should you care if I'm brutal or not? Just go to sleep."

"..."

You'll regret this.

The freckled prince stood before the sofa, breathing heavily. Considering the vast gap in strength between them, he ultimately dared not move.

When Li Ang's eyes closed and his breathing slowed, clearly drifting to sleep, he let out a furious grunt, stomped his feet hard on the rug, and marched step by heavy step back to his own bed.

Sleep, then! I'll shake you awake!

And you'll only get to boast like this for a few more days!

Once I overthrow Veronica and take my father's place as the new king, I'll put up a sign at the palace gate: Li Ang and dogs forbidden entry! Then I'll pass a law: anyone who assaults the king shall be hanged!

Joshua lunged onto his bed in defeat, landing with a dull thud, then violently shook his blanket, producing a series of loud puffs.

After thrashing about for a while, hearing Li Ang roll over and mutter in annoyance, certain he'd successfully gotten back at him, Joshua finally succumbed to sleep, a faint sense of satisfaction lingering.

"That's enough."

Soon after the freckled prince closed his eyes, a weary voice echoed from a bell tower three streets west of the palace.

Gazing at the silent darkness of the capital, where even streetlamps had gone dark, the old investigator sat cross-legged on the rooftop, his expression calm:

"Apart from the Blood-Haired Woman and that Li Ang, all personnel from the Virgin Branch have left the capital—and both of them are now asleep... Nicole, it's time for you to act."

"Understood..."

With a hesitant reply, a faint glow appeared behind the old investigator. The female journalist, who had stolen the wallet and vanished, stepped forward holding a small lantern emitting a warm glow.

She glanced hesitantly at the old investigator, pressed her lips together, and gently shook the delicate glass lantern in her hand.

As she carefully moved it, the capital, mostly hidden in darkness, flickered faintly in response to the lantern's flame—then suddenly blazed with brilliance, a blazing sun replacing the moon, hanging high in the center of the sky.

(End of Chapter)