The news that the royal Serales family had unilaterally annulled the engagement struck his heart like a poisoned dagger.

  The Aurora family indeed had the right to choose a better match for their daughter, but his bond with Orlanis had long transcended the shackles of a conventional engagement.

  Those whispered words under the moonlight, those vows by the Star Spirit Lake—were they all to be so easily crushed under the weight of so-called family interests?

  Daniel clenched his fists, his knuckles turning pale from the force, nails nearly digging into his palms. In his heart, he roared, the fury surging in his chest threatening to shatter the dam of his reason.

  Eirwyn noticed the tense lines on Daniel's face. She sighed softly. "The royal decree has been issued. The Grand Elders are already discussing a new candidate for marriage."

  Twin flames danced in Daniel's eyes. Realizing his loss of composure, he drew a deep breath and calmed himself. "Forgive me. That was unbecoming."

  "Escape!" The thought ignited like wildfire, consuming Daniel's entire will. He came to a halt, gaze fixed determinedly on Eirwyn. "I'm going to take Orlanis away from here—no matter the cost!"

  Eirwyn gazed at his anxious face. Beads of sweat slid down his chiseled features, glistening like crystals under the sun.

  She remembered the starlight in Orlanis' eyes whenever she spoke of Daniel. Her heart stirred slightly. She slowly nodded. "I'll help you. But first, we need a thorough plan."

  A finely crafted silver cart was pushed forward. In the crystal goblets was the elves' unique Moonlight Wine, giving off a cool, elegant aroma.

  On the plates lay Starshard Fish, cooked with magic, their scales shimmering with dreamlike colors under the lights. Daniel cut the food mechanically. Beneath the graceful motions lay a heart too restless to be soothed.

  His thoughts had long drifted away—calculating how to evade the royal guards, how to breach the border defenses, how to find a safe haven for the two of them on this perilous continent.

  Eirwyn, on the other hand, showed no restraint. Her knife and fork moved deftly as she brought the tender fish to her mouth. Noticing Daniel's distracted expression, she swallowed her bite and smiled. "Thank you for Your Highness's generous hospitality."

  Daniel only nodded perfunctorily, continuing to push the food around his plate. She sighed and set down her utensils. "So, how do you plan to handle this?"

  Daniel put down his knife and fork, dabbed the corner of his mouth, and looked out into the distance with a deep gaze. "Eirwyn, please tell Orlanis to delay things as long as she can. I'll come up with a way to leave—soon."

  "Do you have a plan?" Eirwyn raised an intrigued brow.

  Daniel paused, then said in a low voice, "I do. But I can't tell you."

  Eirwyn was momentarily stunned, then anger flared in her chest. She slammed her utensils down on the plate with a crisp clang and said coldly:

  "So you don't trust me? If I wanted to betray you, I wouldn't need your plan—just telling His Majesty or the Grand Elders what you and Orlanis are thinking would be enough."

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Daniel looked at her flushed face and retorted, "If I asked you about your relationship with Orlanis, would you tell me?"

  "Go to hell!" Eirwyn snapped.

  "Exactly. Everyone has things they'd rather not share. I hope you understand," Daniel replied sincerely.

  Eirwyn froze. Thinking it over, she realized he had a point. Most of her anger dissipated.

  Just then, a loud argument shattered the restaurant's calm. The two turned toward the commotion and saw a crowd embroiled in a heated dispute at the entrance of a goods store—on the verge of breaking into a brawl.

  The atmosphere at the scene was tense as a drawn sword. The lower-class elves were as diverse and chaotic as a primordial world. There were wood elves and jungle elves—graceful and similar in appearance to the highborn—

  and there were cavern elves and lesser demon-elves, with dark skin, hunched frames, and bone ornaments dangling from their pointed ears, glinting with a cold sheen under the sun.

  These vastly different races had been forcibly incorporated into the Elven Empire, jointly upholding a kingdom that now teetered on the brink.

  In the brutal war that cost them the Gaia Continent, the Elven Empire suffered a grievous loss—over 95% of the highborn elves perished, and the once-glorious elven race was left crippled.

  To fill the population gap and maintain control, the highborn elves were compelled to absorb a wide range of pan-elven races and forge treaties with allied groups, establishing a new foundation for governance.

  Now, the elven population hovered around thirty million. A standing army of nearly one million held the Nochima Line, barely repelling the beastmen invasions.

  Yet entrenched prejudice clung like a bone-deep infection. No matter how much the lower-class elves contributed, they remained unable to alter their lowly status in society.

  Daniel and Eirwyn hurried to the scene. The chaotic shouts grew clearer. The lower-class elf manager, Lange—a tall wood elf—spotted them approaching and immediately plastered on a flattering smile, hurrying over. "Honorable sirs, how may I assist you?"

  His eyes scanned Daniel's high-level administrative uniform and Eirwyn's official attire, inwardly guessing at their identities.

  Eirwyn gave Daniel a sidelong glance, indicating he should handle this. Though she was curious to see how he would resolve the conflict, she was also aware of the boundaries of her duty.

  Daniel took a step forward, exuding the commanding presence of someone in authority. His voice was steady and firm. "This is the Llorente commercial district. I don't care who you are—causing a public disturbance here severely damages the image and business environment of Llorente City. Now, tell me exactly what happened."

  Lange's eyes flicked cunningly as he assumed the fellow elf official would naturally take his side. He immediately launched into an embellished account, adding fuel to the fire. He shifted all the blame onto the foreign merchants, deliberately omitting key details and painting himself as the innocent victim.

  The more Daniel listened, the deeper his brows furrowed. Lange's evasive and misleading storytelling reminded him of the kind of dishonest media that twisted the truth. A sense of disgust began to rise in his chest.

  Just as Lange was speaking with exaggerated fervor, a loud voice suddenly interrupted him.

  "Lies! Shameless lies! Not a single word from this scoundrel Lange is true! It's all lies!"

  The speaker was Hogg, a half-bearman of the Bhir tribe, with a bear's head on a humanoid body. He stood over two meters tall, with muscles bulging all over his frame. His coarse brown-black fur glistened under the sunlight, and a necklace of beast fangs jingled at his thick neck as he moved.

  Lange was cut off mid-sentence. He snorted angrily, and a flash of malice crossed his eyes.

  "Hogg! How dare you interrupt this lord's inquiry? This is a provocation against the authority of the Elven Empire!"

  He tried to use moral coercion to silence Hogg, casting a sycophantic glance toward Daniel in hopes of gaining his favor.

  But Daniel remained unmoved. He looked calmly at Hogg's flushed, bear-like face and said in a neutral tone, "The authority of the Elven Empire is upheld through fair and equal trade laws—not through coercion or tyranny. Mr. Hogg, you claim that Manager Lange is lying. Very well—let's hear your side of the story."

  Next to Hogg, a half-fox man of the Vuksa tribe tugged nervously at his sleeve, shaking his head repeatedly. Slender and slight, the fox-man's fiery red fur draped smoothly over his shoulders. His ears twitched with anxiety, and his eyes were filled with concern.

  But Hogg, burning with rage, paid no heed to the warning. His thick neck stiffened as he raised his voice.

  "My lord, if we lose this shipment, we won't even make it back alive! You elves always see yourselves as above us and refuse to treat us fairly. Just kill me! I've got nothing left to live for!"

  His voice rang with despair and fury, sending a ripple of unrest through the surrounding crowd.