Mr. Dragon Knight, the dragon girls are chasing you!

Raymond's gaze darkened slightly, a complex and unreadable expression flashing across his eyes.

A moment later, a slender, graceful, and elegant figure slowly entered the hall.

Her fluffy golden curly hair shimmered with a delicate sheen in the sunlight, her skin was as white as jade, and her features inherited the refined bone structure of royalty, with an innate nobility and aloofness between her brows and eyes.

It was Elena, the princess of the Holy Radiance Empire, who had been betrothed to Luo Ye since childhood.

Today she wore an elegant ivory white dress with a discreet pearl brooch at the neckline, clearly a "low-key" outfit she had chosen on purpose.

Yet, deep within those pale golden, glassy eyes lay an irrepressible lightness and anticipation, completely at odds with her sorrowful and composed exterior.

Duchess Ophelia rose first, giving a slight bow in politeness, her manners both courteous and dignified.

"Your Highness, it is an honor to have you here. We have failed to greet you properly."

Elena quickly stepped forward, gently touching the Duchess's arm with her hand, her tone exceptionally polite:

"Madam, there's no need for such formalities. I've come today because I heard about what happened to Young Master Luo Ye and your household, and I've come to offer my condolences and comfort."

As soon as she finished speaking, her maidservant stepped forward and presented her with an exquisite sandalwood gift box containing top-grade nourishing medicines and rare ingredients.

"This is just a small gift to express my feelings. I hope you will accept it, Madam." Elena smiled gently, her posture perfect.

Ophelia thanked them softly and accepted the gift box, but her heart was cold; she had already seen through their insincerity.

Elena surveyed the hall, her gaze sweeping over the sorrowful and solemn expressions on everyone's faces.

Finally, she sighed softly and spoke slowly in that practiced, restrained, and sorrowful tone:

"Your Grace, Your Grace, besides offering my condolences, there is another matter I wish to discuss with you."

Raymond remained calm: "Please speak, Princess."

Elena pursed her lips slightly, adopting a thoughtful and utterly helpless expression, and slowly spoke:

"My engagement with Young Master Luo Ye was arranged by the royal family and the ducal mansion when I was young. For many years, I have been dutiful and waited patiently for the engagement."

"But now Young Master Luo Ye is missing and his fate is unknown, so the marriage contract is in vain and exists in name only."

"If this stalemate continues, it will be a burden for me, for the Duke's mansion, and for the royal family's reputation."

"So after much consideration, I think it's probably time to annul this engagement. It's the best outcome for both of us."

Upon hearing this, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence.

Ophelia looked up abruptly, her eyes filled with disbelief and chilling disbelief.

Theodore's face instantly darkened, his fists clenched, but he managed to suppress his rage.

This is the ultimate act of kicking someone when they're down.

When Luo Ye's fate was uncertain and his family was in dire straits, his fiancée, with whom he had been betrothed since childhood, rushed to his side, not out of concern or worry, but because she was eager to annul the engagement, sever ties, and clear herself of all ties!

Raymond's expression remained unchanged, but his eyes turned completely cold, and his tone was calm:

"Your Highness, the Violet family is already aware of your purpose in coming here."

"But the marriage agreement was personally finalized by His Majesty and me back then; it was not a trivial matter."

"My son Luo Ye is currently only missing, not confirmed dead. He is not here, so he cannot defend himself or make his own decisions."

"As a father, I absolutely cannot break off his engagement and ruin his reputation when he is wrongly accused, missing, and unable to protect himself."

He slightly raised his eyes, his gaze calm and firm:

"If Luo returns safely one day, the decision regarding the marriage will be made personally by him and His Highness."

"If he is no longer alive, the Violet family will take the initiative to annul the engagement, so Your Highness need not worry."

Elena opened her mouth, as if to say something.

Her slender fingers clenched and unclenched slightly inside her sleeve. The words she had recited countless times before coming here, she couldn't utter a single one at this moment.

She remained silent for a moment, forcibly suppressing the irritation and resentment in her heart, and nodded obediently: "I understand, I was too hasty, I hope Your Grace will forgive me."

"In that case, I shall take my leave now and visit you again another day."

After saying that, she didn't linger any longer and turned to leave quickly.

The moment Elena stepped out of the Duke's mansion, into the magnificent carriage, and lowered the curtain, all the gentle and dignified smiles on her face shattered and vanished completely.

The carriage slowly drove away from the Duke's mansion, its wheels rolling over the cobblestone pavement with a dull thud.

Princess Elena leaned back against the soft cushions, Duke Raymond's words echoing repeatedly in her mind—

"The decision regarding the engagement will be made personally by him and His Highness."

Wait for him to come back.

What if he doesn't come back?

What if he's already dead in some unknown corner?

Wouldn't she have to carry this marriage contract for the rest of her life?

Princess Elena frowned slightly, a vague and inexplicable sense of irritation rising within her.

She lifted the car curtain and gazed at the rapidly receding street scene outside the window, her eyes deep and thoughtful.

"...You absolutely have to be dead, Luo Ye."

......

Meanwhile, inside the Duke's mansion.

Duke Raymond remained standing by the window, watching the royal carriage gradually disappear into the distance, his gaze deep and unfathomable.

Theodore walked up behind him and whispered, "Father, Princess Elena's decision to annul the engagement this time is probably not just her own."

"It must have been His Majesty's doing. The royal family is taking advantage of my family's current predicament to completely sever the ties of marriage and distance themselves from me, paving the way for the future reckoning with my Violet family!"

Raymond nodded slightly, his tone carrying an unyielding chill:

"Of course I know that our family has long been a target of envy and criticism."

"Since ancient times, when the court is in turmoil, everyone pushes the wall when it falls, and the monkeys scatter when the tree falls; this is not surprising."

Theodore frowned, his tone anxious:

"But they are relentlessly pressing forward, determined to wipe us out! This confinement and thorough investigation will inevitably be followed by fabricating charges, stripping us of our titles, and dismantling our family's power!"

"Father, are we really just supposed to wait passively?"

Duke Raymond was silent for a moment, then slowly turned around, his gaze falling on the painting on the wall that Luo Ye had drawn when he was six years old.

The little figure holding a spear and grinning broadly remains vivid and flamboyant, as if mocking all the storms and conspiracies of the world.

He raised his hand and slowly stroked the picture frame, the sharp glint in his eyes fully awakened.

"Of course we won't just sit here and wait to die."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and walked to the hidden compartment in the study, raising his hand to open the mechanism.

In the hidden compartment, lay a black metal token with worn edges.

The token is engraved with a giant dragon with outstretched wings, the pattern is ancient and heavy, and carries the iron-blooded aura of a veteran of many battles.

Theodore recognized it at a glance, his pupils shrinking sharply: "This is... the command token of the Northern Garrison?! Didn't you already relinquish your military command?"

"Military power was handed over to the royal family, but the hearts of the people were never handed over."

Raymond placed the token in his palm and gently turned it over; the cool, heavy touch awakened countless memories of the battlefield.

"Back then, when I was suppressing the alien beasts in the north, my 30,000 elite veterans followed me through bloody battles to defend the border and protect the nation's gates."

He didn't continue speaking.

Theodore, however, already understood what that meant.

The 30,000 elite troops from the North were veterans who had fought alongside Raymond for over a decade.

Their loyalty was not given to the king, but to Duke Raymond, who had shared meals and sleeps with them on snowy nights and had shielded them from swords on the battlefield.

Theodore took a deep breath and asked softly, "Father, what do you want to do...?"