Damon nodded. "I did not mean to hide this from you. Everything happened so suddenly. I simply did not have the time to meet with you and talk to you. If I could, I would have told you all about this beforehand. It all spiralled out of control and I had to make some decisions on the spot. But I sincerely did not expect any of those decisions to affect you."

However, Lirae was not listening to him. She simply looked outside and laughed. "Will you marry me?" She lightly whispered.

Hmmm? Damon was surprised.

"You turned half the continent into chaos, and now my father is using me to get the upper hand in this madness. Just imagine how he would react if he knew that I am betrothed to the enemy he oh so fears and desires to put down. Me, the daughter whom he always hated. The daughter whom he prefers dead."

Lirae suddenly wiped her tears and stood up resolutely. "I am no one now. Not a princess of a Kingdom. Not a King's daughter. I am nothing. Will you still marry me? Will you still take me with you?"

Damon smiled. "I was hoping you would say that. We can talk more later. But first, we need to leave."

Lirae's face immediately changed. First, she looked happy and overjoyed. Even ecstatic but that changed quickly. She started to look flustered. "I… I am so stupid. I cannot leave with you. Forget everything I said. I should never have acted so emotionally. I have unnecessarily put you in danger again. I-"

Damon used his hand to cover her mouth, making the elven princess go wide-eyed as he leaned in closer. "Stop. We don't have much time to waste talking in circles. You are coming with me. That is that. Are they taking you out anywhere anytime soon? How about going to the divine temple or the holy church?"

Lirae shook her head. "No. I have already tried something like that. My father is very adamant, and he doesn't want me to step out of these quarters. They had many formations around here to keep me inside. Even if I want to, I cannot physically take a step outside this boundary."

Lirae was fully flustered, but Damon unexpectedly smiled at her. "I thought so. But don't worry. I have an idea."

Lirae did not understand. "It's impossible, my love. Without knowing the exact formation bone structure even you cannot brute force it. Ten generals made it together and used my blood. There is simply no way around it. As long as it's me, I just cannot step outside these boundaries."

"Then what if it's not you?"

"I…" Lirae blinked.

"What if your blood changes…"

Lirae's eyes widened in shock. "My love…"

"If you really want to come with me and leave everything behind, then there is something obvious you can do. Are you ready for that? I understand if you do not want to forgo your identity. I won't push you. This is just the easiest way out."

Lirae took a moment. She closed her eyes and exhaled. "I am ready. I already chose you over everyone else. Then what else is there to think about?"

"Are you sure about this?" Damon asked gently. "I might have saved your life once, but that's nothing. You can repay me in other ways. We've only known each other for a few days. There's no reason for you to do something this drastic."

He paused, watching her expression closely before continuing. "Maybe the alliance your father arranged isn't as bad as you think it is. He is a human prince after all. He would be a lot more suited to you than I ever will. I should also tell you that I already have two women in my life, two women I love very much and who are very important to me. If you want to come with me, then I cannot promise that you will be the only one in my life. I know in the elven custom-"

Lirae stepped forward and kissed him on the lips. "You should also know that in the elven custom, when a woman makes up her mind, she won't change it for anything and anyone. My father was ready to throw my life away like it was nothing. I don't see why it should matter to him now. You were the one who saved me, and I belong to you. That is all there is."

Damon nodded. "I hope you don't regret your decision." He pricked his finger and let a drop of his blood trickle out.

Lirae looked at the drop for a moment and then, without hesitation, stepped forward to lick the drop off his finger.

A strange warmth spread instantly through her body, racing along her veins like fire laced with lightning.

Her knees buckled for a second, but Damon caught her with ease, steadying her as her eyes glowed faintly crimson for a moment before returning to their usual silver hue, now tinged with the barest hint of red.

"Here, drink some more." He pricked his finger another time, and a few more drops seeped out.

Lirae nodded in a dizzy state and was about to take his entire finger into her mouth when suddenly the chamber doors burst open.

"Stop it! What have you done?!"

Damon immediately became alert and prepared to go all out. However, to his shock, it was not the King or the personal female knight or the royal head guard who stood before them. Instead, it was a lean, tall, muscular man with a bare upper body except for some tattoos and a couple of pieces of cloth.

Damon's gaze shifted to the man's ears, which were unmistakably sharp and pointed, slightly longer than a human's ears, and also different. This guy was an elf!

More importantly, the elven guy looked really pissed off.

His glowing emerald eyes locked onto Lirae, then flicked to Damon, and then back again, narrowing. His fists clenched at his sides, and though he made no move to draw a weapon, the sheer pressure rolling off him made the air in the room feel heavy.

***

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