Darian turned to the elder, realizing this was the guy whose words actually carried weight, "Of course."

The elder smiled, a strange expression flickering in his cloudy eyes. "You know this won't be easy, right?"

"Hard doesn't mean impossible — and only things that are hard are worth doing. No matter how difficult it is, if Niara's happy, I'll give it my all," he replied without hesitation.

"Good. Young people are full of energy and don't pay much attention to etiquette. Still, you must follow the rules." The elder nodded seriously. "According to royal marriage law, commoners can't marry members of the royal family. So, you'll have to start from the bottom until you reach the rank of Supreme General. Only then will you be qualified to propose to a princess."

"The commoner is the lowest status. After that come soldier, instructor, general, and finally, supreme general. You'll be tested and pressured constantly, climbing one step at a time."

"Are there other conditions?" Darian asked lightly.

"Of course. Everything I just said only grants you the qualifications to propose. After that, you'll need to present a marriage contract, which will be carefully reviewed by the royal family. After all, the princess must have children of the highest level. In other words, everyone here will judge whether you're acceptable or not. And naturally, if the princess herself doesn't want to marry you, then all of this is meaningless," the elder explained.

"Anything else?" Darian asked again, still calm.

The elder smiled and glanced toward Painita. "Besides that, the most important part is that even if you meet every single requirement, as her mother, the Matriarch still has the right to veto it."

At that moment, Painita smiled — a bit darkly.

Everyone turned to Darian, expecting him to look defeated or lash out in anger. Unexpectedly, his expression stayed calm, and he said, unfazed:

"None of that sounds hard to me. No matter what challenges you throw my way, Niara will marry me." He stared straight into Painita's eyes, defiant.

Painita scoffed, hiding her surprise. If she rejected him in the end, all his efforts would be for nothing — and yet, that confidence of his stirred something in her. He had a conviction no suitor she'd ever seen had before.

After explaining the details for a few more minutes, the elder concluded, "Do you clearly understand the rules?"

"Yes, I understand. For Niara's sake, I'll give it everything I've got. I don't care what kind of Trials I have to face." Noticing the subtle change in Painita's expression, he straightened his posture and spoke with dignity.

"In that case, you'll begin as a commoner. But any commoner can attempt to become a soldier after a single battle. You may sign the evaluation document. If you fail, you can't blame anyone." The elder took out a document.

It bore a mark where Darian had to leave his blood. After doing so, he took out two small boxes and respectfully offered them to the two women beside Painita.

"I'm just a humble man, but I did my best to prepare a few gifts."

"You're trying to bribe my great-granddaughters, you brat!?" Painita snapped coldly.

Darian smiled inwardly. Beleth had told him everything useful beforehand, and he already knew those two were Painita's closest blood relatives. She treated them like they were her entire world. Winning them over was crucial. So, he and Beleth had planned carefully and chosen the best possible gifts.

"Matriarch, this young man's just being polite. If you scold him for that, it'd be rather rude," said the woman who resembled Tetoya, and both smiled as they accepted the gifts.

Seeing the sparkle in their eyes, Painita huffed. Darian had definitely planned this out. Niara had described him as the type who liked to plan ahead — someone who preferred to win before the battle even started.

That kind of person was generally despised on this planet, where everyone valued straightforward combat and physical training. But as a couple… maybe it was better that they had opposite strengths — they'd balance each other out.

"Since that's settled, I'll take my leave. I need to prepare for the tests and become a soldier as soon as possible." Darian bowed and turned to leave.

"..."

Everyone in the hall stayed silent, all eyes on Painita.

Her expression was tense and thoughtful… which definitely wasn't a good sign.

After a few minutes, she gave her order: "He must prove his worth properly. In the soldier test, he should at least be more talented than my daughter. Have one of the royal family's young talents challenge him."

"Matriarch!" The Emperor quickly stepped in. "That's madness! The weakest royal family member has six rings. Niara's only outstanding because she inherited the Bloodline of a Primordial Dragon. He's just a pure human with four rings. Even if he were a genius among geniuses, fighting two rings above is impossible!"

"He's said more than once that he'd give his life for her, hasn't he? It's obvious he'll lose. Just make sure he doesn't die," Painita replied indifferently. "How many geniuses have been lost after their first real defeat? I want to test his will."

Everyone let out a heavy sigh. Seeing that look on her face, they knew there was no point in trying to change her mind.

...

Shortly after, Painita's two great-granddaughters ran over to open Darian's gift.

When they did...

Inside the boxes were two bottles of a bluish-red drink. A runic seal rested on top, and as soon as they were opened... the whole atmosphere changed, filled with a dense yet refreshing scent.

"THIS! IS THE PUREST YIN ESSENCE I'VE EVER SEEN!"

Both women had seven rings and had traveled across countless universes on high-level missions. Still, they froze — they had never felt such a powerful Yin in their entire lives.

And the best part: that essence was in liquid form, diluted in water like a potion. In other words, all they had to do was drink it, and their bodies would absorb it effortlessly.

They quickly took a sip. The moment they did, a wave of deep comfort spread through them; the Yin within their bodies surged frighteningly fast.

Their eyes lit up. With that... they realized their ridiculously low chances of having pure offspring would drastically increase for a while.

Darian had given them a gift of immeasurable value — something any married woman on that planet would kill or fight to the death for. And the best part...

Painita was, without a doubt, the most interested in it. But not for the usual reasons. She had a big 'problem' — her female body naturally had an excess of Yang.

That caused her a lot of trouble, though it wasn't truly life-threatening. Still, she was always looking for purer Yin essences to nourish herself.

She'd always cursed herself for that. But when she met Niara — who was actually sick and her complete opposite — she was moved.

She, who had always hated the Yang and the excess within her own body, suddenly met a woman who could die soon if she didn't get external Yang.

On top of that, Niara radiated an unshakable will to live, never once complaining about her illness or the hardships in her life.

The two women immediately exchanged glances and smiled. That definitely wasn't a coincidence — they perfectly understood the hidden intentions of that human.

But they didn't care. Because Niara had once told them that when Darian came back, she would leave — and probably never return to that place. She was only there to train, and her real family lived on a small blue planet far away.

That was back when she had just become a princess and wasn't yet so attached to Painita. Obviously, after so long, their relationship had changed. Painita truly saw her as her favorite daughter, and Niara probably felt the same way.

So, the fact that Darian came to that planet and formally proposed marriage was basically his way of saying he didn't want to separate them completely or cause pain to either side. And so, they chose to go along with his plan without hesitation.

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