After waiting a moment, "klek," the door opened. Geoffrey, Ainsley, and Irwin, who had returned after eating, watched as Eva, Alicia, Claudia, Milia, Patricia, Mirea, Beatrice, and Rosalind emerged from the house. All of their faces looked messy, and their hair was disheveled, as if they had just been in a massive brawl inside.

"Hey... what happened to you all?" Geoffrey asked.

"Nothing happened," Claudia replied curtly, looking exhausted.

They all immediately walked toward the village hall, ignoring Geoffrey, Ainsley, and Irwin, who were still staring at them blankly.

"What's going on?" Irwin asked, turning to Ainsley and Geoffrey with a confused look.

"This seems different from usual. They... look worn out," Ainsley replied, observing the girls and adjusting his glasses.

"Yep, let's follow them... from a distance, though," Geoffrey suggested.

"Yeah, let's go," Irwin agreed.

They immediately and casually followed the girls, who were already ahead. Meanwhile, inside the village hall, Ard, who was sitting, waiting with his arms crossed and his foot tapping up and down, was starting to lose patience.

"Ugh... where are Eva and Claudia?" he muttered, glancing at the tightly closed chief's room door.

"Blam," the door suddenly burst open. Ard turned to see Eva and Claudia enter. He immediately stood up, intending to greet them, but his steps halted, and he froze because he saw Alicia, Milia, Patricia, Beatrice, Rosalind, and Mirea walk in with Eva and Claudia. All of them looked rumpled and disheveled.

"He... hey, what happened, and why are you all here?" Ard asked.

"Shut up!" Eva, Claudia, Alicia, Milia, Patricia, Beatrice, and Rosalind yelled in unison.

Mirea stepped forward and placed a hand on Ard's shoulder. She stood on her toes slightly and leaned her face close to Ard's ear.

"Wait here. Let us and Claudia go inside," Mirea whispered.

"Huh... what does that mean?" Ard asked.

But before Ard could get an answer, they all walked into the chief's room and tightly closed the door again. Ard, who was confused, turned to see Geoffrey, Ainsley, and Irwin peeking in from the main door. He immediately went over to his three friends.

"Hey, what happened to them?" Ard asked.

"Don't know. Don't ask me," Irwin answered.

"Yep, we were outside eating, so we don't know what went down inside just now," Ainsley added.

"But why do they look like they just finished an all-out fight?" Ard asked, panicked, pointing at the door the girls had just gone through.

"Now, that's what we're asking too," Geoffrey replied.

"Hmm... something's definitely wrong here. Alright, I'm going in," Ard said, turning around in a panic.

Suddenly, Geoffrey raised his hand, which then landed hard on Ard's shoulder, stopping Ard from moving forward.

"Dude, relax. Just leave it to them," Geoffrey said, smiling.

"He's right, if you go in, you'll just mess things up," Irwin added.

"They must have a plan. Let's just wait here," Ainsley added, adjusting his glasses.

"Okay... I get it," Ard said, resigning himself. "I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about this. Whatever they're planning, it definitely has something to do with me," Ard muttered to himself.

***

Meanwhile, inside, Gleld and Drago, seeing the line of girls sitting in front of them, froze in stun. They did not see the concerned party, Ard, among them.

"What is this, Claudia?" Gleld asked.

"So, Uncle Gleld, before we continue with the cancellation of my engagement to Drago, let us all explain first what is going on," Claudia replied.

Without waiting for Gleld's permission, Claudia immediately explained everything, without mentioning Eva's true identity to Gleld, but she did explain who Ard really was. Gleld and Drago's faces, which had been calm, slowly turned serious, and finally their jaws clenched. Drago still looked angry, but Gleld appeared exhausted. After Claudia finished explaining,

"So... that young man is Arden Larsen Fredonia, the third prince of the Fredonia Kingdom? Is that true?" Gleld asked.

"That's correct, Chief. I am Esmeralda, Ard's first fiancée," Eva said.

"I am Alicia Herlena Einhard from the Fredonia Kingdom, Ard's second fiancée," Alicia stated.

"And I am Ard's third fiancée," Claudia added.

"Next is me, the fourth fiancée. My name is Beatrice Anastasia Rellios, the first princess of the Rellios Kingdom," Beatrice announced, standing up and placing a hand on her chest with her chin lifted.

"I am her guard, Rosalind Zoya Flaurend, also from Rellios, and Ard's fifth fiancée," Rosalind said.

"My name is Milia Gladis Orlaf, from the Durnhill Kingdom. I am also Ard's fiancée, and my order is the sixth," Milia added.

Then Patricia's body emitted a bright light, making Gleld and Drago cover their eyes with their arms. After the light disappeared, Patricia transformed back into Pyria, startling Gleld and Drago because they saw an elf in front of them.

"Pyria Wysacaryn, I am the only daughter of the chief of the elf village. I am Ard's seventh fiancée," Pyria said, bowing slightly to Gleld and Drago with her ears wiggling.

"And I am the last one, Mirea Kranzer. I am the daughter of the Kranzer.co trading company from Ateras. I am Ard's last fiancée, number eight," Mirea concluded.

The atmosphere in the room immediately became deathly silent. This time, Gleld and Drago's faces showed utter shock, with wide eyes and slack jaws. After a moment, Gleld turned to look at Drago and placed his hand on Drago's shoulder, whose face was still bruised as he looked back at his father.

"Drago, just forget about your engagement with Claudia," Gleld muttered, smiling, but his hand was squeezing Drago's shoulder.

"Ow... but why, Dad?" Drago protested, grabbing his father's hand.

"Listen, all the girls in front of us—the Princess of the Rellios Kingdom, nobles from Fredonia and Durnhill, the child of a prominent merchant in the Ateras Kingdom, the daughter of the Elf village chief—plus their collective fiancé, the Third Prince of Fredonia, and we've already agreed to help the Ateras Kingdom in the war against the Orthus Empire. Do you want to add more enemies just because you want to get married, ultimately destroying our village?" Gleld asked, showing he understood the gravity of the girls' collective status.

Hearing his father's words, and looking again at the line of girls in front of him, Drago finally sighed and lowered his head in defeat. Meanwhile, Alicia, Claudia, Milia, Beatrice, Rosalind, Pyria, and Mirea turned to look at Eva, who was smiling victoriously. Their faces and lips trembled as if they wanted to tell the barbarian chief and his son, "She's actually the Second Princess of the Orthus Empire." But knowing what would happen if they did, they chose to stay silent. Finally, Drago raised his head and looked at Claudia.

"Fine... I get it. Claudia, I release you from our engagement. If both parties agree to dissolve the engagement, then we don't need the combat tradition. I don't want to fight the Third Prince of Fredonia," Drago said, swallowing his pride, frustration, and even his love for Claudia, submitting and bowing his head.

Hearing Drago's words, Claudia and the girls let out a collective, relieved sigh. Then, Gleld leaned forward and stared at the eight girls in front of him.

"Since the problem is solved, I ask that you leave our village right now," Gleld stated firmly.

"Huh... why, Uncle?" Claudia asked.

"I gave you permission to enter and extended our hospitality because Claudia was previously my son's fiancée, but since your engagement is over and dissolved, I demand that all of you leave my village," Gleld replied strictly, clearly leaving no room for negotiation.

"But what about Princess Eliza?" Claudia asked.

"That's none of your business. Get out of this village immediately, and don't forget to go to your village to inform your father. I don't want our villages to be at odds because of this situation," Gleld snapped.

"Alright, we understand," Eva said, standing up.

They all immediately stood up and excused themselves, then left, while Gleld patted his son's shoulder, who was still bowed and appeared to be weeping. After the girls left, Ard, Geoffrey, Ainsley, and Irwin immediately went to meet them. But when the eight girls saw Ard, all of their faces, including Eva's, instantly flushed with embarrassment, and they turned their faces away so Ard's gaze would not meet theirs.

"Huh... what now? What's wrong with you guys?" Ard asked, completely bewildered.

"We have to leave this village right now," Eva answered, fanning her neck with her hand and looking away.

"Right, let's get ready to go. The problem is solved; I've canceled my engagement, and we're heading to my village," Claudia added, also looking in another direction.

"Okay... let's go," Ard said, confused.

The girls walked right past Ard, Geoffrey, Ainsley, and Irwin without looking at them or saying another word. Then they exited the village hall. The four men immediately turned to look at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

"Let's get going, then," Ard suggested.

"Yeah," Geoffrey, Ainsley, and Irwin replied together.

They walked out of the village hall and followed the girls ahead of them, who were heading straight for the village exit gate without glancing left or right. Ard watched as Eva, Alicia, Milia, Patricia, Beatrice, Rosalind, Mirea, and Claudia walked together at the front, looking so hot that they had to fan their necks with both hands, and they seemed to be sweating slightly. Then Ard looked back toward the village hall, which was now behind them.

"Seriously, what the hell happened in there? Why are they acting like this?" Ard asked in his head, completely clueless.

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