The banquet's low chatter seemed to fade into nothingness for the two of them. The greedy gazes, the suppressed fury of the Silver Dragon Kingdom, and the overwhelming presence of the empire's greatest eminences were all reduced to mere background noise.
Isabella gazed at Ethan with slightly glistening eyes, feeling her heart hammer hard against her chest.
"Ethan..." she whispered, holding tightly onto his hand.
Ethan maintained eye contact with serenity. The cold, calculating edge he had displayed when confronting Protector Garth and Vorian vanished, laying bare a unyielding devotion.
"When my entire world was crumbling and death was my only certainty, you were the one who stepped in," Ethan said, his deep voice carrying gently between them. "You saved my life, Isabella. For a long time, the sole engine driving my path—every drop of sweat and every drop of blood spilled—was the burning desire to repay that debt... to return the freedom that was rightfully yours."
