Voroz briefly clenched his fists but then immediately relaxed his posture since he knew he was helpless and couldn't reveal the truth about his father's 'Will' now, especially since he was planning to reveal it later only.
Nobody in the Fujo Clan would be ready for the truth now and especially not in the presence of Han.
"Please, Sage Han, my daughter is doing this out of her own will. It's not something I have forced on her if that's what you are worried about," Voroz said in a diplomatic tone, hoping to diffuse this situation while wondering why Han even wants to cancel this ceremony.
Sage Han's expression didn't change as he looked at Voroz with an unfriendly expression and said, "Have you forgotten who her mother is? Even if your daughter had been living here for most of her life, she has the blood of our Azure Sea Clan. A daughter of the Azure Sea Clan, even if she is a half-blood one, would still be the Young Mistress of our clan. And in case you forgot how women in our clan get married, let me remind you that only the High Elders can decide who she will marry. It doesn't matter if your daughter wants to or not. And right now, the High Elders have already chosen an extraordinary young man from another upper-class clan for your daughter. Out of curiosity, he said he had already taken a look at Nyissa and wanted to get married as fast as possible. That is why I rushed here as a messenger once I got wind of you trying to hold an engagement ceremony without the permission of our clan."
Karn's relaxed expression suddenly became dumbfounded since he didn't expect Han to play this card. He never expected them to have already found a fiance for Nyissa and even made arrangements regarding the same.
Wouldn't this mean that his son would never get a chance and that his entire plan had gone to waste? By trying to prevent Nyissa from getting married to Viktor, all he did was invite a bigger wolf to the party.
"No…" Nyissa weakly mumbled, feeling as if her worst fears did indeed come true. She wondered if her mother was behind this, and that thought seemed to hurt her more than she thought. But at the same time, she suddenly felt a cold hand holding hers, making her feel warm.
She slowly looked at Viktor, who was only smiling at her with a reassuring smile, telling through his eyes that everything was going to be alright.
Strangely enough, looking at his eyes, her heart was filled with a new sense of courage, relaxing her heart and feeling that as long as he was with her, things would be alright.
"Brat, you dare hold her hand?!" Han's annoyed voice shook the entire crowd as they saw how he was targeting Viktor and wondered what was going to happen.
Voroz felt anxious and was about to say something when Sage Han gestured to him to keep quiet with an unkind expression.
Nyissa tried to remove her hand, feeling that Viktor would get in trouble because of her, but he only tightened his grip, even more, making her heart tense up, thinking if he was really going to face off against Han here and now.
She wanted to tell him not to but at the same time couldn't find any words to say it after seeing his determined and confident expression.
Viktor casually shrugged and said as he looked at Han with a collected expression, "Is it a crime to hold my fiance's hand? Just because you found a man for her doesn't mean she will marry him. She will only marry the one she wants to."
Han's eyes widened a bit, seeing how this brazen man was bold enough to talk back to him and to deny his orders so openly. Did he really not have an idea of who he was or where he was coming from? Did he not have fear for his own life?
"Brat, do you really want to force my hand? I have traveled a long way just to make sure nothing wrong happens. Do you think I would go back empty-handed? She is coming with me so she can properly get married off to the right person. It doesn't matter if she wants it or not, and nor will you be able to do anything about it. Consider it lucky that I am too tired today. So cut off the arm with the hand you are using to hold her hand, and I will be lenient not to punish you more for such an offense."
The crowd was shocked to hear this. Was this ceremony going to turn into a bloody show of severing limbs?
Ayana couldn't help but bite her fingers, thinking if Viktor was going to be alright.
Nyissa couldn't bear to hear anymore and said, "There is no need for all that. I will come with you, but I won't be marrying anyone. I can remain celibate for the rest of my life if marrying someone I want would only create problems for you people."
Han shook his head as he said in a somber tone, "Do you think it's that easy? You belong to an upper-class clan. Each and every decision you make would affect us as a whole. The alliance the High Elders have found for you would bring great benefits to not only you but our clan as a whole. By refusing, you would only let your little Fujo Clan get bullied by other clans. Don't expect to get help from us when such things happen, especially if you refuse to accept our clan's generosity. Is that what you want?"
Nyissa's eyebrows knit together as she clenched her fists, knowing that this was like indirect blackmail. If she refused, then her mother's clan would do everything in their power to make sure Fujo Clan wouldn't have a peaceful day or something worse till she begs them for help or something similar.
'These dirty bastards!' Viktor didn't expect these so-called upper-class clan people to be so cheap and low to insinuate something like this.
"Master…" Ayana felt it painful to see her Master being so vulnerable before this Sage. She wished she could bash him and kick him out but knew it was not even possible in her dreams.
"Nyissa, do you trust me?" Viktor suddenly whispered behind her ear, making her feel a bit surprised to hear this question. However, even if she was worried, she nodded strongly.
"Good. Then just play along," Viktor whispered with a smile before looking at Han.
"You want my arm cut off for holding her hand, right?" Viktor asked with a cool expression, making Nyissa look at him with a confused expression, wondering what he was up to.
"That's right. It's the most merciful I can be. I don't like to raise my hand against juniors," Sage Han said as if he was doing a junior a favor.
"Then I wonder what all you want me to cut off if I do this…" Viktor smirked as he wrapped his arm around Nyissa's waist and removed her veil, her beauty stunning everyone, making them even forget the tension in the air for a moment.
Sage Han was a veteran expert who had hardened his heart and will to not be moved by things like appearance. However, he was indeed distracted for a moment by Nyissa's spellbinding beauty since it was not like he was used to seeing someone with her beauty every day.
But it was only a single moment, and the next moment he was shocked to see Viktor kissing Nyissa in front of everyone!