Chapter 779: Promise Beneath the Imperial Stars
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."
Isabella parted her lips slightly, holding her breath.
"But time passed," Ethan continued, closing the distance between them as a genuine smile touched his lips. "And what began as gratitude transformed into something far deeper. Today, I no longer fight to settle a debt. Today, the only thing my heart desires in this life and the next... is for you to grant me the privilege of walking by your side and spending the rest of my days with you."
Without breaking eye contact, Ethan took a step back and dropped down onto one knee before her upon the jade floor of the imperial balcony. With his right hand extended upward, gently cradling hers, he looked up with the unshakeable resolve of a king who had just conquered his own destiny.
"Isabella von Draconia... will you intertwine your life with mine?"
A collective breath hitched across the palace galleries. Diplomats held their breath, Great General Vaelen and King Alaric looked on with broad smiles, while Vorian rested his chin on his hand, utterly amused by such a bold display.
Isabella felt a tear of pure joy slip down her cheek. She smiled, her face flushed crimson, and squeezed Ethan’s hand tightly.
"I will," she answered without a moment’s hesitation. "With all my soul, Ethan, I will."
Ethan stood up slowly, never letting go of Isabella’s hand for a second. Seeing the tear slip down her cheek, he reached out his fingers to wipe it away gently, closing the final distance between them.
Isabella stared into the face of the man before her. In her mystic vision, she could perceive with dazzling clarity a golden thread of fate—that ancestral bond connecting their souls—tying itself with indestructible force to Ethan’s figure. He wasn’t just the unstoppable warrior who had just challenged the Empire; he was the person who, blow by blow and sacrifice by sacrifice, had carried away every one of her anxieties, fears, and worries upon his shoulders, giving her back the freedom she thought was lost forever.
With a muffled sob of pure joy, Isabella threw herself into his arms. Ethan wrapped his arms firmly around her waist and pulled her close, sealing their promise with a deep, passionate kiss right in the middle of the imperial balcony.
The grand hall erupted instantly. King Alaric and Great General Vaelen sprang to their feet, cheering with laughter and open toasts, while Vorian applauded enthusiastically from the back of the table. Even the diplomats from neutral nations joined the cheers, celebrating the audacity of the youth who had just altered the destiny of two realms in a single night.
Amid the cheers and the clinking of golden goblets, Isabella buried her face in Ethan’s chest, clutching his robe tightly as her final tears of relief fell onto the jade floor.
The Emperor raised his left hand with deliberate calm, freezing the court’s uproar and the clinking of golden goblets in an instant.
"If you would allow me to offer a few words...", the sovereign said, locking his imposing gaze upon the couple.
"It would be our greatest honor, Your Majesty," Ethan replied without hesitation, taking Isabella’s hand to kneel beside her on the jade floor.
The Emperor raised his right hand above their heads, channeling a thread of golden aura that descended gently like a drizzle of celestial light.
"May the heavens and the earth witness this union, and may the edge of the blade protect the bond forged today beneath the roof of this palace," the sovereign’s booming voice proclaimed, bestowing the Imperial Blessing.
As soon as the light dissipated and the ritual concluded, the Emperor lowered his hand, grabbed his wine goblet, and let out a deep laugh dripping with disdain.
"Hahaha! This is why I prefer strong, decisive youths!" the monarch exclaimed, leaning back on his throne with a wild smirk while casting a contemptuous glance at the Silver Dragon Kingdom’s table. "Who gives a shit about politics? If you can seize the world with your fist, why waste time with stupid words and agreements?!"
The sovereign’s words fell like an axe upon the rival delegation, reducing their generations of alliances and diplomacy to mere foolishness before Ethan’s raw strength.
The imperial herald took two steps forward, striking a golden staff against the jade floor to capture the entire court’s attention.
"By order of His Imperial Majesty, the welcoming banquet has concluded!" the herald proclaimed in a loud, clear voice. "We remind all representatives and young talents that in exactly fifteen days, the Imperial Tournament will begin. Ready your blades and purify your cultivation, for the true carnage is yet to come."
Ethan stood up, offered his arm to Isabella, and together they began walking slowly toward the imperial balcony’s exit. As they crossed the grand marble gates, they found King Alaric and Great General Vaelen waiting for them with faces beaming with satisfaction.
"You did a splendid job, kid," said Alaric the king, giving him a firm pat on the shoulder. "But don’t drop your guard; in fifteen days, every kingdom will be hunting for your head."
Ethan squeezed Isabella’s hand and flashed a cold smirk.
"Let them try."