Beneath his hood, Darren's deep crimson eyes flashed coldly. Yggdrasil had bound him to a domina, yet she turned out to be nothing more than a foul-tempered, lazy female?

Had Yggdrasil overlooked the fact that he, being the original vampire, held nothing but contempt for those who depended on status to act freely without possessing any real ability to justify it?

Justine spoke at that moment. "Vornia Academy recently revised its admission rules. Now, any candidate who clears the evaluation can enroll in the school. It's an advantage granted exclusively to females."

Darren glanced at her, his face unreadable. "If Lillian is truly F-level like you said, there's no way she'll make it through the evaluation."

He had no desire to let it be known that he had been assigned to a female who was so incompetent. A matter like that would damage his reputation and give those royal werewolves reasons to ridicule him.

Justine gave a slight smile, thinking there was little cause for concern. From what she could tell, most people already shared her dislike for Lillian. Even so, to avoid any risk, she decided she would thwart Lillian's plans before they had a chance to take shape.

After leaving Darren, she reached out to Eisen Gomez, the president of the student council at Vornia Academy, and laid out the situation for him.

Eisen, who had long been fond of Justine and also served as one of the admissions evaluators, readily agreed that if Lillian's application came before him, he would make sure it was rejected.

Meanwhile, Lillian had pulled Samuel along as they rushed past two streets before finally stopping, both out of breath. "You really shouldn't have done that," she said.

Samuel muttered in a low voice, "I'm sorry."

Lillian looked at him, his head slightly lowered, clearly upset yet still convinced he had done nothing wrong. The sight made her laugh.

She gave his firm shoulder a light punch and said, "Why are you apologizing? I never said hitting them was wrong."

Samuel blinked in confusion.

Taking his hand, Lillian continued, "They had it coming. But you can't attack them so openly. You're still a slave, and laying hands on a citizen could get you arrested and punished. I don't want to lose you."

So she had wanted to stop him only because she didn't want to lose him?

A faint smile tugged at Samuel's lips. "I get it. I won't be so reckless next time."

Lillian's eyes were bright with playful warmth. "To thank you for sticking up for me, I'll make a delicious meal for you tonight. Come on, let's head home."

As they neared the residential block, Lillian noticed several well-dressed men standing outside her door. Even from a distance, their sharp suits made them stand out.

"Who are you, and why are you at my door?" she asked as she approached them.

Lucas turned at the sound of her voice. He checked the details on his communicator, then looked back at her with clear uncertainty. "Are you... Miss Lillian Clark?"

Lillian gave a small nod. "I am."

Lucas couldn't hide his surprise. She was a lot more beautiful in person.

He quickly composed himself and offered a courteous smile. "I work for Prince Nikolas Dixon. Please wait here for a moment; he would like to see you."

Before Lillian could reply, a sleek, high-end aircraft descended from above. A man stepped out, appearing to be in his early twenties. His long, deep blue hair caught the fading sunlight, reflecting hints of silver, and his overall presence exuded refinement and authority.

With a polite gesture, Lucas introduced, "This is Mr. Nikolas Dixon, son of Leviathan from Planet B32, your fated mate."

As Nikolas walked closer, Samuel instinctively moved forward, placing himself between Lillian and the approaching figure.

Their eyes locked. In that brief moment, Samuel caught the indifference and unmistakable contempt in Nikolas's eyes. Despite their bond, there was no trace of warmth or respect in his look toward Lillian.

"A slave?" Nikolas scoffed, scowling in distaste. "Step aside."

Samuel didn't move, standing his ground despite the pressure that came with Nikolas' elevated status.

Lillian peered out from behind Samuel. Though Nikolas intimidated her, she was displeased. "Show some respect. He's my friend."

Nikolas' expression hardened further. This female was treating a slave as an equal?

Sensing the tension, Lucas stepped in smoothly, saying, "Miss Clark, His Highness means no offense. He simply hopes to speak with you. Perhaps we can continue this conversation inside?"

Looking into Nikolas' distant, unwelcoming eyes, Lillian already understood why he had come here.

After all, how could a prince like him possibly accept being bonded to a female labeled as "worthless" like her?

Lillian unlocked the door and stepped inside, tugging Samuel along. Passing him the groceries in her hands, she said, "Samuel, can you take care of these ingredients? I'll deal with this myself."

Samuel's lips tightened slightly. "If anything goes wrong, call my name. I'll protect you."

Lillian smiled at him reassuringly, then went to prepare a pot of coffee, setting it down on the table. Taking a seat across from Nikolas, she didn't bother with pleasantries. "You're here to end the bond, right?"

Nikolas' eyes moved subtly, a faint flicker passing across them. "You are pretty smart."

Lucas cast a quick look around Lillian's residence and sighed inwardly.

Even with societal policies that favored females, this place stood out as the most modest he had ever seen. It was in stark contrast to Justine's house, which sat surrounded by elaborate gardens.

Worried that Lillian might decline outright, Lucas quickly said to her, "You can state any conditions you want as compensation."

Lillian, however, responded without any sign of hesitation, "I'll submit a request to end my bond with him. I am not worthy of your Prince, nor am I suited to become the Princess of his realm."

More than that, her first impression of Nikolas had not been favorable. His eyes were cold and judgmental, as if no one around him could ever meet his standards. There was also something dangerous about him.

She figured that insisting on remaining tied to him against his will, without any ability to soothe him, would only lead to trouble for her, or possibly even her death. Ending the bond on good terms and receiving benefits in return was clearly the more reasonable option.

Nikolas lifted his eyes slightly, clearly surprised by how quickly and firmly she accepted the proposal.

He asked directly, "What do you want as compensation?"

"I can ask for anything I want?" Lillian asked.

"Power, reputation, money, treasures—whatever it is, I can provide it." A faint, mocking curve appeared on Nikolas' lips. He had already assumed this seemingly lazy and unambitious female would use the opportunity to demand excessive rewards.

Lillian considered the matter briefly before answering, "I want Samuel to be freed of his status as a slave."

Wealth was something she was certainly lacking, but what mattered more to her was having someone capable of helping her become stronger.

She needed Samuel's assistance to go deeper into the Aberrant Thicket, take on stronger aberrant beasts, and collect higher-tier medicinal herbs.

If Samuel remained a slave, he would not be able to move freely through the city, much less accompany her on hunting expeditions. Worse still, he would remain exposed to mistreatment from people. And based on what she had observed of his temperament, his overwhelming strength made it likely he could unintentionally kill someone if he retaliated in anger. If that were to happen, it would ruin her plan completely.

After weighing everything carefully, she settled on her request.

However, both Samuel and Nikolas interpreted it differently.

Samuel was so startled that he lost his grip on the plate he was holding. The sound of it falling and crashing echoed and immediately drew Lillian's attention. She turned to him and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Sorry... I didn't hold it properly," Samuel said as he stepped out of the kitchen to apologize, his expression carrying lingering shock as he had not yet fully processed what Lillian had just said.

"Did you get hurt?" Lillian asked as she rose to her feet, concern evident in her voice.

Samuel quickly shook his head, and his eyes lingered on her with a complicated look. "No, I didn't."

"Alright, just be careful. You only need to prepare the ingredients; I'll take care of the cooking after that," Lillian replied with a small nod.

She then moved her attention back to Nikolas. "Even though I'm agreeing to end the bond, I've just severed my bonds with two males. Under the regulations, there's a mandatory three-month cooling-off period before a second dissolution can be finalized. During this time, I'll have to ask you to tolerate the inconvenience."

According to the laws established by Yggdrasil, once a bond was formed, the male was obligated to stay with the female and assist with her daily needs until she formally declared emotional incompatibility and initiated a dissolution request. Only after that declaration could the male be permitted to leave the female.

If those rules were broken, Yggdrasil would enforce penalties. Even if Nikolas didn't want to wait, he didn't have any other choice.

Nikolas tilted his body forward slightly, as if attempting to gauge her true intentions. "With an opportunity like this, all you're asking for is to free an S-level slave? Your spiritual power is only F-level. You don't even have the ability to soothe him. Once he's freed, he'll become a registered citizen of Azure Planet. If a more capable female takes an interest in him and invites him to be hers, he would end up becoming her male."

Lillian's expression stayed steady and unreadable, her tone calm. "I didn't think that far ahead when I saved him. If he eventually chooses to leave me in search of his own happiness, then I suppose I'll have still done something good."

Standing in the kitchen doorway, Samuel felt his heartbeat race.

He lowered his head, struggling to believe that someone could genuinely be this kind, willing to go to such lengths for his sake.

Nikolas held Lillian's eyes for a long moment. Even under the weight of his presence, she didn't flinch. Something like amusement flickered across his expression, and the corners of his lips lifted slightly. "You speak as though you're some kind of selfless saint. But if your character is truly that impressive, then why are you still stuck at F-level? Why is your standing so far beneath your sister's?"

"I don't know," Lillian answered simply, though she immediately caught the connection between Nikolas and Justine. That only made her dislike toward him grow stronger.

Still, she kept her expression neutral as she added, "As long as we keep our distance and don't interfere with each other's lives, things will be fine. And if you need someone to soothe you, you can always turn to Justine for help."

Lucas, who had been silently observing the exchange, was completely stunned.

He had stayed by Nikolas' side since birth and had witnessed countless females trying every possible method to get Nikolas' attention, pretending to stumble, dropping belongings on purpose, dressing in overly bold ways, and even confessing their feelings openly at the palace gates.

But this was the first time he had ever seen a female actively push Nikolas away, and toward another woman.

"Miss Clark." Lucas finally spoke up, unable to hold back. "Are you completely certain about this? Our prince is the son of Leviathan, the ruler of B32 Planet. There are countless women across the universe who would do anything to become his partner!"