"Huh? What do you mean?" The dean didn't know what had happened to get the young man so riled up.
From his few encounters, he could tell the outstanding youth was one who's mind-frame was so well cultivated, that no one could easily shake his emotions.
However, that same youth was now standing before him with barely restrained anger.
"I heard you fixed my engagement, Dean! Please explain to me what in the hell is going on here!" He was bellowing now, the raw anger surging out in full force without his intentions.
Crown Prince Lail knew that his behavior was rude and disrespectful. He knew that he needed to calm down and peacefully discuss the matter with the Dean in private.
Unfortunately, his mind's sensibility weaken under the pressure of his heart.
All reason shattered under the fierce fury of his heart.
An understanding look finally appeared in the Dean's eyes once he heard the Crown Prince's words.
He was just about to smile in agreement when his face fell.
'What is going on. This should be a happy matter, so why is the kid running amok in rage? Ling'er said she and the young man had affectionate feelings for each other.'
"Yes, but why are you so angry? Isn't this what you and Ling'er wanted?" He frowned in confusion as he tried to figure out what went wrong.
"What we wanted? Did I come and tell you that this is what I wanted? Did you hear that from me?"
"No, but Ling'er said that you were too modest and conserved to bring up the matter yourself. That's why I took the initiative to bring the two of you together."
"Hahaha.....ridiculous! Truly ridiculous!" Laughing as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the realms, Crown Prince Lail looked like a deranged beast.
"You decided on such an important matter of my life without seeking out my opinion. You attempted to link my name with another without asking for my permission. And all this, because of who? All because of some insignificant person that I don't even know!?"
"Insignificant? Ling'er is insignificant? Lail Amhei, I will have you know that my personal disciple is no insignificant individual." The Dean stood up in anger, the words of the Crown Prince crossing his tolerance level.
"So what if she is your personal disciple? What has that got anything to do with me? In my eyes, she is but an insignificant person."
"You! In the entire academy, Ling'er is the only apprentice with a green level talent. She is beautiful and kind, gentle and understanding. With her qualifications, she is more than capable of attracting a line of suitors, in and outside of the academy. What are you displeased about?"
At this point, if he wasn't able to figure out that the kid had no feelings for his disciple, than he would have been the dean of an entire academy for nothing.
'It seems Ling'er lied to me?'
But since the matter had already reached this far, he doggedly pushed ahead.
"Again, what does that have anything to do with me? I have no desire for her beauty nor care for her gentleness. As for me being displeased? Deciding on matchmaking me with your disciple without my opinion or permission, is that not a good enough reason for me to be displeased?"
Crown Prince Lail scornfully looked at the white haired man. Even after everything that had happened, the man was unapologetic.
Once, he respected and admired this man.
Once, he believed that within his presence, he had nothing to worry about.
However now, every symbol of respect and faith was torn to pieces, leaving in its wake nothing but its shredded ruins.
Murong Ling saw that her Master wasn't able to persuade Crown Prince Lail and hurriedly rushed into the room.
"Brother Lail, please calm down. I am sorry, but it is not my Master's fault. It is my fault. I love you so much that I had Master matchmake us without seeking your permission. But, it's not too late to fix this now, is it? Brother Lail, how about you marry me? I promise, I will forever obey your every word!"
She looked imploringly at the young man before her, as she fervently asked, wishing with all her might that he would agree to marry her.
However, what greeted her was only a disdainful scoff.
"Hmph! You are being delusional!" Disgustedly sweeping his sleeves, Crown Prince Lail turned to leave.
However, Murong Ling was at the end of her string. She was barely able to convince her Master to get them engaged. So, how could she possibly allow him to leave like this?
She felt anxious and desperate, fearful that if she didn't do anything, she would lose him forever.
If Crown Prince Lail left without making a promise to marry her, not only would her dream shatter forever, but because of this ordeal, she would also become a laughingstock in the entire academy.
Picking up a shred of the broken door, she ran in front of him and blocked his way.
"Murong Ling, what in the realms do you want?" The dangerously low voice carried a hidden threat. If he snapped, he might just hurt her.
The Dean realized this, sweating buckets as he glared at his disciple.
However, the lovestruck girl failed to notice the man's dark face and cold eyes.
"Brother Lail, you either marry me or walk over my dead body. I cannot live without you and would rather die then never marry you. So, you decide, Brother Lail! Will you marry me or watch me die?" She cried tearfully.
"Ling'er, don't be rush! Drop the shred!" The Dean was filled with fear as he saw his only disciple threatening to end her life.
Things were truly getting out of hand. Left with no choice, he anxiously turned to Crown Prince Lail.
"Little friend Lail, I admit. We were wrong to arrange this engagement without seeking your permission. But since the situation has gotten to this point, why don't you marry Ling'er? She truly loves you and will never give you the chance to complain."
"Dean, it's not that I don't respect you, but don't you think this method of forcing someone is really unethical? You want me to marry your disciple because you care for her. Then what about me? Have you considered my feelings when you decided to plead me?" The Crown Prince was disappointed.
"I know my method is not right. But what choice do I have? It is the only way to save my disciple's life. Besides, it's not like you will be losing out on anything. Like I said before, Ling'er is one of kind that you will never be able to find anywhere else. Moreover, she loves you."
"Haha...she loves me? One of a kind? Not lose out on anything? How do you know whether or not I will lose out on anything? Just by agreeing to marry her, I would already be losing big! I would lose the most important person in my life!" The moment his last words dropped, his raw emotions were instantly bared to the spectating crowd.
"Huh? Did Brother Lail just say he would be losing his most important person?"
"Oh the realms! He did, he did!"
"Brother Lail has someone that he likes!"
Heated discussions rang out as the females excitedly chattered among themselves. The news that Crown Prince Lail had someone he liked was like a Thunder Spell dropping in a mire of surging waves. It set off an explosion that turned their world upside down.
They fervently wondered who the lucky girl was.
"What...what did you say? You like someone? Impossible! I never saw you speak or interact with another female in the academy. So, how could there possibly be someone that you like? Brother Lail, you are just trying to find an excuse not to marry me. But aren't you being too much?"
Murong Ling refused to believe that the reason Crown Prince Lail didn't want to marry her was because he liked someone else. In the entire academy, both in looks and talent, she was confident that she was the number one.
'He is going so far just to refuse me? In his eyes, is my status really that low?'
"Little friend Lail, I understand that you don't love my disciple as deeply as she loves you. But isn't this too much?"
Even the Dean did not believe that Crown Prince Lail had someone else. After all, as the head of the academy, he knew better than his disciple of the young man's schedule.
"You can believe if you want, and you can disbelief if you want. Either way, do not expect me to marry your disciple. And Dean? You are wrong. I do not love your disciple at all. I don't care whether she loves me or not. Or whether she is one of a kind or not. In the entire seven realms, there is only one woman whose love I desire."
"Who? Who is that woman?" She forced out the words with gritted teeth.
By now, Murong Ling was incredibly pale, her face looking worse than a dead corpse. She went to such great lengths just to marry this man, and yet, he said that he liked another.
She would like to know who the vixen was!
Daring to seduce her Brother Lail right under her very nose, she would make her life worse than the seventh layer of the Nar!
Crown Prince Lail, completely unaware of the vicious thoughts of the female blocking his way, thought of his long separated wife.
His eyes instantly turned gentle, overflowing with immeasurable tenderness that froze Murong Ling's heart.
The smile full of love and longing pierced her eyes, sending searing pain shooting through her heart.
"The woman I like, the woman I seek, the woman I dedicate my entire life to, is my wife, Princess Qamari.." He firmly declared.