The airship touched down smoothly on the landing pad in front of the castle, its engines humming softly to a halt.
As the hatch slowly slid open, Rory stepped out.
Standing by the castle gates, Dax’s eyes had been glued to the airship from the exact moment it appeared. The second Rory’s figure came into view, his narrow, fox-like eyes instantly lit up.
Watching her walk toward him step by step, he subconsciously adjusted his clothes. His fingertips were trembling with sheer nervousness.
As Rory drew closer, Dax opened his mouth excitedly, wanting to be the first to speak. But the moment her clear eyes met his, it felt as though something was lodged in his throat, and he couldn’t squeeze out a single word.
Rory walked over and noticed Dax staring at her. Stopping in her tracks, she took the initiative to speak.
"Dax, it’s been a long time. Are you here for something?"
Dax hadn’t expected Rory to actually initiate a conversation with him. His body froze slightly. His gaze locked onto her face, greedily tracing the lines of her features, yet he didn’t dare hold her gaze for too long.
She was even more beautiful now, her complexion radiant, and her smile more breathtaking than when they had first met.
Dax looked at Rory and parted his lips, his throat incredibly dry.
"I... I came to see Marshal Vangar," he explained quickly, terrified of provoking any annoyance from her. "There are some company matters I need to discuss with the Marshal in person."
After speaking, Dax nervously clenched his fists, his gaze involuntarily drifting back to her. He had so much he wanted to say. He wanted to tell her how deeply he regretted his mistakes. He wanted to ask if she could give him just one more chance—even if she didn’t choose him as a partner, it wouldn’t matter, as long as he could just stay by her side.
But Dax didn’t dare open his mouth. It had taken everything just to find a legitimate reason to come and see her today. If he spoke those words now, he was terrified he wouldn’t even have this excuse in the future.
Rory knew that Vangar had helped Dax deal with the high-ranking officials of the Empire. She nodded gently. "Alright, then you and Vangar can talk."
With that, Rory didn’t look at Dax again and headed into the castle first.
As he watched Rory walk away with the others, Dax’s eyes uncontrollably followed her retreating figure.
"What do you want with me?"
Vangar’s icy voice rang in Dax’s ear, instantly snapping him back to reality. He looked toward Vangar, meeting a cold, warning glare.
Dax pursed his lips, quickly recovering his usual composure. "Marshal Vangar, sorry to bother you. I came to discuss a new future development plan for Starlight Prime Tech."
"I am a soldier, not a businessman," Vangar said, looking down at Dax with the crushing aura and pressure of a powerful leader. "Starlight Prime Tech belongs to you. How it develops is your business."
Vangar genuinely had zero interest in commercial matters. He was only interested in Dax’s money. Besides, if Dax really wanted to talk business, he should have gone to Vincent, not him.
Dax had already anticipated Vangar’s attitude before coming. Facing Vangar’s powerful aura, he calmly raised his wrist and tapped on his personal terminal. An electronic document projected between them, forming a pale blue light screen floating in the air.
"There’s no need to reject me so quickly, Marshal. Why don’t you take a look at this first?" Dax smiled slightly, carrying the distinct confidence of a successful businessman.
Vangar swept a glance over Dax, then looked at the electronic document.
"Heh."
Seeing the contents, Vangar let out a soft laugh. The laugh was cold, laced with a hint of mockery.
"You certainly have bold vision. Are you absolutely certain you want to go through with this?"
"In the past, I certainly wouldn’t have done this."
Dax looked up at Vangar, his gaze earnest. "Back then, I was blinded by greed and made the wrong choices. By the time I regretted it, it was already too late."
Dax’s gaze drifted toward the castle gates.
He had drafted this document himself after Vangar and Vincent stepped in to help resolve his troubles. Dax had thought about it for a long time and realized this was the only way he could maintain even a shred of a connection to Rory.
"I know I don’t stand a chance anymore. The only thing I can do now is this. It’s for her, but it’s also for myself. At least this way, I can delude myself into believing that a thread still connects us."
At this, Dax’s voice dropped. "And it gives me a reason to keep living."
Once a male truly fell in love with his matched female master, her love became his entire existence. If a female severed the match, she didn’t just cut the bond—she stripped away their very hope of survival.
"The Marshal is a male too, so you should understand why I’m making this choice, right?"
Vangar understood completely. If Rory wanted to leave him right now, he too would be consumed by agony, living a life worse than death every single day. He just hadn’t expected Dax to truly love Rory.
Vangar gave Dax a long, deep look, then tapped the document in front of him, silently transferring the data stream to his own terminal.
"Follow me."
Leaving him with those two brief words, Vangar turned and walked away.
Dax knew Vangar would agree. He quickly picked up his pace to keep up with him.
Vangar led Dax into a meeting room on the first floor of the castle. The room wasn’t fully furnished yet; the layout was quite simple, with only a massive smart conference table in the center emitting a faint blue glow.
Vangar took the head seat and tapped the table a few times. The electronic document Dax had brought floated clearly before him. Vangar read through it thoroughly, his gaze finally resting on the spiritual imprint at the bottom.
"Dax, I can give you one last chance to back out. It’s not too late to regret this."
Leaving a spiritual imprint on a document was a binding contract. If Dax breached any clause of the agreement, his spiritual power would suffer a devastating blow, leading to an immediate collapse. Generally, no beastman was willing to sign such a thing.
If Dax didn’t sign it, his suffering would only be emotional. As long as his willpower held up and he didn’t end his own life, he would be fine. But once he signed it, he would truly lose his freedom forever.
Vangar’s fingertips tapped twice against the cool tabletop. He looked up, meeting Dax’s eyes.
Dax met his gaze candidly. "Marshal, I’ve already made my point clear." Since he had come today, he wouldn’t regret it.
"Since you’ve made up your mind, I can sign it. But this deal is strictly between the two of us; it does not involve Rory."
Vangar needed to lay the ground rules. Dax wanted to make a deal with him, offering to become his personal piggy bank and trusted confidant just so he could be near him frequently. Vangar knew exactly what his ultimate goal was, but Vangar wasn’t going to help him.
That said, Vangar wasn’t about to reject a massive advantage delivered right to his doorstep. Especially since Dax was so resolute.
"I understand," Dax nodded. Just having a shred of a connection to Rory was enough. As for anything else, he no longer dared to hope. After all, Rory was already surrounded by so many exceptional, powerful individuals. Dax didn’t even have the confidence that he could ever return to her side.
Seeing that he had no further questions, Vangar decisively signed his name on the document and claimed the spiritual imprint Dax had left behind.