Zyric walked through the tribe, but something immediately felt strange. The place that was usually filled with people and activity now looked unusually quiet and empty.
"What is this? Why is the tribe empty?" he asks in shock.
He suddenly notices soldiers rushing into the palace. "Now who are these people?" he wonders to himself. He starts following them from behind. One soldier looks different—he is wearing wolf-like clothes and looks much more ferocious and powerful than the others. Zyric approaches one of the local tribal soldiers.
"Hey, what is all this?" Zyric asks while running alongside him.
"Don't you know? The Prince of the Wolf Tribe has visited to ask for Elysia's hand in marriage. Well, I do not know exactly about asking, he just wants to take Princess Elysia, one way or another. That is the way it seems and i think he is going to get Princess Elysia to-day, no matter what." says the soldier.
Zyric is also stunned upon hearing all this. He gets to the center of the tribe with the soldier, there the residents gather and the soldiers themselves are positioned too. At the centre of the ground two individuals are fighting. Zyric recognizes the first one—Prince Edgar. The second one is someone else—most likely the Prince of the Wolf Tribe. Zyric moves forward, finds a spot for himself, and watches the scene unfolding in front of him.
The Wolf Prince is fighting Prince Edgar, and Edgar is continuously getting beaten by that prince from the Wolf Tribe.
"You call yourself a prince? Beating you feels like I'm beating a stray dog," the Wolf Prince says. He then, soon after finishing his words, delivers a powerful kick that sends Prince Edgar flying across the ground. Edgar lands with blood coming from his mouth and loses consciousness. Soldiers quickly come forward and carry him away.
"That's strange. Knowing those two, they're both so arrogant. Yet someone is insulting them like this, and they are staying quiet? How?" Zyric wonders.
Next, Prince Edward jumps into the ring and faces the Wolf Prince directly.
"Oh God, who knows who will win this fight? If the Wolf Tribe's Prince Ralph wins, he'll take our Princess Elysia away. If Prince Edward wins, he can save his sister," someone in the crowd says anxiously.
"Forget it, he won't be able to save his sister. Even if he wins, Prince Ralph will just take Princess Elysia by force today. He's a total scoundrel, and his father is even worse," others whisper among themselves. Zyric overhears them clearly.
"Alright, so that is the case. But it is so wrong," Zyric thinks, and gazes at Elysia, sitting there, scared, and looking at the man who is gazing at her with predatory eyes.
"Prince Edward, you do remember our condition, right? If I win this fight, you have to marry your sister to me. Well, quite on the contrary, I did not want to make a bargain. I could have forcibly taken your sister right in front of you. You know that very well. But you see, there are some rules. Winning Elysia will bring me more joy. Even if I lose, I'm still taking your sister by force," Prince Ralph says confidently.
Edward looked motivated and full of spirit when he stepped onto the ground, so Ralph is saying these things to demoralize him. The plan seems to be working. Edward realizes that winning or losing might not even matter. He will forcibly take Elysia anyway. On the other side, Zyric feels that now Prince Edward would get angry, but he remains oddly calm instead.
"Prince Edward is staying quiet because of us tribespeople. If he does too much, the Wolf Tribe might wipe out our entire village," people whisper behind Zyric.
"Ah, so that's why," Zyric says quietly.
"Prince Edward, your sister was useless anyway. Since her childhood she is mute. She is unable to utter even one word. And now she can't even see. Poor thing is blind now too. Why would you keep her as a burden? I will take the load off you. Don't worry, I'll keep her very 'happy'," Prince Ralph sneers cruelly.
Zyric is shocked upon hearing this. "The Princess can't speak?" He gazes at Elysia, who cries unheard, making no noise out of her mouth. Then he remembered that she could not scream even when the poison entered her eyes. She had just suffered everything in complete silence. "She was in so much pain, but it only showed on her face, not in her voice," Zyric thinks deeply.
"You're wrong! My sister is not a burden! I can keep her with me all my life and take care of her!" Prince Edward says in anger.
"Calm down, Prince Edward. Look, I've already told my tribe that they're getting a new princess today. Yeah, the previous three princesses... I don't know where they went... they just disappeared. I had them a couple of days, and then zowie, gone. But don't worry, I won't let Elysia disappear," Prince Ralph says with a dark smile.
The ruthless smile of Prince Ralph enlarged and he gazed upon Elysia.
The crowd fell into a deep, uneasy silence.