“No!”
The sharp word pierced the air, and Kayden’s heart skipped a beat.
“Sophie, don’t! You can’t fight the Alfredson family. Just leave my affairs alone!” she cried desperately.
Hearing this, Kayden’s tense heart eased slightly. So, that’s what her “no” meant. For a moment, he’d thought it was her answer to him.
In that case, she must have been forced into this!
Kayden turned his icy gaze toward the furious Zack Alfredson and said coldly, “Zack, I demand an explanation. Why would you force your grandson to marry someone who doesn’t want to marry him?”
His words were both a question and an accusation. Kayden’s commanding presence filled the room as though Zack Alfredson were merely a subject kneeling before a king.
Derek stepped forward, shouting angrily, “How dare you! Who do you think you are, speaking to my father that way? Sure, you saved his life, and yes, you used to be remarkable. But now? You’re nobody!
“Our Alfredson family treated you as a friend, as an honored guest. Yet here you are, causing trouble on the day of our family’s wedding. Do you have any respect for the Alfredson family?”
As Derek’s roar echoed through the hall, guards armed with weapons appeared from every corner. Their presence was a clear warning-this was no idle confrontation.
Kayden didn’t even spare them a glance. His eyes remained fixed on Zack Alfredson as he enunciated every word: “I declare this marriage null and void.”
The words thundered through the hall, reverberating in every heart.
“I declare this marriage null and void!”
What kind of power must one possess to make such a proclamation here, in the heart of the Alfredson family’s domain, in the Western Frontier?
“Ridiculous!” Derek shouted, his face flushed with anger, practically steaming with rage.
Pointing a trembling finger at Kayden, he yelled, “Who do you think you are? Just because you say it’s null and void doesn’t make it so! You have no authority here! This marriage was decided between our family and the Walsh family. You don’t have the right to overturn it!”
The respect Derek once held for Kayden was now buried beneath his fury. For Derek, the honor of the Alfredson family was paramount. Yes, Kayden had saved Zack Alfredson’s life, but that didn’t give him the right to insult the family.
Orion stepped forward with a sneer. “Brother, he’s not here to attend the wedding. He’s here to cause trouble. Someone who disrespects the Alfredson family like this isn’t worth associating with anymore!”
Derek’s wife, Seraphina, seized the opportunity to chime in. “Associate with him? Why would we? He thinks saving our patriarch gives him the right to act like he’s untouchable. Declaring the marriage void? How absurd!”
The Alfredson family’s earlier politeness had vanished. Kayden’s defiance had broken the facade, and now, no one showed him any courtesy.
Guests whispered among themselves:
“This guy’s really gone too far, making a scene in the Alfredson family’s hall. Did you hear him? He actually declared the marriage void, as if he has any authority here. It’s outrageous!”
“Still, you have to admire his audacity. The bride must have been involved with him. For him to show up and try to rescue her at her wedding-there’s a certain tragic romance to it. But this is the Alfredson family we’re talking about.”
“Romantic? It’s suicide! Does he really think he stands a chance against the Alfredson family? He’s like a mantis trying to stop a chariot-delusional and doomed.”
The sentiment was unanimous-Kayden was digging his own grave.
Wood Faulkner, seated calmly in the crowd, had anticipated this chaos. Even when Kayden embraced Sophie earlier, she remained composed. Now a Grand-level figure, her temperament had grown far more stable.
Sophie, however, was not so composed. Her wide eyes brimmed with tears as she looked at Kayden. “I’m sorry, Kayden. This is all my fault. I’m so sorry!”
Then, summoning her courage, she stepped forward. “If you have a problem, take it out on me, not Kayden! He only intervened because I refused to marry into your Alfredson family. Without him, I would’ve taken my own life right here in this hall!”
Her voice was resolute, her stance unyielding.
Sophie had made her position clear-she would rather die than be forced into submission.
“If you want to punish someone, punish me! Spare Kayden!” she pleaded with all the determination of someone ready to face death. Sophie’s loyalty and sense of responsibility shone brightly in that moment.
Seraphina scoffed, her voice dripping with disdain. “Do you realize how many women would kill for the chance to marry into the Alfredson family? And here you are, squandering this opportunity for some childish notions of love and romance. You think you’re being noble, but you’re just naive.”
“If you two want to die as star-crossed lovers, then we’ll grant your wish!” Seraphina declared, turning to Zack Alfredson. “Father, give the order to kill them!”
Kayden’s gaze never left Zack Alfredson. He remained silent, his expression shifting between shadow and light. Zack was trapped between two choices: his family’s honor or the life of the man who had saved his own.
“Zack Alfredson! Is this your decision?” Kayden’s voice cut through the tension, cold and sharp. His eyes swept across the armed guards.
It was clear-Kayden paid no mind to Derek or Orion. In his eyes, only Zack Alfredson mattered.
“If this is your decision,” Kayden continued, his tone heavy with menace, “if you dare to overestimate yourself, I won’t hesitate to turn your entire Alfredson family into a living hell.”
His words carried a chilling weight, a suffocating pressure that silenced the room.
“A living hell? Such arrogance! Do you think you can take on the 108 warriors of the Alfredson family?”
“Exactly! Who does he think he is? Fighting the Alfredson family? Utterly delusional!”
“We could crush him in seconds!”
The crowd’s murmurs turned into shouts, voices rising in defiance.
At a nearby table, Mr. Clarkson, who had grown tired of Kayden’s arrogance, laughed mockingly. “See that, Captain Johnson? That’s your so-called traditional medicine for you!”