Athena pushed open the wooden door of the inn room, and before she had time to see the furnishings, she was embraced by a force.

Her heart jumped suddenly, and she subconsciously wanted to struggle, but a familiar cold fragrance lingered on the tip of her nose. Looking up, she crashed into Xander’s deep, cold eyes.

Xander put his index finger to his lips, signaling her not to speak. Before Athena could react, Xander had already put his arm around her waist and walked forward.

The two stopped in front of a wall. The world spun, and their backs slammed against a cold stone wall. The next second, the stone wall slowly slid open, revealing a dark secret passage just wide enough for one person to pass through. Xander led her into the secret passage, and the stone door behind them slowly closed.

Outside the door, Ray stood at the end of the corridor, glancing at Athena’s door from time to time. He had been waiting in place for two quarters of an hour, and there had been no movement from Athena’s room since she entered. Growing increasingly uneasy, he strode to the room and knocked on the door. “Atheny? Atheny…”

There was no response from inside the room. Ray put his ear to the door and listened, but it was silent inside. His expression changed, and he hurriedly pushed open the door, only to find it empty, with no sign of Athena. Ray’s face darkened as his eyes scanned the corner, where the color of the bricks was slightly different from the surrounding ones. His eyes suddenly widened.

He had been careless and allowed Athena to be taken away right under his nose. It was at this moment that he realized the waiter looked familiar. He was clearly Xander’s man. Ray thought, ‘So he has planned everything in advance, quietly taking Athena away.’

“Xander!” Ray’s eyes were bloodshot as he regained his breath. He was unwilling to accept this. ‘Why? Why is he better than me in every way?’ he thought.

Just then, neat and unified footsteps suddenly came from outside the inn, followed by the crisp sound of weapons clashing. Ray suddenly turned and rushed to the window, lifting a corner of the curtain, his heart suddenly contracting. He saw that the inn was already surrounded by a mass of troops. And Xander was riding on horseback, looking at him with an indifferent expression.

“Your Lordship, the inn has been completely surrounded by Prince Xander’s troops, and Lennox has also been captured by him. Let’s leave quickly…” the confidant said anxiously. Ray lowered his head unwillingly. In the end, he had lost. It turned out that his smooth journey was not due to his meticulous planning, but because Xander had deliberately let him off. In other words, his every move was under Xander’s surveillance. ‘But how could he dare to use Athena as a pawn?’ Ray thought.

Ray roared at Xander, saying, “You are a despicable villain. You even use the one you love. You are not worthy of being a man.” Xander used the fact that he was reluctant to attack Athena, so he did not come to rescue her. But Athena trusted him so much. Ray couldn’t bear to hurt Athena.

The carriage curtain was lifted, and Athena walked out from inside. “I asked him to do this. Ray, don’t be obsessed anymore.” Athena looked at the crazy Ray, and her heart ached. She still remembered when she was young, Ray always loved to chase after her. At that time, the light in his eyes was brighter than the stars, but now only paranoia remained. He had come to this point, which was what she least wanted to see.

Ray seemed not to hear her, shaking his head sharply. “Impossible, you are being coerced by him, right? Atheny, I know you don’t want to be with him.” He looked at Athena with red eyes, his heart aching.

Ray thought, ‘How could Atheny cooperate with other men to frame me?’ Ray had never been so painful as he was now. He covered his chest, as if only this way could he alleviate some of the pain. “Atheny, you wouldn’t treat me like this…” he said.

Xander protected Athena behind him, his eyes cold as he said, “Ray, you murdered the Northcold envoy and committed a heinous crime. Do you still want to be unrepentant?”

“Unrepentant?” Ray suddenly laughed miserably, his laughter particularly creepy. “You are full of benevolence and morality, but who understands my pain? Athena, have you forgotten our agreement? You said you would wait for me to come back and marry you. How can you break your promise!” He pointed at Xander, his laughter desolate. “Have you forgotten our oath? You said you would marry me and grow old by my side, but now you are standing next to Xander, pointing the knife at me. Can you be worthy of me?”

Athena turned her face away, her voice trembling almost imperceptibly. “Times change. There’s no need to bring up the past. Step back, and you might just save your life.”

“Step back?” Ray suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot, “How can you ask me to step back? I gave up so much for you, and now you’re standing by him, telling me to stop? Athena, how cruel can you be!” He suddenly drew a long sword from his waist, its cold light aimed straight at Xander. “Even if it costs me my life, I’ll take her away today!”

Under the pale moonlight, the sword flashed with a chilling arc. Ray, like a beast driven to the edge, roared with rage and hurled himself at Xander in a final, desperate charge. Athena subconsciously clenched her sleeves, her nails digging deeply into her palm. She had never seen Ray so frenzied. The boy who always spoke to her in gentle tones had been completely consumed by obsession.

Xander dodged the stabbing dagger, and with a twist of his wrist, he seized Ray’s pulse. With a sharp sound, Ray cried out in pain. His long sword clattered to the ground, his wrist twisted at an unnatural angle. But he seemed oblivious to the pain, still struggling madly. “Let me go! Atheny is mine! No one can take her away!”

“Obstinate.” Xander’s eyes grew colder as he kicked him to the ground. The long sword at his waist was drawn, its tip pressed against Ray’s throat as he coldly said, “Dare to act presumptuously again, and don’t blame me for being impolite.”

Ray lay on the ground, the coldness at his neck making him shiver, but the madness in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest. He stared intently at Athena, his voice hoarse, “Atheny, are you really going to watch him kill me?” Blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, but his bloodshot eyes were stained with madness.

Ray looked at Athena unwillingly, his eyes full of expectation. He didn’t believe that Athena had no affection for him at all. Athena’s gaze fell on the dagger on the ground, her throat tightening. She knew Xander would do what he said, but watching Ray lose his life, she couldn’t bear it after all.

“Xander, spare his life.” She spoke softly, her voice with a hint of fatigue.

Xander looked back at her, the sword tip paused slightly, but did not retract, “Keeping this person will surely be a disaster.”

“At least… ask him why he rebelled.” Athena’s voice was very soft, obviously lacking confidence. In the face of such obvious evidence, anything he said was in vain. Ray committed a capital crime. Even if Xander spared his life, he would still not escape death when he was brought back to Pidence City.

Ray suddenly let out a strange laugh; his laughter was sad. “Why? Because of you! Athena, I just want to have enough power as soon as possible. I want to take you back…”