Mourya froze, his hand still in the air, slowly turning towards his daughter with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. "Premi? (Lovers?)"

Maruti stammered, clearly panicking, "Y-yes! We're in love! So much love! We're... uh, very lovey-dovey!" She was just saying whatever nonsense came to her mind at this point.

Desperately, she glanced at Esdeath, motioning her to nod in agreement.

Esdeath, still utterly confused by the situation, saw Maruti's frantic gesture and quickly bobbed her head up and down three times, not knowing why but figuring it couldn't hurt.

The moment Esdeath did this, the air in the atmosphere changed. It was as if someone had lit a fuse. The entire crowd erupted in fury. Gasps filled the air, and everyone's faces contorted with shock and rage. How could someone claim to love the patriarch's daughter, especially when her marriage was already arranged? It was like breaking a sacred law!

"Kill this girl!" one man shouted, waving his weapon in the air, and the others quickly followed, all raising their swords and spears, ready to strike Esdeath down.

Even Esdeath was taken aback, her eyes wide with panic. She had no idea what she'd just agreed to, but clearly, it was not good.

Before the mob could rush at her, Mourya bellowed, "STOP!" His voice boomed with such authority that everyone froze in place, not daring to take another step.

He then turned back to Maruti, his expression caught somewhere between disbelief and frustration. "Are you messing with me, Maruti? What could you possibly see in her? She looks like she could collapse at any second!" His voice carried both concern and annoyance, as though he was truly baffled.

But Maruti could sense this was working. "Love is blind, Father! She even promised me she'll never leave me, no matter what!" she said dramatically, her eyes sparkling as she spun her latest lie. Then, she quickly turned to Esdeath again, urgently signaling her to play along.

Esdeath blinked, now under the intense gaze of the entire village. Her face screamed confusion, her thoughts racing with a single question: *What in the world is going on?*

She hesitated, her lips parting slightly as she considered what she'd just been roped into. The villagers' eyes were practically burning holes into her, waiting for her next move.

Esdeath's head was spinning. "What was that?! The moment I nodded 'yes,' they screamed like they were ready to kill me!" Her thoughts were in complete disarray. "Is Maruti trying to get me into trouble while saving her own skin?" Esdeath glanced at Maruti with suspicious eyes. "What if this is revenge for what happened between us before?" The idea made her even more paranoid.

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But one burning question kept bouncing around in her mind: "So... should I nod 'yes' or 'no' this time?" After overthinking for a moment, Esdeath came to a decision. She would nod 'no' this time. Maybe that would fix things.

So, without any hesitation, she shook her head 'no.' But the result was immediate—and terrible.

A man in the crowd angrily yelled, "She shook her head 'no!' That means she's saying she'll never leave the young mistress!"

"KILL HER!"

"KILL HER!"

The villagers raised their weapons again, their roars shaking the ground as they prepared to attack Esdeath once more.

Esdeath's heart skipped a beat. "Wait, what?! What did I do now?!"

Once again, Mourya had to step in, forcefully stopping them. "STOP!" His voice echoed with authority, and the mob had no choice but to pause, though they still glared at Esdeath with anger in their eyes.

Mourya was stuck in a complicated situation. On one hand, he had already promised his younger daughter's hand in marriage to the son of another tribe's leader. But now, here was Maruti, claiming she had already found the love of her life. Mourya, despite being a tough leader, was surprisingly soft when it came to family matters. He didn't want to break his daughter's heart, but he also didn't want to go back on his word.

Maruti could sense her plan was working better than she had hoped. "This is perfect!" she thought to herself. She knew exactly how to play her last card.

"Father," she said in a hurried voice, "she hasn't eaten since last night! Look at her, she's so weak! We should go back to the village and discuss this in peace. I'm sure she's already feeling dizzy!" She turned quickly to Esdeath, desperately signaling her to agree.

Once again, all eyes were on Esdeath. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife.

Esdeath was on the verge of losing her mind. "I nodded 'yes,' and they nearly killed me. Then I nodded 'no,' and they went absolutely wild! What do I do now?! What choice do I even have? Should I nod 'yes' or 'no' again? What on earth is Maruti telling them about me?!" Her mind was in a mess, her confusion plain on her face as the entire crowd stared, waiting for her next move.

Esdeath finally had enough. Her mind was a mess, and she could no longer figure out whether to nod 'yes' or 'no.' She gritted her teeth and thought angrily, "Yes? No? I reject them both!" In a fit of frustration, she began shaking her head wildly, swinging it back and forth like she was caught in some strange dance of confusion.

To her surprise, the crowd gasped. Everyone thought she was dizzy and about to collapse! In an instant, the rage that had filled the air melted away, replaced by concern. Several people rushed toward her, their anger forgotten.

"She's fainting!" one of them cried.

Before Esdeath knew what was happening, three men grabbed her at once and lifted her into the air like she was some kind of fragile trophy. She blinked in disbelief. "What the fuck? "

Meanwhile, Maruti's father, Mourya, sighed heavily. He was tired of the whole mess. "Alright, let's head back to the village," he commanded. "We'll deal with this later!" With that, everyone started moving back to the village.

As they prepared to leave, two carriages were brought out—one for Mourya and one for Maruti. But now that Esdeath was part of the situation, the men carrying her didn't bother to ask where she wanted to go. Instead, they simply tossed her into the same carriage as Maruti, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Esdeath landed with a soft thud inside the carriage but, surprisingly, she didn't mind. In fact, she was… happy? "I don't know what just happened, but it worked!" she thought to herself, a small smile spreading across her face.

She glanced at Maruti, who finally seemed to relax, letting out a deep breath and closing her eyes. Clearly, she was exhausted from the whole ordeal. She quickly fell asleep, probably trying to clear her mind.

Esdeath settled back into her seat, still a little dazed but relieved. "It looks like we're heading to the Vanara Tribe," she mused. "Once we get there, I'm definitely asking her what she just did!"* With that thought, she leaned back, enjoying the bumpy ride, secretly proud of how things had turned out—even though she had no idea how!