Chapter 1177

The crowd was still buzzing with a cocktail of shock, excitement, and pure joy after Frederick’s dramatic proposal to Jane. Laughter and cheers had only just begun to fade when the atmosphere shifted again—this time with an even more startling twist. Before anyone could fully process what had just happened, Huan suddenly dropped to one knee before Mina. The murmur of conversation stilled into breathless silence. In his hands, he held an ornate velvet box. But when he opened it, the ring inside was unlike anything the guests expected. It wasn’t gold, jade, or diamond—it was pale, smooth, and oddly organic, as though it carried a story of its own. Harold, who had already been scowling at Frederick’s proposal moments earlier, now looked like a storm about to break. His face darkened to the color of a thundercloud. Without a second’s hesitation, he moved—faster than Mina, faster than any of the others—and planted himself firmly in front of her like a human shield. “Huan, get the hell up!”