'What does she mean 'according to both planets customs'?' Long Cheng thought to himself when he heard Lu Meili speak from the interrogation room, and he wanted to find it out as soon as possible.

Unknown to Lu Meili, she was the only one who was not aware that all of the conversation inside the room was heard by the beings outside.

At first, Long Cheng liked the conversation. However, when his uncle had pressured his mate to accept a mating ceremony as part of the condition, Long Cheng became worried.

Bang!

Bang!

"Uncle, let me in!" Long Cheng started to pound the heavy metal door like he was doing earlier with both hands. "Uncle!!!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Ah, Your Highness, that is useless." One of the guards reminded as they took pity on his current situation.

The metal door was not only too thick, but was also laced with magic to prevent sound from reaching.

They were shaking their heads at the way Long Cheng was trying to destroy the door. It was funny at first, but they eventually felt pity as they were able to hear the conversation inside as well.

There was nothing more bothersome than when someone who was supposed to be your life-time match was being forced to be with you. On top of it all, that person seemed to be happy to refuse if her condition was not met.

The saddest thing in their world was the term 'there's a lot of fish in the sea' would not work.

"Shut up!" Long Cheng yelled in frustration after turning around and glaring at the guards behind him.

In truth, he was aware that his efforts were futile, but being stubborn as usual, he continued. He prefered to keep pounding the door instead of waiting dejectedly on when it would be opened while listening to the conversation inside.

It was not that he was against it, the mating ceremony was something he looked forward to because it meant that his mate could not leave him anymore.

However, even though his uncle was trying to help him, Long Cheng prefered to talk to his mate and propose the mating ceremony himself. There was no need for his uncle to get involved with it.

Not only was it lowering his pride to know that his mate only agreed because the king was pressuring her, but it was also not worth bragging about. Knowing that his mate was threatened to be with him and he allowed it might be the biggest regret of his life.

He was also afraid that his mate would think that he could not correctly court her based on the customs.

"Oh! I know!" He suddenly yelled with glee, his eyes brightened as his clenched fists that were supposed to hit the metal door stayed in the air.

'Did she mean that?' Long Cheng came to a realization. He was confused earlier because Lu Meili said both planets customs.

If it was from his planet that would be easy, but what about Orcus? Does he need to go there to be able to do the customs?

Long Cheng had no idea. He had the urge to run to the information centre to know.

However, he also did not want to leave his mate and uncle while the conditions were still not set.

'Uncle, why do you need to do this?' Long Cheng was still suspicious regarding his uncle's intentions. It could not be only because Long Kael wanted to help him.

Yes, his mate was part of a noble family in Orcus, but that should not be enough of a reason to make a drastic offer like this.

'Who is Mo Rin?' That was also another question that Long Cheng had in his head that he wanted clarification of as soon as possible.

Who was that person that seemed to be more important than him?

Then Long Cheng remembered the other outsider that they had met in the Thunder Forest. She was the same outsider that his uncle personally took in the palace.

"Those are all my conditions, whether you like it or not!" Lu Meili yelled, angrily inside the interrogation room that interrupted his line of thought.

He gasped surprised, just like the soldiers behind him. Long Cheng was worried about his mate's safety. 'Meili, stop challenging him..' The dragon king was not the most patient man around and was also someone who approved of bloodshed if there was a necessity to do so.

It was understandable if they were dealing with the dragon side only. However, it seemed that even the mortal team had embraced the savage side of the beast.

An angry growl was heard inside the room before, Long Kael responded, "Fine!" His voice sounded very upset, but it was not murderous or threatening. "You are an awful woman!" He added almost exasperated.

Another gasp was heard from behind Long Cheng. He was surprised as well, but there was also relief that his mate was not in danger.

Then Long Cheng felt a sense of pride for his mate who was not afraid to talk aggressively to his uncle.

There was the worry earlier but that already entirely vanished as he knew that his uncle would not do anything that might hurt his mate.

Long Kael giving options to Lu Meili was enough to prove that the dragon king had other intentions. Now, he agreed to her request despite the apparent reluctance on his voice.

If others did not have respect for her current action, then they were either stupid or fooling themselves.

'Lu Meili..' He repeated the name inside his head as he remembered his mate's complete name.

Long Cheng grinned to himself as he looked forward to starting doing the customs that were done by any dragon shifter that had managed to meet their mate.

'But when can I start? She is still in prison!' Long Cheng realized this other problem that needed to be solved. 'At least there was a guarantee that she won't be dying..'

The trial was his current and most significant hurdle. It was a good thing that his uncle was already helping and found that mating ceremony beneficial, and because of that, Long Cheng was feeling more confident that his mate would be released soon.

'I need to talk to him. Asap.' Long Cheng decided before racing his hands in the air to start pounding.

There was no need for him to do so as the door slowly moved, indicating that it was opening.

Delighted, Long Cheng yelled loudly. "Uncle! I want-"

The dragon king raised his hand to stop Long Cheng from speaking further. "Tsk. You are so noisy as always. We will talk later." Long Kael immediately replied dejectedly with a frown. Behind him was Lu Meili, who still had her hands bound with the magical chains.

Lu Meili was also looking grumpy at him as if she decided that she would surely regret.

It hurt Long Cheng, but he still forced a fake smile on his face. "Are you alri-" He started to ask.

"Do the talking later. Follow me." Long Kael interrupted as he walked, passing him.

Long Cheng nodded, but his gaze was still on his mate that was looking at him with an expression of indifference.

He did not know what she was thinking of but, Long Cheng promised himself that she would not be regretting her decision to agree to tie their spirits together..

***

Author's Note:

From the bottom of my heart, thank you very much!