Leander remained alone in the center, lowering his hand with deliberate calm. In an instant, the buzzing lobby of the Yelem Hotel went utterly silent. Nobody had seen it coming-he had acted first, swift and unhesitant, sending Denzel hurtling across the floor with one strike.And this wasn't just some random guy-Denzel was the first in line to lead the most powerful family in Dechor. That single slap didn't merely land on him; it was a bold strike against the Benjamin family's prestige, a brazen challenge to their authority.Even the richest tycoon or a powerful head of state might hesitate to do something this audacious. Yet here was Leander, a regular college student, daring the impossible. Maeve's two bodyguards caught the move for a heartbeat, eyes widening in surprise, but the moment passed almost immediately.Amid the wreckage of the flowerbed, Denzel stumbled to his feet, blood dripping down his face. He couldn't wrap his head around it-Leander had actually hit him. In Dechor, no one ever dared touch him."You... you actually hit me?" His voice trembled with fury, eyes blazing with lethal intent."That's for threatening my friends and me." Leander's voice was icy, detached. "I'm not stopping at a hit. I could kill you. Believe it or not.""Ha! Fine!" Denzel snarled, a wild, blood-soaked grin spreading across his face. His hand shot forward, inner vitality surging, ready to strike-but his movement froze the instant his phone buzzed in his pocket.He pulled it out and scanned the message; his pupils constricted, surprise flashing across his face. Moments later, he forcibly suppressed the power coiling inside him and let his hand drop. He gave Leander a hard, icy stare. "Lucky for you today, Astrian—but don't think you've seen the last of me."Wiping blood from his face, he spat the warning and stormed out the doors, leaving the entire lobby in stunned silence. Since when did the Benjamin heir ever show restraint like that?Ordinarily, Denzel would have erupted in fury or summoned his family's influence to crush Leander on the spot. Yet, contrary to expectations, he only left behind a single ominous warning before striding out-utterly defying the Benjamin family's typical pattern of retaliation.Once he vanished through the doors, Leander dropped back onto the couch as though the whole scene were nothing more than a passing breeze. Nathan and the others finally regained their senses and rushed over."Leander, did you actually just hit him?" Nathan's face was pale, disbelief lacing his voice. "That man is almost certainly tied to the Benjamin family, no doubt about it," he muttered, dread creeping into his tone. "If we've crossed someone like that, we won't survive a day in Dechor.""We need to grab the next flight out-immediately," he urged. At the moment, it was the only strategy he could come up with. The Benjamin family's power was immense, but a rapid exit from Dechor would place them beyond reach.Delay for even a moment, and revenge could strike. Four men, five women-how could we possibly hope to fend off the wrath of a family that ruled the city like a shadow over the sun?"Don't sweat it," Leander said with a casual flick of his hand, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "A mere family like the Benjamins? Hardly worth giving a second thought. Just enjoy yourselves. Leave all the heavy stuff to me."Rather than reassuring them, his calm nonchalance only made the group more on edge. Livia spoke up, her tone urgent. "Leander, you clearly don't realize the scope here. The Benjamins are legendary in Dechor-basically royalty in human form. They control everything. With a snap of their fingers, they could lock us up or abandon us in the desert without a second thought."Though the others remained silent, tension marked every line of their faces. Even if Leander didn't care, they all knew the weight of the Benjamin name.Leander let their anxious warnings wash over him, and not a flicker of worry crossed his face. When they finally fell quiet, he simply said, in that unshakably steady tone of his, "Relax. They won't lay a finger on us. And if they're foolish enough to try, I'll deal with every last one of them myself."A simple conclusion followed, almost spoken as a promise: "You're safe as long as I'm here."His serenity didn't soothe anyone—if anything, it left the group even more deflated. But since this whole trip to Dechor had been his treat, abandoning him now felt ungrateful and cowardly. So they stayed, reluctantly anchoring themselves to the couches and hoping for the best.Quiet prayers bloomed in their hearts: that Leander's connections, his rumored ties to the four great families, would actually hold weight in this foreign land. It was the only reassurance they had left.With an easy stretch, Leander rose as if nothing in the world weighed on him. "Alright, everyone-do your own thing for the afternoon. I'm heading out for a walk. We'll regroup at dinner."With that casual announcement, hestrode toward the lobby entrance. People instinctively shifted aside, parting like water around a rock no one wanted to accidentally obstruct the man who had, moments earlier, put Denzel on the floor without hesitation. "Hold up—I'm coming with you!" Maeve shot up from her seat and hurried after him. After finally crossing paths with him again, she wasn't about to let him stroll out of her sight.However, she barely managed two hurried steps before his gaze cut across her path like a warning line. "Don't tail me," he said, blunt as iron. "I'm not strolling around town with half a parade trailing behind."The remark was tossed out casually, yet it shut the door on her completely. By the time the words faded, he was already outside, his figure swallowed by the sunlight. Only Celia slipped out after him, silent and steady.Maeve froze, irritation flaring helplessly. Wanting to follow himwas one thing; being allowed to was another. After exchanging a fewquick words with Nathan and the others, she retreated to the elevator and rode it all the way to the top floor. Inside the presidential suite, she let herself sink into the velvet-draped bed. Her pulse hammered against her ribs, wild and breathless—like a young woman nursing the dizzy rush of a first crush."Zara....... Liana....... I can't even describe how thrilled I am. Running into him out of nowhere? In this place? It feels unreal." She wasn't addressing friends, but the two women who shadowed her every step-her personal guardians.With their sunglasses finally off, their faces came into full view: refined, striking, and impossibly alike. The pair were twin sisters, and each one could easily rival Maeve's beauty.The elder sister, Zara Lynford, reclined lazily in a wooden chair, amusement flickering in her eyes. "So that's the man you've been daydreaming about nonstop?"A rush of color crept up Maeve's cheeks. She jerked upright, flustered. "Zara, don't say things like that... I wasn't daydreaming about anyone."Liana Lynford cracked a mischievous grin. "Come on, you still want to deny it? If he isn't your fantasy crush, then I don't know what is. The way you reacted? You practically looked ready to launch yourself at him."Maeve's face e warmed even further, the flush spreading to her ears. She didn't even try to defend herself this time. Instead, she rolled across the velvet mattress like an overexcited teenager and propped her chin on her hands. "Alright, you two, tell me honestly you saw him properly for the first time today. What was your impression?" noveldrama"And that moment he backhanded Denzel into the flowerbed-tell me that wasn't unbelievably impressive?"Love always makes a woman crave validation from the people closest to her. Maeve was no exception. Leander wasn't just someone she liked he was the one person who had completely rewritten her world. Naturally, she wanted the sisters' approval.But the sisters merely exchanged a brief glance, a tiny, shared smile passing between them, and neither offered a word. Maeve froze, confused by their sudden quiet. "Why are you two looking at each other like that? What's with the silence?" Her brow furrowed slightly as she pressed, "Do you two think he's too distant? That maybe I don't register at all in his mind?"Zara lifted her cup of steaming tea, glancing at her with a faintly amused arch of her brow. "Maeve, are you really asking me to be completely honest?"Maeve nodded, cheeks tinged with a faint flush. For a few moments, Zara let silence hang in the air, then a soft, knowing chuckle escaped her lips. "Honestly, Maeve..... what is it about him that's got you so captivated?"