Lana was so caught off guard by this that she forgot to resist, and she merely allowed herself to be held tightly against Erwin's body. All she did was raise her hands in front of her own face so that her cheek wouldn't be pressed directly against Erwin's chest. Of course, just because her face wasn't touching Erwin didn't mean that certain other regions of her body weren't pressed against him, and a deep blush appeared on her face as she felt Erwin's thumping heartbeat through her palms.

Lana had never been one to be shy and embarrassed. Instead, she always tried to appear regal and composed. She looked up at Erwin with a curious expression, then whispered into his ear, "Aren't you infatuated with that silver-haired vixen, you little rascal? What are you doing putting your hands all over me?"

Erwin merely gave a cold harrumph and offered no reply. The feeling of Lana's breath in his ear and her soft, voluptuous chest against his body suddenly made his throat completely parched, and he couldn't help but gulp down some saliva. He was so excited that his heart was about to leap out of his chest for some fresh air!

Meanwhile, Byron was staring at Erwin with a furious expression. The woman that he was completely infatuated with was being held by Erwin without any inhibitions, and he wanted nothing more than to tear Erwin to shreds with his bare hands! However, what made him even more furious and humiliated was Lana's reaction.

Throughout this entire sequence of events, Jeff had been watching Erwin in silence with a cold expression, but his hand was already resting on the hilt of Black Blaze.

Lana turned to glance at Byron and Jeff, then turned back to look at Erwin, and an amused smile appeared on her face as she sensed the tense atmosphere in the air. She heaved a faint sigh, then placed her hands on either side of Erwin's face, turning his head to look at her as she said, "Let's get out of here, little rascal. I still haven't had a chance to visit this market at night."

At the same time, she made a subtle face at Erwin, telling him not to take things too far.

Erwin knew that Lana was worried about him, fearing that he would end up in a sticky situation if things were to escalate into a physical altercation. Thus, he unwound his arm from around Lana's waist, then gave Byron a vicious glare. Thinking back to when they had first met, Lana had been on the receiving end of that very same glare, and it had truly sent chills running down her spine. She didn't want him to be beaten up for her sake, and with that in mind, she hurriedly dragged Erwin deeper into the night market.

With Lana and Erwin fleeing the scene, Jeff heaved a sigh of relief, then patted Byron on the shoulder, upon which he discovered that Byron was trembling from fury.

On the other side of the night market, Lana wore an amused smile as she asked, "What are you so angry about, little rascal?"

"Me? I'm not angry about anything," Erwin replied in a calm voice.

"Then why did you suddenly grab me just now?" Lana asked as she latched onto Erwin's arm and waited for his answer with an intrigued expression.

"Er... Well..." Erwin was temporarily at a loss for words.

"How are you going to lie your way out of this one?" Lana asked with an amused smile.

"Fine, I'll own up to my actions! I grabbed you, so what? Do whatever you want to me! I'm already used to being abused by you anyway," Erwin sighed with a resigned expression.

"You're such a coward! All you do is take advantage of me, then refuse to accept responsibility," Lana accused with a displeased pout.

Erwin knew that she was right, so he didn't dare to rebuke her.

"I'm hungry!" Lana snapped as she began to look around.

Erwin was quite taken aback by her reaction. He didn't think that she would let things slide so easily, and he was even prepared for physical punishment, but Lana had let him off the hook as if nothing had happened!

Lana merely ignored the fact that Erwin was staring at her with a stunned expression.

"There are so many food stalls around here. What do you want to eat?" Erwin asked as he also began to look around. "I haven't had dinner yet, so I'm also a little hungry."

Erwin's original plan was for them to make their way through the market and sample different foods as they walked, but Lana insisted on dining in a small restaurant in a very popular section of the market, so they could only take a seat and dine there. The tent was already full, so they could only sit in the outdoor dining area. Erwin took a glance at the crudely constructed wooden tables and chairs, then heaved a faint sigh with a shake of his head, while Lana tried to console him by proclaiming that there was a very nice atmosphere to dining outside.

Thankfully, the dishes were brought on quite quickly, and Erwin was already digging in with relish, but Lana seemed to be a little absentminded, picking at her food in a distracted manner with her chopsticks while occasionally looking aimlessly at the people around her.

"You were the one who insisted on coming here, why aren't you eating anything?" Erwin asked.

Lana seemed to have not heard Erwin at all as she continued to look at the lively scenes around her with an absentminded expression. For some reason, the memory of the argument she had with her father a few days ago had resurfaced in her mind. That was the same day when Lana had rushed out of the contestants' spectating platform to rescue Erwin after his match against Shaun. After returning home, she had a big fight with Prince Lazaar.

"There's no way I would agree to a relationship between you and that brat from the Friar Family, so don't get any funny ideas." Even now, Lana couldn't help but shudder at the recollection of the tone of her father's voice. She had never seen such a cold look on his face before.

"Why?" Lana asked as she glared at her father.

"Just do as you're told!" Prince Lazaar roared, giving Lana a massive fright at the time.

"What? You're opposed to Erwin and I being together just because you're certain that Count Friar won't join your faction?" Lana yelled in a hysterical voice.

"You're free to think whatever you want," Prince Lazaar replied in a cold voice.

"Father, how could you be so unreasonable? Do I not even have the right to be together with the one I love?" Lana was forcing herself to hold back her tears.

"I've spoiled you too much, to the point that you feel like it's acceptable to be yelling at your own father like this!" Prince Lazaar was displaying no intention of backing down or compromising. "Look at yourself! Is this how a noblewoman of your status should be acting?"

"Fine, then I renounce my noble status! How about that?" Lana countered in a resentful voice.

"You think you can renounce your noble status just like that? You've enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle and had everything you ever wanted from birth, and that's all thanks to your noble status! You think you can just cast that aside at your own convenience? Life doesn't work like that!" Prince Lazaar roared in a furious voice.

Lana's resilient facade instantly crumbled in the face of her father's scathing words, and she clasped a hand over her own mouth to suppress her sobs, but tears were already flowing down her face.

Prince Lazaar's tone finally softened at the sight of Lana's tears, and he said, "There's no need to cry over someone like him. Truth be told, aside from what you said just now, there's actually an even more important reason why you two can't be together."

Lana wiped away her tears as she cast an inquisitive gaze toward her father.

However, Prince Lazaar shook his head in response. "I can't tell you the reason right now, but all you have to know is that there's no way you can be with him. If you insist on being wilful and force me to get involved, then he's going to end up in a very bad situation."

Lana was quite despondent at the recollection of this memory, and she decided to set it aside for now.

Erwin was looking at Lana, and he couldn't tell what she was thinking. It was clear that she wasn't in the mood to talk, so Erwin picked up his cup of plum wine and took a sip in silence.

"Erwin," Lana suddenly called out in a gentle voice, but her gaze was still elsewhere. This was the first time that Erwin had ever heard her refer to him in such a gentle and melancholy voice.

"What is it?" Erwin asked as he watched her with a slightly uneasy expression.

"After the conclusion of the Pillow Sword Tournament, can you come back with me to Burmen?" Lana asked as she finally turned to look at Erwin with a smile on her face. "We can bring along several large crates of gold and silver, and we'll cross directly through the Skycourt Kingdom, then pass over the Terarody Mountain Ranges to make a visit to the north. I heard that there are several massive kingdoms in the north, and we can travel through them for a few years. After that, we'll set off to the east by sea to visit the Aitini Sea, which is said to have been formed by the tears of lovers separated by life and death. Every single drop of water in that sea is said to contain the most heartfelt love and longing. How romantic is that? We'll go on an adventure across the turbulent sea, waking up to the sea and the sky every day. Doesn't that sound like the perfect journey?"

Erwin was rather taken aback to hear this, and he had no idea how he should respond.

Lana heaved a faint sigh at the sight of Erwin's hapless expression, and she smiled as she chuckled, "I was just joking around with you? Were you scared? I bet you were!"

Erwin remained silent as he raised his cup of plume wine and brought it to his own lips to hide his loss of composure. He then stared down at the table in silence with a thoughtful expression. It was clear that Lana wasn't joking about what she had just said. The question on his mind was why she had suddenly said this.

Lana put on a bright smile at the sight of Erwin's slightly troubled expression, and she said, "Don't overthink things! You have to prepare for your match tomorrow. It's getting late, so I'm going back now."

Erwin nodded in response, still unsure of how to respond to what Lana had said earlier.

Lana got up from her chair, then turned around to look at Erwin with a parting smile. Erwin wanted to stand up and say something to her, but decided against it in the end, and by the time he raised his head to look up again, Lana was already far away.

Erwin looked on at Lana's departing figure, and he thought back to her smile just now. There was a hint of sorrow intermingled with some deeper emotions in her smile, and it was an expression that he had never seen from her. Thus, he couldn't help but wonder what was going on with her.

As Lana made her way through the market, her vision began to blur through a film of tears, and a lump had appeared in her throat. The commotion in the surrounding area matched the tumultuous emotions in her heart, and a tragic smile appeared on her face.

There's no way we can be together, Erwin. There are many things that are outside of our control, and those things will inevitably tear us apart.

That night, Erwin returned to his tent and tossed and turned the entire night in his bed, haunted by the memory of Lana's smile, unable to get any sleep.