Chapter 4

Two weeks later, Aiden became even more unscrupulous.

Not content with making me a cleaner, he wanted to humiliate me publicly at a tribal meeting. This time, he wanted to completely destroy my dignity.

"Fellow clansmen," Aiden rose to his feet in the meeting hall, his voice booming, "today we need to discuss an important issue—discipline and order within the castle."

Everyone looked at him, including the clan chief and the other elders. Ella sat in the VIP section, her face ashen, her hands clenched tightly.

"Recently, I've noticed some servants are neglecting their duties, coveting things that don't belong to them," Aiden said, his gaze sweeping over me. "This behavior must be corrected, or it will disrupt the traditions and order of our castle."

"What specific situation are you referring to?" the clan chief asked.

"Ian," Aiden called to me, "come to the front."

I put down my meeting minutes and walked to the center of the meeting room. All the tribespeople were looking at me, including some I had once protected. Their eyes held curiosity, pity, and even schadenfreude.

"Tell everyone, what mistake did you make?" Aiden looked down at me.

According to his script, I should admit that I "overstepped" my bounds and that I had inappropriate feelings for Ella. But this time, I decided not to cooperate with his performance.

"I didn't make any mistakes," I said calmly.

A surprised murmur rippled through the meeting room. Aiden's face instantly turned grim.

"No mistakes?" he sneered. "Then what did you do to my fiancée? Did you think no one saw your private interactions?"

"I didn't do anything," I said, looking at him. "If you're referring to my normal interactions with Miss Ella, it was just friendly concern."

"Friends?" Aiden's voice rose. "A janitor and Luna's friends? Do you think that's appropriate?"

"Why not?" I countered. "Does being from different backgrounds preclude us from being friends?"

This answer shocked everyone. A cleaner daring to argue with Lieutenant Beta like that was unprecedented in the castle's history.

"You..." Aiden was so angry he couldn't speak.

"Lord Aiden," I continued, my tone still calm, "if you believe my behavior is problematic, please provide concrete evidence, instead of making baseless accusations here."

Aiden was completely enraged by my words. He rushed towards me and raised his hand to hit me.

"That's enough!"

Just then, Margaret suddenly stood up, her voice echoing in the conference hall.

"Margaret, what are you doing?" the chieftain asked, frowning.

"Chieftain," Margaret said, her voice trembling but firm as she walked to the center of the meeting hall, "I can't watch this happen again. Ian... he's not just an ordinary cleaner."

The room fell silent, everyone waiting for her next words.

"What do you mean?" Aiden asked warily, but his voice was already filled with fear.

"Ian," Margaret looked at me, tears welling in her eyes, "tell them your true identity. The trial has lasted eleven months; you've endured enough humiliation."

I looked at these people, at those who had once humiliated and looked down on me. Eleven months of trials, eleven months of humiliation—it was time for them to end.

"My true identity?" I slowly straightened up, my voice turning cold.

With my movement, a powerful Alpha aura erupted from my body. It was pure, ancient, and powerful Alpha pressure, instantly suppressing everyone present. The Betas began to tremble, and the Omegas immediately knelt down.

"I am Ian McLeod," my voice echoed in the conference hall, carrying an undeniable authority, "the sole heir of the McLeod family, the true master of this land."

A gasp of shock erupted in the meeting hall. Everyone stared at me in disbelief, including the clan chief.

Aiden's face turned deathly pale. He slumped into his chair, his body trembling uncontrollably. Under my Alpha Intimidation, his Beta instincts rendered him powerless to resist, leaving him only to tremble in fear.

"No...impossible..." he stammered.

"Impossible?" I walked towards him, each step increasing his fear. "What do you imagine the heir to the McLeod family should be like? Aloof and detached from worldly affairs?"

I stood before him, looking down at the man who had once humiliated me. "I was undergoing a trial to test the hearts and minds of the people, a traditional family practice, to experience life at the bottom of society and understand the true situation of my people. But what have you given me?"

I turned to face everyone, my voice growing even colder: "Humiliation, trampling, and betrayal."

My gaze finally fell on Ella. She was completely stunned, her eyes filled with shock, regret, and despair.

"Ella," I said, walking towards her, "now you know the truth. You didn't abandon a lowly cleaner, but the master of this land. You didn't choose a noble Beta, but a fool who dared to humiliate your true master."

"Ian..." she stood up, her voice choked with emotion, "I don't know... I really don't know..."

"You don't know?" I sneered. "You say you love me, but you don't even know who I am?"

"I love you for who you are, not for who you are!" she cried. "If I had known you were Alpha, I would never have..."

"Absolutely not what?" I interrupted her. "Absolutely not choosing Aiden? Then why did you choose him when I loved you as your bodyguard? Why did you choose silence when I was humiliated?"

Ella couldn't answer; she just burst into tears.

"Now that you know who I am, what do you want to say?" I continued. "Are you saying you regret it? Are you saying you made the wrong choice?"

"Yes!" she said desperately, "I regret it! I made the wrong choice! I should have trusted you, I should have chosen you! Please forgive me!"

"But what good will that do?" My voice was icy cold. "What can your regret change? Can it change your choice on that full moon night? Can it change your silence as you watched me being humiliated?"

Just then, I pulled a stack of documents from my pocket and threw them on the table.

"Since we're talking about the truth, let's bring it all to light." I looked at Aiden. "Lieutenant Aiden, would you like to explain what these are?"

The clan chief picked up the documents, his face growing increasingly grim. These were the evidence I had secretly gathered during the trials—embezzled accounts, leaked secrets, and communications with hostile forces.

"What...what's going on?" the clan chief asked.

"Adjutant Aiden isn't just a deceitful liar," I said coldly, "he's also a traitor. He leaked our secrets to hostile forces in exchange for money and support. He even planned to open the castle gates at a crucial moment, allowing the enemy to storm in unimpeded."

Everyone stared at Aiden in shock. His face was completely bloodless, and his body was slumped in the chair.

"No...this isn't true..." Aiden tried to deny it, but his voice was so faint it was almost inaudible.

"Not true?" I sneered. "Then explain where those gold coins and jewels in the underground vault came from? Explain the purpose of your communications with the hostile forces in the north."

Aiden completely broke down. Faced with irrefutable evidence, he knew he could no longer deny it.

"This is the person you chose, Ella." I turned to her. "A corrupt official, a traitor, a coward who will abandon his partner in times of crisis."

Ella looked at Aiden, her eyes filled with disgust and fear. She finally saw clearly what kind of person she had chosen.

"Ian," the patriarch stood up, "how do you intend to handle this matter?"

I looked at everyone and then made a decision that surprised everyone.

"Aiden's crimes will be handled by the clan council according to the law; I will not interfere." My voice was calm. "As for me, I want to leave here for a while and go somewhere else to clear my head. Eleven months of trials have made me see many things clearly, and I need time to think about my future."

I walked toward the door, and Ella suddenly ran over and blocked my way.

"Ian, please don't go!" She knelt before me, her voice breaking with anguish. "I know I was wrong, I know I hurt you, but please give me a chance! I'll break off my engagement with Aiden, I'll do anything to make up for my mistakes!"

I looked down at her, feeling nothing at all.

"Ella, don't you understand?" I said softly, "What I want isn't your admiration for Alpha, nor your pursuit of power. What I want is your love for Ian as a person."

"I love you! I really love you!" she cried. "No matter who you are, I love you!"

"No, you don't love me." I shook my head. "You only love an imagined version of me. When the real test came, you chose to run away. When I needed your support, you chose silence. This isn't love; it's just selfishness."

I walked past her and headed for the door.

"If you truly loved me," I stopped at the doorway without turning around, "you should have chosen me before you knew who I was. You should have stood up for me when I was humiliated. But you didn't."

"I can change!" she cried from behind. "Please give me a chance to prove my love!"

"It's too late." I walked out without looking back.

I arrived outside the castle and took a deep breath of the air of freedom. The eleven-month trial was finally over, but my heart felt no relief, only deep disappointment and pain.

I thought I could find true love, but all I got was betrayal and hurt.

Perhaps this is fate's arrangement, perhaps I am destined to be alone for the rest of my life.

I mounted my horse and left this place that once filled me with hope but now only holds painful memories.

I heard Ella crying behind me, but I didn't turn around.

Some mistakes are irreparable, and some wounds are irreparable.

She chose reality, I chose dignity.

From this day forward, we have nothing to do with each other.