“Although my parents are no longer with us, I still have family. My adoptive parents and master are still alive and well, and they’re my elders just the same.

“They’ll help me assess my future wife. I have much more trust in their judgment than I have in yours.”

The moment Laurence said that, the expressions of all eight elders seated in that office twisted slightly.

Laurence was essentially telling them that he did not want them interfering with his marriage.

It was precisely what they want