Alex didn't know how he slept off but when he woke up, it was already close to noon.
He got up from bed and looked around him, not seeing Emilia, he furrowed his brows but just then, the door to his room pushed open and she walked in with a new set of fine clothes.
"Where have you been?" He asked her.
"I woke up earlier to prepare your meal then went into town to get you some nice clothes to wear since you will be addressing the city today," she replied and placed the clothes on the bed. "Did you sleep very well?" She asked him.
"It was short but it's okay. After the meeting, I'll come back to rest," he replied and then studied her closely. "You look weak, you should go and rest before the meeting starts," he said to her but she shook her head.
"I can't. I can't rest until everything is settled for the day," she replied.
Alex felt somewhat bad for tiring her out last night but then, it was what she asked for so he dispelled the thoughts and then got out of bed and approached her.
He caressed her face and then held her chin before raising her head to meet her gaze. "Last night..." He began but she quickly fell to her knees.
"I am sorry if I couldn't satisfy you," she said but he smiled instead and went back to sit on the bed.
"Next time, you try harder then," he said to her.
"Sure," Emilia muttered with her head still lowered.
"That's all, you can leave and wait for me outside or return to your room," he said to her and she stood up and left the room.
After she was gone, Alex rubbed the space between his brows for a while before he got up again and went to have his bath.
After bathing, he dressed up and came out of the room and saw Emilia standing by his door.
"Didn't I ask you to return to your room?" He asked her.
"You gave me two options so I picked the one I wanted," she replied.
"I'm hungry," Alex said to her and began to head to the hall. Emilia quickly rushed ahead of him and served all the meals she had prepared earlier.
During breakfast, Alex was occupied with some thoughts which affected his appetite.
"I have a bad feeling that things will get worse from now on. It's not as simple as we thought," he voiced out.
"What do you mean, Alex?" Emilia asked and sat down next to him. She had noticed his mood earlier on but didn't want to ask him about it because he wouldn't tell her. But right now, she was glad that he was going to talk about it.
"Last night's battle was just a facade. The real one is coming soon and we have to win or we'll lose everything," he replied.
"To me, the demons that came last night aren't our real problem, they must have some sort of backup or power that is aiding them... I say we should get prepared to face the real ones very soon," Emilia said.
"Exactly," Alex mumbled in agreement. "So in your opinion, what do you think I should do?" He turned and asked her.
"Instead of waiting for them to come to us, how about we take the matters into our hands?" She asked him.
"What do you mean exactly?"
"Since our main goal is taking over the city, we can't do it simply by fighting the upper hands, we should also do some good deeds to gain the love and support of the masses. Unlike the upper hands, the masses hold the power of choosing who their leader will be," Emilia replied and Alex fell into thinking.
"I see what you mean," he said after a while and turned to his food.
'Thankfully, I have someone to help me' He thought and glanced at Emilia again before continuing his food.
Emilia was watching him closely so the moment she saw that Ahe had begun to eat very well, she smiled inwardly and was finally able to relax.
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At noon, Alex was standing on his balcony, staring at the flower garden by the side of his mansion when Emilia walked up to him with a worried look on her face.
"Alex," she called out to him, drawing his attention to her.
"What is the matter?" He asked as he saw the look on her face.
"It's past noon and nothing has happened yet," she said to him.
"Is it about the meeting?" He asked her and she nodded. "As for that, they won't be coming," he announced to her. "I wasn't expecting them either," he added.
"Those idiots!" Emilia angrily cursed.
"You should not get upset. They are indirectly helping us," Alex calmly said to her.
"How?" She asked him.
"Follow me, let's take a walk around the city," he said and began to walk away. Emilia didn't fully understand why he wanted to do something like that but she didn't hesitate to follow him.
It was approaching dusk when they left the villa and before they arrived at town, it was already getting dark but it was no problem for them as they were all demons. Their activities start especially at night so for Alex, it was the right time for him to stroll.
As they got to a busy place which seemed to be the marketplace, they came to a place where many demons were gathered and shouting.
Alex was curious so he stopped. "Go and find out what is going on there," he said to Emilia who nodded and left.
Soon, she returned to his side and relayed the information to him. "They are beating up a family, they said the youngest child stole something from the market."
"Let us go," Alex said and was about to go to the place but Emilia stopped him.
"You should not interfere in their matter," she said to him.
"How then can I achieve if I don't make myself known to them?" He asked her and walked past her.
As soon as he got to where the demons were gathered, he made his way to the front and just that moment, the guard in charge was about to strike a kid with his whip but Alex immediately caught it.
"Who are you?" The guard in charge turned and asked Alex.
"Someone you should not dare to offend," Alex replied and flung the whip away. He bent down and helped the crying kid up and began to wipe his face. "Kid, what is your name?" He asked him.
"My name is Kia, sir," the demon kid replied with tears in his eyes.
Alex patted the boy on his head and then gave him back to his crying parents before turning to the guard.
"What did the child do to deserve such treatment?" He asked the guard.
"It is none of your business!" The guard replied arrogantly.
"Are you sure?" Alex asked him.
"If he doesn't want to talk, I will do the talking," a young boy said to Alex from behind.
"And who are you?" Alex turned and asked the boy.
"My name is Chase and I am one of their victims," the young boy replied, pointing to the guards.
"Very well then, go ahead and tell me what happened," Alex requested and the boy nodded and began to narrate everything that happened.
It happened that Kia stole a bottle of medicine from the store and was caught yesterday, the guards were informed about and they sent for the entire family to be publicly punished. Chase was also a victim, his sister stole a food item and was caught some months back, and this led to his entire family being killed. He was the only one that survived but the incident left a deep scar in his heart.
After listening to the story, Alex became upset though he didn't show it outside.
"Aren't there leaders here? Why are they not saying anything about it?" He asked Chase.
The young boy scoffed before replying. "Leaders? Tsk! They are silent because they are the ones who made these wicked rules. Those hypocrites," he said and spat out.
"Watch your tongue!" The guard in charge warned Chase and made to charge at him but Alex stopped him that instant.
"I see," Alex replied to Chase and turned to the guard in charge who was already fuming. "I'll take matters into my hands, let them be," he said to him.
"I am sorry but you have no right to command me. As far as everyone here is concerned, I am in charge of this place and the rules are mine to obey," the guard in charge replied and turned to his men. "Take the family and put them inside the dungeon!" He ordered them.
The guards followed the order and went ahead to arrest the family but Emilia brought out her whip and attacked them with it. The guards were all swept away by the whip and this angered the guard in charge.
"He is the new leader of Tekoa and he asks you to leave, who are you to disobey his order?" She asked him.
"The leader? How is that possible?"
"Didn't they say the leader was defeated and sent back yesterday?"
Hearing what the demons around were saying, Emilia scoffed and turned to them.
"Defeated? How can any of you defeat someone who survived the blood moon dance?" She asked them and everyone gasped when they heard it.