"Emilia, take the sick girl with you and see if you can cure her. This one stays back," Alex said to Emilia who nodded and left with Tilia. Now that it was just Alex and Lidia, he turned and went back to his seat.
"Why are you helping us?" Lidia who finally found her voice after all the while that Alex helped them escape asked him.
"Isn't it obvious?" Alex asked her.
"What is?" Lidia asked him in return.
"The rose-gold bird or should I say the Asura clan is very powerful and I heard their blood is special... It can kill even an immortal, am I right?" Alex asked her.
"If it's powerful as you've said, why then didn't it kill the current Lord? Everything you heard are just baseless rumors," Lidia replied with a scoff.
"The current Lord didn't get killed because you haven't reached your full potential," Alex replied and she turned and glanced at him in surprise. Seeing how she was staring at him, Alex smirked. "Are you wondering why I know so much? Let me tell you, I am the new Lord and nothing can escape my eyes. There's nothing that can be hidden from me, bear theat in mind."
"What do you want from us?" Lidia asked him.
"It's very simple. I want the Asura clan to serve me," Alex replied.
"You are one straight-forward person but I am sorry to disappoint you, the Asuras has never served the demons before. We can not pledge our loyalty to you," Lidia replied firmly.
"I heard you served the current Lord for decades. Why won't you serve me?" Alex asked her.
"I and my sister long for freedom, as such, we don't want to be under anyone's command again," Lidia replied.
"What if you are given freedom, will you still not want to serve me?" He asked her but just then, Emilia walked in and went to Alex.
"Master, we don't have the cure for her sister's illness," she announced to him.
"What is she suffering from?" Alex asked her.
"I guess she used her power so much that it had to backfire and cause her severe internal illness," Emilia replied.
"What do you think is the cure?" Alex asked her after listening to her explanation.
"The only thing capable of curing her is the snow-petal flower but we don't have it," Emilia replied.
"The snow-petal flower?" Alex asked.
"It's a flower that appears once in every last full moon of the month and it is found in the cold mountain," Emilia explained. "The cold mountain is miles away from our demon realm and it's also a prohibited place because they say evil demonic monsters dwell there. Not even the demon Lord dares to go there."
"I see... When is the last full moon appearing?" Alex asked her.
"In two days time," Emilia replied.
"Make sure to keep her alive until then," Alex said to her.
"Master, don't tell me you are—" Emilia tried to talk but he glared at her and she was forced to swallow her words. "I'll take my leave, Master," she said and then left after glancing at Lidia.
"Are you going to save my sister?" Lidia asked Alex in a pleading tone.
"It depends on your choice," Alex replied and rose to his feet. "I will save your sister at all costs but that will depend on the choice you make. You can choose to pledge your loyalty to me and I will go ahead and save her or you can also choose to leave with your sister and be ready to die in the hands of the current lord. The choice is yours," he added and then left the hall.
Lidia stood there alone, pondering about everything that has happened to her and her sister. She didn't want her sister to die but at the same time didn't want to be anyone's servant again for fear of being controlled just as how the current lord treated them in the past.
It was a difficult choice for her to make.
"Are you still thinking about the decision?" Someone asked from behind and when she turned, it was Chase. He walked straight to her and stopped some steps away from her before continuing. "Master is a good person, he will make a good Lord, trust me. If you are still thinking of what to do, then you are likely going to throw away a very good opportunity. Your sister's health matters a lot and same as your freedom, Master is willing to let you have all of these at the expense of your loyalty. You should make the right choice and it should be fast because your sister's life is on the line. By the way, Master asked me to show you to your new place, if you don't mind, follow me."
Lidia sighed and then followed Chase out of the hall, she was led to her new apartment which was on the east side of the palace.
"This is it. Please think carefully before you make the decision," Chase said to her after showing her the apartment. After staring at her for a while, he shook his head and then left the place. When he was gone, Lidia gazed at the apartment before going in and sitting on the bed, she thought back to how she had lived her life in bondage all for the sake of finding a cure for her sister. The current Lord took advantage of her desperation to use her however he liked— this was something she couldn't forget and as a result of this, she was scared of trusting Alex. Nevertheless... Since it has come to this, there is no other choice for her.
In the meantime, Emilia was going to see Alex when she spotted Kia at the doorstep leading to the main palace.
"Huh? What are you doing here? Weren't you asked to train throughout the day?" She asked him.
"I was training initially but I heard that Master brought in two girls, I'm curious to know who they are," Kia replied and while he was replying Emilia, he tried to avoid her gaze.
"Hmmm, is that so?" She asked him with her brows furrowed.
"Y-yes," he replied, still avoiding her gaze.
"Look at me then," she requested and pulled his chin up. Meeting his shaky eyes, she asked him again. "Are you sure?"
"Fine! I'll speak," Kia said in a defeated tone and removed his face. "My parents are well now, I just wanted to go and thank Master but it seems that he's resting."
"Is that so?" She asked him.
"Yes," he replied.
"Since you guess that he's resting, how about you return? I'll relay your thanks to him when he wakes up," she said to him.
"Okay. Thank you," he said and then ran off.
After he left, Emilia went inside and went into Alex's chambers. There she saw him sitting on his bed and was massaging the line in between his brows.
"Alex," she called to him and he raised his head and glanced at her.
"What is it?" He asked her in a tired tone.
"You look tired, let me give you a massage," she said and walked to him. She climbed into the bed and went behind him, then she began to massage his shoulders.
"What brings you here?" He asked her again.
"It's about Tilia, her condition is worsening," she replied.
"What do you want me to do then?" He asked her.
"I don't want you to put yourself in danger but I think we should save her," Emilia replied.
"I should save her? What do I stand to gain? I don't do things that don't profit me," Alex said and Emilia stopped massaging him and came down from the bed.
When she came down, she knelt before him. "Master, if you do this, you will gain their loyalty," she said in a pleading tone.