"I am ready to sign the contract, father.
I have considered everything there is to consider."
Melia spoke with a determined look on her face.
Orpheus looked into his daughter's eyes, and then, he nodded,
"Alright then.
I shall oversee the contract signing."
Melia glanced at Nux and nodded. Nux glanced at Orpheus,
"Step forward, human."
Nux nodded, he then stepped forward, Orpheus placed the contract on the table in front of him, Nux and Melia read the contract again, and then, Nux signed it.
Melia did the same and once the two parties were done signing the contract,
Orpheus stepped forward and,
"Under my authority as the Duke of Blood Kingdom, this contract shall now be in power. Henceforth, any party who goes against this contract shall be treated as the sworn enemy of the Bloodheart Duke House."
Saying those words, a Stamp appeared in Orpheus's hand and he stamped on the contract, making it legal.
Orpheus glanced at the two parties and spoke,
"I alone, shall oversee your duel that will be held a week later."
Melia and Nux nodded, and then,
"We will be taking our leaves now, father."
Melia spoke and turned around.
Nux glanced at Orpheus for the last time, Orpheus didn't react to his gaze, therefore, Nux decided to let it go and he turned around as well, his wives followed and the group left the room.
"Heh."
The moment the group left, a smile appeared on Orpheus's face.
"Is he going to be the 8th hero?"
He thought out loud.
This boy was interesting, he cultivated both Mana and Body after all. That automatically made him a special existence.
However,
This didn't mean that this human had what it took to defeat Melia.
He was only an Emperor level after all.
The Sage Stage could be understood, however, Great Sages are different, even defeating a normal Great Sage Cultivator should be difficult for him, let alone Melia, who was the daughter of the Vampire Duke with unparalleled talent, and has been trained by the best ever since she was a child.
"For the first member of her clan, that human is not a bad choice at all."
A small smile appeared on Orpheus's face as he started thinking about the Duel.
A fight between his daughter and the possible 8th Hero,
He may not show it, but he was definitely interested to witness it.
…
"That was pressuring."
On the other side, as soon as Nux walked out of Orpheus's room, he sighed.
"It was not that bad."
Melia smiled.
"For you, of course. He is your father. For me, it was an entirely different story, for him, I was a man who was going to take his daughter away. I can give you 1000s reasons why he wouldn't like me." Nux replied.
"Take his daughter away huh.
We will see about that in a week."
Melia smiled.
"Of course, people usually don't believe my words till it actually happens. I don't mind it though, it puts me in an advantageous position." Nux nodded.
"You seem more open than before." Melia noticed.
"You can't go back on your words now that the contract is signed," Nux replied.
"You were worried about that?"
"Worries that an immensely talented Great Sage Cultivator might not join my clan? Of course, I was. I need to tread carefully."
"You are arrogant. We need to fix that once you join my clan. Arrogance brings trouble." Melia noted, her expression still emotionless as ever.
"Heh, arrogan-"
"Oh? Would you look at that? Melia, what is my little sister doing here? And who is this human? Wait, is he the human you challenged to a duel to make him join your clan? I can't believe you are going this far, Melia."
While Melia, Nux, and his wives were walking in the corridor, they suddenly bumped into a man, the man's features were similar to Orpheus, however, unlike Orpheus, who had an emotionless expression like Melia, this man seemed like someone who freely expressed his emotions.
Nux observed this man and his expression turned solemn,
A Peak Semi Saint…
This man was strong, absurdly strong.
And not only that,
The fact that he learned the news about the duel so quickly,
It could only mean one thing…
"Big Brother."
Melia spoke with a blank tone.
Yes, Lazarus Bloodheart.
Melia's blood brother, and the heir to the Bloodheart Duke House.
Nux and his wives have heard about him from Allura, a Peak Semi-Saint Cultivator who can defeat Saints. Yes, just like Nux, he has the power to fight people above his realm and unlike Nux, he is not a Body and Mana Cultivator.
That means he only manages to defeat opponents stronger than him based on his skills and that, is not common in Yrniel.
In Yrniel, unless one cultivates both Body and Mana, there is barely anyone who can surpass the boundary of his Cultivation Realm and defeat someone at a stronger Stage.
Even Thyra, who could kill Experts when she was Grand Master Stage Cultivator was thought of as a big deal, and those Stages aren't even considered real stages.
The power leap that a being experiences when one jumps from Semi Saint to Saint Stage is enormous.
The fact that Lazarus has achieved something like this makes him special. That is also the reason why Orpheus is so proud of his son.
He has achieved something that even Orpheus hadn't achieved, after all.
However, the fact that Lazarus was here…
Nux didn't like that.
From what he can tell, Melia and Lazarus don't have a good relationship, it is clear since Melia is planning to create a clan just so she does not have to listen to her brother's orders. It doesn't take a genius to guess what kind of relationship the two of them have.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Evane grabbed Nux's hand. Nux glanced at his wife and noticed that she was looking at Lazarus with a strange expression on her face.
'Ahh…'
Nux realized it.
A brother fighting his sister for the Throne, who else but Evane could understand it better? She has gone through the same thing after all.
This incident must have dug up all the memories Evane had buried inside her heart after so much effort.
'Don't worry, nothing will happen.'
Nux comforted Evane.
However, instead of calming down, Evane tightened her grip. Nux frowned, Evane pointed in front of him with a tense expression, Nux turned around and noticed at Lazarus had raised his hand.
'He is trying something here?' Nux frowned.
6 people were hiding in the darkness, keeping their eyes on them. How could Lazaru-
Suddenly, Nux and his wives' expressions changed.
Lazarus's hand appeared on top of Melia's head and then…
He started ruffling her hair,
"Tsk Tsk, why are you so cold to your brother even though we are in front of our guests."
Lazarus laughed.
"I am not cold, you know that is how I act."
"Yes Yes, I know, you take it from father. But can you at least show your brother a smile every now and then? I am even willing to give up my position as an heir in exchange. I not asking for much. 1 smile a week- no, a day will do."
Melia just glanced at Lazarus and didn't say anything.
"A week isn't too bad either…"
"…"
"A-A month?"
"…"
"I-I can't go further than this you know… how can you be so heartless…"
"Brother, you know you are the best one suited for the position, don't try to give it away like that. Father will not like it."
Melia spoke.
"You are going to leave if I don't, aren't you?"
"I want to create a clan."
"But why?"
"Because I want power."
"You can have it here."
"I want to earn everything on my own."
"You would be doing that here."
"That is not the same and you know it," Melia replied with her usual, expressionless face.
"Tsk, you were much cuter when you were just a child. I still remember how you came running to me when you broke your canine." Lazarus snorted.
Melia's expressionless face turned a little red when Lazarus mentioned that,
"You said you would forget about it."
"Of course not. There is no way I would forget my adorable Mel. You are just someone who has possessed her now."
"That is nonsense."
"I will prove it, you demon. Then I will get my Mel back. Just you wait."
"Haah…"
Melia sighed.
Lazarus glanced at Melia and he sighed as well,
"At least give me a hug?"
He requested.
In the end, Melia finally gave in and placed her head on Lazarus's chest.
A big smile appeared on Lazarus's face as he hugged his little sister. He placed his chin on her head and started ruffling her hair again.
A small smile appeared on Melia's face as well.
The two siblings hugged then soon, Melia pushed Lazarus away. Lazarus pouted, but then, he just sighed and glanced at Nux and narrowed his eyes.
"So? He is the human you challenged? Why don't you introduce him to me?"
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