*Flap* *Flap* *Flap*
A bat flapped its wing as it entered the window of a lavish room. The room was dimly lit, the furniture of the room looked antique and classy, carpet on the floor, red curtains near the window, different paintings hung on the wall, and a King size bed with white bedsheets and red velvet blanket.
In this dimly lit room, sat a woman on a chair with a glass of red wine in her hands.
"What did you find out?"
The woman questioned, since the room was dimly lit, her face wasn't visible, however, from her calm voice, one could see that she was a woman who was confident and is aiming to achieve more in her life.
The bat that entered the room transformed into a humanoid figure kneeling on the ground.
It was Cassius.
"My Lady."
He greeted.
"…"
The woman just sipped on the red 'wine', waiting for her question to be answered.
"He says that he needs time."
Cassius replied.
"Time?"
The woman's tone didn't change much, however, she did sound a little confused.
"Yes, he says that he is worried about his wives, and will not enter until you guarantee his safety."
"And how am I supposed to do that?"
"He wants you to write a letter that says that you ensure his safety, and he wants that letter to contain the Bloodheart Family's emblem and your signatures," Cassius reported Nux's condition.
"That is quite bold of him."
The woman replied, again, there was no particular change in her tone.
"It is indeed."
Cassius nodded.
"What if we still kill him and his wives after sending the letter?"
The woman questioned in a slightly amused tone.
"I did not ask that question, however, if I were to answer guess his answer, then he would say,
'The mighty Bloodheart Duke House got back on their words in order to kill me and my wives, I guess as mere Emperors, we should be proud'."
"You seem to like him."
The woman questioned.
"I am impressed by him, yes."
Cassius didn't hide.
"He seems like an uncaged Lion."
The woman commented.
Then, she stands up and walked towards the window where Cassius came from,
"Exactly the one I want for this."
"Controlling him would be difficult," Cassius muttered.
"Hmmm. I am up for a challenge."
"No, actually, it may not be that difficult either."
Suddenly, Cassius's expression changed.
"He seems to care about his wives a lot."
A smile appeared on Cassius's face as he suggested that.
"Cassius.
How long have you been working for me?"
"It has been 226 years, Lady Melia."
"Then how could you even assume something like that?"
The woman questioned.
"..."
"I told you before, did I not?
I do not want subordinates,
I need a team.
I need people who are willing to challenge my orders and present better ideas, and if I use force to achieve that, I would only end up creating more enemies.
I do not have to 'control' him.
I just need to convince him.
Also, keep this in your mind,
Those wives of his are not his weakness, they must be his strength.
You touch them and you wouldn't even know what hit you. You might even get into a position where even I might not be able to save you."
"Lady Melia talks like she knows this Human personally," Cassius commented.
"No, I do not know him.
However, I do hope that this Human is exactly like how I imagine him to be."
The woman smiled.
"Alright, Cassius, you can leave, I need to talk to father."
Cassius's expression changed,
"Are you really going to give him what he wants?"
"I am."
"Lady Melia, he is asking for a Marked Letter! He might not even know what that even means! Lady Melia, trust me, he only wishes to ensure his and his wives' safety, there are other ways to do that."
"There are, yes. However, this is the most authentic one."
"But you can't just use Marked Letters like that!"
"And since when did you have the authority to decide that?"
"I-I apologize. I overstepped my limits."
"Make sure that this is not repeated."
Melia spoke as she started walking towards the door.
Cassius kept his head down, once Melia was near the door, she turned around and spoke,
"You did well. You can rest for the next 2 days, you need to deliver the letter to that human after that."
"As you command, Lady Melia."
Cassius bowed his head again.
Melia nodded, then, she left.
The moment she left, another person appeared inside the room behind Cassius,
"For her to act like that for a Human she never met before,
She is getting desperate."
The man commented.
"You think so?"
Cassius questioned.
"You don't?"
The man questioned back.
"I am scared."
"Scared that Lady Melia would be disappointed?"
"No, scared that she has finally found her match." Cassius smiled wryly.
"Huh?"
The man's expression changed.
"What do you mean?"
He questioned, his tone was definitely different than the calm and unbothered one before.
"I have been keeping an eye on that man for the past 3 months," Cassius muttered.
"And what did you find?" The man questioned, his tone was rushed, he was having a hard time holding back.
Cassius on the other hand, had a strange expression on his face.
'Do not trust what your eyes saw.'
Nux's words rang in his mind and a wry smile appeared on his face.
"Nothing."
He replied.
"You found nothing?"
The man seemed shocked.
"Mhm."
"And why did you not report this?"
"That's the problem.
I only realized this a few hours ago."
"What do you mean?"
"For the past 3 months, I thought I was keeping an eye on that man and his wives, I felt like I knew every single thing about them, but today, when I finally interacted with him,
I felt… inferior…
That man noticed my presence 3 months ago."
"That is not possible, you said he is only an Emperor."
"An Emperor who can kill 8 Star Beasts."
"…"
The man turned silent.
"As I said,
That man is not simple.
Lady Melia found her match,
And… I am scared that…
She might lose this one."