"So? He is the human you challenged? Why don't you introduce him to me?" Lazarus spoke as he glanced at Nux. Melia then glanced at Nux and spoke, "Nux, this is my brother and the future heir of the Bloodheart House, Lazarus Bloodheart. Brother, he is Nux Leander." Then, with a small smile on her face, Melia continued, "The future member of my clan." Lazarus glanced at Nux and extended his hand for a handshake, Nux accepted. The two men nodded at each other and Melia continued, "And these women are his wives." "I have to say, you are quite lucky to have so many beautiful women around you," Lazarus spoke. "That, I agree with." Nux smiled. "She seems to be in some sort of trouble though, is everything okay? If you are facing any troubles here, you can share them with me, I will make sure everything is taken care of." Lazarus glanced at Evane as he spoke. "I-I am fine." Evane nodded. Lazarus narrowed his eyes as he started observing Evane, "Are you sure?" He questioned in a gentle tone. "Yes. I am." "Alright then," Lazarus nodded and then stopped pursuing the matter any further. "Anyways, I do not know why my Sister is going so far to recruit an Emperor Stage Cultivator, however, since she has chosen you, I am sure there is something special about you. I am looking forward to how you will work with her in the future." Lazarus spoke up as he glanced at Nux. "I am looking forward to working with her as well. I needed competent people around me, after all." Nux smiled. Hearing those words, Lazarus narrowed his eyes, Nux's words seemed polite, however, Lazarus knew that it was a statement. This human was actually thinking about defeating his sister, a Great Sage. "Look, I know the conditions of your duel must be fair and that Melia is holding back a lot, however, I would still advise you not to underestimate her. This little devil is quite cunning, even I fall for her tricks sometimes." Lazarus spoke. "Mhm, she is indeed holding back quite a lot. The conditions of the Duel are quite fair. I am sure anyone who hears about them would be in awe and disbelief." Nux glanced at Melia and smiled playfully. "Of course, the problem is, nobody is going to read or hear about these conditions because Lord Orpheus himself is overseeing this duel and everything will be arranged under his management." "Trying to keep secrets from the start, I see." Lazarus glanced at Melia and chuckled. Melia, however, was busy looking at Nux. She could tell that those words were all sarcastic. This bastard was indirectly making fun of her. Melia was already clenching her fists in frustration and annoyance. "Anyways, it is good that you are serious about your clan, I hope you achieve what you want and make our Bloodheart House proud. I still have some matters to attend to, so I will be taking my leave now." Lazarus spoke as he was about to walk away, however, before he did, he glanced at Evane once again and spoke, "As I said before, if anything troubles you during your stay here, you can discuss it with me, or Melia, we will make sure that your stay here is comfortable." Evane smiled as she glanced at Lazarus and nodded, "I am completely fine, Lord Lazarus." Lazarus smiled back, nodded, and then, he walked away. "All the best to your duel, I hope the best wins." The moment Lazarus walked away, Melia started walking away as well, then 2 minutes later, "You should be careful Lazarus." "Hmm? What do you mean?" Nux frowned. From the way the two of them interacted with each other, it didn't look like they had a bad relationship with each other. Was that all really just an act? Nux found that hard to believe. Melia's expression when she was hugged by Lazarus seemed genuine. Even Amaya seemed confused. "What is the relation between you and your brother?" Amaya questioned directly. "Hmm? Where did that come from?" "You told us to be wary of him." "You should be." Melia nodded. "Does that mean the relationship between the two of you is not good?" Evane frowned. "Ahh." Melia finally realized. "No, that's not it. As you have just seen, I have no enmity with my brother. He is someone who will willingly give his life for me, I can't even imagine fighting against him. He… he is one of the few people who I care about, after all." Others may think that we two would fight each other for the position of the Heir, however, the truth is, the future heir is already decided, I will not compete with my brother. Even if I wanted to compete, father wouldn't allow it. The Bloodheart Family does not allow any internal struggles related to power. That is the reason why we stand strong even after all these centuries." Melia spoke with a proud look on her face. "Then why are you warning us about him?" Evane couldn't understand. "You genuinely love your wives with all your heart," Melia commented as she glanced at Nux. "Of course, I do," Nux replied almost instantaneously. "Lazarus has this strange charm that seems to attract women. I suggest you keep your wives away from him." "Are you saying he will try to woo us?" Amaya narrowed her eyes in disgust. Hearing those words, Melia couldn't help but smile, "That's not it. My brother does not 'woo' anyone, he only has eyes for his 3 wives, other than them, he practically ignores all the women he doesn't know, however, for some reason, the women seemed to be attracted to him. I just do not want my future clan members having relationship issues, you would need to focus on far more important things than that and I can't have you be distracted." "So you saying that we will be attracted to him and might leave Nux?" Amaya questioned with a playful smile on her face. "Please do not be offended, I am merely speaking from past experience. My brother has already ruined around 300 relationships and he doesn't even know it. He may not know it, but there are many male vampires who treat him as his sworn enemy. Of course, none of them actually matters, since even if they combine their strength, they wouldn't even get close to me, let alone my brother." Melia replied, her expression seemed neutral as usual, however, Nux could sense that little pride she was trying to hide. This woman, she may not show it, but she loved her brother. If only she could actually say those words in front of her brother, that man would die of happiness. Thinking about that, Nux couldn't help but chuckle. These two families he met, the Lust State's Royal Family and the Bloodheart House, he had to say, the bond these families shared with each other, it was honestly surprising. Nux felt these races knew a lot more about relationships than the humans. Amaya, on the other, was thinking about an entirely different thing, she turned towards Nux and chuckled, "Keep that in mind, Nux. Don't let us go near Lord Lazarus, we might fall for him, okay? You need to protect your wives." Hearing her words, Nux couldn't help but shake his head as he chuckled. "Alright alright, I cannot lose you guys. So you better not go near him, alright?" "Mhm, there are a few things we need from you before we agree." "So you are going to blackmail me now?" "Hehe~" Nux sighed again. Melia, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes as she commented. "It looks like you are treating it as a joke." "…" Nux didn't reply and just continued to smile as they walked. "Well, it is a good thing. I hope your trust stays the same in the future as well." Melia spoke as she glanced at Evane momentarily. "Mhm, don't worry, it will. We appreciate your warning though, we will be careful." Nux replied with a smile. Melia nodded, "Anyways, with the contract signed, you are free now. I have already prepared your rooms, you can go and rest there. After that, you are free to explore the Blood Kingdom, or train indoors in your rooms, I do not mind." "We will be exploring the Kingdom. I am quite curious about many things I saw here." "Then I will arrange a few guards who would keep an eye on you." "That is no-" "No, you are the responsibility of the Bloodheart House now, I cannot leave you unprotected." Melia didn't even give Nux a chance to retort. "Alright." Nux agreed. Then after showing them their rooms, Melia allowed Nux and his wives to leave. Nux and his wives explored the town and rested for the next few days, and just like that, A week passed by. It was time for the Duel.