"For Father, it would be nothing different than the Battle of Heirs, a Battle where I lost, And he wouldn't pursue the matter for the sake of the loser." Rune spoke. And seeing her calmness as she talked about her own death, Nux was taken aback. "A-Aren't you a little too calm about this?" He questioned. "How do you want me to react?" Rune tilted her head in confusion. "I mean… I don't know… be angry, or nervous or maybe be scared Just… just don't act all calm like this. It is creeping me out, I mean, we are talking about an assassination bounty placed on your head. You can die." Nux voiced out his thoughts. "Anger, Nervousness, or Fear only takes away your ability to think, it doesn't do you any good. People often fear death, but honestly, death isn't as scary as it looks. And ironically, once you understand this fact, you tend to avoid death even more. The worse here that can happen is I die. That is it. What's the big deal? What's next? Who knows? I might reincarnate and live a better life than my current one. Or maybe I am allowed to have endless rest. The possibilities are endless, but since we don't know what comes after death, fearing it is pointless." Rune answered and seeing that calmness, Nux and the others were surprised. Even Melia, who doesn't show many expressions on her face looked taken aback. "Wait… you changed the topic again and still didn't answer the question we have been asking from the start, You know all this, you know your brother is coming after your life and your husband who you trusted the most is involved in it, then why did you contact us, why not choose a stronger clan and seek their protection?" Allura questioned with a frown on her face. This time, however, instead of Rune, the one who answered was Melia. "Protection is different from Assassination. Protecting someone when an enemy is in the dark is quite difficult and in her case, where the enemy is most likely a few Peak Saints, protection is even harder. The Enemy is in the dark and can be attacked whenever they want. They would never attack while Rune is on alert, they would simply lurk. Seeking protection is not a practical solution, Rune needs to find a way to get in a better solution. She needs a way to turn the situation around. However, the moment the other clans learn that it is a battle between heirs, they wouldn't easily step in due to various political reasons and unwritten rules between different Divine Stage Cultivators. Even revealing everything to her father and seeking his protection would not be possible since she would need proof which she wouldn't be able to gather, her father wouldn't actively help her in a 'Battle of Heirs' either. She doesn't have a choice. High-Level Clans wouldn't get involved, the only option she was left with was choosing a clan with peculiar abilities like ours. We are her only hope. Hope that we would not only save her, but would also help her turn the situation around and make her the successor of Feline Cat City. Isn't that right?" Melia spoke as she glanced at Rune. Rune nodded her head in agreement. Allura, however, had another question, "You said due to some unwritten rules between Divine Stage Cultivators, the high-level Clans wouldn't accept Rune's request, then why would high-level Assassination Halls accept Felix's request? Is that the reason why they chose Shadow of Silence instead of any better Assassination Halls?" "No, I am positive that Shadow of Silence is nothing but Scapegoat." Rune shook her head. ·?θm "Right, and as I said before, Assassination and Protection are different, to protect Rune, a Clan needs to stay with her all the time and help her turn the situation around by involving itself in a political situation, Assassination on the other hand, is a one time job, the two of them are very different." Melia spoke up as well. Hearing her words, Rune nodded, "That is correct, Assassination still has some room for going around the 'unwritten rules', but Protection does not." "…" Allura turned silent. "Things finally make some sense now, though it is still a mess." Nux commented. "Then, what are we going to do now?" Melia questioned as she glanced at Rune. "I request ExceedoGenesis's help in this matter." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖 Rune glanced at Melia and requested. In her eyes, Melia's value seemed higher than Nux's. Nux didn't really mind, however, Melia didn't say anything and looked in his direction. Rune understood her message, she simply glanced at Nux and, "I seek ExceedoGenesis's Protection." Nux momentarily glanced at Melia, then, he smiled inwardly and, "Well, protecting you is not exactly difficult. You just have to stay in this place and even the best Assassins or Information Halls wouldn't be able to find you." Nux spoke. "…" Rune glanced at Nux. His confidence was honestly out of this world. She could not believe that the words of an Emperor reassured her heart. "However, That wouldn't be a solution, would it? You cannot Cultivate here, you cannot recklessly use Mana here, and there are a few other restrictions as well, but even if these restrictions do not bother you, you wouldn't really want to stay in this place, cut off from the rest of the world, do you?" Nux questioned. "I do not." Rune shook her head. "So you don't really want 'protection' from us, do you?" "…I need your help to turn my situation around and make me the successor." "You know the price for that would not be low, right?" "What do you want?" Rune questioned. "Tower of Trials." Nux looked into Rune's eyes and, "Once you become the successor, I want you to open up the Tower of Trials of your Beastmen City for one of my Clan Members." "That can be done, the Tower of Trial will be opened in 103 years, so if I become the successor before that, you ca-" "100 years is too long. I plan to make you a successor within a year at most. I want you to open the Trails a month after you become the Successor." "You… You want me to change the date for the Trials…" Rune realized. "That is correct."