Divine Emperor of Death

As Nora left angrily, Dalila Leehan remained dumbstruck in her tent. 

She did not know what to do anymore. Were the previous thoughts that told her to just forget about the whole matter… wrong? 

'Ah… why did I say this to her…? If I had just kept my mouth shut...'

The bottled emotions swelled within her heart, not allowing her to think clearly. All she could think about was his staunch figure that overlooked everyone else. He didn't seem to give a damn about anyone else back then when he joined the Alchemy Competition back then and neither now, skipping the competition while letting his family enjoy here like a little emperor.

Even before he became all-known and almost unbeatable, she had fallen in love with him, but knowing that she was unworthy then and even now, she didn't dare to take a step forward, bottling up the emotions in her heart.

Her heart shook in yearning, but she bit her lips and slowly calmed down.

'Nora is just being Nora… I'm not as forceful or brave as her… I should just...'

Thoughts of giving up on this competition became prevalent in her mind. However, she just sat down on the bed and began meditating. However, she couldn't concentrate. In the end, she just laid her head down and slept, not wanting to think about anything; not the life that would change if she became married to Young Master Faus of the Glorious Pill Palace or the life that would be lonely if she ever got out of this mess because she couldn't see herself with him.

On the other end, Nora rushed back to the tent she shared with her husband and first sister, explaining her friend's plight to them.

"Nora, what are you suggesting?"

Claire blinked.

"I'm not suggesting anything." Nora's brows raised, "Claire, after you disappeared in the Forsaken Phoenix Realm's Secret Entrance, I had no one else I thought of a friend until I met Dalila. I'll do anything you ask of me, and all I want to do is to save her from her plight."

"This Dalila…" Claire pursed her lips, "She doesn't have feelings for my son, right?"

"…"

"Sigh, I thought so. Nora, it's possible that she's just using you."

"Claire, she's not like that." Nora shook her head, not knowing how to explain before she looked for help, "Husband, say something..."

Logan appeared taken aback. Why was he being pulled into this? Nevertheless, since he was asked, he could not stay silent.

"Getting her out of this wouldn't be a problem to my prodigal son."

"However, Claire's just worried that her son would become debaucherous and lose his way at this rate. As ancient sayings go, a powerful man's honor is either lifted or brought down by the people surrounding him, especially women, leading him to devolve into a path of destruction if the latter happens. In this case, if your Dalila Leehan is just using you, then she clearly should not be helped as it might go down in a similar way."

"You two…" Nora looked pale before she lowered her head.

"I understand that my words don't have any weight behind them. In the end, I'm not even the second but the eighth, after all."

*Whoosh!~*

Claire's hand suddenly moved in an arc. However, just before she could hit Nora's cheek, it stopped right beside her face.

"Nora, if you utter another word like that, I'll slap you to death."

Claire uttered as she clenched her teeth while Nora's eyes were closed as she trembled. She slowly opened her eyes, her eyes looking misty as though she was going to cry.

"I can… vouch for Dalila. If she's like you two said, then you can kill me..."

"Stupid and stubborn. Ah! Whatever… You didn't even have to mention this to us. Just go straight to our son and ask him when he arrives. That's all you had to do as I'm sure that he would not decline such an easy task if it's just a matter of resources..."

Claire looked annoyed but felt immensely bad to raise her hand against her sworn sister.

"I won't. I'm not that shameless. I must receive your permission first no matter what..."

Nora uttered with narrowed eyes, causing the both of them to be astonished, even moved.

"More than anything, I don't want husband to think that I have something going on with him like everyone else outside doubts..."

Nora lowered her head while Claire narrowed her eyes.

"Nora, those are bad rumors spread by jealous people who didn't know what was happening when my son captured you. I already told you don't have to pay heed to them..."

"I know, but still..."

"Ahaha." Logan couldn't help but laugh, "Nora, although my son's a womanizer, he's not like me and more picky. I know for a fact that he wouldn't look towards married women or mothers in a sexual or romantic way because he wants his women to be exclusive to him from the past to the present. Even if you stay with him for many years, I'm assured that he would protect you instead of placing a hand on you."

Nora's mouth became agape.

"How can you say that with such conviction?"

Logan looked up and recalled that his son was already a reincarnated individual but didn't withhold the information, kill him and take Claire or his other wives but instead respected them, always maintaining a respectful distance, but he couldn't say that, right?

"Well, look at the women he chose so far, and none of them have a dubious past as far as we could tell… However, if it's a woman like Dalila who's still a maiden, I'm not sure that she would stay safe from him regardless of her intentions, not that I care since the more women he touches, the more my Loret Family grows powerful, rising from the ashes! Ahaha!"

"Logan, you scoundrel!"

Claire kicked him in the leg, blushing while causing him to laugh more. Nora looked similarly embarrassed but happy that this family was so close to being capable of believing in each other instead of having internal conflicts. 

She had heard Emperors and Crown Princes always fought over the women in the imperial harem during succession or a coup, and at certain times, the women would have had both the Emperor and the succeeding Crown Prince as their partners, especially when the Emperor died and the Crown Prince succeeded the throne, so she was doubtful if Logan would think that way if she were to ever be close with Davis, but it seems it was not the case here. 

It was not a place full of fear, paranoia, murder, betrayal, and treachery from the tales she had heard and was more like a normal monogamous family instead, like the Alstreim Family's typical family structure, but even better than it as they actually knew how to communicate instead of giving the cold shoulder if they felt offended.

No matter how many times she remained stubborn or obstinate, there was no cold palace but only two or more people seeing eye to eye, resolving their problems as soon as it popped into question.

Nora genuinely relaxed, feeling that she didn't need such twisted succession rights to status either as she was happier where she stayed, having Laura from their union.

Whatever she had seen these days of peace and growth while living along with them had led to her believe that her child would grow safely without any internal conflicts endangering her.

"So, it's alright if my Dalila became his, right...?'

"..."

"That... you better ask him..."

========

"!!!"

In a tomb-like structure, a purple-robed man shook while being seated, seemingly being woken out of his reverie because he felt a chill searing through his spine.

"Are people talking shit about me…? No, this feeling..."

He zoomed out of the tomb and saw tribulations cloud forming in the skies, causing him to realize that it was a heavenly tribulation.

As for whom the heavenly tribulation came for, he looked down and saw a black Lightning Elemental crackling with intensity, seemingly ready to receive the tribulation strikes of heavenly lightning!

'Eldia, the time has finally come for you to transform into a spirit or continue as a Lightning Elemental...'

Davis's lips couldn't help but turn into a grin as he eagerly expected to see what kind of decision she would take and transform!