While Hal had never filled him on the deeper details of his other squads I.e the Emissaries and the Blood Knights, Marlon could not for the life of him reason as to why Olivia would want to be a part of the Blood Knights.

Could she have been seduced by Hal's looks?

But that would mean she was already quite prepared to surrender her life to him despite only meeting him once.

Olivia heard the sound of his knees hitting the ground and she turned towards him and sighed;

She had not really expected him to react this way.

And the worst part was he had not even been told of what being a Blood Knight entailed.

Fighting beside the Blood Knights against the Plebeian forces had caused Olivia to rethink the path her life had been moving on.

She had never been so incredibly talented but she had always been hardworking.

Like every Female or at the very least, 90 percent of the females in Salmon city, she dreamed of becoming an expert of her own, but all that was kept locked away once she was married to Marlon.

Hell, even though she had known of his infatuation with another woman, she had not called him out for it.

Once the Plebeians had retreated all thanks to one young man, she began to think of taking her life in a different direction altogether.

Maybe it was finally time she dedicated her life to the quest of becoming an expert and in such a vulnerable moment when almost anything could have an impact on her newfound resolution -due to it being open to outside interference- she looked up at the female Blood Knight that was with her and noted they had been part of the Edgar family force before their eyes underwent the change.

So she grabbed the Blood Knight's hand to hold her as she moved to assemble with her fellow Knights,

"How do I become one of you?" Olivia asked, going straight to the point.

The Blood Knight eyed her with her Blood Red eyes and brushed her hair back.

"Excuse me?" She asked. It was not that she had not heard, she just did not expect Olivia to be so courageous as to hold her arm and ask such a thing.

The Blood Knight knew her Blood Red eyes could be quite intimidating.

Olivia did not take offense. The fact that the Blood Knight who she now found herself placing on a pedestal, replied to her was more than enough to encourage her and she asked again.

This time the Blood Knight smiled at her and stretched her hand to Olivia for a handshake,

"I'm Lila"

Olivia took the hand and shook it,

"I'm..." She started but Lila interrupted with a smile,

"I know who you are, Olivia Edgar nee Allan. It is not my place to make you a Blood Knight. That is something only our Master can do." She said and pointed to Hal who at that time had exited the side of the castle and was returning to where his ladies were.

"Him?" She said with more surprise than she had intended.

Lila raised her eyebrow and Olivia clarified,

"He's awful young" she said.

While Hal could surely be referred to as perfect, he was only a teenager. However, even as she said this, she thought back to how Hal had sent the Plebeians into retreat with his Array which no one knew when he had drawn.

He now seemed to fit the profile.

Lila saw that she was finally coming to a reasonable conclusion so she said nothing further about her disbelief.

Then Edvard and Karon challenged Hal and Olivia watched firsthand as this 'Teenager' held off a Great family head and the Mayor's right-hand man before he showcased a hybrid of abilities and beat the two senseless.

Once he had done so, they no longer had it in them to revolt.

Those of importance followed him into the Edgar Hall and she bore more witness to how impressive Hal was.

Of all those that ended up being Blood Knights, only Karmen and three others joined the conference and Olivia sat next to her so that once it was over she could inquire further about how to become a Blood Knight.

An interest that was now growing even more within her.

Hal and his ladies left and soon, everyone began to disperse. It was clear that they were not ready to think of more battles at that time.

For fear that Karmen would leave soon as well, Olivia turned to her but before she could say a word, Karmen was already addressing her,

"So you wish to become a Blood Knight? Why?" She asked.

Olivia swallowed,

"Well, I want to be strong and from what I have seen today, you Blood Knights have a good grasp on that" Olivia said. It would be a lie if she said she was not extremely nervous at that moment.

Karmen chuckled,

"You can become strong on your own" She said it as though she were pointing out a fact but the truth was that Karmen did not believe anyone could guarantee the level of success Hal did.

Olivia sighed,

"There just seems to be a limit someone can reach in this city. I mean, Hector could never get past the Cosmic Phenomenon Realm"

"So you wish to ride my Master's coattails?" Karmen asked with a smirk.

"Is there a problem with that?"

"Not at all" Karmen shook her head.

Olivia allowed herself a smile and seeing it, Karmen could not help but shake her head at the lady's naivete, so she decided to educate her,

"You can become a Blood Knight but you will have to give some things up" she told her.

Olivia perked up,

"Like what?" She asked.

"Everything. To become a Blood Knight, you surrender your very being to the Master and you will have no life outside of him" Karmen told her.

"I don't follow" Olivia said with a bit of confusion.

Karmen smiled,

"Every Female who becomes a Blood Knight becomes the Master's sole property. Take it how you will, but you will only be his and his alone.

You are not allowed to have sexual relations with any other man."

Olivia's eyes widened,

"That's selfish and perverted"

Karen burst into laughter,

"Oh my goodness. Dear, you have just summed up Hal Payne. When it comes to women, he is incredibly selfish and very perverted.

Then again, you have a choice, or at least you do at the moment. However, once you become a Blood Knight, your whole existence will be dedicated to him.

In fact, it's not just his Blood Knights, it's every female who is contracted into his service" Karmen said.

"Contracted?" Olivia repeated the word.

This was getting weirder.

Karmen smiled compassionately,

"My advice to you Olivia, go back to your husband. Try moving out of this city if you have to.

Find other means to become stronger because becoming a Blood Knight or a member of Hal's Payne's forces is a journey of no return"

Olivia eyed Karmen,

"Shouldn't you be trying your hardest to recruit me?" She asked.

Karmen chuckled,

"My Master did not task me with recruitment. That is a duty that is his and his alone. At least for now.

I was a Slave. My destiny was to be sold and whatever happened to me there would have been my lot.

While details of Edvard Krast's life might have been exaggerated a bit by the public, I have still seen firsthand how his female slaves have no choice but to please him. My reputation as being a Combatant and being wild is probably what made him view me more as a trusty right-hand than a fuck buddy.

Hal Payne offered me a choice. I did not have anywhere else to go and I could not possibly have resisted had he used force but he still offered me a choice.

So, sweetie, I eagerly await the day I am allowed to please him in bed and for that purpose, I would rather he recruit Men and not women. So as to stave off competition and whatnot."

Karmen then stood from her seat to return to Krast Estate where she was still being stationed,

Olivia watched her leave and smiled to herself.

Karmen was probably right and she should return to her husband and find other means to become stronger. Or maybe give up on the thought of growing stronger completely but she felt a pull towards becoming a Blood Knight.

Or maybe it had now become a pull towards Hal Payne.

Whatever it was, it made her feel like her moment with Marlon was at a close...

...and as she told Marlon, who was now sitting on their bed, what becoming a Blood Knight would entail, the Edgar scion vowed he would convince her otherwise and would not allow her to make this life-altering decision. HIS life-altering decision to be more exact.

If he would succeed is only to be seen.

...

The Next Day,

The Plebeian alliance head, San Fidwud received a letter of declaration of war but when he opened it, he was quite surprised to find that it was not just from the Edgars as he had expected but from all the Great families who seemed to have now returned to a time when they worked in cooperation.

He found it a little ironic;

The Plebeians had been brought together by their Master and now the Great families were rallying together most likely due to Malevolent One who must have sunk his claws into more than just the Edgars and the Paynes.

Yes, San finally accepted what he had denied all this while; Hal Payne was the Malevolent One.

And with it came the realization that he had been thwarted multiple times by a youth no older than his Son.