Eloquent, graceful, passionate—Evelyn''s words danced and soothed the ears.

    Enhanced by her presence, her words contained the essence of persuasion that could touch the hearts of the onlookers. She had prepared to sway the Scarlet Banes Kingdom with her words, though in her mind the opposing side would be here to listen, but this wasn''t a bad thing.

    She adapted to the situation flawlessly.

    In order to persuade the masses, there needs to be a strong emotion involved.

    Inciting that strong emotion wasn''t something that a certain individual could do, everyone could.

    All a person needed to do was wait for the timing to be perfect.

    Compared to instilling strong emotion through words, it''s best to wait for the situation itself to incite that strong emotion before the persuasion begins. Evelyn learned this from her father, the Luc Family''s head, who also employed this method in his political career.

    At this moment, Vorlak managed to incite that strong emotion to the mass.

    Feeling betrayed by Prince Alaric, unbridled anger rose and his passion spread to the masses like wildfire.

    Evelyn swept in at the exact time when the emotion was at its highest.

    Her goal was simple.

    If she could change the moment''s strongest emotion, persuasion would become easy.

    "Naturally," Evelyn pivoted her torso, gesturing towards Rex—who remained silent behind her. "It was the same for the Royal Black Prince. He may not appear true to what he was feeling inside, but I can assure you that he would also feel fulfilled and pleased if the Scarlet Banes Kingdom accepted—and become an ally of the empire"

    "Don''t speak for me, Evelyn," Rex''s clone suddenly refuted, crossing his arms.

    But at the same time, Evelyn''s eyes glowed violet—casting a sharp glance at Rex''s clone.

    Upon seeing this, Rex''s clone exhaled sharply and averted his gaze away.

    As she did that, Evelyn scanned the crowd again and saw that some of them were still hesitating, unsure as to what the best possible choice for the kingdom would be. Expecting this much, Evelyn approached Vorlak—her footsteps pierced the silence.

    Evelyn stood in front of Vorlak, a few inches away, and looked up at him.

    Her pearly eyes bore into Vorlak''s eyes causing him to feel mesmerized and uneasy at the same time.

    Despite Vorlak towering over Evelyn, from the onlookers'' point of view—the air leaned toward Evelyn.

    She was dominating the moment, her presence swallowing over Vorlak.

    "Answer me, Lord Vorlak—why do you not want to be associated with the Royal Black Prince?"

    "Everyone knows the answer to that"

    "Yes, but I want to hear you say it out loud so there''s no misunderstanding"

    "It''s because the Royal Black Prince is not us, he''s a false Werewolf tainted with the blood of Humans"

    A faint smile crept to Evelyn''s face when she heard Vorlak''s answer.

    "I see..." She mumbled, placing a hand on Vorlak''s arm. "You''re still blinded by hatred, Lord Vorlak"

    "What?" Vorlak questioned, tilting his head menacingly.

    Evelyn ignored the hostile gesture, her graceful smile never left her lips, "From the start, the ones who wronged you and the other Werewolves here are not present Humans but Ancient Humans. And yet, you still view the Royal Black Prince with malice as if he was the one who decimated your race. It is not him. Is your view too narrow to not see that?"

    "Don''t lecture me," Vorlak snorted. "No matter what, the Royal Black Prince is not a part of us"

    "He harnessed moonlight energy like a Werewolf, he grows stronger along with the anger inside of him like a Werewolf would, he is influenced by the full moons like a Werewolf," Evelyn pressed further. "And he was even accepted by the Lunirich Gods as a Werewolf. Are you saying the Lunirich Gods are wrong?"

    "Ridiculous!" Vorlak turned away, looking at the onlookers. "We all know how he obtained—his King Mark. He forcefully took it from the Blood Moon God and his second King Mark was from a banished Goddess! How could you say he was accepted by the Lunirich Gods when in reality, he was rejected!"

    Vorlak spread his arms and flexed his muscles, laughing.

    "If you can''t trust the Royal Black Prince, you can trust me" She added.

    At that moment, Vorlak''s eyes caught sight of the earring she was wearing—the pendant was so familiar that it felt like he had seen it somewhere. In the next moment, he recognized the earring and the mood around him shifted instantly.

    Exhaling roughly, Vorlak found the strength to nod his head, "I''ll... I''ll stand by Prince Alaric"

    Almost instantly, Evelyn''s eyes brightened.

    Like a domino effect, the other Alpha Primes who were listening from the mesa or those who already came down along with Vorlak vowed to stand by Prince Alaric''s decision. All of them agreed to help Prince Alaric to convince or perhaps even fight the opposing side.

    Since the Silverstar Pack has shown its sincerity, things might change.

    Unlike the Ancient Era, perhaps, the Silverstar Pack actually wanted to side with them.

    "I appreciate your help, Lord Vorlak," Evelyn cast another smile before turning to Prince Alaric.

    Prince Alaric nodded his head before he turned to Rex on the side.

    His gaze was asking permission from Rex to speak of their next move, and Rex gave the green light for him as he turned to the crowd, "Princess Selene and the others made their choice, they wanted to shun us as traitors when we''re simply aspiring for the best outcome"

    As he said that, the Werewolves around began growling—their spirits lifted.

    "However," Prince Alaric raised a hand. "Despite the provocation, we will not go to war. I''m sure with Empress Evelyn, the Silverstar Pack''s Luna, we can persuade the rest of the Alpha Primes and corner those who were behind this rebellion. She will succeed as she succeeded at swaying our hearts"

    Growl!

    Roar!!

    Responding passionately, the Werewolves howled and growled—displaying their support clearly.

    Anger, the strongest emotion that was present earlier has changed.

    It turned into hope and Evelyn was the one who managed to make that change.

    "You did it!" Gistella cheered from the side, hugging Evelyn while the crowd growled—and howled louder, expressing their approval of Evelyn. "I was worried that the situation might turn for the worse, but you managed to turn it around. If this goes on, what Rex wanted will come true!"

    "Yes," Evelyn smiled, emotional inside. "He went through enough. We''ll help him achieve his goal"

    ...

    Dargena City, the day of the departure.

    "I have heard from Amanir," Rex said, his voice deep and commanding, his chin resting on his fist. He looked at Linthia, the third captain of the city. She was bowing slightly—with deep reverence, but the resolute air around her was unmistakable. "You decided to accompany me to the Spirit Realm?"

    "Yes, Your Majesty," Linthia replied, she lifted up her gaze to meet with Rex briefly as she said that.

    A gesture that amplified her answer.

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    Looking at her, the corner of Rex''s lips curled slightly.

    Fate has spoken of Linthia''s fate—Dindora''s death was surely the tragedy that awakened her true self.

    "You will not be with me all the time, you have your own task there," Rex said again, this time his voice was laced with warning. If Linthia knew what lies ahead of her, she would be scared. No, she should be scared. "Death is not the worst ending for you, the worst is an eternal life of nothingness. Floating around endlessly in the void—a place where death and life have no place. Are you sure of this decision? There''s no going back"

    Hearing this, Linthia took a pause.

    She then raised her gaze again, "If I succeed, will I be stronger?"

    "No, not stronger," Rex smiled, his eyes glistened with a peculiar glint. "But the strongest! Not even Gelmar would be anywhere near you"

    "Then I''m sure." Linthia answered fiercely. ''Every second I lived through after Dindora saved me is nothing but a debt. A debt that could only be repaid through becoming the strongest general under your empire. If eternal life of nothingness is the cost, I will gladly pay for it''

    "You''ve changed, Linthia," Rex gave her a pleased nod. "You''re stronger now already"