William stood up before quietly walking outside with Tamasya, allowing Sera to remain behind with Lia so that the young woman could settle down more comfortably. Naturally sera being the same age as Lia was the best candidate to interact with her.

When Sera had asked Lia whether she wished to return home, Lia’s final answer had simply been that she needed time to think.

Now none of them intended to pressure her beyond that. Outside the cabin, William released a slow breath, thinking about what to do next.

Tamasya folded her arms before speaking thoughtfully. "I think the three of us are overwhelming her."

William looked toward her. "You think so?"

She nodded. "From her perspective, we’re complete strangers."

She glanced back toward the cabin.

"She doesn’t know who we are. She doesn’t know whether she should trust us, and yet we’re asking her to remember the worst moments of her life."

William quietly considered her words.

"So you believe she would speak more openly with someone familiar?"

"I do."

Before either of them could continue, the door opened. Sera stepped outside with a saddened expression. She slowly walked toward them before shaking her head.

"You two were right."

Her shoulders drooped slightly. "She isn’t ready to go back into the outside world."

Tamasya gently smiled. "It’s alright, Sera."

She placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Your suggestion wasn’t wrong."

She looked toward William. "I was actually telling him that perhaps we should allow someone familiar to meet her."

Sera understood that and nodded. "I wish her mother was still alive."

Her voice became noticeably quieter.

"She would’ve been the person Lia needed the most." None of them could disagree.

After several moments of silence, William finally spoke. "I think we should let Maximus meet her."

Both women immediately turned toward him. Their expressions clearly reflected their surprise.

Sera frowned slightly.

"But weren’t you against that before?"

Tamasya nodded.

"You wanted him to grow stronger and be ready first instead of wasting his life."

She looked at William carefully.

"You even told him as the eternal sovreign that he had to avenge his mother and prove himself before he earned the right to stand beside Lia again."

Sera had been wondering exactly the same thing. If William had been so firm about that decision before, why had he suddenly changed his mind?

William let out a quiet sigh. "The circumstances have changed."

He looked toward the sky.

"Back then I never imagined I would end up opposing a god, turnign out to be a prince of an empire" He smiled bitterly.

"I never imagined I would die twice." His voice remained calm despite the unbelievable words. "And I certainly never imagined I would come back as an entirely different person."

The two women remained silent. They knew every one of those events had actually happened.

William continued.

"Everything has moved far faster than I ever expected."

He shook his head. "It hasn’t even been a full year since I entered the academy."

A faint smile appeared. "And now they’re already preparing to graduate me just as i completed my very first semester."

He looked back toward them. "I may be stronger than I was before. But I’m definately not capable of predicting every future outcome."

His expression became thoughtful.

"Naturally, there are plans I made in the past that no longer fit the reality we’re living in."

He stopped there. There was another reason he had reached this decision.

Originally, he had intended to reshape Maximus’s future little by little, preventing him from walking down the darker path of a villain.

However, revealing that reason would inevitably lead to questions about how he knew those future events in the first place.

That explanation was still far too complicated. For now, silence was the easier choice.

Fortunately, neither Sera nor Tamasya questioned him any further. They had personally witnessed William accomplishing things that should have been impossible.

Compared to everything else they had already seen, changing an old plan no longer seemed unusual.

Both of them simply nodded.

William continued.

"I’ll probably bring Maximus here instead. I don’t want Lia leaving this place until we’re completely certain she’s emotionally stable. And who know she might attract unecessary attention for being special and an anomaly now"

He glanced toward the cabin where Lia rested.

"Once both of them have regained enough control over their lives over the course of a few days which will translate into few years here inside the domain"

"We can let them decide their own future."

Before he could continue walking, Tamasya suddenly stopped him.

"Wait."

William turned around.

Her expression had become serious.

"William..." She hesitated briefly before speaking.

"Maximus isn’t like the rest of us."

"He isn’t your subordinate and he isn’t your family."

She looked around the realm.

"If you bring him here, he’ll see everything."

"The World Tree and all the strange things in this realm."

"What if one day he betrays you?"

Sera immediately nodded.

"Elder Sister is right."

She looked at William with genuine concern.

"Maximus may be your friend. But you shouldn’t trust anyone blindly."

William quietly listened to both of them. Instead of feeling annoyed, he found himself smiling. Their concern was genuine.

Neither of them questioned his decision. They were simply worried about his safety.

The realization warmed his heart more than he expected.

Having people who genuinely cared about him was still something he occasionally found difficult to believe.

"You two..." He smiled softly.

"Don’t worry. I have everything under control."

His expression remained relaxed.

"I sincerely hope I never have to use it. But if the worst were ever to happen..."

"I can neutralize Maximus instantly."

As he spoke, a crimson flame quietly appeared above his palm. The dark crimson blood like flame burned silently without producing any smoke.

Both Sera and Tamasya stared at it in amazement.

William looked at the flame.

"This is the Blood Flame I got from Elavlin, the Vampire Primarch."

The flame slowly danced across his hand without harming him.

William calmly continued.

"It doesn’t matter how powerful he becomes in the future."

"I can still kill him instantly using this"

The women stared silently at the terrifying flame.

Neither of them had expected William to possess something so frightening.

The reason it worked was simple.

When Maximus had previously consumed William’s blood for binding, a portion of it had permanently integrated into his body.

That blood would remain with him for the rest of his life.

The Blood Flame possessed an extremely unusual ability.

It could spread through the blood of it’s owner.

Any portion of blood as long as it was William’s could instantly become the source of this crimson fire.

The moment William ignited it, the Blood Flame would erupt from within the target’s own bloodstream before rapidly spreading through it’s blood.

Once released, the flame would burn relentlessly consuming the target from within.