''The king will only need the high councilor for now. If he seeds in toppling the Sentinel, I''m sure he will change the government, making himself a real dictator. The high councilor will have no ce in his new government,'' ire thought.


    "Make sure of this information then," Alex said as he stood up from his seat, preparing to leave the area.


    "Where will you go now?" Lily asked since she didn''t want to leave yet; at the very least, she wanted to wait for Sasha to wake first.


    "I need to confirm a few things. Just wait here, Lily." He then turned his gaze to ire, "You should also start moving, confirming all the information. I want everything prepared before the auction starts."


    "What about me then?" William asked.


    "I need a guide, of course. You''reing with me. You said you are confident with your escape skills."


    William hesitated for a moment while Roxy tugged on him. In her opinion, it was better for them to stay put and evacuate.


    "What are you waiting for? Let''s go. Don''t worry about the danger; you just need to guide me," Alex said while leaving the area.


    William could not find any good reason to reject, so he reluctantly went with him, followed by Roxy.


    Left with only the two of them, the atmosphere turned weird.


    ire looked at Lily, still feeling a bit of resentment. But what really mattered to him was Sasha.


    "I know you hate me, and it''s my fault, but please, protect Sasha for now," ire said as he left to do the task Alex had given him. He already had some idea of how to verify this information, using his meeting with Alex as the reason.


    Seeing ire leave, Lily sighed, "What can I do now?" she mumbled.


    "Should I contact the others and ask them to help Alex? But he would ask me that if he felt he needed it." As she pondered what to do, a sound reached her ear, making her feel ted.


    "You should stop saying what is on your mind, Lily."


    "Sasha..." Lily walked quickly toward the bed and then hugged her friend. It had been a long time since they hadst met. Thest time was at her wedding.


    Sasha tried to raise her upper body, but a feeling of weakness overcame her, causing her to falter. It had been a long time since she had moved her body; her hand felt like lead, while her head felt like stabbed by many needles.


    Lily quickly helped her, her hand gently holding her shoulder, "Slow down, Sasha, you just woke up from a longa."


    Sasha had been awake for a while; she heard part of what Alex and ire said.


    Although the sound was muffled, like hearing something from underwater, she still was able to hear bits and conclude part of the situation.


    So she knew ire was leaving to do some task, and she could hear Lily''s voice, making her feel relieved, as she wouldn''t be alone when her mind cleared.


    Herst memory was muddy, like a dark silhouette; she only remembered being hit by something, and then everything turned dark.


    Getting her bearings, Sasha then asked for a ss of water. Lily then took a ss from the bedside table and helped her with it.


    After a drink, Sasha felt more refreshed. Seeing her friend now, Lily''s gaze turnedplicated, "I am sorry, Sasha, I should have just supported your decision. If we hadn''t fought because of that, you wouldn''t have fallen into aa."


    Sasha chuckled, "Scratch that, Lily, that doesn''t matter.


    How long have I been in aa now? Can you tell me what is happening? I only heard some bits, like all of you, have something important to be done tonight."


    Lily sighed, then started exining what had happened after Sasha disappeared.


    From how she was announced dead to what she did to look for her. Her conflict with ire, then to what happened today.


    Tears glistened in Sasha''s eyes; she then wiped them with her finger and said, "It''s been hard on him. Lily, don''t hate him too much.


    You always thought he was the one that came after me, but in reality, I was the one that did it."


    "You what? Despite everything you know about him?"


    "I never told you this, Lily, since you always get pissed whenever his name is mentioned." Sasha wanted to say more, but Lily interjected.


    "Can you me me!? You know how annoying he pursued me despite the fact I had already said no to his face many times.


    And he represents everything I really hate, criminal activity, scams, violence, prostitution."


    Sasha sighed. "You never change. Can''t you let me finish my story, Lily?"


    "I am sorry. Go on; I will not cut in again."


    "I have known him longer than you, Lily. We shared the same school and ss in the past.


    I always knew him as someone kind, who liked to help others, so when I saw all those pieces of evidence and the results of the investigation, I couldn''t believe it.


    But I know you, telling you this would be useless; you only believe what you see with your own eyes, and all those investigations were done by yourself. So I decided to do my own research."


    Sasha took a deep breath, then continued, "What I found was a tragedy. A kid from a rich family kidnapped and then sold as a ve to a gangster, he had no choice but to put his hand on all those criminal activities, Lily.


    And if you really dissect all those cases, you will realize he did something for all those victims."


    Lily frown. She then tries to remember all the cases involving ire that she had investigated, one of which involved the human trafficking of kids.


    These kids were sourced from many orphanages and even kidnapped kids, including those from Noble.


    After getting the information, she then forced the local authorities to barge into the criminalir and capture all those responsible.