"The Jade Princess, Lily."
"If you dare touch even a single hair on our heads, the Heavenly Flame Dynasty will absolutely raze your Hale family to the ground!"
In the original story, once Lily revealed her identity, Alex had immediately turned timid.
He had acted like a mouse facing a cat.
He had bowed repeatedly and begged Lily not to let the Heavenly Flame Empress deploy troops to destroy the Hale family.
But that only happened because the original Alex had lost his senses.
He had fallen into Knox's verbal traps and allowed his own confession to become fatal evidence.
Now things were different.
Alex had already dismantled Knox's entire scheme.
He stood firmly on the side of reason.
He occupied the absolute moral high ground.
Why should he fear Lily?
"Knox, are you not looking down on me too much?" Alex narrowed his eyes, a cold smile forming.
"You believe that because you have the protection of a Princess of the Heavenly Flame Dynasty, you can behave wildly in my Hale family?"
"You... who said I came here to behave wildly?" Knox shouted angrily.
"Last time you injured my woman, humiliated my Master, and trampled my dignity into the dirt!"
"Today I have come to reclaim my dignity!"
"Pfft."
"Hahaha!"
Alex threw his head back and laughed loudly, as if hearing the most ridiculous joke imaginable.
"Knox, I already knew you were shameless."
"But I never expected you to be shameless to this degree."
"It seems the Heavenly Flame Empress also lacks judgment to support someone like you."
"Bullshit!" Knox roared with humiliation and fury, preparing to retort.
Lily stepped forward and spoke coldly.
"You are not permitted to insult Her Majesty."
"Alex, this Princess represents the Heavenly Flame Dynasty today."
"If you have something to say, speak clearly."
"I will convey every word to Her Majesty."
"Very well, Jade Princess. Then I shall explain everything clearly."
Alex spoke calmly.
"My Hale family once had a heaven chosen daughter named Isolde."
"However, she was bewitched by Knox's sweet words."
"She brought this man to my Hale family and publicly declared she would sever all family ties and leave with him."
"When a grown daughter's heart has left, even a father cannot restrain her."
"If they insisted on leaving together, this seat could not stop them."
"But since she severed all ties with the Hale family, I naturally reclaimed the Seven Orifices Divine Heart from her body."
"That heart was refined using enormous resources from my Hale family."
"Jade Princess, judge for yourself."
"Is this what he means by harming his woman?"
Lily looked toward Knox.
Her expression became complicated.
Alex continued speaking.
"As for the Master he mentioned, the Divine Blade Saintess Iris."
"This seat has always respected the Divine Blade Sect."
"I have shared friendship with Sword Venerable Magnus for many years."
"At that time, everything was discussed clearly."
"Her disciple came to my Hale family and caused chaos."
"If I allowed him to leave without punishment, my Hale family would become a laughingstock."
"After negotiation, Iris willingly offered her protective spiritual treasure in exchange for her disciple's life."
"This seat merely accepted her Jade Sword and Blood Purification Bottle."
"I did not harm a single hair on her head."
"If the Jade Princess doubts my words, you may visit the Divine Blade Sect personally."
"Ask Iris herself."
"Tell me, is this what he calls humiliating his Master?"
Lily's expression changed drastically.
Alex's explanation was completely different from Knox's story.
According to Knox, Alex had been a cruel tyrant.
He had crippled his own clanswoman without reason.
He had also taken advantage of their weakness to threaten Knox and defile his Master's purity.
That story had filled Lily with righteous anger.
She had volunteered to help Knox gather evidence against Alex.
But the truth now sounded completely different.
"Knox," Lily asked quietly.
"Is what he said true?"
Knox clenched his teeth.
But he had no way to deny it.
He could only nod weakly.
"Yes."
Lily's face immediately darkened.
As Aurelia's sworn sister, she represented the Heavenly Flame Empress.
Her actions reflected the authority of the dynasty.
For that reason, Lily had always valued justice and fairness.
She feared even a small mistake might damage the Empress's reputation.
Yet today she had trusted Knox blindly.
Without verifying anything, she had barged into the Hale family.
If others heard about this, they would say the Heavenly Flame Dynasty used power to bully others.
Originally Lily had pitied Knox.
She had sympathized with his misfortune and treated him like a younger brother.
But now this younger brother had embarrassed her deeply.
[Ding! The host has successfully created discord between the Chosen One and a female supporting character. The Chosen One's Providence has decreased by 100. The host gains 200 Providence Points!]
Hearing the system notification in his mind, Alex smiled faintly.
But his expression quickly returned to stern seriousness.
"Jade Princess, the Heavenly Flame Empress possesses immense power."
"The Heavenly Flame Dynasty commands overwhelming strength."
"If your army of one hundred thousand experts descended, my Hale family could never resist."
"My three thousand disciples would only be able to fight to the death to defend our ancestors' honor."
"However, this seat has a clear conscience."
"For many years I have governed my family quietly."
"I have never harmed the Heavenly Flame Dynasty."
"If the Heavenly Flame Empress chooses to ignore her own laws because of this ignorant brat, using martial force to bully my Hale family..."
"My Hale family does not fear death!"
In the original story, what angered Alex most was how villains often had the perfect chance to eliminate the protagonist.
Yet after hearing a few moral accusations, they would suddenly show mercy and allow the protagonist to escape.
"You are villains. Why care about morals?"
"It is only natural for you to be destroyed."
Now Alex reversed that situation.
He stood firmly on the moral high ground.
He used moral pressure against Lily.
Using the barbarians' tricks to control the barbarians.