Violet laid it all out in front of them without hiding anything. The only thing she didn’t tell them was the identity of Zach as a dark mage. But of course the kind of treatment method she told them was the biggest hint towards that.

It didn’t take long for the others to guess the kind of person that the old doctor had invited to heal their master.

“It must be some magic that will transfer our life blood to the old master but that kind of blood magic is wielded by the most fearsome of dark mages. Experimenting with vitality and life force is the worst kind of dark magic there is after necromancy. How can we trust such a person?”

One of the compatriots couldn’t help but ask hesitatingly. It was hard for him to believe that a dark mage could be trusted.

“Clara and I have already decided to trust him. Besides he is also the person who saved Clara’s life before many times. Even if he has some ulterior motives, I don’t believe he would dare to harm my father in our home.” Violet cleared up their worries within a minute and received their agreement. Each one of them was loyal to the Windsor family and wanted to protect its roots. Therefore, none of them wavered in the face of the sacrifice that was being asked out of them. They were going to be trading their life for the life of the old master which was something to be admired.

When Violet walked in with the remaining people in tow, Zach had already finished dealing with the surgical preparations of the patient.

He waved his hand once again and this time the AI Medical robot popped out of nowhere surprising the people around him. All of them thought that Zach had called out a familiar for help.

Zach didn’t mind the murmurings of these people and ordered the AI Medical robot to take the blood samples from every one of the seven people including Clara and Violet.

The sharp syringes punctured the vessels of each one of them on the back of their hands and retrieved half a test tube worth of blood from each one of them. The robot then separated each of the test tubes into two separate vials for further processing.

“It would still take some time before the results of the tests come back. All of you can take a test or drink some fresh fruit juice preferably to replenish yourself in the meanwhile. I will call you once the test results are back.”

How could the people rest at ease knowing that one of them would soon be required to make the ultimate sacrifice? Their nerves were taut and eyes bloodshot from thinking too much. Not a single one of them could take a rest in such a situation. They felt like pigs in a pigsty waiting for the restaurant owner to come take them to the slaughterhouse when it was their turn.

Human psyche is quite weird. It makes us doublethink in troubled times; makes us wish for two separate and essentially opposite outcomes at the same time. Taking an example of the people waiting for blood test results, almost all of them were wishing to be and not to be a match for the old man at the same time.

They wanted the old man to be saved somehow but at the same time didn’t want to be the one to donate their bone marrow to the old man.

The time trickled past slowly as the seven of them huddled around together in solidarity due to the fear that was gnawing at their bones slowly. Although none of them said anything out loud, they were all definitely hoping for the same thing and were expecting the same result; them not being a match and someone amongst them being the perfect match.

In short, they wanted the benefits that came with the old master surviving eventually but were not willing to pay the corresponding price for it.

The long wait lasted till midnight. Those who were waiting for the test results all looked slightly haggard from worrying too much but they immediately got energized when Zach called out to them about the test results.

They stood right in front of Zach as he fiddled with the AI Medical robot in order to determine which samples were a match and which ones weren’t.

Except Sample#1, all samples have shown negative compatibility with the subject. The success probability of the procedure can be increased significantly through the use of a compatible source of bone marrow.

Zach lifted up the contents of the Sample # 1 in order to determine ownership of the blood. It turned out that the sample was taken from Violet; Clara’s older sister and the old master’s eldest daughter. She was a perfect match with her father and would be donating the bone marrow in order to cure her father’s disease.

“The results are out and there is only one person who is a match for the old master. The rest of you can’t donate your bone marrow to the old master because it will only harm him further.”

“Who is it?” all of them wanted to know the answer to that question but they didn’t ask it out loud fearing that they would be misunderstood as unwilling to make the ultimate sacrifice for the family head.

Zach didn’t know how on edge the people standing in front of him were. They would have charged at him right there and then and made a quick work out of him had it not been for the fact that he didn’t keep the secret with him for much longer.

“It’s Violet. She is the only match and the only person capable of saving her father from the jaws of death.” Zach announced with a smile on his face because the most important step in curing the old master was complete. The rest would all be done by the AI Medical robot and the margin for error with such advanced technology was close to zero.

Unlike the other five, Clara and Violet being the closest relatives of their father were more than willing to trade themselves for their father but it was still a shock when they actually had to do it.

Clara couldn’t accept the result at all. She wasn’t willing to lose a sister in order to save her father. She would have happily given her life for her father but couldn’t accept that her sister Violet had to be the one to do it. Clara too had double standards like other human beings. She didn’t want to see those close to her suffer but was willing to endure that same suffering so she wouldn’t have to endure the survivor’s guilt.

When Zach announced the result of the blood test, Clara had reacted the most strongly. She was close to hissing as her voice was became hoarse and guarded as she stared holes in Zach with her red and puffy eyes. .

Violet on the other hand was quite the opposite. She felt extremely relaxed as if she had been relieved from the heaviest burden that had been pressing down on her shoulders from above.

For the first time in her life, Violet felt like she had the chance to do something meaningful for her family. Her father had always been disappointed with her performance and had been urging her to do more. But now that she could trade herself for her father, it was undoubtedly the greatest feat she could pull off for the prolonged existence of the Windsor family against all odds. She was happy that Clara didn’t have to take her place.

Violet slowly moved towards Clara and held her hand to pull her closer. She didn’t want her sister to feel any emotional pain.

Clara began to cry soundlessly when held by her elder sister. She couldn’t control the well of tears in her eyes as it began to swell and spill outside her eyes.

Violet tried to hold her own tears back. She couldn’t cry in front of Clara especially when the latter was feeling so vulnerable and useless. She could only try her best to comfort Clara so that she would be able to accept this outcome without any psychological burden that might haunt her for the rest of her life.

Violet pulled on the long sleeves of her top and used them to wipe away the tears from Clara’s face.

“Don’t cry. You have to be strong from now on. I might not be able to protect you anymore so you have to do it for me. Okay?” asked Violet softly as she held Clara in her arms like a protective older sister pampering her younger sister lovingly.

Clara nodded unconsciously to her question. She felt like Violet was making her last wishes known and couldn’t bring herself to disappoint her. She became as docile as her appearance made her out to be.

“This is a good thing you know. Now you can be as leisurely as you want. You don’t have to fight and bear the burden of the family because the old man will be able to handle it from now on. He can support you and you can be as unruly as you want with him backing you up. Don’t be too sad. Windsor family can do without me but the continued existence of our father is essential for the family’s survival. We can’t just think of ourselves in this situation. There are thousands of people who rely on our family for their survival…”