***

Late night. The workshop in the annex.

Ferik, who had entered through the window, cleared away the furniture blocking the door as Astrid had instructed.

Only then could Chamuka finally set foot in the workshop of the annex.

Of course, if he had forced his way in, nothing would have been impossible to break, but Leticia was inside the workshop. Chamuka didn’t want to show her anything being destroyed.

This was the effect of Astrid’s mantra-like repetition to Chamuka that “violent behavior is not attractive.”

However, Astrid’s words that “you shouldn’t carelessly bury people in fields like your father” were only half-effective on Chamuka.

After all, hadn’t Astrid married Ferik despite witnessing him planting people instead of potatoes in potato fields?

When Chamuka questioned this, Astrid—

“I’ve never seen anyone as handsome as your father, but he looks in the mirror every day, so would your face even register to him? Your looks won’t have much effect on the child, so you need to cultivate your character.”

—coldly pointed out the reality.

Of course, Astrid knew that character wasn’t something that could be cultivated anyway, so she simply hoped her son would give up on her lovely disciple.

Astrid’s favoritism was directed not toward her frustrating children who took after their father but toward her disciple who possessed both good character and beauty.

Well aware of this fact, Chamuka frowned at the sight of Leticia as soon as he entered the workshop.

Leticia was asleep on the sofa, using Astrid’s thigh as a pillow.

Without even turning to look at Chamuka, Astrid spoke.

“You’re here?”

She was gently stroking her disciple’s golden hair with her hand while reading her research journal with her eyes.

“Don’t disturb her while she’s sleeping, Mother.”

“That’s for me to decide. Besides, the baby likes it when I stroke him like this, so who are you to say otherwise?”

Astrid responded breezily to Chamuka’s admonition. And then she added something particularly annoying.

“You know very well. In this castle, I’m our baby’s favorite.”

It was true. Leticia loved her master the most.

Every time she looked at Astrid, her eyes shone with such admiration that one couldn’t look away.

The master who adored her disciple and the disciple full of admiration for her master formed an ideal teacher-student relationship, but Chamuka disliked their close bond.

No, in fact, he disliked it very much.

Chamuka glanced at Ferik, who was still clearing away the furniture.

‘I wish he would show some possessiveness toward Mother at times like this.’

But his father, who was bothered even when Astrid spent time with her children, was lenient only with Leticia.

His father, who spouted nonsense about how similar the two looked despite their completely different appearances, often treated Leticia like Astrid’s other self.

While he treated Kalia, Astrid’s actual daughter, as indifferently as he did Chamuka or Tan.

It was natural in Basilinte, where affection for blood relations was faint to begin with, but why not apply that same natural indifference to Leticia? Why make her an exception?

Of course, she was special, but he wished she was special only to him…

“Chamuka. You’ll bore holes in the baby with that stare.”

With a thoroughly disapproving rebuke, Astrid’s hand covered Leticia’s face.

“Don’t touch him carelessly.”

“I’ll say it again, who are you to say that, Chamuka?”

Chamuka sat across from Astrid.

The sound of Ferik brewing tea after finishing with the furniture briefly filled the now-quiet room.

“We might soon have a relationship.”

“As if. The baby doesn’t like you. No, I suppose he likes you about as much as Tan or Kalia. All three of you look similar, and if he had to choose among you, he’d pick Tan, who resembles me, not you.”

Astrid’s statement completely disregarded Leticia’s opinion, who had no intention of having such a relationship with any of the three Basilinte siblings.

“Ah- or he might choose Kalia, the girl.”

Of course, Leticia, asleep on Astrid’s lap, had absolutely no desire to become a criminal by dating someone 16 years younger, regardless of gender, but that intention was also disregarded.

“Stop taking out your anger on me, Mother. Even I have my limits of patience.”

At that, Astrid put down her disciple’s research journal with a thud and rubbed her forehead.

A long sigh followed. Her previously sharp demeanor softened a bit.

“Taking out my anger… Yes, I was angry.”

Silence filled the workshop again.

Indifferent, guarded, quiet.

This was typically how the Basilinte family was when gathered without Leticia.

Not that the silence was comfortable because they were familiar with each other, but because they had no interest in each other and thus nothing to say. They wouldn’t even gather without a specific reason.

And for the past 10 years, if there was a reason for the Basilinte family to gather, it was Leticia.

Like now.

“Have you discovered anything, Mother?”

“No. I’ve searched through his research journal and the entire workshop, but there’s no clue. If he had been extracting blood that frequently for experiments, there should be some trace, but everything’s clean.”

Astrid briefly surveyed the workshop which held no clue,s and rubbed her forehead again.

Ferik, holding a teacup, sat down beside her and kissed her furrowed brow.

“If we can’t find any traces, we’ll have to wait for the child to speak, Astrid.”

“He’s not talking; that’s why we’re trying to find out separately.”

Already sensitive about her disciple’s well-being, Astrid sharply retorted to Ferik’s words.

Ferik placed a warm teacup in Astrid’s hand and said, “Then make him talk.”

Astrid hesitated at the chilling implication in his monotone voice.

“…How?”

“The child is kind, isn’t he? Tell him that if he doesn’t speak, you’ll t*rture those around him. He won’t hold out long.”

A spine-chilling silence took over.

But Ferik, who lacked any semblance of tact, continued regardless of the atmosphere.

“The child might cry a bit, but you can comfort him afterward.”

“…Ferik.”

Astrid calmly called her husband’s name. And as he turned to face her, she threw the warm tea in his face.

Splash.

The pleasantly warm tea hit Ferik’s face directly.

He nonchalantly wiped away the tea dripping down his chin.

“Didn’t I tell you not to think at all? Do you really want a divorce?”

“I’m sorry.”

Ferik apologized immediately.

Astrid tossed him a handkerchief and advised Chamuka.

“See, Chamuka? Don’t take after this.”

Unlike Chamuka’s generation, where the curse had been somewhat mitigated since childhood, Gaien and Ferik had their personalities fully formed before the curse was alleviated.

As a result, even though they had developed some emotions now, they were still heavily influenced by their previous mindset.

Why else would there have been so many strategic marriages, like marriage by abduction, throughout Basilinte’s history?

They tended to be obsessed with possessing the other person rather than caring about their feelings.

And Astrid, well aware of this fact, had already decided to bury her son in Ferik’s potato field if Chamuka turned out the same way.

“I have no intention of taking after Father.”

“That’s good. Because if tears come from the baby’s eyes, you’ll be shedding tears of blood.”

To Astrid’s warning, filled with sincerity, Chamuka nodded.

Astrid looked at her son with suspicious eyes before getting to the point.

“Anyway, I have no intention of accepting your father’s crazy suggestion, so we’ll need to monitor the child starting tomorrow…”

“Strictly speaking, shouldn’t it be from now? We need to be by his side even when he’s sleeping.”

Astrid swatted away Chamuka’s hand as he reached out as if to take the sleeping Leticia.

Don’t you dare.