In Lange Family's Mansion, the situation wasn't peaceful either.
Two people stood in the room, one facing the other's back while the latter looked outside the window.
The first person was Laust. He could only look down while biting his lips. They had been standing without talking like this for ten minutes already.
In front of him was a middle-aged man with black hair. He looked at the city through the window with mysterious eyes.
"Can you even do something right?" A cold voice echoed.
This voice was like a needle piercing Laust's heart.
"You have one job…And you've failed miserably."
Laust closed his eyes as if something just squeezed his heart. There was only one reason for him to get here. It was to discuss his embarrassment after getting beaten by Theo.
"Not only did you fail your job, but you also got suspended. Luckily, it didn't bring so much news that would create a scandal for our company."
Everything was Laust's mistake. Had he not used his skill during the fight, this wouldn't happen. In fact, he had been under house arrest for the past few days and only got called to this room today, showing how disappointed his father was.
"Father, that…"
When Laust was about to explain, his father turned around, picked up the letter on the table, and threw it as if throwing a rock.
Bang.
"Gah!" Laust spat out blood and flew to the door as if he just got hit by a boulder.
"That's the warning from the military. You should know that it's better to not mess around with the current government since the one standing on top is holding political power that no other presidents had ever achieved. Tch."
There was no trace of sympathy to his own son after treating him like that. Only anger was visible in his expression.
Laust held the letter with his shaking hands and read the first few sentences with his blurry eyes.
This is the first warning signed by President Acupel for your Lange Family's behavior. Due to the situation solved in a peaceful way, the matter shall be settled with this letter. Another offense will result in trial according to Law 28X about Skill Misconduct.
Laust's focus was on his family name. This problem should have ended with Laust Lange as the culprit, but the letter addressed the Lange Family as a whole.
No wonder that his father was furious. He had learned that many people who usually controlled the country in the dark remained dormant for a while. They all were scared of the current president, who was a master in politics and military.
He strengthened the military to suppress most dark influences that corrupted the country and defeated all the opposition politically.
In front of the masses, he was just like a ray of hope in this dark country, but in front of a family like his Lange Family, he was a sword that might slit their throat at any moment.
However, the current president also promised them that as long as they followed the laws, he would protect them like the citizens.
That was why Lange Family couldn't afford to act arrogantly until the next president replaced him, albeit it would only happen in a few years.
Realizing what he had brought into the family, his body trembled.
"Father…I…I am sor—"
"What apology? I don't need your apology. Why can't you be like your Brother? He has elevated our face in front of the world, but you? You acted like sh*t." He looked down and released his killing intent.
Laust started to pant, gasping for air. It was as if he was in front of a beast that looked at him like an already dead prey.
"You couldn't even take care of an orphan who had no monetary support and skill. I have hired many tutors to teach you, but you couldn't defeat someone who had no training like that?"
Laust looked away with a pained expression. He was ashamed of himself and had no right to word to speak. However, the memory of his father was filled with bad things.
Every time they met, he always compared him to his brother and ended up badmouthing him the whole time. Under this kind of pressure, he began to do things in his own way, trying to show him that he could do it.
When he succeeded once, what did he get? Nothing other than a cold gaze from his father. Instead, he only told him, "You have finally done right once. If only you are like your Big Brother, you can do it more."
He just wanted a bit of recognition from his family, especially the only parent he had, his father. Yet, his father never looked at his way.
"I would like to apologize for my blunder, Father." Laust chose to endure it a bit longer. As long as he took care of Theo after this, it should be enough to at least force his father to look his way, or so what he believed.
After apologizing, he turned around. His father would just scold him if he stayed any longer, so it was better to produce the result first.
"You are really useless. If only one apology is enough…" The father snorted. He walked toward his desk and lowered his head.
Next to his right hand was a ripped envelope from the government that held that d*mned warning letter.
Just thinking about it made him angry.
"You are useless. If you can't do anything, just finish your education and get married. You still have your worth as a marriage tool to expand the family. Sacrifice yourself for the family. That's your only use."
Laust's body was trembling.
People say words could hurt you more than you think and Laust believed it was right at this moment.
The acid gas in his stomach flowed up, making him want to puke. The blood rushed into his head as veins bulged on his forehead.
He had endured so many things for as long as he remembered. Yet, the moment he heard his father considered him as a tool instead of a son or at least a human being, Laust reached his breaking point.
He turned around and walked toward his father.
"Father…" Laust felt like his heart got grasped. However, he braced himself to look at his father's eyes and said while pressing his chest. His breathing started getting rough. "I want to ask you… Do you know what is the name of the tallest mountain in the world?"
"Why are you even asking that idiotic question? It's obviously Mount Everest."
"Then, do you know the second tallest mountain in the world?"
That question was unexpected, and the answer never came out of his father's mouth. He only turned around and returned to the window, ignoring that question.
"I want to ask another question… What is the deepest trench in the world?"
His father fell silent for a minute before opening his mouth. "Mariana Trench."
"Then, what is the second deepest trench in the world?"
Just like before, his father had no answer. It wrenched his heart even more.
"It's Tonga Trench!" Laust slammed the table while looking at his father. His glare filled with unwillingness and hatred. "You don't know, don't you? You always compared me to Brother and never paid attention to my feelings. You kept saying this was all for my good, but that was only you forcing your own ideal!
"That's right. My brother is number one. And the number one stands out and gets super well-known. What about me? Do you even remember your son's name?! When was the last time you called me by my name? Do you even remember that? When? It was already a decade ago!
"You want that map, right? I will bring it to you. I will show it to you that there will be a time silver will become more expensive than gold!" Laust turned around, pushed the door and left the room.
However, his father simply stood still without even turning back or resolving the problem.
From the door, a middle-aged man with a butler suit slowly walked toward the room while glancing over the boy who just left the room.
"Master… Young Master Laust—"
"Ji…" The father finally turned around with a cold gaze. His eyes were filled with killing intent as if telling him to shut up.
"I have overstepped my bounds." The butler bowed his head politely and stopped prying what Laust's father really thought. He turned around and proceeded to leave the room, but he heard another sentence.
"Investigate Theo Griffith once again and take care of that useless thing's subordinates."
"…" The butler paused for a few seconds as if falling into deep thought. He bowed his head and said, "I understand."
The door was shut, leaving him alone in the room. Unbeknownst to both Laust and the butler, his right fist that was covered by the table was clenched too tight until blood dripped from it.
"Useless thing."
…
Meanwhile, just like how Laust's hand was covered in blood, Theo also had a similar situation. His body and clothes were red. All that color came from the blood of the monster that just got split into two by a girl.
Sitting on the ground dyed with red blood and leaning his back on a tree behind him, he looked at her face behind his mask and quickly recognized who she was.
The person who saved him just now was someone he had met in the school. She was…
Alea Eilric.