"Uncle Tristan said you have many cool toys. Can I see them?" Sean asked.
Xati pursed his lips, clearly uninterested in playing.
"Go and play with your friend," Yeri nudged him.
"My toys aren't here. They're at Uncle's villa," he pouted.
"Xati, you don't call your dad 'Uncle.' How many times do I have to tell you that?" Elder Madam Keir immediately corrected him.
Yeri stood up, seizing the perfect excuse to escape the old matriarch's lessons. "Okay, let's go together and play."
Elder Madam Keir looked unhappy, but Tristan quickly coaxed her.
In fact, he had deliberately brought Sean there to distract Xati, that little troublemaker who had developed an alarming habit of asking for his bank card.
--
Butler Hong drove Yeri and the two children to Tristan's villa in a golf cart.
Along the way, Xati happily chatted while sitting on Yeri's lap.
"AI-powered robots aren't that impressive. They're predictable and childish," Xati complained.
"How did you know the robot wasn't good enough?" Sean asked innocently. "My companion robot helps me with learning."
"The Little Young Master is into robot toys these days and loves dismantling them to examine their mechanisms," Butler Hong said proudly. "I remember the Young Master was the same when he was a child, and now he has indeed made KGG into a global tech conglomerate."
Yeri "..."
When they arrived at Tristan's villa, Butler Steve hurried outside to greet them before scowling upon seeing Butler Hong.
"Some people just become more shameless as they get older," Butler Steve remarked snidely.
"And some people only know how to run their mouths instead of doing their jobs. No wonder the Little Young Master likes to run away." Butler Hong fired back.
Butler Steve gritted his teeth. "Shameless. Really shameless. Isn't it simply because our Little Young Master is fond of roaming around?"
"Oh? Why don't you ask him who his father is?" Butler Hong retorted.
Butler Steve was rendered speechless. He could only huff and puff in frustration.
Yeri smiled awkwardly and simply followed the two children inside.
Apart from his own bedroom, it seemed Xati was living the life of a little prince, just as he was. He had another room solely for his toys, as well as a separate room that had been converted into his study.
Anyone could see that the rooms had been renovated according to his preferences.
While Sean was amazed by the astonishing collection of toys, Yeri pulled Xati aside and reminded him that no matter how much of a prodigy a five-year-old was, there were still limits.
Otherwise, he could frighten people or arouse suspicion.
Xati nodded and pouted. "That's because she went too far and was mean to you."
"Don't you know me? I can handle it," Yeri chuckled. "Besides, I think Elder Madam Keir is just too fond of you. Perhaps she's simply jealous of me."
Xati crossed his arms and frowned. "Well, to be fair, she isn't a bad subordinate. She's trainable."
Yeri couldn't help but laugh lightly.
Shaking her head, she reminded him again that there were limits to a child's IQ and EQ.
"Big Sister, look! I also have this toy. Remember?"
Sean happily showed her a penguin plushie.
"Hmm, you have it in your room," Yeri recalled. She remembered seeing it when she had gone to his room to comfort him during his parents' divorce.
"You went to his house?" Xati looked surprised.
Then he glanced at Sean as though the boy had suddenly become a rival invading his territory.
"Stop calling her Big Sister. Don't you have your own mother?"
Sean looked confused but still nodded. "What about my mom?"
Sighing, Yeri gently told Sean to go check out some more toys before turning back to Xati.
"I'm sorry. You can't call me Mom in front of everyone..."
"That's not it! I'm not blaming you!" Xati immediately panicked.
"I know." Yeri pinched his cheek before shifting the topic. "Did you thank Brother Tristan for his effort? You have this entire toy room all to yourself."
"Should I?" Xati asked reluctantly. "But he still doesn't want to give me his bank card."
Yeri "..."
She suddenly recalled Shin telling her how Xati had been asking for a bank card.
After asking Xati about it, she realized it wasn't because he wanted money.
Rather, he had developed a rather unique interpretation of what a bank card represented.
Most humans worked to earn money. It was a means of survival, and giving someone money was often a way of showing that the person was important or valued.
To Xati, however, having someone's bank card meant something entirely different.
It meant submission, allegiance, and sovereignty.
From his perspective, if someone willingly handed over their bank card, they were essentially acknowledging him as their prince.
Xati then excitedly darted into his room and returned with a box.
He opened it proudly, and inside were several bank cards.
Some belonged to Butler Hong, Butler Steve, and a few people Yeri didn't recognize.
There were also cards from Elder Madam Keir and Master Keir.
Yeri couldn't have been more speechless.
Although some of the cards were merely prepaid bank cards or gift cards, the ones from Elder Madam Keir and Master Keir were clearly supplementary black cards.
Maybe no one found this particularly strange. Or perhaps no one had given it much thought because Xati was still a child.
But once he grew up, wouldn't he eventually get accused of extortion?
"The human realm doesn't have demon tribute," Xati explained proudly, "but I think this is close to its value."
"Ah..." Yeri understood.
Demon tribute was something demons offered to a monarch they had sworn allegiance to. It could take the form of a binding oath, skills, treasures, or other valuable objects.
Thinking about it, perhaps bank cards were actually a reasonable alternative.
Compared to Xati going around demanding binding oaths from people, this was far less destructive.
At least no one would lose their soul. Probably.
-
Later, Yeri decided to stay for dinner. She sent Lianna a message, telling her to let Sean stay as well.
She also finally replied to one of Shin's messages. He seemed frustrated that she had run off to Sin Mille Estate without telling him.
Yeri simply rolled her eyes. If she had told him, wouldn't he have just dragged her along to accompany him at work?
She wasn't his backpack or something.
Besides, who brought their fiancée to work just to have her sit in his office all day doing nothing?
"Staying for dinner?" Tristan asked as he walked in.
Yeri put down her phone and smiled. "If you don't mind."
"Anytime." Tristan shrugged and sat across from her.
From the back garden came the voices of Xati and Sean.
Xati was driving his toy sports car like a maniac while Sean sat beside him, shouting for him to watch out every time they came close to hitting a tree or a plant.
"I heard you finally remembered," Tristan said.
Yeri smiled meaningfully. "I remembered that you dislike me."
Tristan didn't deny it.
"At first...I didn't know you were incapable of emotions. He wasn't the same after he took you as his Empress. I thought he had fallen under your spell, your curse."
Yeri didn't take it to heart. After all, it was true that she had once been the curse of the throne.
"I'm curious. Brother Shin has the ability to control time, so why didn't he just turn back time to before I died?"
Tristan stared at her for a moment before sighing.
"You think he didn't try? If it had been possible, we wouldn't be here. You have no idea..."
He remembered how, back then, Emperor Hexion had desperately tried to catch every fragment of her body as it turned into petals and scattered like the wind.
The disbelief.
The horror.
The realization that she had truly perished and would never resurrect.
The demon realm itself had nearly been destroyed by the Emperor's obsession with bringing her back to life.
Yeri lowered her gaze.
She no longer had any memories of what happened after her body dissipated.
Tristan wanted to ask her something when Elder Madam Keir's voice suddenly echoed from behind them.
"Tristan, didn't you say you still had some important business to attend to? Did you just lie to your grandmother?" Elder Madam Keir stared daggers at Yeri as though she were the one responsible for Tristan neglecting his work.
"Sis-in-law is staying for dinner. It's not proper for the host to leave," Tristan explained.
Elder Madam Keir scoffed. "You mean future cousin-in-law? Then she's no guest. She can attend for herself."
Yeri "..."
Earlier, Elder Madam Keir had called her an outsider. Now she wasn't a guest?
Apparently, her status in the Keir family changed according to the matriarch's mood.
Following Elder Madam Keir, Hiro Keir appeared and greeted the two of them.
Tristan raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting him. "What brought you here?"
"Just came to see Grandma. I miss her," Hiro said.
Elder Madam Keir immediately looked delighted, though her expression soon turned regretful. "Are you visiting me on behalf of your brother? When Hadi was still alive, he often came to visit this old woman."
'Right. Hadi's visits were usually either to complain or demand something,' Tristan thought.
As they gathered around the dining table, Xati insisted on sitting next to Yeri, making the old matriarch even more displeased with her.
Across the table, Hiro stared at Xati as though he had just stolen his chicken leg.
It wasn't difficult for Yeri to assume that Hiro hadn't really come to visit the old woman. He was probably here to spy.
"By the way, Grandma, will you be free next weekend?" Hiro asked. "It's my wife's birthday, and we're planning to go out of town."
Elder Madam Keir paused before answering casually. "Out of town might be too much for my health."
Then, as though she had just remembered something, she added, "Now that I think about it, I also asked the lawyer to come see me."
Hiro's expression suddenly tensed. "The family lawyer?"
Elder Madam Keir nodded, completely oblivious to his reaction. "Just the usual reports and matters concerning my assets."
Hiro forced a smile, his eyes briefly shifted toward Xati, who promptly stuck his tongue out at him.
"I think I should also see a lawyer about my last will, just in case," Tristan joked.
"What last will? If anyone should be finalizing theirs, it should be me," Elder Madam Keir chided him.
She then placed a piece of broccoli onto Xati's plate. "Xati, eat your vegetables."
Xati stared at the broccoli with utter disgust.