"It's fine. Let him handle it," Shin continued. "Since he found out she was poisoned, he should know how to deal with it."
"You sealed his abilities, so how do you expect him to handle it?" Yeri was genuinely curious.
Now she really wanted to run to Sin Mille Estate just to watch the show.
Forcing herself, she got out of bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up.
Shin, who was about to leave for the company, paused, his eyes gleamed.
"Since you're not sleepy anymore, come with me to the—"
"Stay away from me!" Yeri hurriedly slammed the bathroom door shut before he could finish.
Shin stood there for a moment. Then the corner of his lips curled upward.
In the end, Yeri couldn't go see Xati because Shin was watching her like a wolf.
She decided to sleep for the day and meet the wedding planner with him later, as scheduled.
--
At Sin Mille, Xati looked every bit as upset as he felt, despite both Butler Hong and Butler Steve shaking hands and declaring a temporary truce just to play with him.
"How is she?" Allister asked, frowning.
The doctor advised that it was another heart abnormality, and coupled with her age, it was natural for her body to weaken.
"I told her not to overdo it. I heard she spent too much time looking after Tristan's son?" Ellis, who happened to be visiting, said.
"She's fond of the child. It's been a while since there were any children around," Allister reasoned.
From a considerable distance away, Xati could clearly hear their conversation, and he sneered inwardly.
Heart abnormality given her age?
That wasn't the case at all.
It was the tea Hiro Keir had brought days ago. There was something toxic mixed into it.
It wasn't easy to notice or perhaps it wasn't even harmful to others, but Elder Madam Keir wasn't only old, she was also taking a lot of medication for maintenance. Combined with the tea, it caused a chemical reaction that turned the mixture poisonous.
Whenever someone was poisoned or seriously unwell, the human body emitted a black fog that wasn't visible to human eyes.
But Xati could see it, and the tea Elder Madam Keir had drunk that morning had emitted the same black fog.
Since Yeri couldn't come immediately, he had run to his room and called Tristan to tell him what had happened.
Tristan's advice had been simple: Have Sean's dad, Zahn Neri, come over instead.
"Are you commanding me?" Xati snarled. "Just so you know, I have your bank card."
There was silence on the other end before Tristan's voice came through.
"You went into my room and rummaged through my things? Just you wait until I tell your mother."
Xati stiffened and immediately panicked. "I didn't! You dare accuse this prince?"
"Xati, you live in my house. I know what you're up to through the surveillance cameras. Anyway, I'm busy. Return what you took before I get back." Tristan hung up.
Xati stomped his feet in annoyance feeling Tristan wasn't taking him seriously at all!
Still, he decided to call Sean, who promised that he would definitely tell his dad.
When Xati turned around, however, he saw an unfamiliar person standing by the door.
Ellis smiled at him. "Hello, Xati. I'm your Uncle-Grandpa. I saw you with my brother at my son's funeral."
Xati "..."
Ellis entered the room and crouched down to his level, his gaze piercing and calculating.
"You don't go to prep school?"
Xati remained silent.
"That dad of yours must be busy chasing women again."
Ellis pretended to realize he'd said the wrong thing and smiled.
"What I mean is, he's busy working, so that's why he's often not around. Even if you have a stepmother and half-brother in the future, it's probably for your own good. At least someone will be around to look after you."
Xati "..."
Ellis expected the boy to become afraid, insecure, or even hurt. Perhaps it would be even better if he became rebellious and unruly, or started feeling unwelcome in the household.
But Xati looked completely indifferent.
He merely blinked his big eyes and pursed his lips as though he hadn't heard a single word.
What is wrong with this child?
Ellis recalled his son Hiro telling him that the child was quite spoiled and mischievous.
That made it even better.
Children were the easiest to manipulate. If he could lead Xati astray and make him even worse, perhaps he could eventually turn the entire family against him.
"Xati? Are you alright?" Ellis asked gently. "I may not always be around, but you can ask me for help anytime."
"No, I don't want to."
Xati finally spoke after taking a deep breath.
"Your breath stinks, but you keep talking. I can't hold my breath anymore! Now my room stinks too!"
Ellis was stunned, then embarrassed, and then angry. His expression changed so quickly that even he didn't realize it.
At that moment, Allister passed by, having just come from Elder Madam Keir's room.
Xati immediately rushed toward him and hugged his leg.
"Grandpa, this uncle's breath stinks! Will Xati stink too?" Xati cried.
Allister glanced at his elder brother, whose face looked as though he were constipated.
"What nonsense!" Ellis snarled. "You're still so small, but you've already learned how to lie? Such an attitude isn't acceptable in this family. Look at him, Allister. He's already so devious at such a young age."
Xati immediately looked frightened and hid behind Allister, hugging his pant leg even tighter.
"Can you not shout? You're scaring him." Allister looked displeased. "And you often smoke, so it must have been your cigarette he smelled. Children are sensitive."
Ellis couldn't care less as he continued glaring at Xati.
"Are you staying to look after Mom?" Allister asked, changing the subject.
Ellis immediately refused, muttering something under his breath before turning to leave.
But as he neared the stairs, he paused and turned back.
"Why are you letting him call you Grandpa instead of Uncle-Grandpa? Seriously, you're all cuddling him too much. See if he doesn't grow up to be a troublemaker. With Mom unwell and Tristan often not around, I can arrange for my wife or daughter-in-law to look after him during the weekends."
Allister looked at him with intentions couldn't have been more obvious.
Meanwhile, Xati lowered his head, his expression had already turned murderous.
Anyone who dares take him far away from his Empress Mother is an enemy.
While Ellis and Allister continued talking, Xati silently chanted under his breath, his eyes gleamed red.
For a brief moment, Ellis met his gaze and he suddenly went rigid, eyes blank.
Then he pointed at Xati, his eyes venomous.
"You brat! Don't think I can't teach you a lesson. From now on, I'm going to be the monster under your bed!"
Allister "???"
Without another word, Ellis climbed onto the railing, both hands spread wide, he shouted, "I believe I can fly!"
Before sliding down the railing, only to lose his balance and fall halfway down.
"Wahhhhh!" Xati cried out in horror. "Uncle-Grandpa is so scary! I don't want Uncle-Grandpa! He's not only stinky but also a monster! He's going to eat Xati!"
Allister didn't know whether to get angry or feel sorry first.
He quickly lifted Xati into his arms and patted his back to console him.
"Ahhhhh! My leg! What happened to my leg?! Ahhhhh! It's broken! Ambulance! I need an ambulance!"
Ellis's horrified scream echoed throughout the downstairs hall.
Without any hurry, Allister descended the stairs while carrying Xati. "Ellis, what is going on with you? You're the one who acted crazy and did this to yourself."
The two butlers downstairs, who had witnessed everything, couldn't be more dumbfounded.
Neither seemed capable of processing what had just happened.
"Did he just say, 'I believe I can fly'?" Butler Steve muttered.
Butler Hong massaged his chin.
At his age, this was the first time he'd ever seen a grown old man in a suit do something so ridiculous.
Only when they heard Xati's pitiful, frightened sobbing did the two butlers snap out of it and hurry over to comfort him.
"I don't want this Uncle-Grandpa! He's scary and a weirdo!" Xati sniffled.
Allister handed Xati to Butler Hong. "Take him to the garden to play. And contact the estate doctor who just left."
Butler Hong immediately nodded and took Xati away, with Butler Steve following closely behind.
"I'm in pain here! What are you people doing? Are you deaf? Where's the estate doctor?" Ellis exclaimed, looking down at his bent leg in horror.
Allister crossed his arms. "Aren't you going to explain what just happened? Are you that upset with a child? Or are you just desperate to remove a threat?"
"Allister Keir, are you still my brother? Can't you see I'm in so much pain? You think this is the right time to interrogate me?!"
Ellis was furious and in so much pain that he was dry-heaving.
In fact, he couldn't explain it either.
It wasn't that he couldn't remember what happened. He hadn't blacked out but rather remembered everything perfectly.
The problem was that he'd suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to do it.
And somehow, that made everything even worse.
What the hell was wrong with him?
When the estate doctor arrived, the ambulance also came not long after.
As Ellis was being carried out, the paramedics naturally asked for details about what had caused his accident.
Before anyone could answer, Ellis shouted at the top of his lungs, "I slipped! It was an accident!"
Then immediately shot Allister a warning look.
His answer came so quickly, and with such obvious tension, that it sounded anything but convincing.
Allister couldn't be bothered to expose him and said nothing. He would simply have to make sure Ellis didn't get close to the child again.
Truthfully, he found Ellis's behavior disturbing and completely out of character. But knowing how greedy the family could be, it wasn't entirely impossible that they would go as far as trying to scar a child mentally and emotionally.
--
Later that afternoon, Zahn arrived with Sean and Lianna tagging along to watch over her son.
"You again?" Xati frowned when he saw Sean hurrying toward him.
"Didn't you say I should have my dad check your great-grandma?" Sean grinned. "Also, I live nearby, so I can come over whenever you want."
"I don't want to," Xati mumbled, his mouth full of candy.
Sean didn't get it and instead pointed toward Lianna, who was sitting in the living room.
"My mom's here. She's friends with Big Sis."