The heavy window slammed shut with a "bang", its echo bouncing across the courtyard like a hammer blow.
Roy stood behind it, smirking playfully as the warm lamplight flickered on his face.
"Thanks for the gift, Grandpa Jeno!" he called out with a wink, his tone casual, yet with a hint of sly mockery.
Outside, standing beneath the withering dusk, Jeno Zoldyck was left alone.
The breeze tugged gently at his robe, his wrinkled face twitching with suppressed fury.
"Ungrateful brat! Is this how you repay kindness?"
Jeno clenched his fists. He had been the head steward of the Zoldyck estate for decades. In that time, he'd trained assassins, managed crises, and overseen the family's brutal household without a hitch. But Roy—blind, young, and terrifyingly gifted—had thrown everything into chaos.
The old man spat to the side with disdain. His mouth curled into a sneer as he muttered,
"Fed that kid like he was a pet, and he treats me like I'm the dog."
Then, with a realization, he slapped himself lightly across the cheek.
"Wait… if he's the dog… doesn't that make me the old mutt?"
Jeno gave a hollow chuckle, bitter and weary, and turned back to the manor. He gave the scorched crater in the courtyard a last, resentful glance—still steaming from Roy's earlier "lesson."
He had paid 10 million Jenny for that lesson—and in return, received humiliation and a wound to his pride.
But the worst part? That he didn't even dare retaliate.
Night falls on Kukulu Mountain.
The lights of the massive Zoldyck estate came alive one by one, like stars blooming over a cold stone sky. The forest around the manor was shrouded in quiet tension.
Somewhere deeper in the estate—hidden from the glittering skyline of the Republic of Batokia—the Zoldyck Servant Headquarters lit up. Nestled in the mountain's flank, it looked like a bunker disguised as a shrine.
Inside, a storm was brewing.
Kanaria, the young trainee maid with wild red braids and a tough Meteor Street attitude, had just returned from patrol. She was still brushing leaves off her sleeves when a message arrived:
"Summoned to the main meeting room. Now."
Her heart skipped a beat. The meeting room? At this hour? With all senior staff?
She hurried through the shadowed corridors and pushed open the thick wooden doors with trembling hands.
To her horror, the long oval table was already packed with Zoldyck family servants.
Not just the current staff—every veteran, former, and active butler was here.
Silence hung thick in the air.
Kanaria nearly tripped rushing to her seat near the back.
"S-sumi masay!" she stammered, trying to both bow and sit at the same time.
Her instincts from Meteor Street screamed—something major was about to happen.
Her gaze moved toward the head of the table… and her breath caught.
"No way… is that… Wutong?!"
The proud steward of the Zoldyck family—Indus Wutong—sat bandaged from head to toe, hooked to an IV, his once immaculate white uniform now wrinkled and bloodstained. His famous gold-rimmed glasses barely clung to his swollen face.
He looked like a man who had crawled out of hell and then returned to run a board meeting.
"Ahem."
Wutong's voice rasped like gravel. "Everyone… thank you for coming."
Even just speaking seemed to pain him. His chest heaved slightly with each word.
Despite his condition, his eyes were sharp—haunted perhaps, but unbroken.
"Roy could have killed me if he wanted," he thought. "But he didn't. That slap… it was mercy."
Wutong closed his eyes for a moment. Then he looked around the table—at loyal staff who had served under Silva, Kikyo, Zeno… even Maha himself.
He took a deep breath.
"I hereby announce… as of tomorrow…"
"I will resign from my position as Head Steward of the Zoldyck household."
"I will no longer hold any official duty under this name."
The room exploded in chaos.
Murmurs turned to gasps, and gasps to sharp whispers.
Even Kanaria, barely more than an intern, clutched her chest in disbelief.
"Resigning? The steward? That's unheard of!"
Veteran servant Jie Bujie, with his grey beard and calm presence, leaned forward.
He had served Zeno personally, and this was the first time in decades he had seen such a spectacle.
"Indus…" he asked cautiously. "Why? Is this about… an internal matter?"
"Classified," Wutong replied coldly.
His tone held finality. Duty, dignity, and shame all warred behind his words.
"I've failed the Zoldycks," he said softly. "I will not stain the family further."
"But—!"
"I won't speak of it!" Wutong barked hoarsely. "It ends here."
The younger housekeepers fidgeted. No one dared to speak.
Then—
Creeeeak…
The conference door opened.
A shadow stood in the light from the hallway.
A clean, black uniform. A face like a blade. A golden nameplate that read:
Tenda – Internal Auditor, Zoldyck Family
Behind him were two men carrying thick folders and a briefcase.
Tenda adjusted his glasses and said calmly:
"No need to hide it anymore. The cause of Steward Indus' resignation—"
"—was an incident involving Master Roy."