"No, no, no! How could Lin do such a thing! Little brat, hurry up and go back to sleep!"
The white-haired man in the mask, bare-chested, drove the young man away like he was shooing a mosquito. He seemed quite impatient with the young man's appearance, looking irritated the moment the door was knocked and the boy appeared.
"N-no! Uncle Kalpas! I'm not here to talk about that!"
"...Hmph." The masked man snorted upon hearing the young man's anxious explanation, then shifted aside to let him enter. However, the eyes beneath his mask were still fixed on the young man, the meaning clearly being that if he dared to bring up that subject, he wouldn't mind disciplining the boy on behalf of his parents.
The young man was still somewhat afraid of this Uncle who taught him cooking. Although both wore masks, the temperaments of his father and the masked man were two completely opposite extremes.
Compared to him, his father was actually quite friendly.
Once inside, the young man realized the reason the masked man was bare-chested was that he was enthusiastically cooking in the kitchen, developing new recipes even at this late hour. The young man couldn't help but be impressed by the masked man's chef spirit.
"Speak, and then leave. I don't have time to look after kids." The masked man put on a shirt printed with Winnie the Pooh and sat across from the young man. His fingers tapping on the table showed his mood. "But let me tell you upfront, if Kevin and Vil-V hadn't specifically instructed me to consider your feelings, and because you're their son, I would have thrown you into the river the first time you asked me about it."
"So, you should know what to say and what not to say."
The young man's hairs stood on end. He nodded nervously.
"Good. Now talk."
"Uncle Kalpas, I wanted to ask... before my parents got married, did anything happen?"
"Married? Hmph, who remembers such boring things from back then!" The masked man snorted disdainfully through his nose. "But I think I recall Aponia praying all night on their wedding day, saying she was sending blessings for their marriage. Tch, hypocritical woman."
"Auntie Aponia? That makes sense..."
The young man's impression of the nun Auntie was the best among all his elders, at least before this incident. She was gentle, kind, and forgiving. If the young man learned anything from the nun, it was probably noble virtues.
However, he vaguely noticed that the nun was the one among them who looked at his father with the most intense gaze... so intense it gave him chills.
"Is that all you wanted to ask?"
"W-wait a minute, Uncle Kalpas, do you remember what happened among you before my parents decided to get married?"
"What happened... back then, those things had just ended, so who had any leisure time for romance... Hmm..." The masked man saw the young man's serious gaze and, despite his impatience, thought for a moment. Then he said uncertainly, "Back then, your mother held a party to celebrate."
"When?"
"The day before your parents announced they were getting married."
That's it!
The young man was so excited he almost jumped up. He started by believing his father was actively cheating, and now that he found things were not that simple, he had finally found a crucial clue!
"I must say, your mother has great alcohol tolerance. She drank everyone, including me, under the table. I don't remember clearly what happened afterward, but I woke up the earliest and found that only your mother and father were missing."
The situation was exactly the same as the time before!
At that party, his mother must have manipulated things—for example, the alcohol she drank was actually lower proof or not alcohol at all—and then seized the opportunity to propose to his father while everyone else was unconscious, giving no one time to react.
The young man recalled the situation at the recent gathering, how the Auntie took his father away, and her cold smile, confirming his belief that she was retaliating against his mother.
"Thank you, Uncle Kalpas."
"Thanks... Tsk, if you're done, hurry up and leave. I have things to do."
...
"Qijiu... would you like anything to drink?"
The Sakura-haired woman seemed even more constrained than the young man. She nervously rubbed her fingers, completely lacking her usual brave and spirited demeanor.
After all, in her view, the reason for the father-son conflict in the man's family stemmed from her initial awkward attitude, which led to the young man's misunderstanding.
"No, thank you, Auntie Sakura. I'll be leaving soon." Realizing the woman was feeling very guilty, the young man reassured her in turn, "Don't worry, Auntie Sakura, I already know I misunderstood. I just want to know a few other things. If you can, please answer truthfully."
"Alright, I'll tell you everything I know."
"You're being too serious, Auntie Sakura..."
The young man scratched his hair and coughed. "Auntie Sakura, were you planning to... um... with my father back then?"
Before he could finish the question, the Sakura-haired woman had already lowered her head in embarrassment. She was the worst at lying and hiding her emotions among them; everything was written on her face.
"At that time... it's just that we went through a lot as comrades fighting side-by-side, so our relationship was quite close. Don't read too much into it."
"..."
This level of lying was too weak compared to the Green-haired Auntie's skill—the one who could spout eleven lies for every ten words without changing her expression.
"But... maybe that was just my unilateral thought." The Sakura-haired woman sighed, her visible disappointment not lost on the young man. "I'm the type of person Lin dislikes the most. His tolerance for me is only because of the others."
"Don't sell yourself short, Auntie Sakura. And back then..."
"Back then?"
The young man, who had let slip too much, broke out in a cold sweat. The Sakura-haired woman's sharp, knife-like gaze pierced his face.
Why are all these people so perceptive!
"Back then, my father must have accepted Auntie Sakura! He never said anything bad about you."
"Did he?"
The Sakura-haired woman frowned. She felt something was wrong, but the young man managed to gloss over it with an uneasy laugh.
Then, he tentatively asked, "Um, Auntie Sakura, what if... I mean, if... my parents' marriage was due to my mother playing a small trick to deceive all of you..."
Before the young man could finish his sentence, the Sakura-haired woman's eyes, which were colder than snow in February, made him wisely shut up.
"It's just a hypothetical! How could my father be so casual about marriage, right?"
"...That's true."
The young man wiped a cold sweat. Fortunately, the Sakura-haired woman had a strong filter for the man, or he might have made a huge mistake again.
However, the Sakura-haired woman's look made him truly realize the attitude of even a gentle woman like her upon knowing the truth. Given that, whatever the Green-haired woman did after learning the truth was no surprise...