Chapter 18: Exposing the Greenbergs
Chapter 18: Exposing the Greenbergs
One hour later.
In a beautiful, luxurious bedroom fit for the head of the Steeine family, which was in the heart of the castle and had high ceilings and large windows with a stunning view of the castle gardens, a woman cursed loudly and hit the glass table in front of her in rage.
Bang!
"That b*tch, how dare she? I will kill her!"
A piercing smash signalled the initial impact as the glass shards got blasted and scattered across the ground.
Shatter!
The noise reverberated and echoed throughout the space, heightening the sense of outrage and gravity brought about by my father's report.
"To plot against my son, such guts!"
My mother, who was sitting on the couch next to me, shouted in an extremely enraged manner while gritting her teeth and clenching her fist.
In spite of the fact that she had just shattered a glass table, there was not even a single scratch on her hand, clearly signifying what an insane level of physical strength she possesses.
And if it hadn't been for me grabbing her fist with my little delicate hand and then hugging her, she might have destroyed the whole room before directly leaving for the Greenbergs' territory to raze them to the ground.
"Mom, calm down; now's not the time."
"Chlo, you should calm down and listen to Luke first."
"How can I calm down Brandon, that b*tch? I treat her as a close friend, and did you see what she did? Have you thought about what would have happened if Luke had drunk that potion? If you don't want to come, then don't, but I swear I will kill their whole family. Not only the Greenbergs but even the Azalea family. I will dig out the bodies of their ancestors and kill them all again."
"And I will help you kill them in the most painful way, but calm down first; haste makes waste, and decisions shouldn't be taken in a state of rage."
"Yes, mom, hear me out for a second, please."
And with that, both me and my father started to persuade my mother, who had her eyes bloodshot in rage.
The situation was indeed just like what you all might have guessed, as the results of the investigation of that drink were out, and they were just what I had expected.
Despite the fact that our family's potion maker was unable to determine the identity of the charm potion due to the fact that it was such an ancient and rare potion, he was still able to explain some of its properties, which were now the cause of my mother's anger.
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My father, who was sitting across from me, wasn't in any better of a state than my mother either.
However, he was very rational, still managing to keep his anger under control, and only responding in short sentences.
Though I found his silence more intimidating than my mother's aggression because I'm aware of the fact that the more silent he is, the more it portends a dire outcome,
Looking at him smoke a cigarette with such fervour and sensing the flames in his eyes, I knew that he was even more furious than my mother.
But at the moment, despite his own emotions, he was helping me persuade and calm down my mother.
I think that's a dad for you? A man of the family.
Witnessing this scene, where a mother was so enraged that she was willing to go alone and wage war on two counts just because they tried to harm her son, and a father who was suppressing his own rage in order to hear what his son had to say and then take the most optimal and brutal way to kill those bastards, I couldn't help but smile involuntarily.
"Why are you smiling? Is it a funny situation?"
To my mother, who suddenly saw me smiling and asked with her fine brows furrowed, I just gently shook my head and spoke slowly with the most grateful tone and expression I could muster.
"No, mumma, I am just happy to have you both as my parents, who love me so much. I just feel blessed."
"..."
"You~!"
Sigh!
"Okay, come here."
My mother's expression finally softened as she heard my words, and with a deep sigh, she picked me up from her side and made me sit on her lap, hugging me from behind.
Looking at our mother-son duo and my mother's receding anger, an imperceptible gentleness appeared on my father's face as his anger also calmed down a lot.
Then, after extinguishing the cigarette in his hand by rubbing it on the ashtray, he asked, looking me in the eye.
"Now, can you give me a detailed account of what transpired at the party and how you learned about this drink?"
"Umm... well what happened was... "
After that, I began detailing everything that took place at the party, telling some truths while also incorporating some white lies into my narrative.
Starting with how I intentionally mocked Selina while talking to Stacey because I just didn't like the arrogant look in her eyes, how I had felt a little uneasy when I first saw the Greenbergs, and what Selina's reactions were when I ignored her while we were both sitting privately,
Then I told how I caught Selina changing her drink while taking it from the waiter, and how later she was subtly persuading me to drink it.
which made me suspicious, and after which I planned this whole scenario where I secretly poured all the drink in my Spatial pouch and then acted like I actually drank it, just to be on the safe side and see how the Greenberg family would react.
The rest was history, and both my parents understood that when the Greenberg family's girl believed that I fell for their trick, her attitude changed.
This also made all the doubts in my parents' heads clear as to where Selina got the courage to try to slap me.
Both my parents couldn't help but have a furious look on their faces as they listened to my explanation, by the end of which they were both outraged, as my mother subconsciously tightened the grip of her hug while I was sitting on her lap, which almost made me suffocate from the lack of air.
Though, after instantly realising her mistake, she loosened her grip as I took a deep breath.
"Little Luke, was the uneasiness you felt because of your title?" My mother's words fell into my ears as her breath tickled my skin.
"I don't know for sure, mom, but I suppose that Ruler of Light being such a high ranking sacred title can be the only reason for me being able to feel the maliciousness of people and a feeling of uneasiness when someone is plotting against me or something bad is going to happen."
Well, to be honest, I don't even know if my title can actually do it or not; maybe it can in the future after I have perfected its use, but definitely not now, when I am just a weak little chicken who can't even use 1% of its true strength.
Anyway, both my parents are high ranking members of society with decades of experience in dealing with such things, so they quickly regained their composure, after which my mother asked what she was most curious about.
"But Luke, how were you so sure about them? I mean, even if you were feeling unsettled, why mock her so directly and openly? It's not like you at all."
My mother was correct because it was indeed not like me; she knows me well, and the usual me wouldn't have reacted to my unease like that at all but would have secretly collected clues and information to find the reason for my unease before coming to a concrete judgement and then taking action.
However, to this question of my mother, I didn't reply to her directly, but looked at my father and asked.
"Dad, do you remember when I first told you about the many things suspicious in our family files?"
To answer my mother's questions and clear up any other concerns, I decided to tell her everything I had heard, read, or thought about the Greenbergs over the years.
"Yes, you did, and at that time I explained to you that these things are normal and that when you grow up, you will understand."
"Yes, that time, actually that day, I wasn't talking about the bad activities like smuggling, bullying, etc. that our people did, but about the part where some people in our family were deliberately creating too much trouble with the help of other families' members in the name of our Steeline family."
"What sort of?" Dad asked curiously, and my mother also focused on my words to hear what I was trying to explain.
"illegal trades, kidnapping, extortion, murders, taking loans in our name, misusing the power and status provided to them, and also colluding with the people of other families to deliberately create difficulties for our people. These are what I heard from the servants, who usually go out and know about the situation in the city."
"At that time, although I didn't take them seriously, but later, when I rechecked them again from different people and saw how many of the same names were emerging again and again, I tried to think of the consequences of these issues in the long run if someone deliberately tries to take advantage of them to render our family in great debt and against many people."
"It was then that I realised that doing so was indeed possible, and among those people who were the most involved in this matter, the name that most came up was the Greenberg family."
"But at that time this was all just my assumptions, and I thought there might be some coincidences, but when coincidences continued to happen one by one, at that point I understood that there was indeed something wrong and that the motives of the Greenbergs weren't simple."
"However, since I didn't have much proof, I waited for the opportunity, but in my heart, I was very vigilant against the Greenberg family. Because I always knew that they had nothing good going on in their minds, it was also then that their image plummeted into negatives in my mind."
Just when my words ended, my father asked instantly, as if understanding the whole matter.
"And so today, after you felt the unease, you instantly went on high alert against the Greenbergs.
"Indeed so, dad."
Silence!
My in-depth analysis and research left both parents dumbfounded.
Especially my mother, who grabbed my chin, turned my head towards her, and seriously looked at me like she had discovered a new side of her son.
A side that made her feel all the more proud.
No matter if she hugs me to sleep daily and gives me lots of kisses, but at the moment, her piercing gaze at such close proximity made my face a little red.
However, when she remembered my words, an indescribable, vicious chill appeared on her face, and her aura turned ruthless.
But this time it was my father instead of my mother who spoke first.
"Good, what a good Greenberg family! To think they would be so eager to meet their late ancestors in hell."
"Then what are you waiting for, Brandon? Let's kill those bastards; they must be staying in the Sari city because they still have to come back here tomorrow."
"No, Chloe, we have to first carefully investigate this matter before doing anything; this matter is not as simple as it looks, so we must not startle the snake, which is using the Greenbergs as a cover to hide its own existence for the purpose of secretly poisoning our family, just because of our impulsive actions."
My dad's accurate analysis surprised me, and I couldn't help but ask subconsciously.
"You also think so, dad?"
"Yes, or do you think only you know how to use your brain?"
"No, dad, that's not what I was saying."
"HAHAH, look at your face, you kid. Don't worry; I am just joking. But it's clear once you think about it; after all, if there's no one behind the Greenbergs, how could a mere count family have the guts to plot against my Steeline family? But..."
"But what, dad?"
"It's nothing; just don't think about it for now."
Looking at my dad trying to divert the topic, suddenly a thought popped up in my head, and I couldn't help but abruptly jump out of my mother's lap and ask.
"Dad, do you know who's the mastermind behind all of this?"