"So what's your decision, Father?" Al asked.
Edward narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"A mere servant is framing your biological son and causing chaos in this house," Al replied calmly. "How do you plan to deal with that?"
"Huh?" Edward muttered, genuinely confused—mirrored by the expressions around the room.
Aurielle looked startled. "Are you saying she framed you? Does that even make sense?"
"You harassed someone, and instead of feeling guilty or apologizing, you're accusing her now?" Sarah said coldly. "Classic."
Al glanced at her.
"After what you did to me earlier this afternoon," he replied flatly, "you're the least qualified person here to talk about apologies."
Sarah's expression darkened instantly.
"You—!" she snapped.
But Al ignored her, waving his hand lazily as if telling her not to interfere.
He turned back to the room and spoke clearly.
"This case can be viewed from at least two perspectives. From her side, I harassed her. From my side, I was framed. For now, both are technically valid."
"Normally, whoever can present the strongest argument or evidence would be considered closest to the truth."
Then his gaze locked onto Edward.
"But before we move on to anything troublesome, I want to ask you something—as the authority here."
He let out a light breath.
"I know my image as an orphan makes it very easy for people to see me as the culprit right now. That's why I want to ask this…"
"As your son... do I even have a chance for you to trust me?" he asked. "Or... have you already decided that whatever I say won't matter, and that I'm guilty no matter what?"
"If I don't have that chance," he continued calmly, "then there's no point arguing. I'm too lazy for pointless trouble."
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"But if I do—then let's see this through, until the truth is revealed."
His eyes turned sharp as they landed on Bia.
"…then whoever is truly at fault should receive appropriate punishment. Right?"
At those words and that gaze, Bia felt a chill crawl up her spine. She looked to the side again, hoping someone—anyone—would step in.
But no one spoke.
Meanwhile, Edward hadn't expected Al to display such tactical thinking.
He wouldn't have been surprised if this came from a child raised among elite circles—but from an orphan, someone with far fewer resources and education?
That level of calm and clarity was impressive.
For Edward, Al's reluctance to deal with unnecessary trouble suggested a lack of ambition—but even so, Al was proving himself capable.
Edward's lips curved into a faint smile.
He might actually be able to compete in elite society, he thought. No matter where my bloodline grows up, the talent of the Virellano family doesn't fade.
However, before Edward could respond, Sarah spoke again—her tone sharp, controlled, but heavy with anger.
"What part of this is 'valid'?" she snapped coldly.
"This girl has shown nothing but professionalism and good ethics while working here. She doesn't even know you—there's no reason for her to frame you."
She snorted.
"So your claim of being framed is just the classic excuse of a criminal who refuses to admit guilt."
Her words were followed by nods from several family members—everyone except Edward. They knew Bia well, and Sarah's reasoning made sense to them.
Aurielle added quietly, "I don't want to say this, but things like this only started happening after you arrived. Everything feels strange—and it all points to you."
Beside Sandra, whose expression clearly showed discomfort with the family drama unfolding, David merely shook his head and offered a quiet comment.
"This will be very embarrassing for you if you really did something like that, Al," he murmured calmly.
Al exhaled quietly.
He didn't respond to his siblings' remarks at all, focusing entirely on Edward.
If Edward was a reasonable person—someone who held even a little trust in him as a son—then debating this was fine, even necessary, for the sake of his integration into the family.
But if not, then there was no point. It would only destabilize his emotions. Choosing a different path to integrate—or simply leaving—would be better.
Edward caught the meaning behind Al's gaze and finally let out a light sigh.
"Of course. You are my son, and nothing is clear yet," Edward said calmly. "Explain what you wish to explain. Prove what you can prove."
His eyes narrowed.
"But… if you are ultimately proven to be at fault, do not expect mercy from me," he added firmly, his authority unmistakable.
Although the words were directed at Al, everyone in the room felt a chill—Sandra included. She glanced at Edward briefly before lowering her gaze again.
Al himself, however, remained calm and unshaken. Even though he didn't yet know how this would end.
He simply nodded.
"Yes, Father," he said evenly. "Then allow me to explain."
Al then swept his gaze across the room, until it finally settled on Harun—someone who undeniably had access to the house's internal systems.
"She claimed that I harassed her in that room. That area isn't covered by CCTV or any other monitoring devices, right?" he said calmly.
"That means physical evidence is extremely unlikely to exist."
He then pointed at Bia.
"So when this maid claims that I harassed her, what evidence does she actually have?"
Edward turned to Harun, his look clearly asking whether that area truly had no camera coverage.
Understanding the gesture, Harun explained that it was indeed a blind spot. The last area covered by CCTV was the end of the corridor.
The only visual record involving Bia was her rushing out of that corridor, returning to the maids' quarters, and breaking down in tears.
Everyone heard the explanation.
Bia looked increasingly cornered, but she chose to maintain her sorrowful act.
Once again, the corner of her eye flicked toward that same direction as she tried to figure out what she should say next.
She was fairly confident that, regardless of what she explained, the absence of evidence would keep Al in a difficult position—while her own would remain relatively safe.
Everyone's eyes turned to Bia, waiting to see how she would explain herself.
But before she could speak, Sarah cut in.
"Proof? What kind of proof do you expect?" she snapped irritably.
"She's crying like that already. What more proof do you need? There's an effect—so there must be a cause," Sarah said, clearly annoyed.
Hearing that, several people nodded in agreement.
"I agree," Aurielle added. "And what confuses me is this—she has no reason to frame you, and no reason to lie. So why would she?"
"Exactly," Sarah continued coldly.
"If we look at it objectively, this kid used to live wild on the streets. Someone like that obviously doesn't have strong morals. So it's perfectly logical for him to harass a maid here."
Aurielle nodded along.
"Yeah. Even with Bia's appearance, she still has plenty of admirers. Being a victim of harassment is a very real risk for her. Unless you're saying it was David who did it, I wouldn't believe it.".
David froze slightly, clearly not expecting his name to be dragged into it.
"Ah… Eldest Sister…" he muttered awkwardly.
Bia felt a sting of offense but only nodded in silence.
Meanwhile, Al simply shook his head.
"I'm disappointed that your thinking doesn't go any further than that," Al replied calmly.
He then turned his gaze to Aurielle.
"It's not that she has no reason to frame me. You just haven't looked far enough to see all the possible scenarios," he said evenly.
Then his eyes shifted to Sarah.
"Crying is an effect, yes. But the cause isn't always singular. There are countless reasons why someone might cry. And in this case…"
His gaze finally settled on Bia.
"…it's entirely possible she's acting because someone ordered her to—or pressured her into it."
At last, he looked toward Edward.
"That's exactly why supporting evidence matters, whether it's weak or strong."
His words were enough to open people's eyes, forcing them to consider it as a valid possibility.
Including Bia. She hadn't expected Al to be this sharp for someone who had grown up in an orphanage.
As for Aurielle and Sarah, their attention lingered less on the logic itself and more on their irritation at the way Al addressed them.
"Are you saying someone ordered her to frame you?" Edward asked calmly.
Al nodded.
"That's the most likely possibility, Father," Al replied.
"She's just a maid. It would be strange for her to dare do something like this on her own. If I was truly framed, then someone with a status comparable to mine must have been the one giving the order."
Edward found the reasoning plausible and turned his gaze toward Bia.
Under that sharp stare, Bia hurriedly shook her head in panic.
"N-No, Master. I—I was really harassed," she insisted.
It wasn't convincing. But for now, everything remained gray.
Edward still hadn't found any clear breakthrough—only two opposing sides, both carrying equal weight.
Breaking the tense silence, David finally spoke up.
"Al… sorry for stepping in, but it feels like you're trying to drag us into this now. Am I right?" he asked.
Aurielle and Sarah nodded. They had sensed it too—Al's argument was clearly pointing in their direction.
Al nodded in response.
"Yup. Whether it's you, or even Father and Mother," he said calmly. "I don't want to frame it as a negative accusation. It could just be someone testing me…"
He let out a light breath.
"…or someone who genuinely has a problem with my presence in this family."
Sarah scoffed.
"Wow… I can't believe you're accusing us now. I don't need to stoop that low and frame you just to kick you out of this house," she complained coldly.
Aurielle and David nodded along.
"Yeah. This kind of method is childish," David added.
The three of them then turned their gaze toward Edward and Sandra.
Sandra shook her head, and Edward did the same.
"You know your father and I would never use a method like that," Sandra said.
Edward cleared his throat and turned back to Al.
"And I never had any intention of testing you that way, Al," he added.
"So what then? If you keep going like this, everything will just end in a deadlock—conflict without anyone ever knowing the truth."
Al nodded.
"I understand, Father," he replied calmly.
"I could actually end this right here. At the very least, my position and the maid's would remain equal. All that would be left is for you to conduct a deeper investigation, but…"
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"…I have supporting evidence," he continued.
At those words, Bia was visibly startled. But she quickly dismissed it as a bluff—there was no way he could have evidence.
In her mind, even if Al managed to make this an even match, as long as his name wasn't completely clean, it would still be easy to tarnish his reputation later, for that person's benefit.
Her eyes flicked subtly in that direction again.
"You have evidence?" Edward asked.
Al nodded.
"Not one hundred percent conclusive," he admitted, "but enough to put me in a better position."
Edward narrowed his eyes.
"So?" he prompted.
Al smiled and turned his gaze back to Bia as he walked closer.
"I'm honestly too lazy to deal with something this troublesome," he said casually. "But allow me to present it anyway."