"But honestly… I'm disappointed in you, Father," Al said lightly.
"Hm… disappointed in me? What do you mean?" Edward replied.
Al let out a short sigh before answering.
"I don't know what your goal was or why, but I feel like you were assessing me. Or maybe testing me…"
"…You already knew from the start that this maid was lying, but you didn't act. Instead, you let me do whatever I wanted," he explained.
Edward's eyes widened. He hadn't expected Al to see through that.
"You knew?" he asked.
Al nodded.
"You're a business genius. Naturally, you have a deeper understanding of human reactions and behavior. And you noticed her reactions from the very beginning…"
"…She was acting like someone who had suffered severe psychological trauma from harassment, but when I approached her earlier, there was no reaction typical of someone with trauma…"
"…Instead, she reacted like someone who was guilty."
Edward was slightly stunned and stared at him without responding, while Al continued.
"So I figured you were testing something about me. And you chose to let me act, rather than stepping in yourself."
He let out a tired sigh and lowered his gaze lazily.
"But whatever it was… I hope you don't do it again, Father. I'm too lazy to deal with troublesome things like that. If something can be resolved early, just end it quickly."
Not far from him, Aurielle nodded, understanding what Al was implying.
She knew that reading people was an essential skill for a businessman—something her father had taught her from a young age.
Yet she felt a little disappointed in herself for failing to notice it. And even more disappointed seeing that Al caught on while she didn't.
Even though she didn't harbor strong prejudice like the others, that small bias alone had been enough to blind her instincts.
For her, it became a valuable—if slightly embarrassing—lesson.
The younger brother she thought was just ordinary… actually had something more.
This kid… hm… I guess I need to look at him through a new lens. He's not that simple, she thought.
Meanwhile, Sarah merely snorted, convinced that Al was just showing off and trying to look impressive.
As for Edward, he could only nod and smile faintly in the end.
"Huff… you're right," he replied calmly.
"You've entered an elite environment now, and you'll have to live like an elite from here on. Testing how capable you are at this stage is only natural."
It wasn't entirely wrong—of course, he wanted to understand what kind of person his son was.
However, the main purpose of testing Al was to see whether his emotions were stable or not.
And so far, Al was still within safe limits.
"Ah… so that's why," Al replied, nodding.
"Relax, Father. Adapting and living as an elite isn't difficult for me."
His words sounded casual and confident, but to some, they came off as arrogant.
"Hah… brat. You think life in elite circles is easy? Keep dreaming," Sarah scoffed coldly.
David nodded.
"Being rich and being elite are two different things. Even for us who grew up in elite environments, it can be overwhelming," he said.
"But… with Brother Al's impressive abilities, I think he'll manage. Even if it takes time and a lot of effort," he added.
Hearing David speak, Al turned to look at him.
Everything surrounding this incident was still shrouded in gray, but he already knew enough—David had a high chance of being connected to this case.
This kid… either someone ordered him to do it, or he's the main culprit himself. I'm not completely sure yet. But one thing's certain—he's involved, Al thought.
With a sly smile, he lifted his head and spoke up.
"I carry the Virellano blood—the one famous for its talent. So adapting isn't difficult for me at all. We'll see whether I can become an elite or not. That's not important," he said calmly.
"Because right now… there are still things that need to be discussed. And settled."
David felt slightly uncomfortable hearing that. It sounded as if Al was mocking him—for not having Virellano blood. Still, he chose to remain silent.
"Hm?" Edward murmured. "What is it?"
"Obviously, who the real culprit of this case is," Al replied casually.
"Ah… you're right," Edward said. "But are you sure you want to settle this now? Everything is still unclear. Even I can't deduce who—"
"…I'll have Harun investigate this for you." he added.
Al waved his hand dismissively.
"No need, Father. This time… I already know who the culprit is," he said.
He raised a finger as if about to point, but something halted his movement. He noticed something.
Oh? That was fast, he thought.
Unbothered, he pointed straight at David.
"It's him," Al said casually, a small smile on his face.
Everyone froze in shock. No one expected Al to accuse David outright.
"David?" Sandra murmured in disbelief. "That's impossible, Al. David couldn't be the culprit."
Sarah stepped forward as well, her expression clearly heated this time.
"Al! What are you talking about? How could you accuse David?!" she barked.
David stared sharply at Al. He hadn't expected such a direct accusation either, but he still tried to remain calm.
"Are you accusing me?" he asked.
Al smiled, his gaze relaxed.
"Accusing you? Hmph… it does make sense, actually. You have a motive. And the fact that you were the one who called that maid this afternoon—on top of that, she kept glancing at you from the very beginning. Everything lines up well enough to accuse you," he replied.
"But…"
His eyes narrowed toward David, and the small stick in his hand reappeared. In a swift, sharp motion, he threw it.
The bodyguards noticed instantly and reacted—but it was too fast. They didn't make it in time.
David saw it too. His eyes widened.
Gritting his teeth, dark purple energy surged from his palm. He immediately raised his hand in front of his face, trying to block the attack.
WOSHH!
The object flew past the right side of David's head, barely grazing his hair.
Huh? He missed. Just trying to scare me. I thought he had something. Turns out he's just a kid who doesn't even know how to throw properly.
Meanwhile, Al smiled and calmly continued his sentence.
"…I'm not accusing you."
"Huh?" David muttered.
And then—
"AAARRGGGG!!!"
A scream rang out from behind him.
Everyone turned toward the sound. A bodyguard was clutching his ear, blood pouring through his fingers.
The stick Al had thrown was embedded deep into the wall—and stuck to it was a small chunk of flesh.
A piece of the bodyguard's ear.
"Al! What are you doing?!" Edward shouted in shock this time, momentarily losing his usual cold composure.
"What?" David muttered as well, just as stunned.
He felt a flicker of relief when he realized Al wasn't actually targeting him—but the sheer power of that attack still left him shaken.
He turned to stare at Al, instinctively detecting and analyzing him.
Hm? This kid doesn't have any magical energy in his body. Then how did he pull off an attack that strong? Does that even make sense without magic?
He wasn't the only one. Every bodyguard with magical affiliations tried to sense Al's energy, and they all came to the same conclusion.
Their faces turned pale.
Even if they had been looking down on Al before, they now understood one thing clearly—if that attack had hit them, it would've meant a fatal injury, or even death.
But when David and the bodyguards focused on the stick, it became clear—though faint—that the object itself carried magical energy.
The sensation was strange, unfamiliar, but unmistakably magic.
They quickly reached the same conclusion: that overwhelming power came from the object itself—an artifact.
Ah… so that's why. Interesting. I should find out what that thing is. And if it's good enough… maybe I can make it mine, David thought.
He narrowed his gaze at Al.
He never expected a mere orphan to have any connection to a magical artifact.
Meanwhile, Al was already walking toward the injured bodyguard, completely ignoring the sharp stares and angry shouts around him.
"Y-young master… w-why… did you attack me?" the bodyguard asked, furious yet too afraid to resist.
Al walked past him, plucked the stick from the wall, then calmly picked up the piece of ear with two fingers—no disgust, no expression.
Just lazy indifference.
"Did I miss? I was aiming for your forehead. Somehow hit your ear instead," he muttered casually, as if it were nothing.
The bodyguard's eyes went wide. He finally realized the young man had been aiming to kill him.
Meanwhile, Al let out a light laugh and casually tossed the piece of ear back to its owner.
"Ahaha… just kidding. No need to be that scared. I don't have any intention of killing someone," he said.
"But if you target me again in the future…"
He crouched down and locked eyes with the man.
"…my intentions might change."
"Al… do you even know what you're doing?!" Edward demanded.
Al didn't respond.
He reached into the bodyguard's pocket and pulled out a small black, box-shaped device.
Then he tossed it to Harun.
"That's his messenger device. Check the serial number and frequency. It'll match the one from earlier," Al said.
Harun hesitated for a moment, but still complied and immediately ran the check.
And sure enough—it matched. When he tried sending a message from the device, it connected directly to the small transmitter found earlier.
"This guy is the one who… hmm… 'most likely' sent that message to the maid," Al said calmly. "Which makes it pretty clear—he's the culprit."
Only then did Edward and the others realize it.
Al had never been accusing David.
He had been pointing at the bodyguard standing behind him all along.
And at the same time, they finally understood one more thing—
Just how barbaric Al could be.