Night had fallen.
The elegant crystal chandelier cast a soft glow over the Virellano family's main dining room.
The long marble table was filled with family members seated gracefully… except for one empty chair.
The seating arrangement was slightly different this time. David was seated beside Sarah, while Al took the seat next to Aurielle.
At the far end of the room, the large door slowly creaked open.
"Excuse me…"
A head peeked out from behind it—messy black hair, blank expression… or more precisely, lazy and indifferent.
Al.
He hadn't even stepped inside when a heavy voice cut through the air.
"Stop."
Edward's calm, icy tone froze him in place.
Al flinched slightly.
Hmph… what is it this time? A faint unease crept up his chest. Don't tell me someone's trying to frame me again?
He didn't move. Better to figure out what was going on first.
Edward looked at him sharply.
"Harun."
"Yes, Sir," Butler Harun replied at once.
No explanation was needed. Harun immediately understood.
He approached Al professionally—checking his collar, sleeves, posture, and of course, the scent coming off his body. Quick. Efficient. Precise.
A brief pause.
Then he walked back to Edward and quietly whispered that Al was clean and safe to join the meal without disturbing anyone.
Edward gave a single nod.
"That's enough."
Nothing more.
No elaboration.
The family exchanged subtle glances. Confusion lingered in the air.
But Edward had clearly closed the matter. He had no intention of letting the sewer-odor incident be discussed, especially not at the dinner table.
Al blinked.
Ah. So that's what this is about. Guess Father is still bothered by what happened earlier. Even though I'm completely clean now.
He simply shook his head, not wanting to drag it out, and quietly took his seat beside Aurielle.
Across the table, David watched.
Sharp eyes. Relaxed posture. Fingers lightly resting against his glass.
He had heard it.
When Harun leaned in earlier—
As a magic user, David's hearing sensitivity was exceptional.
Not smelly?
Ah… so the report I received this afternoon about Al reeking of sewer water was accurate after all. I see.
He had considered using it as another chance to mess with Al. But after observing the situation, it would be difficult to twist.
More importantly, Edward clearly had no intention of bringing it up tonight.
Fortunately for him, Sarah leaned closer from beside him.
"What was that about? Do you know something, David?" she whispered.
David gave her a faint smile.
He was actually quite pleased with Sarah's presence. She was a perfect pawn—useful, emotional, easy to steer. With her, getting rid of Al would be much easier.
He saw this as a great opportunity. Still, he couldn't look too eager. So he simply shook his head, playing it safe.
"I'm not sure, Sis. I don't know the details either. But… it seems like Dad doesn't want to talk about it. So maybe we shouldn't either."
Sarah pouted slightly.
"Hey, you don't need to worry about that. Dad probably just doesn't want it overheard by the servants nearby. If you know something, just whisper it to me. It'll stay between us."
"Ah… really?" David asked, pretending to hesitate.
Sarah nodded eagerly, even tugging lightly at his arm.
David acted as if he had no choice and gave in.
"Alright, Second Sis," he whispered.
Sarah's smile brightened at his agreement.
David didn't explain immediately.
He glanced at Al first.
Then he spoke casually, almost reluctant.
"Actually… I did see Al this afternoon. He happened to run into Dad and his subordinates."
Sarah's eyes lit up.
"Oh? And then?"
David nodded slowly.
"He… hmph… well… he came back looking rather dirty. His clothes were messy. And I heard from a few servants who accidentally overheard Dad and Al talking that…"
He paused deliberately.
"…he smelled like a sewer. Apparently, he had been playing around in one."
He gave a small shrug, as if uncertain.
Sarah looked slightly shocked.
"Are you serious, David?" she asked, seeking confirmation. Her voice almost rose, but she managed to hold it in.
However, after David nodded convincingly, she completely lost control of her tone.
"What?! Al was playing in a sewer?!"
Her voice rose just enough to carry across the table.
The others immediately turned their heads, startled—including Edward.
David covered part of his face, pretending to regret telling her. Yet on the side no one could see, he was deeply satisfied, the corner of his lips subtly curving upward.
Let's see how you deal with this, boy, he thought coldly.
Sarah abruptly stood up and pointed at Al with a look of disgust.
"Al, were you playing in a sewer this afternoon?"
With his sharp hearing, Al had already caught Sarah and David's whispers earlier, so he wasn't that surprised.
What puzzled him was something else—how did David know that much?
Even though David had heightened sensory perception as a magic user, Al had clearly heard Harun earlier as well.
The butler had only mentioned the smell to Edward. And this afternoon, David wasn't even there.
So where did he get the sewer part from?
Not bad, Al thought. Seems like he's got a pretty solid information network. Probably one of his personal servants.
Still, that wasn't important right now. He turned his head toward Sarah, who was currently making a scene.
"Oii, oii. I have no idea what you're talking about or where you heard something that weird, Sis," he replied lazily.
"Besides… whether it's true or not… is that really something you should be shouting about at the dinner table?" he continued.
He glanced around the room.
"Look. Everyone else is shocked because of you, Sis. So let's drop it and just eat."
Sarah's expression darkened.
"Tch… who even has the appetite to eat right now?!" she said in disgust.
"Hey, you… at least have some self-awareness. Maybe you're fine eating with us. But what about us? We're supposed to share a table with someone dirty like you?"
She then turned toward Edward.
"And Dad… why didn't you tell us something like this earlier? You know we're all extremely strict about hygiene. Especially…"
She turned toward Aurielle.
"…Eldest Sister."
Edward froze for a moment, a trace of guilt flashing across his face.
He knew his wife and children were particularly sensitive about cleanliness. But there was no way he could push Al away from the table over something like that.
Sandra looked at Edward in confusion, then glanced at Al from time to time. She hadn't expected her son—at his age—to be playing around in a sewer.
The others also shifted their gaze toward Aurielle, who was sitting closest to Al.
Unlike the rest of them, Aurielle had a special issue when it came to cleanliness—especially anything related to sewers.
Aurielle herself had started trembling slightly. A memory surfaced in her mind, something that haunted her, draining the color from her face.
But as the eldest sister, she didn't want to make things awkward.
Still… the information about Al playing in a sewer disturbed her deeply. If it were true, it would be a serious red flag for their relationship.
"Al… is what Sarah said true?" she asked, her voice strained with discomfort.
"Ah… hmph… that's…" Al hesitated. "Does it even matter?"
But Aurielle had already understood.
"Ah… so it's true, then…" she murmured.
Without realizing it, her body shifted slightly toward the edge of her chair—just a little farther away from him.
The discomfort inside her grew. So did the disappointment. The younger brother she had been trying to accept… turned out to enjoy things she absolutely couldn't tolerate.
Al noticed immediately and responded calmly.
"Hey, Eldest Sis," he said in an even tone. "It seems like you have a particular issue with smells. Hygiene… or maybe anything related to sewers? Your body reaction is pretty obvious."
"You knew?" Aurielle asked, surprised.
Al shook his head casually.
"Of course not. I just wanna say…"
He glanced around the table.
"Can you all not blow this out of proportion? And stop worrying about hygiene when it comes to me?"
He stood up slightly and raised his arms.
"If hygiene is what you're afraid of, I'm confident I'm the cleanest person in this room. If you don't believe me, we can test it. Call for hygiene scanners or whatever equipment you want."
Then he tugged lightly at the collar of his shirt, letting his scent disperse into the air.
"And if this is about smell, I'm pretty sure I have the freshest scent here. Feel free to come closer and check for yourselves. Or... just ask Harun."
The challenge sounded convincing—but no one dared to step forward.
In the end, all eyes turned toward Harun.
Harun, who had already inspected Al earlier, tried to recall the scent he had noticed. It was true—Al's body carried a surprisingly refreshing fragrance.
After a brief pause, he gave a sincere nod.
"Yes. Young Master Al is… perfectly clean."
"See?" Al said casually as he confidently sat back down.
"So I hope you'll stop exaggerating this," he said calmly.
"I may not be as sensitive as you all when it comes to hygiene. Cause I've never had an issue with getting dirty. If I'm dirty, I just clean up. It's that simple."
After hearing that, the tension in the room eased slightly. Their discomfort toward Al lessened.
But Sarah wasn't willing to back down.
"Does that even matter?" she snapped. "Whether you're clean now or not doesn't change the fact that you were playing in a sewer. That's just… disgusting."
She dropped back into her chair dramatically, pressing a hand to her cheek as if exhausted by the situation.
"Seriously… what is this family coming to? We've worked so hard to build a noble image, and now we have a kid who's even more revolting than low-class commoners."
Then she turned toward Edward and Sandra.
"Dad. Mom. If you really can't get rid of him, then at least reconsider your plan to make his status public. This is way too risky for our family."
"Oii. Oii. You're blowing it up again. Does something this small really need to turn into such a big deal?" Al commented lazily.
Sarah crossed her arms and leaned back stiffly in her chair, turning her face away as if even looking at him disgusted her.
"You're the only one who thinks it's small. Because being filthy is already your habit. Don't compare us to you. You're just a stray who should be grateful you're even allowed to stay here."
Her words were harsh.
But in Sarah's mind, she was already holding back by not outright insulting him further.
David, who had subtly shaped this entire scene, felt a flicker of excitement. Sarah truly had the potential to be a useful pawn against Al.
Still, he could only wear a concerned expression instead of a satisfied one.
Al leaned back slightly at her words.
He had met people far worse than Sarah before. Yet somehow, this stung more—because the one saying it was supposed to be his sister.
He stared at her quietly, not expecting something so trivial to escalate into an issue big enough to affect his plans in this house.
His gaze sharpened.
His body tensed.
The essence of a cursed human stirred within him—triggered unconsciously.
Anger rose from deep inside his chest.
And something buried in the darkness of his being seemed to claw its way upward.
"Kill. Kill. Destroy. Annihilate."
The malicious whispers echoed faintly in his mind—so subtle that even he didn't realize they were there.