'...That little Draco ruined the painting Dusk gave me. I scolded her properly, and she still had the nerve to talk back? Looks like I've been far too lenient these past few months.'
'...I overestimated my ability to raise a child. I'm used to simply imparting knowledge directly, not this tedious, hands-on nonsense.'
'...Teaching children step by step is such a hassle. Maybe I should just hire a tutor.'
'Hmm, perhaps I could have Dusk teach her how to paint? That might at least improve her artistic taste.'
'...No, never mind. Even if Dusk were willing to come, she'd never tolerate that troublesome Draco's temperament.'
'...Ha. She's jealous now? How amusing. Has she really started to see me as her guardian?'
'Oh? What's this? Her diary? Locked, is it? That won't stop me. Not only can I open it—I can put it back exactly as it was.'
'She misses her parents... Well, that's not my problem.'
'But... I could at least make her a few dolls. The Boss met them once—I remember their faces.'
'...'
'Am I spending too much time on her lately?'
'Hmm, not really.'
'There aren't many things that truly interest me. Naturally, I'll enjoy it while the novelty lasts.'
Even a Black Snake can have its moments of fleeting passion—
Even if its concept of time is nothing like that of short-lived species.
---
"Talulah, everything I've done has been for you~"
Kashchey's voice was soft, his smile warm and gentle—yet to Talulah, that expression felt unbearably condescending, suffocatingly superior.
He ran his hand along Edward's coffin, as countless Black Snakes began to coil around it, hissing softly.
"You should have realized it long ago, Talulah. My reasons for raising you were never... pure."
Kashchey's tone was calm, almost tender.
Talulah clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms.
Yes... she had known. Deep down, she had always known.
But still—
If he had truly seen her only as a tool, then why had he cared for her? Why had he protected her all these years?
"Talulah, you should be happy," he continued. "Once I take Edward's body, you'll finally be free from the burdens I've placed upon you. You'll be able to devote yourself wholly to your cause."
Dozens of Black Snakes pressed against Lin Kojui's sand-formed barrier, writhing, trying to bore their way inside.
Mephisto and Skullshatterer were already bound tightly in coils of living shadow.
And behind Kashchey, more serpents poised themselves, their slit-pupiled eyes fixed on Wei Yenwu—
The most dangerous man here, yet also, ironically, the safest.
After all, he was a politician. A rational man.
---
At that moment, Ch'en took Chi Xiao from Wei Yenwu's unresisting hands.
She didn't know what the Duke of Kashchey intended, but she knew one thing—
She couldn't allow him to continue desecrating this place.
This was Lungmen.
And she was its officer.
But the one who stopped her—
Was none other than Lungmen's own governor.
"Wei Yenwu! What the hell are you thinking?!"
"...Little Ch'en."
He held her back, his voice heavy, his face weary—
A weariness Ch'en had never seen in him before.
"Don't. You're not his match."
"...Then can someone tell me what the hell is going on here?!"
---
"...Kashchey."
Talulah looked at the man who had raised her, who had shaped her life for over a decade.
And in her heart, a thought surfaced—
'You've always been like this...'
The air around them began to boil.
"…Are you truly going to raise your hand against me, Talulah—my dear daughter?"
Kashchey's expression remained calm and refined, a polite smile still gracing his lips.
But the faint warmth that had once lingered in his eyes was gone, replaced entirely by cold, venomous malice.
A pet baring its fangs at its master?
How pitiful.
It was the first time Talulah had drawn her blade against him.
'…This feeling is unpleasant. I don't like it.'
'Rebellious children are always troublesome.'
Kashchey activated his Originium Arts—[Enhancement]—and casually picked up a steel rod from the ground, swinging it a few times as if to test its weight.
"But children… always need a little discipline, don't they?"
---
"…Sorry, Ch'en. But this is my family's matter. Please—don't interfere."
"…"
Ch'en looked at Talulah, confusion flashing in her eyes.
But the expression she saw on Talulah's face was one she had never seen before—calm, firm, and grim.
Talulah raised a hand, aiming it at Mephisto, Skullshatterer, and the Rat King, whose shield was on the verge of collapse under the constricting Black Snakes.
Zzzzt—
The sound of burning filled the air.
The black snakes recoiled instantly, slithering back to surround Kashchey once more.
Lin Kojui broke free from his bindings and quickly retreated to Wei Yenwu's side.
Mephisto and Skullshatterer, however, stood motionless—dazed, their minds partially corroded by the Black Snakes' influence.
In the distance, Faust quietly activated his Originium Arts, slipping closer to rescue his companions.
---
Talulah lowered her left hand and pressed it against her own head.
"?!"
Kashchey's brows furrowed in mild surprise as he withdrew the serpents he had released.
'When did she gain this kind of control?'
But what Talulah said next extinguished the last flicker of warmth in his heart.
His fleeting sentiment was trampled underfoot.
"Kashchey, I am not your daughter… and I have never once thought of you as my father."
Her right hand drew her sword, its edge gleaming as it pointed straight at him.
"I'm going to beat you—within an inch of your life!"
---
'…How dull.'
'I truly am not suited for these little games of "family."'
'No matter. Talulah's corpse will serve the same purpose.'
'There's little difference—they're both of the same Draconic bloodline.'
---
Kashchey twirled the steel rod lazily in his grip.
"Wei Yenwu, I've changed my mind."
The mocking smile crept back onto his face.
"Talulah, using the techniques I taught you against me… how utterly foolish."
The temperature around them rose sharply—
The air shimmered, and even Kashchey's lungs felt as if they were burning.
Yet he didn't care.
His enhanced body could withstand far worse.
The heat from Talulah's Arts was so intense that the steel and concrete nearby had begun to soften and melt.
Still, the steel rod in his hand remained solid, unbending.
In a blur, Kashchey appeared right before Talulah—
Anger radiated from him like a storm.
He was done playing.
He would destroy his creation completely.
---
'But why did Talulah force the serpents out of her body before saying those words?'
'I couldn't sense any deceit in her voice…'
'Or perhaps, she's still hiding something she doesn't want me to know.'
'…No matter.'
'Once you bare your fangs at me, none of that matters anymore.'
After all—
how many masters would allow their pets to attack them?
Especially when they don't even understand what they're defying?