A week had passed since the twins' small visit to the Addams house.
Leo had breakfast with the others before getting up to head to the office, but the twins asked him for a ride.
Rubie explained that they didn't feel like riding their bikes in today's rain.
The actual reason, however, was that they wanted him to meet Wednesday again.
After they told him what had happened during their visit, despite his efforts to keep his emotions in check, they could all see the worry in his eyes.
Nevertheless, they decided to let it be, not wanting to embarrass him.
And so he ended up doing it. Now, he was already parking in the lot, twenty minutes earlier than usual, for no clear reason.
The girls in the back seat didn't get out; instead, they kept looking around.
"What's wrong?" Leo asked curiously.
"We're looking for Wednesday's family car," Rubie said. Her eyes then shone as she spotted a black car with darkened windows and a classic vibe stopping beside them.
Leo shook his head at the anticipation he was feeling, smiling to himself. So that's the mate link? he thought, looking at his pinky and the thread tied to it, now somehow more gold than red.
At the same time, he felt as though he had just become attached to something, and the sensation left him confused.
As he looked toward the car, he spotted Wednesday stepping out. He also noticed a mature woman standing nearby, clearly close to Wednesday and strangely familiar.
He sighed, exiting the car along with Rubie and Lapis.
As they drew closer, he noticed that the woman was truly beautiful, but in his opinion, Wednesday would likely surpass her once she grew into adulthood.
At that passing thought, he wished he could find a hole to jump into.
"Greetings. You must be the father of this cute pair of ladies," Morticia said with a smile, appraising Leo and the little girls who had accomplished something no one else had managed so far—getting Wednesday to open up, or at least care.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Morticia Addams, and this is my daughter, Wednesday."
Thankfully, this had given her daughter a chance to live somewhat normally. Otherwise, she wouldn't be here now. After awakening her ability, they had planned to send her to a specific school their family had attended for generations—one specialized for the supernatural.
However, after awakening, Wednesday herself had asked to put that thought on hold.
What's more, given her daughter's personality, Morticia hadn't expected her to openly ask about family, or whether others came from their side of the world.
After all, if something didn't involve suffering, it rarely interested Wednesday. And according to her guards, Wednesday had actually taken the initiative to visit them.
When Morticia asked why, Wednesday had answered simply, "They didn't rebuke my color allergy," which had shocked her.
To others, it might seem like a strange psychological condition. To Wednesday, it was a curse.
But Morticia knew it was a restriction placed upon their lineage—one that manifested in different forms and could only be lifted under very specific conditions. Even after awakening her ability, which should have intensified her color sensitivity, Wednesday had been perfectly fine after being hugged by the pair.
"Nice to meet you, Madam Addams. My name is Alexander Ragheart. It's a pleasure," Leo said, offering a classic greeting. "And these are—"
"Greetings, Rubie and Lapis Ragheart," Morticia cut in smoothly. "Nice to meet you again."
Sensing that Leo was speaking formally, the girls introduced themselves properly.
"Well, I've heard my daughter mention a friend for the first time, so I grew curious to meet their guardian—especially after meeting them personally," she added, glancing at Rubie and Lapis before smiling.
Turning back to Leo, she said, "If possible, may I have a word with you?"
Wednesday looked as if she were about to speak, but Morticia gave her a gentle smile. "How about you little ones go ahead?"
"Alright. See you later, girls," Leo said, nodding to them.
They smiled, hugged him quickly, and dragged Wednesday away.
"They grow up so fast," Morticia commented as she watched the girls skip off.
"I completely agree," Leo replied with a smile.
"So, what did you want to talk about, Madam?" Leo asked directly, not fond of mind games.
"Oh, a straightforward, business-type matter," she said with a nod. "You know about us, right?"
The blunt question made him sigh. The night before, he had done some quick research on the Addams family and discovered they were psychic ability users—one branch of a much larger extended lineage, and firmly at the top.
"As someone from the other side, of course I know the Addams," Leo replied with a nod.
"Then what do you know about us?" Morticia asked.
Leo glanced around before answering. "How about we change locations? A school parking lot isn't ideal for this kind of discussion."
"Oh, excuse my rudeness," she said, realizing her oversight.
"No worries. How about a nearby coffee shop?" Leo suggested.
After she nodded, he smiled and returned to his car.
Soon, they were seated in a nearby café. Amusingly enough, Leo already suspected the reason for this meeting, most likely related to his origins.
This region fell under the jurisdiction of both the Frump and Addams families, making them the primary authorities over the supernatural community here.
"So, I presume this is a professional meeting," Leo said plainly.
"What makes you think so?" Morticia asked.
"Well," Leo replied, "from what I've learned, you're the ruling vessel of this region. You wouldn't meet me without reason, and it's probably about our presence here."
"Then, to be frank, why didn't you register your visit and stay with the local bureau branch?" Morticia asked.
"Frankly speaking, I didn't even know such a system existed," Leo admitted. "To be honest, we only recently decided to leave our forest, nomadic life and reintegrate into human society."
He explained openly—how they had chosen isolation, how their understanding of supernatural rules had only come recently, and how regional leadership structures were entirely unfamiliar to him.
Seeing that Leo wasn't hiding anything, only lacking knowledge, she sighed in relief.
Over the past week, her connections had gathered nearly all available information on the Ragheart clan. On the mortal side, they were practically at the top of business and industrial fabrication.
On the other side—nothing.
No abilities. No classification. Nothing, except their identity as an ancient and heavily secured clan, known for traveling the globe without leaving traces.
This contradiction had left them baffled as to how such a massive business empire could exist while remaining so thoroughly hidden.
"You speak as if you were alive even before the world's stabilization," Morticia remarked.
Despite everything she'd uncovered in her research, this visit wasn't about verification—that task belonged to the heads of the family. Her true reason was the vision she'd had.
Her initial investigations had revealed nothing beyond commerce and trade. Nothing supernatural at all.
They had assumed the Raghearts were merely a wealthy, private family.
Her vision proved otherwise—and gave them a direction to pursue, leading them to discover the supernatural side and prompting her to verify his kind of existence.
"Well, not that old," Leo said with a faint smile, "but close enough."
Seeing that he was being led into questions and subjects he wasn't ready to share, Leo asked, "So, is that really all you wanted to know?"
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