Al slowly lifted his head.
Apologize?
The very thought made something inside him revolt.
Apologize to them? I didn't do anything wrong. So why am I the one who has to say sorry?
Okay, sure. Smelling like the sewer was kind of… off, especially in a high-class setting like this. But did it really warrant an apology?
And… judging from what Sister Sarah just said, shouldn't she be the one apologizing to me instead?
A sharp sense of injustice rose in his chest.
Yet once again… all he could do was grit his teeth.
The wave of anger was real. He could feel it surging, threatening to spill over.
Injustice was always one of the strongest triggers for human anger—especially for a cursed human, whose sensitivity to rage ran far deeper than normal.
Because of his laziness, Al had actually become quite good at suppressing his emotional sensitivity and personal desires.
The provocations and unfair treatment he usually faced outside? Almost none of it could truly stir him anymore.
But this time… it was different.
He hadn't expected to be in an environment where his emotions would be this easily stirred. But at the same time, this was exactly the kind of place where he couldn't afford to lose control.
And right now, rebellion wasn't an option.
Not tonight.
He took a long, steady breath.
Straightened his back.
Fine.
Lowering his head to his parents and older sisters wasn't a real loss.
He could treat this as nothing more than basic filial piety. It didn't mean he accepted any of this.
With quiet resignation, he gave a small nod and rose to his feet.
He stepped forward, facing Edward and Sandra first.
"I'm sorry, Father. Mother. I'll be more mindful of my behavior from now on."
Edward simply gave a short nod.
Sandra offered a faint smile. She hadn't reacted much yet—she was still struggling to process the fact that her son had a habit that was rather… unpleasant.
She was confused. But as a mother, acceptance came first.
Al then turned to Sarah.
Their eyes met.
The tension in the air was unmistakable.
"…Sorry," Al said curtly.
Sarah let out a soft scoff but didn't respond.
Then he shifted his gaze to David.
Al only gave him a nod.
No apology.
In his eyes, David didn't deserve one.
David noticed.
Interesting, he thought.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Why do I feel like this kid is starting to push back against me? Don't tell me he figured out I've been targeting him?
Judging from the shift in his attitude—yesterday he was overly friendly, and now he's acting like he wants to stab me in the back—it's possible…
But no. That's unlikely. There's no way he knows. It's probably just lingering irritation from my subordinates messing with him yesterday.
A faint smile tugged at David's lips.
In the end, he's just an orphan who happens to be a little clever and resilient. Unfortunately, he's no different from the rest… just another kid craving family affection.
No wonder Sarah can get under his skin so easily.
Pathetic.
An open conflict quietly formed between them. This time, David truly looked down on Al.
But were his assumptions really correct?
Meanwhile, Al continued down the line.
And lastly—
Aurielle.
The one most affected tonight.
Al turned toward his eldest sister.
They were standing a little too close, close enough to make Aurielle feel slightly uncomfortable. Still, as the older sister, she had no intention of being overly harsh with him.
Al was about to lower his head.
And at that very moment—
David saw an opportunity.
Ohh… you just gave me an idea, he thought.
Honestly, I was already satisfied with delaying the public announcement of your status. But since you ignored me and refused to bow even a little… let's just call this your final punishment.
The punishment David had in mind wasn't physical.
It was… magical.
He quietly channeled energy into his hand. A faint purplish-green aura flickered to life. With a subtle push beneath the table, the energy shot toward Aurielle.
Basic Magic : Basic Poison
Poison Magic. A type of magic that used Entra to manipulate one form of secondary energy—Poison Energy.
This kind of energy was notoriously troublesome to control, and true poison specialists were extremely rare.
But at low levels like what David was doing now—just a light spell—almost any trained magician could still manage it.
Even so, it revealed something important.
David had already gained comprehension over two primary energy cores: Entra and Vita.
The faint spell moved.
Thin.
Subtle.
Almost traceless.
Al sensed it. His head tilted slightly, following the spell's movement.
He could intercept it—
If he moved right now.
But that would be strange.
The distance was too close.
Too fast.
Too sudden.
And countering poison magic carried risks.
David—and a few others with magical affinity—might notice something and potentially expose Al's identity.
In the end, he let it pass.
After all, it was only a light spell.
Curing it wouldn't be a problem.
So Al did nothing.
He was just slightly confused.
At first, he had assumed David only targeted him while maintaining a genuinely good relationship with the rest of the family.
But apparently, things weren't that simple.
Seeing David willing to hurt Aurielle—even if it was only lightly—gave Al an entirely new perspective on him.
Either David was merely using the sisters as pawns…
Or worse…
They might also be among his targets.
Al didn't know which one it was.
But one thing was certain—
David didn't see the Virellano sisters as anything more than tools.
The spell touched Aurielle.
In an instant.
Aurielle's body stiffened, as if something had struck her. But she had no idea what.
At first, it was just a slight tremble.
Then her stomach twisted violently, as if something was squeezing it from the inside.
The faint nausea she had felt earlier suddenly exploded into something far worse.
"Ah…"
Al hadn't even finished lowering his head.
Aurielle suddenly shot to her feet, covering her mouth as she rushed out of the room.
"Uww—!"
Her chair scraped loudly against the floor.
Sandra and the others panicked.
"Aurielle!" they shouted at the same time.
Sarah shot a sharp glare at Al.
She—and the others—had already come to the same conclusion.
This was all just another consequence of Al's earlier stupidity… and Aurielle's lingering trauma.
"Look what you did!" Sarah snapped before jumping to her feet and rushing after Aurielle.
Footsteps echoed in hurried succession.
David stood up as well.
No one noticed the strange smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he briefly glanced at Al. Then he followed in the direction of the toilet where Aurielle had run.
Almost everyone rushed after Aurielle.
Only Edward remained seated, barely reacting.
And Al—who already understood what had happened—simply stood there, leaning quietly against the side of the dining table.
Aurielle's two personal bodyguards quickly entered when they heard her name being shouted from inside the dining room.
They wanted to make sure what kind of danger might have struck their young mistress.
The other bodyguards—including Edward's and Sandra's—also moved into position.
They weren't overly aggressive since it seemed that Aurielle was the only one in distress. Still, preventive measures were necessary.
Not long after, the loud sound of vomiting echoed from the toilet.
The bodyguards—especially Aurielle's—quickly understood the situation. At the very least, Aurielle wasn't in serious danger. Just nausea and vomiting.
None of them sensed anything unusual.
Let alone realizing it was magic.
David's spell had been far too small—nothing more than a subtle push, amplifying the nausea Aurielle had already been feeling from the start.
Sarah's voice echoed from the distance.
"This is all because of that brat! I told you—he only brings sickness into this house!"
Al heard it.
But he remained where he stood.
He chose silence.
Because he could feel his emotions starting to surge again.
He suppressed it.
Carefully regulating the flow of his energy.
Edward himself hadn't expected things to escalate this far.
He thought that by asking Al to apologize, everything would settle down. Instead, it had somehow triggered Aurielle's nausea.
He didn't want to blame Al any further. In the end, this whole exaggeration stemmed from Aurielle's trauma, something that had nothing to do with Al.
Still…
Even knowing that—and even though he had been trying to firmly convince himself that Al was fine—something deep inside him still worried about the potential danger of a cursed human.
Even after spending enormous amounts of money to recruit top-tier elite bodyguards, he still didn't want the Virellano family to suffer the same fate as the Kalla family.
In fact, a small part of him was almost glad Sarah had stirred things up earlier to provoke Al. It allowed him to observe how Al would react under pressure.
That was why he hadn't stopped Sarah.
This time, Al seemed strange.
Yesterday he had spoken quite a lot, but now he simply stayed silent and complied. There was no emotional outburst at all.
In the end, Edward barely knew him. Al had only been here for two days. Maybe this was just part of his nature—reacting differently depending on the situation.
Edward finished his drink.
He stood up and let out a slow breath, calming himself as he returned to his usual cold composure.
Then he looked at Al, his face devoid of excess emotion.
"Your sister has past trauma related to sewers. It's not like before, when she could go completely hysterical. But trauma is still trauma. It always brings pain to the one who carries it," he said coolly.
Al raised his head. Part of him was still busy suppressing the turmoil in his emotions. The rest tried to respond to Edward, even if only with a small nod.
"And it seems," Edward continued quietly, "for the time being, it would be better if you don't join meals here."
He began walking toward the group gathered around Aurielle.
"I'll arrange something more appropriate. Perhaps installing a private kitchen at your place would be safer."
With that, he left Al standing alone.
Without blaming him.
Without defending him.
Just a cold decision.