Deklan welcomed Granny Linsa with a vibrant smile, like he was welcoming a friend.

It was a fake smile, but his enthusiasm made it seem so real.

In contrast, Granny Linsa's face was now edged by fear and worry—gone was her smug and condescending composure as if everyone around her were lower than her. Now, her thin lips trembled visibly, drained of their usual color—like she was low on blood.

Even her wrinkles that lent her face its stern authority now deepened with unease.

It softened her once-imposing presence into something fragile, almost pitiful.

Marsha was the one who noticed the change the most.

She has never seen Granny Linsa like this.

"Come on in, come on in," Deklan gestured for her to come in. "Oh, and close the door behind you."

Granny Linsa was hesitant, but seeing the pathetic and pleading gaze Adrian was giving her, she had no other choice. As she closed the door behind her, she stood a few paces from the chair while Deklan went to the table on the side.

He was topless.

And though he was thin, his presence showed clearly that he was powerful.

Even his scrawny body could generate the strength to break anyone inside the hamlet.

Deklan grabbed a potion he prepared on the table, right beside a roll of line wraps.

It was a Minor Stamina Potion that cost 5 SD.

And it would surely give him enough strength for this moment.

"For someone who sent her own son to kill me when I was exhausted, you sure showed no remorse," Deklan said as he chugged the potion while looking at her. "But you are afraid… I guess that's also fine for me."

Tap!

Granny Linsa jolted at the sound of Deklan putting the potion down hard against the table.

She was on edge, and her senses were heightened.

Good.

Just then, she turned to look at Marsha, who was looking at her visible coldness.

It was only then did she realize Deklan's anger earlier was an act.

Both of them were together.

"W-What do you want in exchange for my son's release?" Granny Linsa stammered, eyeing Deklan warily like he was a wild beast. "Do you want me to expose myself to the people? Or do you want me to apologize and grovel at her feet? Or… do you want to kill me?"

Deklan chuckled as he sat at the table, folding his arms like a senior looking menacing to his junior.

He found it amusing to see her acting meek like this.

"You're shaking," Deklan raised a brow, smiling, "is that what you're afraid of? Being killed by me?"

Even Marsha turned to look at Deklan, fearing that he would go that far to punish Granny Linsa.

She was manipulative, a tyrant, but she didn't deserve to be killed.

Or at least, that's what Marsha thought.

"If that's what you're afraid of, don't worry, I don't hit women, the elderly, and kids," Deklan shrugged as that wasn't his intention from the start. "If I want to expose you—I wouldn't do what I did, too. And as for your apology, don't bother. It's not going to be genuine, anyway."

"Then what do you want?"

"It's nothing much, really."

Deklan grabbed Adrian by his collar and shoved him onto the chair.

He has no more strength to retaliate as a few ribs were broken, but his overall body was still fine.

Even his face was still flawless, but not for long.

Seeing Deklan placing Adrian there, Granny Linsa could feel her heart racing inside.

"Here's the deal," Deklan tightened the linen wraps around both hands—he does it so calmly to let the tension in the air—crackled into static. To make the bullying more impactful, there needs to be tension. "I'll let your son go until you confess your sins to Marsha, over here."

"Eh…?" Marsha was startled; not expecting to be involved in this.

But then again, she did ask to stay.

"And while you confessed, I'm going to keep punching him," Deklan nodded when his hands were now properly wrapped by the linen wraps he bought from the Shop—and then turned to Granny Linsa. "I'm only going to stop until you confess everything. Easy, right?"

Granny Linsa stared at Deklan, her mind was spinning from trying to grasp what he said.

He said it was easy, but this is anything but easy.

Bam!

Deklan landed a punch squarely against Adrian's face—he put his entire body into that punch.

It knocked a tooth right out of Adrian's mouth, forcing him to bend down and cough in pain.

From one punch, his teeth were already coated in blood.

"What are you standing there for?" Deklan raised a brow, waving the hand he used to punch. "In case you haven't realized, I punch quite hard. If you don't pick up your pace and confess, I am afraid your son would not survive by the time you finish."

"M-Mother, save me!" Adrian screamed.

His face was already swollen, and tears streamed down his face.

For once, Hendrick, on the side, was relieved that Deklan's attention wasn't on him.

Snapping out of her trance, Granny Linsa immediately turned to Marsha in panic.

"I… Granny is sorry for using you all this time."

Bam!

Granny Linsa's heart skipped a beat as she looked at Adrian, eating another punch.

"Granny has been using you for my own gain. You're an Exorcist, which means you're talented and can aspire for far more in life. If I send you to the academy, or even let you become an official Exorcist, you could be something. But I thought if I did that, I wouldn't be able to use you anymore. So, Granny decided to keep you around instead."

Hearing this, Marsha blinked her eyes in shock.

She couldn't believe the words that came out of Granny Linsa's mouth.

But it was only the start.

Crack!

Deklan punched harder, so hard that he cracked something on Adrian's face.

It was a disturbing and horrific sound, and blood sprayed on the wall.

Desperate, Granny Linsa clasped Marsha's hand with both of her hands—not a trace of the arrogant and calm granny anymore, only a mother who wanted to save her son from death. "Please, Marsha, Granny is wrong. But please… Tell the young master to stop."

"I said confess, not beg." Deklan's stern voice rang out as he drew back his arm, charging for another.

Bam!

As the punch slammed into Adrian's face, his head snapped to the side and his eyes rolled back.

He passed out.

"Oh, no, you don't," Deklan took out another Minor Stamina Potion. "We're only starting out."

Forcefully, he shoved the mana potion into Adrian's mouth.

And in a few seconds, his eyes jolted open.

"Welcome back!" Deklan greeted Adrian, whose face was already swollen and broken. "Try not to pass out again, or else your mother will be the one replacing you. Do you understand? You're a good son who always obeyed his mother, aren't you?"

Adrian whimpered in pain, but he nodded his head anyway.

"I… I… I…" Granny Linsa looked down, frantically trying to remember what other sins she had committed. "I sent you out to scavenge because I'd rather you die than Adrian die. And, and, and… And I also taught you to be obedient from when you were little, for the sole purpose of this. So that you're going to be a servant to me!"

"Granny… Is that really the truth?" Marsha stared at Granny Linsa with watery eyes. "Is it?"

She has always treated Granny Linsa as her own mother ever since she was taken in by her.

Never would she have thought that she was taken in only to be used.

Between them, there was never love or a familial bond.

Granny Linsa gritted her teeth and nodded, as that was the real truth she had been hiding.

She never once saw Marsha as anything more than someone she could use.

"Good, that's the spirit, granny," Deklan nodded his head, pleased, but it wasn't over. "Keep going!"

Bam!

"Keep going…? There's more?" Marsha looked at Granny Linsa in shock and heartbreak.

But Granny Linsa shook her head.

"What more do you want?! I have nothing more to say to her! That's all I can think of! What do you want me to say? That I'm a bad person? That I used her? That I have thought her nothing—but a tool?!" She roared in frustration. "What more do you want me to say?! Stop or he's going to die!"

Deklan finally stopped and straightened his back.

His fists were now dripping with blood, and Adrian before him was barely awake.

Adrian's face was so swollen that he could barely open his eyes.

Slowly, Deklan pivoted his body around to stare at Granny Linsa as if she were nothing but trash.

"Young master, I don't think she's lying…" Marsha uttered hesitantly, too stunned at how menacing—Deklan looked right now. He was a sweetheart to her, but right now, he was anything but that. "I think it's enough…"

Deklan looked at Marsha calmly and then ignored her.

He stared again at Granny Linsa, "I said all your sins. I never said only your sins to Marsha."

Deg!

Upon hearing that, Granny Linsa's heart skipped a beat.

She unconsciously turned to look at Adrian, who was now crying, as she must've been shocked to her core knowing that Deklan managed to get that information. And since he knew, it was certain that Adrian who told him.

Granny Linsa crumbled to her knees, looking down at the wooden floor in defeat.

Seeing this intense reaction, Marsha stared at her in confusion.

Her blood was running cold at what Deklan was referring to, even though she didn't know what it was.

"W-What is it…?" Marsha asked, stressed at the tension—that was building in the air, that was making her hot. "What did you do—granny?! What's so bad that it's even worse than what you did to me? Just say it!"

"Jhusft, thell her mhom…" Adrian urged; there was no more hiding it.

Deklan unwrapped the linen wraps as he could sense that Granny Linsa was about to spit it out.

His work is done, and soon, the sudden quest will be too.

"Young master, please hit Adrian again," Marsha asked, angry and impatient at the suspense.

But eventually, Granny Linsa coughed it out.

"I met up with the Alpha Ghost that controlled the Ghosts around the bridge," She said—her head still hung low. "I was hoping to make a contract with it, so I've been feeding that Alpha Ghost our people. All the people I sent to find a way to cross the river are sacrifices. I thought I could convince that Alpha Ghost to bond with Adrian."

She then raised her head, "And I was about to sacrifice you in a few days—or at least when I think the moment was right. Forgive granny, Marsha… But I only want what's best for Adrian. I hated that you have talent, but he didn't."

Granny Linsa sobbed, covering her face as she cried profusely like a baby.

It's not guilt that made her cry, but the ruin of her plans.

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