Lulu was practically bouncing in place right now.

Her fists clenched tightly by her chest, her eyes sparkling as she rocked back and forth on her feet.

Her whole face was lit up with excitement, and she looked like a child who'd just been handed the greatest birthday present imaginable.

Because finally—finally—Luca had dropped all that polite, gentlemanly act.

Earlier, when her father and Luca had faced one another, she had hated how formal and composed Luca had been.

He'd spoken calmly, respectfully, never raising his voice, and though that was the right thing to do in that situation, it had frustrated her so much she could barely stay still.

She had wanted—no needed—Luca to knock her father flat on his pompous ass, as every time Julius opened his mouth with that patronizing tone, Lulu's blood boiled.

But when it had all ended peacefully, with both men maintaining some ridiculous civility, she had sulked.

But now?

Now it was different.

Now Luca wasn't just standing up to Isaac—who she already despised more than anyone else in the room—but he was also facing her father head-on.

Directly.

Without any formality, without restraint, without an ounce of politeness left in him.

And he looked like he didn't give a damn.

That smug, calm expression her father always wore was also tearing through and Lulu could barely contain herself.

She looked at him with eyes full adoration as she whispered under her breath,

"That's it, Luca! Teach them! Teach them both a lesson!"

Luna, meanwhile, wasn't that different—though her excitement was a quieter, deeper kind. She wasn't bouncing or whispering.

Instead, her eyes were locked on Luca.

He looked—magnificent.

The way he stood there, his posture straight, his tone sharp and fearless, his eyes unwavering—it was like watching a knight from one of those old fairytales come to life.

To her, in that moment, he wasn't just Luca.

He was her hero, her prince in shining armor standing against all the corruption in the world.

Leona noticed the way her daughter looked at him—noticed the slight, entranced smile, the awe in her eyes.

It was obvious what that look meant.

And while it made Leona's lips twitch as she didn't even know her daughter could make such a expression, it also made her uneasy.

Because Leona herself was caught between two emotions—relief and concern.

Relief that Luca was finally putting the arrogant fool in his place.

But concern, because the repercussions of defying Julius so openly might de-stabilise the overall scenario and make him do something unnecessary that she would have to follow along with.

Her heart was torn right down the middle.

Nyx, on the other hand, was the picture of calm delight.

She was holding Lisa in her arms, whispering a little story into the girl's ear, distracting her from the ugliness unfolding just a few feet away.

But even as she spoke softly to the child, her sharp eyes didn't miss a single thing.

The amused curl of her lips gave her away—she was enjoying this.

Every single second of it.

Meanwhile, the 'main character' of this disaster, Isaac looked like he was about to faint.

His face was completely drained of color, and his legs were shaking so hard he could barely stay upright.

He was pale, sweating, and one wrong move away from collapsing.

He hadn't expected to see Luca like this.

Earlier, he had thought of him as polite, soft-spoken, timid.

Someone he could talk circles around if needed and that's exactly why he dared to do something so atrocious while he watched, thinking that he wouldn't care about a forsaken woman.

But now?

Now he realized just how wrong he was.

Luca wasn't calm. He wasn't composed.

He was furious.

And the fire burning in his eyes made Isaac's blood turn cold.

"M-Master Julius…" He whispered under his breath, praying that his master would save him.

And lucky for him, that when Julius finally stepped forward, his polite mask gone as well. His lips was tight, his brows furrowed, his tone low and sharp.

"Your behavior has gone too far, Luca."

He said with authority.

"Not only are you insulting my disciple, calling him the most horrible things imaginable—but you're even threatening his life."

"Is that what a so-called Hero like you should be doing?"

And to this, Luca turned his gaze toward Julius, slowly, his expression unreadable for a moment.

Then—suddenly—he laughed.

A loud, rich laughter that filled the room, echoing off the walls, startling everyone present.

"Threatening?" Luca repeated, still chuckling as he tilted his head slightly. "You think I'm just threatening him, Julius?"

Julius frowned, confused about what he was implying, while Luca's smile widened into a dangerous grin and he shook his head slowly.

"No, no, no, Julius...not at all."

He took a step forward and the air itself seemed to grow heavier.

"I'm not threatening him..."

He said before finally saying with finality,

"...I'm going to kill him."

The words hit like a hammer.

Even Julius stiffened, his pupils dilating as the weight of those words sank in.

But Luca wasn't done.

"Did you hear me clearly?" He asked, his voice low but perfectly clear. "I said, I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him with these very hands."

"And once I'm done, I'll carve his name on a stone and bury him myself."

Isaac's breath hitched violently. "W-What?! No, please—"

But Luca ignored him completely.

Instead, he turned his cold eyes back toward Julius.

"I mean really. What do you expect."

Luca went on casually, his voice carrying a dark, sarcastic edge.

"He's supposed to be a healer, isn't he? Calls himself a great doctor, a disciple of yours, full of confidence."

"Yet he's standing here babbling like a lost child."

He raised his voice, imitating Isaac in a childish tone, waving his hands dramatically.

" 'I read it in a book! I read it in a book!' "

The mimicry made Lulu snort with laughter, while Luna stifled a giggle behind her hand.

"That's all he's got to say!" Luca continued mockingly. "He's like a damn parrot repeating the same thing over and over again. No practical sense! No real knowledge! No awareness of the danger of his own actions!"

"But that's honestly fine." He shrugged.

"If he wants to pretend to be a doctor, that's fine. Let him treat rabbits and frogs all he wants."

"But..." His voice dropped to a dark growl. "...using his idiotic experiments on a dying woman, that's enough for me to take his life."

Hearing him write his death off, Isaac's knees gave way and he fell to the floor, trembling violently.

"P-Please...no...I didn't—"

Luca ignored him completely and took another step forward, his eyes gleaming coldly.

"And not only that." He continued. "He had the balls to do all that, to call it treatment, to act righteous—only to grope her right in front of us. Right in front of her own daughter."

"And right in front of me."

His tone turned into pure malice.

"I don't know where he found that kind of courage." Luca said quietly. "But it's going to land him in the ground. Because once I'm done with him, I'll make sure he's buried deep enough that no one will ever find his corpse."

The room fell utterly silent.

The only sound was Isaac's shaking breath. His lips trembled as he stammered.

"M-Master, h-help me...please...help me…"

He crawled toward Julius with desperate, tear-filled eyes.

"Please! He's going to kill me! Master, please, help me!"

But instead of the comfort he was expecting—Julius snapped his head toward him

"Silence!" He barked, his voice thunderous enough to make Isaac flinch. "Shut your mouth right now and stop shaking like a pathetic fool!"

Isaac froze on the spot, his hands still clutching the robe but his lips sealing tight in fear.

Julius let out a heavy exhale, his eyes turning back toward Luca with a cold, unimpressed glare.

"And as for you…"

His tone was sharp, commanding, the arrogance in his eyes unmistakable.

"You have no right to take his life. None."

He took a slow step forward, his chin raised high.

"Not only is he my disciple, but he is under my protection. Even if he has made...a few mistakes." He said dismissively. "You have no authority here to decide who lives and dies."

"So, on my behalf, you will let this matter go."

The arrogance in those words hung in the air.

Luca stared at him in silence for a moment—then slowly tilted his head, his expression morphing into something between disbelief and amusement.

"Let it go?"

He chuckled softly, the sound dark and mocking.

"You really don't hear yourself, do you?"

He took a step forward, the faintest smirk curling at the edge of his mouth.

"You're talking as if you're untouchable. As if somehow, you're scot-free in all this."

"No, no, no, Julius." He shook his head, clicking his tongue. "Don't get it twisted."

He lifted a single finger, wagging it lightly.

"You're not walking away from this either."

His tone dropped, his voice cold as ice.

"Because your fate...is the same as his."

The room froze.

Luna gasped softly, her hand flying to her mouth.

Lulu's eyes went wide, her excitement momentarily breaking into disbelief.

But Luca's expression never wavered.

"Yes, Julius. You heard me right."

His smile widened dangerously.

"I'm going to slaughter you too."

Hearing this shocking statement that no one expected, Nyx's smile faltered, her eyes narrowing slightly as her frown deepened as if that development wasn't something she wanted at the moment.

Leona's body stiffened, her instincts screaming that something had just shifted beyond control.

Even Julius's confidence faltered for a brief moment.

He blinked, his throat tightening as if trying to gauge whether the man before him was serious.

But Luca's tone and the gleam in his eyes left no room for doubt.

Then, Luca's gaze shifted. It turned sharply toward Rufus.

"And you." He said, his voice low and dripping with disgust.

"W-What? Me?" Rufus's eyes trembled in shock.

"Yes, you." Luca's tone hardened. "You were already on my list the moment I saw how you spoke to your wife."

He started walking toward him, as he spoke in disdain.

"The way you mocked her, degraded her, blamed her for her own suffering...it already made my blood boil."

Rufus backed away slightly.

"But now." Luca went on, shaking his head slowly. "After seeing how you just stood there watching as your sick wife almost got molested right in front of you."

"And how you didn't even move like you were pimping out to a stranger—rather than the mother of your child?"

He leaned forward slightly, voice cold enough to freeze the air.

"That alone earns you a place under the same blade."

And then, with a deceptively friendly tone, he added.

"So congratulations, my friend—your head's on the chopping block too."

Rufus stumbled back, trembling, completely speechless. His entire face was drained of color as sweat rolled down his neck.

"Y-You can't...You can't mean that…"

"Oh, I do." Luca's smile faded into a deadly stillness.

Isaac, meanwhile, was losing it completely.

He fell onto his knees, crawling over to Julius again, his hands clawing at the hem of his robe.

"Master! H-He's going to kill us! He's going to kill all of us! What do we do?! We can't stop him! I don't want to die, I don't want to die!"

But Julius didn't even glance at him.

Instead, his foot shot forward—kicking Isaac in the chest and sending him sprawling backward onto the floor.

Bang!

The sudden crack of impact made Lulu jump.

"Pathetic." Julius spat. "Stop sniveling and crying like a child! Just because he threatens to kill you doesn't mean he can."

He turned his head slightly toward Luca, glaring.

"He can't kill us. After all, he's bound by restrictions. He doesn't have the freedom to act on every whim."

"Don't you see, Isaac? It's all talk. He's trying to scare you."

Luca raised an eyebrow, then smiled faintly.

"Oh? "Interesting. You actually know about that."

He tilted his head, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"You shouldn't. That's not the kind of information people like you are supposed to have."

His smirk deepened.

"But you're right." He lifted one hand casually. "I am restricted."

He sighed dramatically. "If not for that, I would've already slaughtered all three of you by now."

Isaac whimpered and shuffled backward. Rufus shook his head like he wanted nothing to do with this.

Then Luca's tone changed. His voice lowered, carrying a hint of danger.

"But let me show you something anyway."

He raised his hand—slowly.

Isaac flinched. Rufus raised his arms defensively. Even Julius stiffened.

And then Luca swung his arm downward.

The air exploded.

Whoosh!

A violent burst of wind surged through the room, shaking the walls and rattling every loose object.

The flames flickered wildly, and papers flew from the shelves. Lulu and Luna gasped as their skirts flew upward, both yelping and trying to hold them down as their hair whipped wildly around them.

The sheer force of that single motion left everyone frozen in awe—and fear.

When the storm finally settled, Luca lowered his hand, that unsettling smile still lingering.

"Now imagine if that wind wasn't empty. Imagine if instead of air...it was you."

He leaned forward slightly.

"You'd be in pieces already."

He straightened again, shrugging casually.

"But yes." He said in a polite tone. "Unfortunately, you're right. I can't kill you. Not yet."

Then his expression darkened, the cold gleam returning to his eyes.

"But the moment those restrictions vanish…"

He smiled, his voice quiet but full of promise.

"I'll take my time. I'll make sure you feel every single moment as I tear you apart into pieces."

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