Albe imdiately beca certain that she definitely took after Qiong Xing.
"Katarina? What’s wrong?" Qiong Xing asked.
"If Sarin is a g-grandpa... th-then that ans I’m a grandma too!"
"..."
Could a married couple really be this similar?
More importantly, how long had she been watching this?!
Katarina looked at them expectantly, clearly waiting to be called that.
Even Qiong Xing was surprised and blinked in confusion.
"Um... well... calling Katarina ’Grandma’ seems a bit..." he said carefully as he tried to refuse gently.
But Katarina suddenly looked like she had just lost all hope in life.
"Ah... well... alright," Qiong Xing said after seeing her reaction. "If Katarina is okay with it... then... please take care of us from now on too, Grandma."
"Yes, leave it to !"
Her answer was incredibly genuine.
Katarina and Sarin’s moods finally improved and the suspicious person was safely (more or less) captured.
Because of that, Albe and the others were finally able to return to their hideout.
Albe felt he was ntally exhausted.
To calm himself, he told everyone that he would rest in his room for a while.
Just then, Qiong Xing looked around carefully as if making sure no one was watching and then he quietly handed Albe a small wrapped package.
"What’s this?" Albe asked.
He accepted it out of reflex, but eh still tilted his head in confusion.
He did not recognize the package at all.
"It’s alcohol," Qiong Xing said. "A while ago, I have told Naz how to make it and asked him to prepare it. There isn’t much of it, but if you’d like, please try so."
"Is that really okay?" Albe asked.
It sounded like sothing very precious.
He wondered if it was really alright for him to receive it.
"You always help a lot," Qiong Xing replied calmly. "Today was also very tiring for you, so think of it as a reward. I don’t know if it will match your taste, but I would be happy if you enjoy it."
"...Thank you," Albe said quietly.
Qiong Xing told him to keep it a secret from the others.
Albe nodded, then carefully returned to his room while making sure no one noticed.
"A reward... huh."
His face slowly softened into a smile.
Still, no one was there to see it, so he relaxed and carefully opened the wrapping around the package.
"Ah... this must be that plum wine he ntioned before."
Inside was a small bottle filled with a light brown liquid.
There were also familiar-looking fruits inside it.
Albe had never imagined that sothing like fruit could be placed inside alcohol. But Qiong Xing had said it was delicious, so Albe had been curious.
"Maybe I should drink it before bed... No, maybe just a little first..."
He poured a small amount into a cup and telling himself it was only for tasting.
Then he took a sip.
"...This is good."
"It’s a little sweet, and the taste is refreshing. It’s actually very easy to drink."
Qiong Xing had also ntioned that the fruit inside could be eaten.
Curious, Albe decided to try one.
The fruit had a slightly crisp texture and the alcohol soaked inside it burst out with the first bite.
The flavor was surprisingly rich and delicious.
"This is bad... I might not be able to stop."
The taste and texture were completely new to him and he almost reached for another one imdiately.
But if he kept going like that, the bottle would be empty in no ti.
Panicking, he quickly closed the lid.
This was sothing Qiong Xing had given only to him and calling it a reward.
Albe wanted to drink it slowly and savor it carefully.
"...A reward."
The word made him feel warm.
There had been a ti when he could never imagine living a life where soone would give him sothing like that.
His father had shown almost no interest in his own child.
His mother had always watched his father’s mood carefully.
She constantly forced Albe to do things just to gain his father’s approval.
Even when he was very young, Albe had been forced to realize that his parents saw their children as nothing more than tools.
Even when he achieved the results they demanded, they never praised him.
Instead, they shouted at him, asking why he could not do even better.
If he tried to talk back, he was slapped.
Even when he went to his father for help, the man only replied with a single indifferent word: "I see."
Sohow his mother always found out that he had complained.
When that happened, she would lock him inside his room for several days as punishnt.
So Albe killed his own feelings and endured the pain of that life every day.
Then one day, Caribert was born.
For the first ti, Albe felt genuine joy.
Caribert might beco the only real family he would ever have.
Albe was happy about the baby’s birth.
He decided that if their parents refused to give love, then he would give it instead.
He waited eagerly for the day he could finally et the child.
But they rarely allowed him to see the baby.
The frustration made him restless, but he forced himself to endure it.
If he rebelled now, he might lose even that small chance.
And yet...
"Caribert? There’s no such child."
"What!?" Albe shouted. "That’s impossible! What did you do with that child?!"
"I don’t know what you’re talking about," his mother replied calmly. "More importantly, have you finished your studies? If you want to beco a great person like your father, you should work harder."
"Where did you take Caribert?!"
Every second sentence from her mouth was about "your father."
As if the fact that his father never paid attention to her was sohow his fault.
A great man?
Who would ever want to beco soone like that, a man who treated everyone else as if they weren’t even human?
Albe glared at her fiercely, refusing to back down.
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