Isildar replied, "You never asked. Besides, the assassins are dead, which means he's still alive."
While everyone was occupied with the discussion, Kayden continued pestering Alster, whispering in a teasing tone.
"So… what about your name? Wouldn't it be better if I told Ayrton that you look like a teacher in disguise?"
Alster covered his face with one hand, his voice filled with irritation.
"You're so annoying! I'll tell you, just be quiet for a moment. Didn't Colton tell you to stay away from danger?"
Alster let out a mocking laugh.
"I was happy to meet someone of my own kind who looked like me! And then you came along and ruined everything! Isn't that incredibly annoying?"
But suddenly, Kayden stopped moving. He covered his mouth in astonishment before pointing a warning finger at Alster.
"Don't you dare say another word…" he whispered.
He then turned toward Colton, only to find him engrossed in conversation with George.
'He's completely absorbed in it… Damn it. Why did I even get myself involved in this? I keep running straight into trouble without even realizing it.' Kayden thought bitterly, wishing he could simply run to his room and shut the door behind him.
Isabelle interrupted them with a firm voice.
"It's lunchtime. Everyone, to the dining table. As for Adam… Colton is part of our family, and he can help you. William also seems quite capable."
Her words were practically a polite dismissal, but there was no room for objections.
After lunch, George accompanied them outside to bid farewell to William, Hugo, and Isildar. When it was Ayrton's turn, George waved at him with a polite smile and spoke in a calm, formal tone.
"Hello, I'm George. The second son of a noble family. I work for my family's company as well as the State Council. It's a pleasure to meet you."
With that, he turned away without waiting for a response.
But Ayrton called after him, his usual harshness momentarily fading.
"Pleasure to meet you, too! I'm Ayrton Valtor!"
When George returned inside, he found the atmosphere strangely tense. Kayden was staring at Alster, who was staring right back at him with equal seriousness. Their silent exchange was practically on the verge of erupting.
Colton, meanwhile, paid no attention to their tension, remaining occupied with his father.
Arthur stepped forward and gestured toward Alster.
"Allow me to introduce this gentleman."
Alster stood as well and gave a slight bow.
"Greetings. I've been a longtime friend of your father's… My name is Arlo."
Surprise flashed across Kayden's face before turning into barely concealed disapproval. He almost shouted, This is unbelievable! but managed to restrain himself, settling for silence instead.
In an instant, Alster's appearance shifted before their eyes. A man with long black hair and eyes as red as burning embers stood in his place.
Henry leaned toward Colton and whispered sarcastically, "Look… he's your relative."
Colton didn't even turn around. He kept his gaze elsewhere, as though the words had never reached his ears.
Henry was the first to offer a greeting, while George already knew Arlo and merely acknowledged him with a brief smile.
As for Kayden, he felt somewhat embarrassed. He offered a hesitant, formal greeting before moving to sit farther away, as though trying to disappear into the crowd.
Arlo didn't miss the opportunity to tease him. He muttered loudly enough for everyone to hear,
"He annoyed me just to find out my name… and now that he knows it, he doesn't even want to get acquainted with me."
Kayden, however, wasn't bothered. His interest had already shifted elsewhere, and he raised his head to watch Colton. An unfamiliar feeling stirred within him, a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.
Colton quietly sat beside him and quickly wrote something on Kayden's hand.
Your mother knows.
Then he whispered, his voice barely escaping his lips.
"But she doesn't mind… Your father knows, too. In fact, he's quite welcoming of the idea. Everyone is pretending not to understand, but your parents are powerful… Your father is even stronger than I am, which is only natural. But you know… I feel like I've failed."
Kayden was taken aback by his confession.
"Why?"
Colton lowered his voice even further.
"Everyone outside this house is unaware of the truth, but your family knows… And you must certainly feel the headache that comes with carrying such a burden."
Kayden shook his head.
"No. In my house, it's perfectly fine to act however you want. You don't have to pretend. Just look at Arlo. He does whatever he pleases, like some kind of clown. He's annoying me right now. I feel like I've been made a fool of."
Colton chuckled softly, a mischievous smile spreading across his face.
"Are you jealous? I'm supposed to be the jealous one here, not you."
Kayden answered in a whisper, his tone strangely cryptic.
"You don't understand… Just, if he talks to you, respond. If he doesn't, ignore him."
Arlo was visibly excited, his eyes gleaming as he studied Colton. It was as though he had discovered a rare reflection of his own kind, someone who could fill the long emptiness of his isolation.
The irony, however, was that Colton seemed even colder, perhaps even more prejudiced than Isildar himself.
Arlo sat across from Colton, silently studying him, while Colton barely spared him a glance. Feeling increasingly uncomfortable, Kayden left them and headed toward George, who had been observing the scene from a distance.
"Aren't you busy?" Kayden asked, attempting to break the silence.
George replied without turning his eyes away.
"My powers are unstable. I'll leave once I've regained my balance."
He then gestured for Kayden to keep quiet before adding in a whisper,
"Colton seems upset. If I were in his position, I'd do the same. Perhaps we should support him… not Arlo. I genuinely want to encourage him."
Kayden blinked in surprise.
"Why?"
George answered calmly, with unwavering conviction.
"Because he's one of us now. Your mother is already working on the official paperwork to have his name added to the family… specifically, her own family. Perhaps this is the best possible outcome. This way, Colton will become one of the powerful ones, not only through blood, but through his name as well."
A slight tremor stirred in Kayden's chest. He whispered to himself,
"This… is a major development."
Then, in astonishment, he uttered his mother's family name.
"Sylvester…"
George continued, his voice now carrying the air of someone revealing an absurd series of secrets.
"Ever since we saw that tattoo on your body, we've known. Your father was the first to notice, but he chose to remain silent. Roger and I found out afterward. As for your mother, she sensed it from the beginning and never objected. Adele? I think she knows, too, but she saw something else in him… a sparring partner she could train with, rather than another burden like the rest of us."
"But Adele is incredibly strong. She doesn't even seem human."
"Hello."
Arlo greeted him, but Colton didn't respond immediately. Instead, he simply stared at him for a long moment, as though carefully weighing the situation.
At last, he spoke calmly.
"Hello."
He couldn't leave him hanging without a response, but his voice held not the slightest warmth.
Arlo asked with undisguised curiosity,
"How long have you been outside?"
Colton answered indifferently.
"Not very long, really."
Arlo made no effort to hide his admiration.
"But your disguise is incredible… You've mastered it so well that I couldn't even tell whether you were human or not."
Colton raised a hand to his jawbone and pressed against it lightly before asking,
"When did you notice?"
His voice sounded perfectly ordinary, but beneath the surface, disappointment was simmering at having been discovered. Even so, he continued the conversation as though it meant nothing to him.
Arlo smiled faintly.
"Ever since you came over and told Kayden to be careful around me."
Colton's eyes narrowed slightly before he asked,
"What kind are you?"
Colton understood that the question carried a deeper meaning than it seemed.
"It depends on what you're asking."
Arlo gestured with one hand.
"Your rank… You know, the classification system."
Colton smiled faintly and returned the question.
"And what is your rank?"
Arlo hesitated for a few seconds before answering.
"I'd say it's good… very good."
Colton didn't let him settle comfortably with that answer.
"Before you came out… or after?"
Arlo shifted in his seat, a slight edge creeping into his voice.
"Does it really matter? The summoning happened… and that's how I ended up in the outside world."
Colton nodded as though he couldn't care less.
"Hmm… I'm high-ranking."
He said it so casually, as though stating an indisputable fact.
Arlo's eyes widened in surprise.
"That explains a lot."
Then, unable to contain his curiosity, he asked,
"How many people have you killed to reach that rank?"
Colton smiled before answering.
"I never counted… They were defeated. Just a stupid duel."
His answers were vague and ambiguous, leaving plenty of room for interpretation, which only made the situation more unsettling. Even those standing nearby could sense the oppressive atmosphere and the discomfort hanging in the air.
Arlo seemed small before him, like a child standing before an endless sea.
But the truth was, Colton wasn't quite as cold as he appeared. He was merely high-ranking, yet he pretended to possess a strength far beyond his actual standing.
He knew perfectly well that Arlo was free, while he was not.
For a fleeting moment, he almost asked, What does freedom feel like?
But he quickly dismissed the thought. The truth he knew all too well left no room for such illusions.
There is no such thing as complete freedom… Everyone is a slave to something, no matter how liberated they believe themselves to be.
Colton's thoughts were interrupted by Arlo's words.
"A stupid duel?"
Arlo asked quietly, almost as though he feared the answer.
"People died there… A great many people."
Colton adjusted his posture and leaned slightly forward. Looking directly into Arlo's eyes, he asked coldly,
"What exactly do you mean by people?"
Arlo was taken aback, but answered simply,
"People mean people… Is there another meaning?"
Colton raised an eyebrow in disdain, his voice hardening.
"No. Certainly not. They were demons. There's an enormous difference between humans and them. Humans are weak, barely capable of accomplishing anything… But we are entirely different."
He pointed a finger at Arlo, as though putting him on trial.
"You confuse things because you live here, up above, among humans. You've associated with far too many of them… and with the enslaved as well. But I know how to tell the difference. Those who died weren't human… They were something else. Something better."
"And that is why we were isolated… because we are far superior."
Arlo lowered his head, displeasure weighing heavily on his features.
"This is the first time in many years that I've encountered someone of my own kind. I've spent my entire life dealing with humans… smiling at them every morning and saying, 'Good morning,' as though I were one of them. All the while, little by little, I was losing hope that I would ever meet someone who reminded me of what I truly am."
But Colton had no words of comfort for him. He raised a hand to his cheek, his disappointment evident, then muttered as though driving a blade into an old wound.
"You're like a wolf wearing a sheep's skin… You lived among them for so long that you forgot your own scent. You forgot your claws and fangs… You forgot who you are. Isn't that pitiful?"
Nearby, Kayden and the others were listening intently. Henry couldn't hold back any longer and commented in a low voice,
"What an example… He uses some incredibly complicated metaphors. Where did he even learn those things?"
Kayden merely nodded in silence, but inside, he was practically bursting with pride. He had taught Colton this way of using analogies, and now his student was putting that lesson into practice, not only correctly, but with enough skill to wound someone with his words.
Arlo took a slow breath, his voice growing quieter.
"I haven't forgotten who I am… I just… haven't used that side of myself in a very long time."
An inexplicable sense of guilt seeped into his words, as though Colton had somehow forced him to bear it.
Colton glanced at Arlo from the corner of his eye before looking away, as if he could no longer stand to continue. Yet he didn't end the conversation.
It was an almost impossible conversation. Colton was hardly friendly, and Arlo wasn't foolish enough to believe otherwise.
Still, Colton didn't want to leave things unresolved or allow a misunderstanding to arise out of nowhere. He was accustomed to hearing his master repeat, Smile at those you hate. A smile is another kind of weapon, along with all his talk of tricks and underhanded methods.
Colton found the idea amusing. So much so that he was almost tempted to put it to the test himself.
Then Colton shrugged indifferently, as though he had lost interest, just as his master sometimes did.
"Well, it doesn't matter. You've adapted quite well to this life… That's a very good thing. Even your scent has started to resemble theirs."
A crooked smile appeared on his face before he added teasingly,
"Will you start tasting like humans, too?"
Arlo chuckled softly and shook his head.
"Certainly not. I'll always taste like the rest of the demons. Would you like to find out?"
Colton's eyes widened slightly, and he replied with sudden seriousness,
"Really? Then brace yourself."
Arlo couldn't contain himself and burst into laughter at the sheer seriousness of his tone.
"I've lived for a very long time and worn countless faces… I've committed many crimes and done all sorts of terrible things, but I'm not as bad as you are. You're genuinely awful."
Colton furrowed his brows in confusion, unable to tell whether that was an insult or a joke. He turned toward Kayden.
Colton quickly read Kayden's lips.
He's joking.
He turned his attention back to Arlo, looking slightly more at ease.
"How is your contract?" Arlo suddenly asked, his eyes filled with curiosity.
"It's fine," Colton answered quickly and confidently. "My master is incredibly intelligent… and powerful. He'll become even stronger."
Arlo nodded with genuine admiration.
"I can see that. You're lucky."
Then he slowly stood up, as though the decision itself weighed heavily on his body, and muttered,
"I was hoping to show you my true form… but I think I've… forgotten it."
Colton froze. His eyes widened in utter disbelief.
"Forgotten…?"