In a delicate situation like this, how was Flandre supposed to handle it?
While she was still contemplating her options, the door pushed open and the man stepped inside.
The moment he entered, Li Meng's eyes fell upon his daughter sitting beside Flandre. Excited, he hurried forward to pull her into his arms, only to stop dead in his tracks. To his utter shock, his daughter didn't run to him with open arms; instead, she shrank back, hiding timidly behind the little blonde girl.
The gaze his daughter directed at him was filled with cold estrangement.
Li Meng felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his chest. When she was younger, his daughter had been closer to him than anyone else in the world; why was she looking at him like he was a complete stranger now?
He took another step forward, but Hong Meiling smoothly intercepted him, blocking his path.
"Are you Li Li's father?"
Li Meng nodded stiffly. "Yes... I am!"
"Then do you have any idea what kind of state your daughter is actually in?" Hong Meiling asked, staring straight into his eyes.
Hearing her words, Li Meng opened his mouth to say that he did, but the words caught in his throat. He couldn't lie to himself. Looking past Hong Meiling toward his daughter, he saw only fear and profound distrust flickering in the child's dark eyes.
His posture completely caved. Slumping onto his knees, he curled up on the cold floor, burying his face in his hands as he wept bitterly, choking out apology after apology.
"A grown man crying like this instead of comforting your daughter... it only makes me look down on you even more," Hong Meiling scolded coldly, her voice devoid of sympathy.
She pulled out the stack of witness statements the Guard Department officers had collected from the neighbors and Li Li's school earlier that day, slapping the papers down right in front of his face.
"Look for yourself at what a vicious monster of a stepmother you brought into your daughter's life! Every single day at noon, while the other children eat lovingly prepared omurice boxes, your daughter is given a single, fist-sized ball of plain rice. No side dishes, let alone meat! Even if you were raising a Cloud Beast, you wouldn't mistreat it like that!"
Hong Meiling's voice grew sharper with every word. "I initially thought your family was living in total poverty, but the officers checked—you replaced every piece of furniture in your home with brand-new, top-tier models within the last six months! Yet you couldn't bear to give this child a single cent of pocket money? For this year's spring excursion, the school collected two hundred dollars per student. Your household only paid one hundred, claiming outside food was 'unhealthy' for her! So while every other child ate the meals provided by the school, your daughter sat alone in the corner, gnawing on a cold rice ball until even her teacher couldn't bear to watch!"
She gestured toward the door. "And today—is fifteen Lungmen dollars expensive?! What is wrong with a young child spending fifteen Lungmen dollars on a clay doll she loves?! Dragging her through the street, verbally abusing her in front of a massive crowd, and demanding a merchant give a refund... Did that woman ever consider for a single second that your daughter is a human being with her own dignity?! Do you have any concept of the deep psychological scarring this kind of public humiliation inflicts on a child?!"
Hong Meiling showed the man no mercy, lashing him with cold, hard truths until he was completely speechless. He could only cover his face in profound shame, stammering endless, hollow apologies.
Hearing her father's desperate weeping, Li Li felt a sudden pang of pity and instinctively took a step toward him, but Flandre gently held her back by the wrist.
"It's not over yet. Don't be in such a hurry," Flandre whispered softly.
Having delivered her initial rebuke, Hong Meiling pressed on relentlessly.
"I reviewed your work records. You get three days of leave every month and a full half-month holiday for the New Year. You've been married to that woman for two years. Over those twenty-four months, that equals at least sixty regular days off plus two extended holidays—meaning you were physically home for a grand total of three whole months!"
Hong Meiling leaned down, her gaze piercing. "In those three months, you mean to tell me you never noticed anything unusual at home? You never noticed the severe malnutrition and emotional abuse Li Li was suffering? There are only two possibilities here. Either you knowingly condoned it, making you an active accomplice in abusing your own daughter—or you simply never cared about her at all and remained completely indifferent to her existence! In my eyes, regardless of which one it is, you are utterly unfit to be a father."
Hong Meiling certainly knew how to twist the knife. Her words cut through his remaining defenses like jagged blades, leaving him bleeding emotionally.
Having thoroughly vented her frustration, she ignored the sprawling, sobbing man who looked ready to faint from shame. Turning on her heel, she walked back to Flandre's side.
Only then did Flandre loosen her grip on Li Li's small hand.
The little girl stepped forward cautiously, her tiny shoes pattering softly against the floor. "Daddy...?"
Hearing his daughter's frail voice, Li Meng looked up. Seeing her fearful, hesitant eyes, another wave of agony washed over his heart. Trembling, he reached out and gently touched her cheek. After confirming she didn't flinch away, he pulled her tightly into a desperate embrace.
"I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry, Li Li..." Li Meng sobbed uncontrollably, his voice cracking. "I genuinely thought she would give you a proper home and a happy childhood... I truly didn't know she was treating you like this..."
It took over half an hour for the man's intense crying spell to subside.
Wiping his swollen eyes, Li Meng looked up at the two girls, intending to offer his deepest thanks. But as he raised his head, his vision was suddenly filled by a pair of glowing, crimson eyes.
Before he could process what he was seeing, his vision went pitch-black, and he collapsed heavily onto the floor, causing Li Li to let out a terrified scream.
Hearing the sudden commotion from outside, Beatrice and a Guard Department officer pushed open the door, finding Li Meng lying motionless on the ground.
"What happened in here?!" Beatrice asked, looking startled.
Flandre shrugged her small shoulders nonchalantly. "Maybe he fainted from crying too hard? It's my first time seeing an adult cry so much, and a man at that! Goodness, my ears are practically calloused from all the noise."
Flandre trotted over to the doorway, looking back at Li Li with a faint smirk. "If anyone ever mistreats you at home again, just come straight to the Guard Department... Though I don't think that'll ever be a problem again. Of course, you're always welcome to come find me to play, too!"
With that, she turned and stepped out into the hallway.
Hong Meiling followed close behind, leaning down to whisper, "Flandre... did you just manipulate his consciousness?"
Flandre shook her head, her red eyes sparkling with innocent mischief. "Nope! I'm not skilled enough to do delicate work like rewriting memories."
"Then what did you do to him?" Meiling asked, thoroughly curious.
"Well, I just planted a little curse inside his mind," Flandre explained matter-of-factly, holding up her hands. "If he ever entertains a single malicious thought toward Li Li, he'll instantly suffer an unbearable, splitting headache. And if Li Li ever dies, he won't survive it either..."
"Hiss..." Meiling caught her breath, looking at her with wide eyes. "Isn't that a bit too harsh?"
"I don't see anything wrong with it at all," Flandre replied, tilting her head. "Bringing a child into the world without properly raising and protecting them is worse than not having children at all. Besides, I haven't seen this particular spell in any of Patchy's books—carving Blood Magic directly into someone's brain like an unyielding spike. Do you think I should name this technique 'Sword of Damocles' or 'Gray Matter Pin'?"
Flandre certainly didn't feel she had done anything improper. After all, as long as the man treated his daughter well from now on, the magic would lie dormant forever and never trigger. She was simply providing an absolute, foolproof layer of insurance—and deep down, she truly pitied the helpless little girl.
While they were chatting in the corridor, a precinct doctor arrived. After examining Li Meng and confirming he had simply passed out from emotional exhaustion and hyperventilation, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief, leaving the private room to the father and daughter.
Flandre walked beside Beatrice as they strolled down the hall, asking, "Sister Beatrice, what kind of punishment is that awful woman going to get?"
"Public disturbance, assaulting a law enforcement officer, and obstructing public safety," Beatrice listed, shaking her head. "She'll likely face a month in prison alongside a fine of ten thousand Lungmen dollars. The most severe charge by far is assaulting an officer—without that, she would have faced at most three to seven days of administrative detention and a fine of under five hundred dollars."
Beatrice sighed softly. With Lungmen's population expanding so rapidly, the Guard Department handled dozens of similar cases every day, mostly fueled by ignorance of the law and petty arrogance.