The beloved children felt many things when Nakamura spoke the names of other children, especially the names of Yuki and Satoru—his very own favorites.

He seemed to pay those two more attention than he did to them, who weren't some nobodies.

If they had the chance—if they could somehow arrange it without consequences, without Nakamura discovering their involvement—they would eradicate the two brothers from the face of the planet to six feet under.

However, they couldn't dare do so. Not openly, not obviously, not in any way that could be traced back to them. They couldn't dare hurt someone Nakamura liked.

The only way the beloved children might get a genuine opportunity to hurt the two brothers would be if Yuki and Satoru got themselves into huge trouble, if they did something so extremely bad that it warranted punishment.

And that opportunity could present itself pretty soon.

So far, Satoru had spoken extremely rudely to Nakamura on multiple occasions and had said things that would have gotten any other child tortured or worse, but for some unexplainable reason, Nakamura didn't show any sign of anger or demonstrate the zeal to punish him that he displayed toward any other.

Satoru had even declared, in front of witnesses where his words couldn't be denied, that he had the intention to kill Nakamura someday.

Not in some vague, exaggerated sense, but literally, genuinely, with determination at that. He'd basically announced his intention and yet Nakamura had acted like nothing had happened.

After finding Yuki in the crowd, Nakamura's eyes automatically began scanning the immediate vicinity for Satoru.

As he would have expected normally, and during previous gatherings, Satoru was supposed to be right beside his brother or at least somewhere close, within easy sight. They were always with each other at the times where they were given the free will to after all.

However, not today.

Today was different and that was sending danger signals to Nakamura's head. In fact, the entire situation seemed increasingly off the longer he observed it.

The look in Yuki's eyes was wrong—there was anger there, visible even at this distance. The behavior he was displaying seemed completely out of character, at least while inside this mansion.

Nakamura had been watching Yuki closely for so many years—observing, studying him, and he knew what the boy was like under normal circumstances.

Yuki was someone who truly embraced the ways of the family, who was always joyful and happy every time he arrived at the mansion, practically glowing with pleasure at being included in this family.

But today, there seemed to be anger radiating from him like heat.

And more concerning than the anger itself was what Yuki was doing with it. He wasn't eating, wasn't heading for the food tables to fill his plate like he normally would, wasn't socializing with other children.

Instead, he was moving with clear purpose toward the passage that led to the residential wings of the mansion.

"What is going on?" Nakamura muttered under his breath, his pleasant expression beginning to crack.

His eyes began to stare frantically around Yuki's position, searching for some trace of Satoru, expecting to see the younger brother trailing along or walking ahead or lurking in the background like he usually did.

But Satoru was nowhere near his brother. Wasn't visible anywhere in the immediate vicinity.

"Why isn't Satoru here!" The question burst from Nakamura's lips with considerably more volume than he'd intended, loud enough that several of the beloved children jumped slightly in their seats and the murmur in the vicinity dropped as people nearby suddenly found reasons to stop talking and start eavesdropping.

At that precise moment, his attention was suddenly diverted toward a child making a beeline toward him through the crowd.

The boy had actually been heading his way for quite some time, but he'd been so focused on searching for Satoru that he'd ignored this approaching figure until now.

The child was moving with the kind of urgency that gave the impression that he was coming with important news or critical information, clearly trying to reach Nakamura as quickly as possible.

This truly was odd, but he remained in his position, waiting for the kid to get to him. At least, he should wait to see what was coming.

The boy drew closer, and Nakamura recognized him now—Ken, one of the more promising children, someone who'd shown both talent and loyalty, and most importantly... had shown the greatest potential to earn a red mark.

"Master Nakamura!" Ken called out when he was close enough to be heard without shouting.

He stumbled the last few steps, nearly tripping over his own feet in his haste, and caught himself on the edge of the elevated platform where Nakamura sat.

"It's Satoru," Ken gasped out, the words emerging in between breaths. "He... he's meddling with a lowlife servant in his room!"

The words hung in the air for a moment as silence stretched across the room with Nakamura remaining motionless in his spot.

"Is that so," Nakamura finally responded, and his voice was soft, gentle, more importantly, deceptive. The fake pleasant smile remained fixed on his face, but it had taken on a quality that made it look grim.

He raised his goblet to his mouth slowly, intending to take another sip of wine to give himself a moment to process this information, as calm as possible without overreacting in a way that might seem petty or out of character.

However, his hand betrayed his calm facade. It was trembling—not just a slight tremor, but shaking violently.

The trembling got worse as he tried to bring the cup closer to his lips, his hand refusing to obey his internal commands and causing the wine to slosh and spill slightly, and then—before he could adjust or return it back to the table—his grip tightened a little too much.

The goblet simply exploded in his hand, unable to withstand the crushing pressure, sending pieces of glass flying across the table. Wine sprayed in all directions—across the table, across the food that had been so carefully arranged in front of him.

For once, his perfectly maintained facade wasn't as perfect as it had always been.

His mask had cracked, exposing the rage boiling at the pit of his stomach.

"Do you know where he is right now!" The question emerged as a growl due to Nakamura's messed up emotions, his bloodshot eyes bored into Ken's face with laser intensity.

Ken gulped, almost not recognizing this version of Nakamura, and nodded his head to the question. "I have a hint. Yuki knows the room and I sent him there."

Standing up from his seat, he marched away towards a different opening of the passage he saw Yuki walk through, pulling Ken along with him.

The beloved, sitting by their father, knew exactly what was going on even though they acted like they were distracted all along.

It was as if their secret prayer was coming through, an opportunity to kick the butts of the two brothers that threatened the love Nakamura displayed to them.

Just as Nakamura had taken a few steps forward, he halted, and just like a dream come true, he asked a question directed to all the beloved.

"Would you all like to tag along?"

***

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

Three knocks rang on the door of Satoru's room, causing him alongside Kenji to halt instantly.

It sounded real but deep down, they both wished it was their ears playing tricks on them, but their eyes confirmed it quickly as the door suddenly burst open.

Behind it was who appeared to be their worst case scenario—Master Nakamura himself in the flesh, along with a little crowd of people which were all recognized as the beloved and lastly, Ken, and his very own blood brother, Yuki.

"Kenji, please step out and entertain yourself in the last room on the upmost floor of the building before I decide on what to do with you." Nakamura began, his eyes cold as they locked onto the servant. He already knew for sure what his current situation was.

"Yes, master." Kenji responded with a short bow and attempted to walk out of the room when Satoru quickly got in front of him, blocking his path.

"I would like to know what you want to do with him." Satoru spoke with unwavering resolve, the scare he had received at first dissipating and being replaced with the raw anger Nakamura's face always brought to him.

"Satoru, step aside." Nakamura growled, his eyes subconsciously glinting the red of his familiar's aura.

"I will not be leaving this position without an answer." Satoru declared. "Tell me wh—"

"I want to send him to the same place I sent your mother." Nakamura tapped his feet on the ground with finality, clarifying his exact intention to the ten-year-old kid.

Satoru froze up in his spot upon hearing Nakamura's declaration, knowing there was no exaggeration in his statement.

"Satoru, please don't get involved, you still have the chance to live." Kenji placed his arm on Satoru's shoulder with a gentle smile. "Live your life to the fullest."

"The hell am I letting anything happen to you, my friend." Satoru spoke, walking forward in front of Kenji properly again before taking a protective stance.

Everyone was puzzled at Satoru's action except Nakamura, who was already holding too much anger to manage puzzlement.

"Satoru, step aside and await your punishment."

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