Saving the Villain

When Conrad entered the Blac mansion, Butler George was already there to welcome him. The latter offered his hand and Conrad handed him his suitcase.

"Are they home?" asked Conrad to the butler; a hobby he would never get rid of.

The head butler of the manor smiled politely. "Yes. Sir Maxen and the young miss were in the living area with their friends."

"Friends?" Conrad's brows rose, assuming it was Remo and Luke.

Those two would occasionally drop by or stay overnight in there since Remo and Luke couldn't afford to enroll in a cram school. Or rather, the two could afford it from their commission in every project Maxen would hire them, but Maxen was a better tutor.

"Just bring that to my study. I'll go check the kids." Conrad cast Butler George a look, and the latter nodded in understanding.

With that being said, Conrad went on his way to the large living area while Butler George went to Conrad's study room. As Conrad headed to where his daughter was, his steps slowed down. There was this indescribable feeling creeping into his heart at the thought of Maxen and Luke.

Conrad never felt this before; nervousness.

Back then, he would just look at Maxen and Luke as kids around the same age and were good friends. But now, Conrad knew that Maxen and Luke weren't just friends, but half-brothers after all. This unfathomable turn of events was something Conrad couldn't wrap his head around.

The world was truly smaller than it was supposed to be.

Were they all fated to meet? Many questions hovered over Conrad's head again until his thoughts went back to where it all started. Cosette. If Cosette didn't transfer schools and didn't find an unexplainable inkling toward Maxen, all of them wouldn't meet.

Conrad soon reached the living area of the mansion, peeking his head to check. The living area was wide enough to accommodate many people. His eyes fell on the center table, surrounded by teens. He first caught Cosette, solving an equation. Cosette had her hair tied up, eyes burning as if she had a hidden grudge against the paper on which she was writing.

His eyes then shifted to Luke, near Cosette. Just like Cosette, Luke was engulfed with invisible flames while writing something. Cosette and Luke gave off the vibe that no one should disturb them strictly. Or else one could only think of the worst.

Conrad then moved his attention to Maxen, teaching Remo how to solve a math problem. Maxen was always patient with Remo, making sure the latter understood everything. Maxen always had focused on Remo; Conrad heard about Remo and Maxen's past, so it was admirable how Maxen was able to forgive Remo and how Remo showed his sincerity by changing for the good.

"Done!"

"Max!"

Cosette and Luke raised their hands at the same time, glaring at each other as if they were arch-enemies. The two hissed at each other before they hastily jumped on either side of Maxen, pushing Remo back.

"Max, can you check my work?" Cosette blinked coquettishly, using her charms to get Maxen's attention first.

"I finished first, so you should check mine." Luke placed his paper over Cosette's, smiling at Maxen like a tamed puppy. "I did great, did I?"

A vein protruded in Cosette's temple, sliding her paper to put it over Luke's. "Luke, can't you see I am asking Maxen to check my work? You should study proper manners for acting like this."

"I'd be ashamed if you are Remo, but Maxen was teaching Remo before you suddenly squeeze yourself to his side," Luke rebutted, lifting his chin while Cosette seethed in anger. "What? I'm just saying between the two of us, you need to relearn manners first."

"This guy —"

"Well done." Luke and Cosette furrowed their brows and gazed at Maxen when Maxen suddenly spoke. "You two did a good job. Now, try to solve this other problem."

Maxen darted his eyes between the two, flashing them a gentle smile. 𝐟𝚛e𝐞𝙬𝗲𝒃𝓷𝒐𝘃e𝒍.c𝑜m

"You two are already great at this." He raised his hands, ruffling their heads as if they were kids — they were acting like one — to soothe their short temper. "I need Remo to be in the same class as us next school year, so I have to help him. Don't push him again."

Luke and Cosette, who were like cats and dogs, had their invisible ears on their heads lower. They just looked at Maxen's gentle smile and then sighed.

"Sorry, Remrem." Cosette scooted over slightly to give Maxen and Remo some space to study. "If you have other questions, just ask me. I can help."

"Sorry, man. If you ever get into this equation, just ask me. I know a better formula to solve it faster." Luke also moved away to answer the rest of the exercise.

Luke and Cosette might look like they were slightly disappointed, but they understood Maxen. Remo promised his grandfather that he would do better in school and steer clear of being a delinquent. Maxen wanted to make that happen, as well as to open doors of opportunity for Remo in the future. Not that Maxen was only focusing on Remo, but the latter was the person in need of help right now.

Cosette and Luke studied at the most prestigious academy in the past. Therefore, these lessons were already classes they had already passed before.

Seeing that the four of them settled down and refocused their attention on their study, a subtle smile appeared on Conrad's face. He was already used to Cosette and Luke's banter, and how Maxen effectively deal with them like a big brother. He was also used to Remo's quiet and lack of reaction as if the latter was already numbed about Luke and Cosette.

'That's right…' Conrad's clouded mind cleared up after watching them for a couple of minutes. '... it doesn't matter.'

Conrad slowly turned around, sauntering off with a subtle smile on his face. "I should make them some snacks. It seemed they would pull an all-nighter again."

All thoughts regarding Rocco, Maynard, Stella and the connections of these children went away. These kids were doing their best to build themselves. It would be too unfair to them to let them carry the burden of the past just because the adults couldn't.

If taking it to the grave was the only option to keep their peace, then Conrad pledged to bury it deeper so it couldn't harm anyone.

'I guess… that's the reason Rocco wanted me to come as well,' thought Conrad as he made his way to the kitchen to make the kids some snacks himself. 'He just wants to pass the burden and gave me the power whether to carry it to my grave or pass it to others.' — obviously, Conrad would never do the latter even if it could kill him.

And that was the verdict Rocco had concluded. That man was surely vengeful, but at the same time, not as cruel as he appeared.

"That was a good one," whispered Conrad to himself, entering the kitchen and surprising all the servants in there. He smiled. "The kids are working hard. I want to make them some snacks and dinner. Will you assist me?"