Black Online

"Tell my son to enter."

Aizen said.

Sebastian nodded. Their talk was over. Therefore, he stepped out of the study and, outside, told Raon, "Your father wants to talk with you."

Fang Raon steeled his expression, entered the study, and made sure to close the door behind him.

Aizen’s study had nice noise-cancelling. It was really hard for anyone to hear them from outside.

Which spoke volumes about how loud Aizen was shouting at Nero and Ronin for those sounds to be heard.

"You couldn’t have possibly expected me to completely end this partnership because of this small hiccup?"

Aizen asked.

"Small hiccup? I wouldn’t exactly call this shitshow that."

Fang Raon sat down and rolled his eyes.

"Nice acting, by the way. I am proud of you. The way you put on a mask that you were actually hurt by what happened with Juniper was really touching."

Aizen said with a smirk.

"...I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was hurt. It’s never nice to see your fiance boning somebody else."

Fang Raon said.

"Haha, you were so heavily against the marriage, and now you’re actually hurt that it all came crashing down? Don’t take me as a fool, son."

Aizen said.

"Why wouldn’t I be hurt? She is beautiful with big breasts and all. A woman that any man would dream to marry."

Fang Raon said.

"But not you. You have somebody else in your heart, I can tell. Did you already forget that I can use Read? I was able to see through you like an open book."

Aizen said.

’...I did forget that. Does he know what Anna did then? She can also use Read, so maybe she was able to mask her intentions.

’Otherwise she wouldn’t have been so confident in trying to fool Father. I really need to learn to use Read as soon as possible.’

Fang Raon thought.

"It’s whatever, in the end. I don’t even care if you played a hand in that cheating scandal. Maybe you fabricated it all.

"I do not care.

"It all worked perfectly in the end. I feel quite ashamed that I didn’t come up with this plan myself."

Aizen touched his chin and said.

"What do you mean?"

Fang Raon asked.

"We now have the upper hand in this partnership. We got Rain Family from their balls, and we will squeeze really tight.

"I’ll take you to the Rain Region in the upcoming months to check out that game. I already discussed it with Nero, and he had no choice but to agree.

"You will playtest that game. If you really think that the game is shit, then we’ll consider ending the partnership."

Aizen said.

"...Aren’t you concerned that I will lie just to escape the arranged marriage?"

Fang Raon asked.

"Hah. You cannot lie to me. Remember? Read?"

Aizen said.

’...What if I can learn Read in the next couple of months? But even still, I most likely cannot learn it to such a high level that I can fool his senses.’

Fang Raon thought.

"I do have a mission for you meanwhile."

Aizen said.

"...What is it?"

Fang Raon was afraid to ask.

"You’re now heir to the throne. I can’t let you stay in your room all day playing that game. Every now and then, go out to the village to help people.

"It is good for them to get to know you. It is wise to make connections and build relationships with your people."

Aizen said.

"I’ll do that."

Fang Raon said.

He was surprised that it was such a simple request, as he thought it would be something that he would dislike doing.

"If I asked Raikou to do that, he would’ve said, "Why the fuck should I?" with his pompous, fucking expression. You keep proving to me that you’re the better option.

"By the way, I’ll teach you Read. You must know it. You cannot let others know what is going on inside your head. It’ll make you vulnerable."

Aizen said.

"...I appreciate that, Father."

Fang Raon said.

He had no need to refuse, even if he was going to get taught by Rock, it didn’t hurt to get taught by Aizen as well.

"You may leave. I’ll come fetch you at random times to teach you Read. You can do whatever meanwhile."

Aizen waved his hand, which signaled the end of the conversation, and Fang Raon nodded before leaving the study.

After he left the study, he let out the breath that he had been holding unconsciously.

"What did the piece of shit say?"

Anna walked over and asked with a smile on her face.

When nearby servants heard her, they looked ghost-faced, as they were right outside Aizen’s study room.

He might’ve been able to hear it!

"Nothing in particular."

Fang Raon said, and started walking away from the study with Anna, distancing themselves from other servants as well.

"He suspects anything?"

Anna asked.

"Yeah, he does, but he has no proof, and even if he does, it doesn’t seem like he cares about what happened."

Fang Raon said.

"The shitty old man found a way to make this situation beneficial to him, huh? I expected as much. ’Lord’ Aizen rarely gets put in a losing position."

Anna scoffed.

It infuriated her how smart their Father was, and it wasn’t a surprise how the Fang Family managed to rise to a very prominent position under Aizen.

While the Fang Family was already quite big before Aizen’s time, they really weren’t one of the Big Families of the business world.

Only with Aizen did they truly become a force to be reckoned with.

"What will happen to that male servant?"

Fang Raon asked.

The last thing he remembered was the bodyguards dragging him away, and he hoped that nothing bad would happen to him.

After all, he was an innocent party in all of this.

"Exiled."

Anna said nonchalantly.

She didn’t seem to care what would happen to the poor innocent male servant.

"Should we tell the truth to help him out? He doesn’t deserve that, you know."

Fang Raon said.

"Hell no. Father will still give us some punishment. I don’t want that. Either way, it is just some nobody."

Anna said, and she then smiled and patted Fang Raon on the back. and she then started running off.

"I’ll see you tomorrow, okay, brother? Remember, tomorrow night. Do not be late. I’ll deliver the new game card to you today!"

And then she was already gone.

’Sigh, my siblings really have stone-cold hearts. Why am I so different from them? They are all crazy in their own ways.

’Maybe I have my own craziness somewhere inside me. Lurking like a shadow beast.

’I do want to help the male servant, but even if I tell the truth, he will still be exiled because he cannot stay here anymore.

’Pretty much everyone saw the photograph already. The rumor has most likely spread to the village already.

’They cannot allow him to stay here anymore.’

Fang Raon thought with a sigh.

In that moment.

He heard footsteps. They were gentle and soft. It sounded like shoes made of silk gliding across the floor.

"Ah..."

Fang Raon breathed out in surprise.

Walking down the hallway, a black-haired woman was approaching him. She had blue eyes, beautiful ones, but they looked unfocused.

She was wearing a dress. It was so long that it was slightly trailing behind her across the floor.

The face of the woman shared a striking resemblance with Raon. As if she were the female version of him. She was really beautiful.

It was, without a doubt, Fang Sara.

His mother.

"..."

Fang Raon stayed silent.

She didn’t look at him. She just walked right past him. Their arms almost touched, but she made no effort to acknowledge him.

Her footsteps retreated away until they were no more than a faint echo in the distance.

’Whatever.’

Fang Raon slid his hands inside his pockets and continued walking, his head hanging low.

He didn’t bother to raise his gaze. It was just looking at his feet moving across the floor. He didn’t look ahead.

Which was why all the servants that came across him had to move out of the way so they wouldn’t collide with their young master.

...

Creak—the door opened.

"Hmm?"

Aizen looked up from his books, saw who entered his study, and rolled his eyes before leaning back in his chair.

"You should knock."

He said.

Sara closed the door, and she then walked to the bookshelf, and she just knocked a few books off the shelf with her elbow.

Thump~ thump~!

"Oops."

Sara said.

"...What do you want?"

Aizen rubbed his forehead in annoyance.

"You made him the heir?"

Sara asked.

"Yes. Why do you care?"

Aizen asked.

"You’ve treated him like an insect for years, and now you’re going to leave your kingdom to him? I don’t buy it."

Sara said.

"At least I was involved in his life. Unlike you. I bet my kidney that he actually likes me more than you, Sara, the Woman Who Is Never Around."

Aizen said mockingly.

"...Now that I think about it, it makes sense that you’re giving him the keys to your kingdom. Your two’s resemblance is... scary."

Sara said.

"Is that why you’ve avoided him? You are scared of him?"

Aizen asked.

"...I just don’t want to know just how much he resembles you."

Sara said, and she turned around to already leave the room.

"Raon resembles me. Anna, Raikou, and Raizen resemble you. They’re crazy, just like you, Sara."

Aizen said.

Sara put her hands on the door, and with her long nails, she scratched the wood so hard that her fingers started bleeding.

Just like a cat scratching a door to be let inside.

SCRATCH~ SCREECH~!

"Aaaaaaarghhhhh!"

She screamed like a witch.

"..."

Aizen watched her silently.

’Raon and I are the only ones normal in this twisted family. I was late to realize that. I thought he also inherited her craziness.

’I was wrong.

’Which is why I will leave my kingdom to him. He is the only one I can trust. I can’t leave it to these lunatics.

’I don’t have much longer to live anyway.’

Aizen thought, and then his nose started bleeding slightly, and he took out his napkin to wipe it away.