This little demon was so vindictive.
He didn't just want to mess with him, could it be he was actually trying to get him killed?
"Little Prince, you must never say things that would anger His Majesty. Otherwise, neither of us will be spared."
The little prince huffed. "How could Empress Mother marry the one who killed her? I won't let her suffer again! This time, I'll definitely protect her from that mad emperor!"
Tristan felt a splitting headache coming on. The little prince's determination was admirable, but if Shin ever heard even a fraction of this conversation, Tristan was certain he'd be the first one punished.
"No can do. I have a girlfriend."
Prince Xati looked stunned before scanning him from head to toe. "Girlfriend? You mean a human?"
Tristan smiled. "What else? It's called adapting to a new environment. Not all humans are detestable."
However, the little prince immediately distanced himself from him as though he were carrying some contagious disease.
"Don't forget that Yeri is human too. Could it be you're disgusted by her as well?"
"It's different!" Prince Xati shouted. "How preposterous! You're putting words in my mouth, you blasphemous demon!"
Tristan, "..."
He really didn't want to deal with this troublemaker.
Come to think of it, by demon standards, the little prince was already centuries older than an average human lifespan, so perhaps Shin's refusal to indulge his son was perfectly reasonable.
"Alright, there are other things I need to take care of, and I'm buried in work, so I'll assign a few personal servants to look after you. If you need anything, you can ask them. But..." Tristan paused, his expression turning serious. "Don't ever talk about the Demon Realm or about being a prince. Otherwise, they'll think you're crazy. Okay?"
The moment he heard the word crazy, the little prince jumped as though he'd been scalded.
"Crazy? You dare call this prince crazy? I'm not that mad emperor! How dare you compare me to him?! Apologize! Apologize to this prince this instant!"
"You know, if you keep acting like this, your empress mother might be too afraid to get near you. Didn't His Majesty already tell you? Unruly children here are often disliked by adults," Tristan reminded him.
The little prince immediately fell silent at the mention of his mother, quietly seething.
Satisfied, Tristan called back the servants he had dismissed earlier when they arrived.
Looking at the adorable little boy who bore such a striking resemblance to Tristan, everyone stared in shock, curiosity, and disbelief.
"Young Master... this..." Tristan's butler's eyes lit up.
"Have a room cleaned for him. He'll be living here from now on. Or, if he wants to choose his own room, let him."
Everyone waited for Tristan to reveal whether the child was his son but the confirmation never came.
"What is the little young master's name?" the butler asked.
"Xati," Tristan answered, suddenly remembering that he also needed to prepare legal documents for someone who had appeared out of nowhere.
"What did you call me?!" Prince Xati shrieked. "How disrespectful!"
The corner of Tristan's mouth twitched.
Well, it wasn't entirely wrong to leave out the title Prince. Both Shin and he had long since discarded their own titles. If this little prince wanted to integrate into the human world, he'd have to learn to do the same.
[ "I'm telling your Empress Mother that you're an entitled, spoiled brat. Let's see if she doesn't get upset with you," ] Tristan sent through a mind message.
Prince Xati stiffened, his mouth opened and closed several times before he finally shouted, "I'll never forget this atrocity! Just you wait... Uncle!"
"...Uncle?"
The servants froze before exchanging bewildered looks.
Had they overthought things?
So they had jumped to the wrong conclusion all along.
"..." Even Tristan was left speechless.
If he was the uncle and he was an only child, then that meant...
Sure enough, those who caught on quickly were already staring intently at the little brat.
If he wasn't Tristan's, could it be...
Within the Keir clan, there was no denying that Shin and Tristan stood out the most in terms of appearance. Not to mention, if one overlooked the difference in their temperaments, the two actually shared several similar features.
Tristan knew the little demon was only trying to annoy him, and he couldn't be bothered to correct it.
After leaving a few more reminders, he simply turned around and left.
Besides, the entire Keir clan was busy dealing with the federal authorities' asset audit. Everyone was occupied covering their own tracks and pointing fingers at one another, so the sudden appearance of this little demon wouldn't cause too much of a stir.
After Tristan left, the butler could hardly contain his excitement.
Bending down with a warm smile, he said, "It's nice to meet you, Xati. I'm the young master's butler. Would you like something to eat?"
The little prince lifted his chin proudly and declared, "No. Show me this entire dump and my room. This prince needs to see whether it's to my liking."
The moment those words left his mouth, several servants burst into laughter, while others gushed over how adorable he was.
No one questioned his unusual clothing, assuming Tristan took him somewhere to play or perhaps attending a cosplay event. And judging by the way he spoke, the butler simply assumed the child was playing the royalty.
"Very well," the butler replied with a smile, playing along. "Your humble servant shall escort His Little Majesty on a tour of his kingdom."
Prince Xati, "..."
Not bad.
It seemed the humans here were quite trainable.
"He has to be the young master's son. No doubt about it," one servant whispered.
"Exactly. With the young master's lifestyle, it wouldn't be surprising at all. In fact, I've been saying for years that there must be a few more children out there," another chimed in, referring to Tristan's notorious playboy reputation.
--
While Tristan's villa was thrown into an uproar by the sudden appearance of a child, over at Shin's villa, Butler Hong was tending the rose garden when he received a phone call.
By the time it ended, he had completely lost the mood for gardening. His face darkened so noticeably that Master Keir, who happened to be passing by, couldn't help asking,
"What's wrong? Is your back acting up?"
Butler Hong immediately straightened his posture. "Not at all. I'm still far too young for such ailments."
Master Keir scoffed.
"Then what's the matter? You look like someone stole your homemade tea."
In truth, Butler Hong had been competing with the butler at Tristan's villa for years over the most trivial things.
There was no apparent reason for the rivalry, but that old bastard had just called to brag that Tristan Felan had brought home his son.
Butler Hong had always believed the first child welcomed into the estate would belong to his own young master. After all, Shin was already engaged, while Tristan kept avoiding commitment and refused to settle down.
"Bah... this doesn't make any sense," Butler Hong muttered before recounting everything to Master Keir.
Master Keir was naturally skeptical, but he soon regained his composure. "Then again... since it's Tristan, perhaps it's not that surprising. How old is the child?"
"Uh...I forgot to ask," Butler Hong just realised it.
Master Keir fell into thought.
If there was a child... then where was the mother? Could Tristan be having some sort of difficulty?
Just as he was about to voice his thoughts, Butler Hong suddenly exclaimed while waving his phone excitedly.
"Look! Look! Doesn't this child resemble the young master too?"
Master Keir glanced at the screen.
Displayed on it was the photo of an adorable little boy, accompanied by a caption from Tristan's butler proudly announcing that he was teaching the child how to take selfies.
"He does... a little," Master Keir commented. "But he resembles Tristan even more at that age."
Butler Hong let out a dissatisfied sigh, still unwilling to accept it.
No. He had to get to the bottom of this.
---
When Hadi finally escaped the living hell he had endured, he immediately rushed back to his parents' home, looking utterly disheveled and more than a little unhinged.
Ellis Keir was busy running around trying to clear his name of any involvement in Shin's mother's death, so only his wife was at home.
The moment Hadi saw her, he poured out all his grievances, resentment, and accusations, recounting how Shin had tortured him until he had nearly lost his life countless times.
His mother laughed and cried at the same time upon seeing him alive before telling him about the chaos that had unfolded at home.
"How could Dad possibly have anything to do with that bastard's mother's death?!" Hadi exploded. "I knew it, Mom! He's trying to get rid of our family! Isn't it obvious?!"
His mother nodded in agreement. "I think so too. But your father insists that's not how Shin does things. Besides, Yeri's father is also implicated, so..."
"It doesn't matter!" Hadi cut her off. "He's just trying to blindside us! Why is Dad suddenly taking that bastard's side?"
Just then, a servant hurried inside.
"Madam, the young master's wife has arrived."
Dressed in a long-sleeved black patterned dress with an oversized black hat, Serenity strolled into the living room with graceful composure.
The moment she saw Hadi, she stopped in her tracks.
A flicker of unmistakable disappointment crossed her face, as though she hadn't expected to find him alive, much less standing there in one piece.
Hadi instantly pointed at her and erupted into furious curses.
"What's the matter?" Serenity asked calmly. "I came as soon as I heard your message that Hadi had been found..." Her voice trailed off.
By found... She had honestly assumed the worst.
"Mom! Do you see it now?" Hadi roared. "This venomous woman must've thought I was already dead! She's been wearing black all day to curse me and openly siding with that bastard! If I'm expelled from the clan, then she should be kicked out too!"
His mother was equally displeased and immediately turned on Serenity.
"Serenity, I entrusted my son to you as his wife. But what have you been doing all this time? You didn't even try to find him. Did you really think you'd be fine if something had happened to my son?"
Serenity merely shrugged.
"Find him? Why?" she asked matter-of-factly. "Weren't you here when Cousin-in-law took him away? Besides, he always comes home looking like this after pulling all-nighters with his friends."
Hadi flew into another rage. He immediately tore off his shirt, intending to expose the bruises and scars covering his body.