After everyone was fed and full, Albert put away the plates and spoons, washing them with the help of the twins. The other two were keeping Victoria company, guiding her back to her room and into bed. They were worried that her fever might flare up again.
"Thanks for the help."
"No problem! In the orphanage, everyone used to clean up together." Iris smiled and said.
"Orphanage?"
"Yeah, we lived in a orphanage far away." Atlas elaborated.
"But then we got a new director." Iris continued.
"He was a bad guy who always stole money from the funds."
"Yeah! That's why we were always so hungry and didn't have enough clothes to wear."
"And when he got drunk, he liked to hit us."
"Mhm! And then, one day..." Iris' voice trailed off as she stared into Atlas' eyes. He nodded at her and finished the sentence for her.
"When he got drunk, he tried to kiss Ian!"
"Poor Ian was so scared that he made him sleep."
"The director fell backwards and hit his head on the table."
"Then he bled. A lot."
"What did you guys do about it?" Albert inquired. He could see where this was going and wanted to confirm his suspicions.
"Well, falling made him wake up."
"Yeah, and then he got really angry"
"Mm, and he tried to beat us."
"Obviously, we weren't going to let it happen anymore."
"I used my power to tie him up!"
"I turned into a lion and cut him with my claws!"
"And Vin, he was the most cruel."
"Yeah, he used the kitchen knives and slowly sliced the director's meat off."
"It was really, really gross to see."
"Everyone else were so scared that they ran away."
"Yeah, but we stayed and watched."
"And Ian helped to wake the director up everytime he fainted."
"His screaming was like a pig!"
"Hehehe, it was so satisfying to hear!"
"..." Albert didn't say anything as the twins were sent into a gleeful mode from remembrance.
""Are you scared now that you know what we've done?"" They asked, staring directly into his eyes.
Albert shook his head. "No, I...I think I've done worst. You kids were only defending yourselves."
He pat their heads and praised them. "Good job. You got back at him didn't you?"
The twins held Albert's hands and smiled brightly. ""Un!""
No wonder Victoria decided to adopt them. They were perfectly suited to being villains. Not only did they have the backstory of a villain, they also had the guts to kill at such a young age...It made Albert wonder. Just what was it that Victoria saw in him that led her to believe that he could become a great villain? He couldn't fight at all and his greatest ability was how observant he was. He could somehow tell what someone was feeling by looking at them and that was about it. It wasn't a skill useful in the villainy world.
Albert suddenly got depressed. He felt like he was too weak. Not only did he almost get him and Victoria killed last night, he was saved by a bunch of kids much younger than him.
Sighing and fumbling through the pantry, Albert fished out an unopened bag of sliced bread. He tore open the bag and started to eat the bread by itself like a madman. The twins had never seen anyone eat like that before and thus stared at him speechlessly. Not to mention, they just had a rather big lunch.
Wordlessly finishing the entire bag without even drinking a sip of water, Albert glanced over at the twins. "Do you two want to hang with Victoria or help me in the garden?"
""Garden?""
Albert nodded. "It used to just be grass but Father and Mother gave it to me as a, uh, welcoming gift. I've been growing some food and flowers there."
"Ooh, I wanna see!" Iris declared.
"Me too!" Atlas parroted.
Albert chuckled and his two hands found themselves on top of the twins' heads again, patting them. "Then let's go."
The three walked through the glass doors of the kitchen, stepping out into the deck and garden. Echoes of feet against wood resounded as the twins scurried about exploring the garden. They saw an elegant round table and chairs on the deck, looking out into the garden. Near the wall was a swinging bench filled with comfy tables and it had a perfect view of the flowers.
In the corner of the backyard was a garden bed of an assortment of vegetables. Next to it was a garden bed of strawberries and watermelons. Then, on the other side of the yard were various trees; mango, cherry, apple, pear, orange and lemon. Caging it all were rose hedges that grew against the tall fences. Overall, it was a strange mishmash of plants and a random patch of green grass in the middle of it all. Despite not being aesthetically pleasing however, the strange combination of plants from different seasons all thriving and growing at the same time was somehow enchanting.
The twins didn't know what season all the fruit grew but seeing it all dangle from the trees and bushes, almost ripe made them gleeful and excited.
"What do we have to do?" Iris inquired.
"Nothing much really. Just check all the plants to see if there are any that are wilting or unhealthy and tell me."
"Okie dokie!"
The two dashed off, having fun just looking at all the things in the garden. On the rare occasion that they found a unhealthy plant, they'd call Albert over and he would use his ability to nourish the plants. He had to repeat this process almost daily due to the plants being out of season and what not. His ability ensured that it was getting everything it needed to strive. Of course Albert could directly grow the plants to maturation but that would use up all his energy and there was no need for any rush.
Looking at his perfect fruits and vegetables, a sense of pride swelled in Albert's chest. His ability may be useless for a villain but at least he could give his family delicious and fresh food everyday. Plus, Victoria could eat mangoes whenever she wanted thanks to him. All in all, Albert wasn't feeling so depressed now about his non-combatant type abilities now.