"What happened? She didn't drink the soup?" Guloi asked in a stern tone.
Biona lowered her head, afraid that her husband would blame her for the failure.
But Guloi only sighed. He shook his head as he said, "Master and I already guessed this when we heard no commotion."
Biona was relieved that she wasn't going to be blamed for the failure this time. But she became worried again. "What will we do now? Has master thought of another plan?" she asked hopefully.
Guloi remained silent for a while before speaking. "It will not hinder the plan for tomorrow, but it will surely give the Handler family a reason to lower the benefits they promised Master in exchange for the Safaira family's surrender."
"But… will we be okay after the Handler family takes over?" Biona asked worriedly.
"Hmph! Don't underestimate our Master. Those Handler bastards proposed many restrictions for when they took over our businesses, but our Master made it clear that he would only hand over the businesses and the family would still be under the control of someone from the Safaira family, that is, our Master." Guloi said proudly while his eyes glinted as he thought about the bright future awaiting him.
"Then… will Master…?" Biona probed, as she had no idea about the next step.
Guloi nodded. "He will do it personally. That's the only way left, as the young miss trusts him very much."
"But the poison…"
"Don't worry. Master only used half of the poison he received when we prepared the soup, as the whole portion was enough to poison someone on the level of Master himself. So the half portion would have been more than enough for our weak young miss." Guloi adored his Master's wits. The precautions he took before were proving useful now.
Currently they are inside their house. The room they were in was covered in a barrier that prevented any sound from leaking out. Although not as good as the one installed in the houses of the various heads of the family, it was good enough for a servant's home.
But this barrier still can't deal with the thief who is spying on them right now.
Anom heard every word they said and couldn't help but click his tongue at this clichéd power struggle within the Safaira family.
Guloi told his wife to wait as he left the house. He was going to keep an eye on Crystal and Loreana. As soon as Loreana leaves, he will inform his master so that he can visit Crystal and finish the job.
But although he was hurrying, he still couldn't beat the shadow that had stopped following him and was rushing towards the same destination.
Anom carefully made his way back towards Crystal's place.
Loreana and Crystal were sitting on the Sofa with tense expressions while Luna served them some refreshments. She was also worried but she didn't forget her duties and took care of her madam and miss.
*Knock*
A single knock on the window closest to them broke their contemplation as they both stood up and were about to rush to open the window.
But someone was faster than them. As soon as the sound was heard, Luna was already dashing towards the window.
She slid it open and looked outside with a hopeful expression. But she didn't find the person she was looking for.
Before she could turn to look for Anom, she felt a warm hand stroking her head. She turned while smiling and couldn't stop herself from springing forth in Anom's embrace.
Anom smiled as he patted the lovely creature cuddling inside his embrace.
*Ahem*
Loreana made a sound to grab his attention. Anom turned and found Loreana looking at him with a neutral expression, while Crystal had already lost her worried demeanour and was making an annoyed face.
Anom chuckled inwardly as he grabbed Luna's hand and took her towards the Sofa.
He got near Crystal and grabbed her hand as he pulled both girls and made them sit on his sides.
One of his hands was still holding onto Luna's delicate palm making the cute doll smile, while his other hand was snaking behind Crystal's waist. Before she could react, Anom grabbed her waist lightly.
She gasped but controlled her voice. Although she was angry, she didn't want her mother to see what Anom was doing to her because it was as enjoyable as it was annoying.
Loreana was sitting on the other side and couldn't see what Anom was doing with her daughter, while Crystal was so ashamed that she couldn't even utter a word.
Loreana frowned at their expressions but she didn't say anything when she saw Anom sitting near her daughter. She also reprimanded her daughter in her mind for acting so timid after just sitting beside a man.
She shook her head and asked, "So?" She only spoke a word but it contained all the anxiety and fear she had experienced while waiting for Anom.
Anom rested his head on the sofa as he sighed, making the mother and daughter anxious with worry while little Luna was still immersed in her happy thoughts as she held Anom's hand.
He leaned forward and chuckled after seeing their anxious faces. "The situation of your family…" the thief began speaking, "is much better than I thought." He said while smiling casually.
Crystal sighed with relief while Loreana felt her heart settle down. But his next words broke her calm as Anom began explaining about what he had found out.
"!!!" Crystal gasped as she looked at Anom with blaming eyes.
"…You… You Rascal!!" But Loreana was much more agitated. She grabbed a cup from the table and made a speedy throw.
*Bam*
Anom quickly dodged as the cup shattered after colliding with the wall behind him.
"Hey! It's quite normal for every family to have power struggles. Besides, it could have been worse. He could have killed anyone in the family, given how strong he is. Or he could have leaked the secrets of the family or cooperated with the outsiders to destroy your family from within. But his greed… it allowed you all to enjoy peace while this 'tumour' inside your family waited for the right time." Anom knew that it was harsh for them to accept such a fact but he had to make them see the reality as soon as possible because time was the thing they were lacking the most.
Crystal held her mother's hands so as to show her support. Anom went near them and caressed Crystal's head gently, which she didn't refuse.
And to Crystal's surprise, he even moved his other hand towards her mother's head. But instead of ruffling her hair, he caressed her cheek gently. "Don't worry. You have me." He spoke in a soothing voice as if he wanted to calm her troubled heart, but…
*Slap*
"Hmpf!" Loreana slapped his hand that was caressing her soft cheeks as she snorted while ignoring Anom.
But she was still the female head of the family. She calmed herself and began to think about the things that Anom had said. She knew that he didn't have any harmful intentions, well, except for his perverted hands.
Lorena arranged all the facts as her face turned serious, as if she had decided on something. But she still looked at Anom and wanted to hear his opinion as he had a 'first-hand experience' of the ugly side of her family.
Anom's eyes matched Loreana's as he saw the struggle her eyes went through before becoming decisively calm. He knew that she had made her decision. She was asking for his opinion as the matter was too important for her to mess up, so it was better to analyse it from as many angles as possible.
"Why do you think he didn't take over the family directly after killing your husband?" Anom suddenly asked a question that made Crystal shiver. But Loreana was already back to her prestigious demeanour as she didn't even flinch at his words. She began opening her mouth to speak…
But Anom didn't even wait for her to speak and continued as if talking to himself. "…Maybe he was afraid that the rest of the family members wouldn't accept such a cruel head? No… He is strong enough to rule them by force. Besides, they will have to rely on him to avoid getting destroyed by the other forces… Then? Is he afraid of someone from your family? Someone who is equal or maybe even greater to him in power and status." Anom looked at Loreana as he finished speaking, waiting for her to confirm his theory.
And what he guessed was indeed correct, as she nodded. "He's indeed afraid… Afraid of Crystal's grandfather." Her tone was respectful as she spoke about the most powerful person in their family. He was the backbone that gave the Safaira family the strength to stand straight in this chaotic city.
Loreana told him more about Crystal's grandfather but she herself had only met him a few times as he liked to spend his last days in seclusion and rarely participated in domestic and business matters of the family.
"Will he believe you?" Anom asked as he realized that she wanted to stop the Second Head by making this silent force act. But he didn't know how he would react to this situation.
"Don't worry." Loreana knew what he was thinking as she assured him. "Although I haven't met him many times, I know he is an easy-going person and thinks for the best of his family. But he still has his own principles, and what Rudard has done is clearly against them." Her voice turned angry as she spoke the name of the Second head.
"When are you going to meet him then?" Anom asked, as that was the only option they had right now.
"Now." Loreana smiled. "Oh, it's not me alone who is going to meet him. We are all going together." Her eyes turned gentle as she stroked her daughter's head. "He dots on Crystal very much, so it is only right that we inform him about the little rascal who is going to steal away the gem of our family." Her voice turned sorrowful as she began to think about the day when her daughter married happily and left her family.
'She has grown up so fast.'
Crystal's eyes turned red as tears formed at the corners. "Mom!" She cried as she suddenly hugged Loreana. She also felt sad after seeing her mother acting like that. That, on top of the chaotic situation of her family, was enough for her as she began to cry. She didn't even bother to correct her mother about her relationship with Anom.
'What's up with this chaotic emotional mess?'
Anom sighed as he knew that he was into this shit more deeply then he wanted. 'Well, all that matters is that I like her.' Then he had to console her once again. And as he calmed down the daughter, he looked at her mature mother and couldn't help but tease, "You can come with us if you're that worried about her, Mother-in-law."
Loreana's face turned stern as she felt weird when he called her such. Just when Anom thought that she would scold him for his bad joke, she surprisingly smiled. She looked at him with some pity as she spoke. "Why not? I'll think about it if you can gain the approval of Crystal's grandfather."
Despite her clear provocation, Anom just chuckled. "I love challenges. Especially the ones where the reward is so enticing." He looked at Loreana as he accepted her condition rather easily.
Loreana didn't find it surprising, as she thought of this as just friendly banter to ease the mood.
But Crystal saw something else entirely. She felt as if her mother was responding to Anom's flirting.
'That's not possible, right?' And just like that, she became the witness of a ridiculous bet that would make her shake her head when she thought about it in the future. 'I should have stopped them,' would be what she would think at that time.
"Let's go!" Loreana said in a commanding voice as she led the group towards the exit.
Crystal followed them as her eyes moved between Anom and her mother.
Luna, the little maid, just followed Anom like a shadow with a cute smile on her charming and youthful face.
Anom smiled as he anticipated the excitement. He would be able to see the final showdown between two big families and that would be the best time for him. After all…
'A messy situation is a perfect cover for a thief to rampage around.'
And just like that, the group exited Crystal's place. But just as they were about to step into the yard, Anom made a gesture to tell them to stop.
"We have to deal with an annoying fly first."