"Are you out of your mind? Haven't you seen the time?"
Henry was angry, angry with his daughter in public; the whole de Jansen family, the maids, and servants. He was angry that his daughter was late, missed the late dinner, and didn't ask permission to leave the house.
Layla had gone home with Arsenio after dinner was over, at 8 pm. That's what made Henry and his wife angry. Even the two of them were angry in front of so many people.
"Am I wrong? Cherly said she told my father and Henry that we were going out. But why are they still angry? Was Cheryl lying? No, that's impossible. If she lied, my father would have blushed too."
Arsenio wouldn't have thought that Cheryl didn't deliver his message. At least his father would have scolded him too if Cheryl didn't say that. Androcles will panic and be angry that Arsenio did not ask permission to leave the house. So, Cheryl must have conveyed his message to both his father and Henry. But why is Henry even angry with his daughter? Hadn't Cheryl conveyed that to him? That's what made Arsenio confused and could only see Layla being scolded by her parents.
"Hey... am I wrong, Ernesto?" Arsenio asked, turning his head to the side, and there was Ernesto.
"Shouldn't have. I saw and heard Cheryl talking to Henry. I thought she had your message across to him."
Henry had been busy looking for his daughter a few hours ago. But when Cheryl said Layla had gone out with Arsenio, Henry breathed a sigh of relief. And when it happened, Ernesto was there. It let him know that his daughter was out with Arsenio, even though he only knew it from a maid's mouth.
"If he knows that, why is he still angry?" Arsenio asked.
"I don't know."
"Mmhhh..."
After asking his twin brother that, Arsenio looked straight at his father and mother who were not far from them.
Androcles and Cecelia try to calm Henry and his wife down. But apparently, they wouldn't be able to do that since it was their family matter. And if Cecelia tried to do that, what would happen to her. Maybe she will also get angry and insulted by Henry's bad words later. Her choice was to hide behind her husband, hoping this situation would end soon.
"Layla, can you explain all this? Why didn't you come out and tell us? Do you want to be a bad girl, trouble your parents? Do you want to betray us?"
"No, Papa. I'm not being a bad girl for you. I'm sorry I came home late and didn't tell you that."
On the other hand, it seemed that Layla didn't blame this on Arsenio. Because it took too long to fish and eat catfish with the villagers, because Arsenio forgot the time, and because Layla was afraid of being outside which was quite dark, it made her late to go home. Layla didn't seem to want to blame anyone for this situation. She seemed to want to blame herself for her actions. If so, Arsenio will not be blamed by Layla's parents. It was an advantage for Arsenio considering that he was the reason Layla was scolded by her parents.
Meanwhile, Arsenio realized that he had to help Layla. He had to do something so that Layla wasn't the only one being scolded in this situation. Thinking from his experience, that's what he did in the face of this situation. And when he was sure, he walked up to them.
"Why, Arsenio?"
Androcles was confused by the presence of his son in front of him. He wondered if he had involved his son in this matter, should his sons not see this condition, and should his sons not get involved in other people's family matters.
He turned to his maids, telling one of them to take Arsenio and Ernesto to their room. But no one seems to want to do that. The maids who had just been given the code to take Arsenio and Ernesto away ignored Androcles. As a result of that, Arsenio, who had arrived right in front of Henry, opened his mouth and spoke.
"Hi, Uncle..."
"Hah!?"
Henry looked at Arsenio disapprovingly for a kid to see. That look like you can't be there, like you can't interfere in that business. Henry stared at Arsenio who was still a kid, unfit for an adult to show.
"If you want to scold Layla, be angry with me too. I was the one who caused her to come home late."
"You... Don't interfere! This is my family's business."
Perhaps Henry was still aware that he couldn't scold Arsenio here. It was probably because he still wanted to maintain his relationship with his brother, Androcles. He didn't want to just because of Layla, his relationship with Androcles ended just like that. The best option was to scold Layla alone, without involving Arsenio as well.
Even so, such a thing was rejected by Arsenio. Arsenio wanted himself to be scolded in this situation by Henry, not just Layla. It was he who had caused the problem. He was the one who had made Layla come home late. And he was the one who caused this mess.
"Of course, I have to interfere in this matter. This is my house, and you are in my house, so I must also be involved in all situations that are inside my house. Well, but if you are outside very far from my house, I won't meddle in your business, Uncle. So take it easy."
Arsenio's sentence is correct; if Henry doesn't want someone to interfere with his business, he has to get out of this house. Henry came to his senses and knew that it was true. But on the other hand, he also doesn't want Arsenio to be involved in this family affair.
"Come on, get mad at me, Uncle!"
Arsenio kept on teasing Henry to scold him, making Henry even more annoyed and almost biting his lip.
"I was the one at fault, so blame me!"
"Shut up!"
Henry rebelled and shouted, taking the surroundings by surprise. Arsenio was surprised by that and immediately fell silent.
There was a moment of silence in the dining room. Henry shouted and told Arsenio to be quiet. And suddenly, in a moment of silence, a clanging sound was heard from where the maids were.
"Eh... What's that!?"
Cecelia suddenly disappeared from there. Cecelia who was behind Androcles just disappeared. Everyone was confused by the sudden tinkling sound and Cecelia's disappearance.
"What's wrong with them?" Arsenio asked and looked at the corner of the room, right at the maids who were walking towards him.
Jamila who arrived first in front of Androcles paid her respects to Androcles, then spoke.
"With all due my respect, Master Androcles, I would like to convey that you must evacuate immediately. Find a place to hide now!"
"What do you mean? Where's my wife? Hey, she just disappeared."
Androcles was confused. His wife who was beside him suddenly disappeared in the blink of an eye, and Jamila suddenly said something strange.
"I'll explain later."
"But my wife..."
"Don't worry, she's safe now. Franciska is with her. You don't have to worry about your wife. Most importantly, you find a place to hide."
After Jamila said that, Androcles sighed even though he was still a little confused, and the maids who were already behind Henry, his wife, and Layla took them away from this place.
"Come with me!"
Helena told Androcles, Ernesto, and Arsenio to follow her, and they agreed without asking.
On the way, as they crossed the long passage to the basement, Arsenio asked and whispered to Ernesto who was slightly cold.
"Oy, what's wrong? What's with this? Why did Siska suddenly bring Cecelia? I saw her standing behind Cecelia who suddenly raised the knife, then just disappeared from there. What's the matter with this? Oy, are you know something, Ernesto? Oy, answer! Why do you look so scared? Oy!"
Somehow only Arsenio couldn't feel the cold aura from Helena. He couldn't feel Helena's cold aura despite being right behind Helena. Even Androcles who was neither a fighter nor a magician could sense that aura and made him tremble and shiver.
Phew!
Annoyed that his question was not answered, Arsenio blew on Ernesto's ear loudly, causing Ernesto to turn his head to the side and fume.
"Why are you blowing my ear, huh!?"
"It can't be helped, you didn't answer my question."
"But you don't have to..."
They stopped, but Helena didn't seem to mind it and instead told them to follow her.
Arsenio, Androcles, and Ernesto could not help but have to keep following Helena. Because of their ignorance in this situation, they could only follow what Helena said. Even so, it seems that Arsenio did not give up in this situation. He kept whispering to his twin brother.
"I know... You must be looking at her ass, right? You're such a pervert, Ernesto. Just because of that pretty ass, you're ignoring me. Ah, my bad luck; having a perverted brother."
"Shut up! Understand the situation now! I don't want to..."
"Umph? What don't you want?"
Androcles felt and realized that Arsenio was currently teasing Ernesto in this precarious situation. That's why he held Arsenio's hand even though his hands were already covered in sweat.
"Arsenio, you can't keep flirting Ernesto."
"Father..."
Arsenio realized that his father was currently panicking and scared. His hands were cold, soaked in sweat, and shaking. Arsenio realized that this situation seemed to have made his father that way.
"Hide in there! I'll pick you up when this situation is over."
After arriving at the door leading to the basement, and Helena having said that, Helena disappeared from there.
"Let's go in, Ernesto, Arsenio!"
As a father, Androcles had to guide his two sons. Even if this situation left him panicked and confused, he had to do what his maids just said to keep his two sons safe.
"What about mother?"
Before going inside, Arsenio asked that.
Without hesitation and already knowing what had happened to Cecelia, Androcles answered Arsenio's question with a smile.
"Don't worry, she should be safe now. It's just that she's currently in a phase of fighting her suffering. Still, take it easy. I'm sure she can fight that."
From what Androcles said, he seemed to have realized something about his wife's condition.
"I believe...she will not betray me or herself."
After saying that, he and his two sons went into the basement and hid in there.