The next day Max is having tea in the garden alone, while all seven shadows are kneeling begging him.
"Please, Your Excellency! Punish us, everything happened to you because of us, because we didn't protect you then!."
"For the millionth time...I'm not mad at you," he said, sighing deeply, holding his head.
"In addition, the situation is currently stable if something goes wrong later .... You will inevitably die," he said, stabbing them with his gaze.
The shadows were all terrified of Max.
"Yes, your Excellency."
The shadow disappeared, Max sighed and threw himself on the table exhausted from all this.
"(Sigh)~ it's hard to pretend that you are evil.... It's good that now no one is at home, everyone has gone out shopping and my dad is working"
The atmosphere was silent, a peaceful silence where the gentle breeze moving the branches of the trees, and the fountain water reflecting the sunlight.
"Penelope... I'm going to go to her room, I think I should make an understanding with her"
Max got up, heading to Penelope's room, knocked on the door, but no one answered.
He rang it again and Penelope opened the door hard and screamed in anger.
"What do you want?!"
Max smiled, looked towards her as he approached Penelope.
"I'm here to spend some time with my younger sister," he said with an innocent smile.
"Huh?" Shocked.
Max enters Penelope's room and walks around, looking around.
"You have a beautiful room"
"Cut it short and give me the bottom line."
"May I know the reason why you are so hard on me?"
"Do you really not know?!"
"If I knew, why would I come to you?"
Penelope sighed and said sarcastically:
"Listen to me, dear brother~ you always smile at the family, but you hate them so much, and you plan to kill them, I saw you talking to a person, saying [We must win them in order to get what we want] and you were smiling maliciously, heh.. I always knew your smile was a lie."
Penelope's eyes were full of sadness and anger, feeling fear of someone close to you is the most difficult thing.
'I bet she's more scared than angry.... She reminds me of myself.'
Previous memories flowed into Max's mind.
"Carl! Enter the room and close the door, do not open it no matter what you hear!"
I was hiding as Mom silently asks me, waiting for her quarrel with dad to end, or specifically dad's torture of her... Until that day...
'When is all this going to end?''
As soon as I heard the sound of gunfire, the blood froze in my body, I felt chills, I couldn't move an inch of my body.
Max sighed, and looked towards Penelope who was looking at him very spitefully.
'I think I should calm her down.'
"Pufft... hahahahahahaha"
Max laughed hard while holding his belly, Penelope was shocked not knowing what's wrong with him, did he go crazy
"w... what makes you laugh?!"
"Haha heh I'm sorry haha it looks like you misunderstood"
"Huh?"
"I've already said this, but I didn't mean my family... I meant the families who are fighting against us."He said with a smile on his face.
Penelope felt embarrassed, and her face blushed heavily, still holding on to her belief.
"But who is that guy I talked to?"
'She's a ten-year-old so if we make it a secret between us she won't tell anyone... I hope.'
"It's a shadow."
"Shadow?"
"Yes, his name is Mathew .. Matthew, come here."
The shadow Matheon came out of nowhere, he politely bowed, Penelope was nervous; because his entry was doubtful as he appeared out of nowhere, his form looked even more frightening on closer inspection.
"Did your Excellency ask for me?"
"Yes, this is my little sister Penelope. introduce yourself to her."
Mathew approached Penelope and said:
"Hello, Princess, I am one of the servants of His Excellency Duke Maximilian, I will be at your service."
Penelope felt a little relieved by his kind words.
"Umm... Yeah.... Welcome..."
{Sir, shall I kill her?}
'What th--?!!'
{brain connection, why did you answer me?}
'Shit!, Mental communication! You read my thoughts?'
{No, just what is addressed to me}
Max learned that this is some kind of magic, Mathew seems serious about the matter of killing Penelope.
{ ? }
'Why?''
{This is your desire, I mean it 'was' your desire}
'Let me guess... Kill her and have a funeral then...'
{Yeah, kill the rest, I think you got your memories back a little. that's great!}
Max learned that this is a serious situation and Matthew is really serious in his decision, it seems that he will already raise his sword at any second, taking off her head from her body.
'Get out of here'
"Well, you can go."
{...}
"... Yes, your Excellency."
Mathew leaves, Penelope is relieved; because her suspicions were incorrect, it's easy to manipulate a child's mind so once you see the evidence you remove the doubts.
"Listen, Penelope, what I told you about me having shadows will remain a secret between us, okay? Because if anyone knew, I'd be in trouble."
"Even my father?"
'Joseph is the first one who should not know!!!'
"Especially my father... Let it be a secret between us, okay"
"Okay!... Brother, do you want to play a game?"
"Yes..." With a smile.
Max finally agreed with Penelope, and they spent the rest of the day playing together, the duchess and her sons returned from the market, the duchess went up to Penelope's room and opened the door.
"Penelope!! Your mother has a gift for.... you?."
The Duchess was shocked to see Max and Penelope, sipping tea together.
"Hmm... All right... I'll leave you now."
The Duchess quietly closed the door to the room and Max smiled.
"It's just the beginning..."
"What did you say, Brother?"
"No, nothing is worth"
'It's the beginning of my plan, I really don't care about these trifles and never about this child, all I want is to live a happy and quiet life.... And of course it's fun'
Max covered his mouth, covering his smile.
Will..It's okay to play the villain a little..