As the kids followed Katherine inside, they started to grow numb to the luxury of the house.
The moment they stepped into the living room, the three kids suddenly felt a ton of weight pressing onto their shoulders before it vanished.
"These three kids are our grandkids?"
An old-looking man asked, wearing a black tailcoat as he sat right in the middle of the sofa.
On the left was a young lady in an elegant dress, looking even younger than Katherine, as she smiled at the three kids.
Meanwhile, across from the two was Amelia, looking a little nervous as she sat in silence, looking away as if she was afraid to look back at Katherine.
"Let's go. We're leaving."
Katherine immediately grabbed both Alex's and Mary's hands, with Sophia quickly following behind her.
But before they could leave, they suddenly ran into an invisible barrier.
"Come on, Kate, you can't just leave again without saying a word to your mom."
The young woman's smile disappeared as she got up from her seat and slowly walked over to the three kids.
Alex and Mary could both feel Katherine's body freeze in place, as neither of them could move her hand at all.
"What is your guy's name? Would you be kind enough to tell your grandma?" The young lady asked softly.
"My name is Sophia."
"My name is Alex."
"My name is Mary."
All three of them were shocked inside their head, as they couldn't control their mouth from answering the question.
"Nice to meet you all... Come, follow your grandma to see your grandpa."
Once again, they couldn't control their legs as they began following the young lady in front of them.
"Madam, can you let go of my mom?" Alex suddenly asked.
The young lady froze for a second before snapping her finger and resumed walking to the sofa.
"You don't have to call me Madam. You can call me Grandma."
The young lady's voice appeared in Alex's head, sending a chill down his spine as his instinct told him she was a dangerous woman.
"Ava, let go of my kids." Katherine ran back up and pulled the three back, snapping them out of the automatic walk.
"Kate, don't call your mom by name. That's rude."
The young lady didn't attempt to freeze Katherine again as she sat back down next to the old man.
"I'm not calling someone mom when they almost sent me to die. And don't call me Kate." Katherine argued, her face turning increasingly cold.
"She still hasn't gotten over it... Fredrick, this is all your fault." Ava murmured before looking back at the old man in anger.
"Kate, I'm sorry——"
"I said don't call me Kate." Katherine interrupted, her face filled with disgust as the old man tried to apologize.
"Katherine. I sincerely apologize for what I put you through... It was never my intention——"
"I heard it a thousand times already. I'm not going to accept your apology." Katherine interrupted again.
"That's fine. I just wanted to tell you that I'm fine with you being with Paul now. You don't have to leave the house over this."
The room fell into silence as the atmosphere became increasingly awkward until Alex decided to speak up.
"Sir... Our dad is dead."
Alex could quickly notice the old man's eye-widening for a second before changing back to normal.
"That's unfortunate... Looks like we never got to meet each other in the end."
The old man murmured as the room fell back into an awkward silence.
Nobody wanted to speak up until Amelia suddenly chimed in.
"Ahem, do you guys do you want a tour of the house?" Amelia asked as she looked toward the three kids.
Alex shook his head, but both Sophia and Mary looked over to Katherine as if they were asking permission.
With a nod, the two of them followed Amelia out of the room, leaving Katherine and Alex behind.
"Katherine, why did you come back home all of a sudden?" Ava curiously asked.
"The kids just wanted to see you two. That's it." Katherine instantly replied, with barely any emotion in her voice.
"Oh really? That's nice of them... Hey Alex, what snack do you want?" Ava asked as she got up from her seat.
"I'm good. Thank you." Alex replied.
"I'll get us some tea then."
As Ava left the living room, the old man spoke up again.
"Katherine, I just want to tell you that I don't have much longer. I know what I did was unforgivable, but you're the only worry that I still have."
Despite Katherine looking away, the old man continued.
"All I want is to ask you, what can I do to earn your forgiveness? I'm willing to give everything I have for you to forgive me."
Seeing the old man's voice started to tremble, Alex's mind was all over the place.
He could tell Katherine hated both of her parents because of something in the past.
But he couldn't think of a thing that would make a daughter hate their parent permanently.
However, he knew one thing: silence.
There was no way for him to reconcile the two without knowing what happened between them.
If he tried, it would hurt Katherine even more, which was the last thing he was willing to do in life.
"When I returned home, I was hoping you would already be dead... A shame it didn't happen."
Katherine's sudden statement made Alex even more confused, but the old man seemed to be expecting it.
"But you know what, I will move past what you tried to do to me... With one condition."
"What is it?"
"I want a bottle of holy water——"
"You can kill me, and I wouldn't be able to afford that. Your demand is way too unrealistic." The old man angrily argued.
"Then we have no business talking anymore."
Just as Katherine grabbed Alex's hand and was about to leave, the old man's voice made her freeze in place again.
"Katherine, don't you want your kids to go to the best school? I'm sure you don't want your kids to end up like nobody, right?"
"I..."
Seeing Katherine starting to hesitate, Alex decided to push back against the old man's suggestion.
"Mom, I don't need to go to the best school. I'm fine with going to any school."
Despite Alex's pushback, it somehow backfired as Katherine felt even more determined.
"Fine, I take your deal."
Katherine sat back down, bringing Alex with her as she looked back at the old man with a warmer face.
"Thank you. I'll get your kids there within less than a week——"
"What are you guys talking about?"
Ava curiously asked as she finally came back with four cups of tea and a teapot on a tray.
"Kate, are you going to honor your end of the bargain?" The old man asked.
As Ava looked at the two with confusion, she couldn't believe what Katherine said next.
"M-Mom..."
Despite Katherine whispering it quietly, Ava almost dropped the tray onto the floor in shock.
"Fredrick! Kate finally called me Mom again!" Ava excitedly said out loud as she ran over to hug her.
"Stop messing with my hair," Katherine complained as she pushed Ava's back.
"Sorry... Fredrick, how did you make her call me mom again?" Ava excitedly asked as she sat down next to him.
"Just a small deal... Kate, how long are you planning to stay in the capital?" The old man asked.
"I don't know yet... Alex, you stay here with mom and... dad, okay? I'm going to go do something first."
As Katherine ran out of the living room, Fredrick's face started smiling as if something heavy finally disappeared from his shoulder.
"You better not drink any alcohol ever again," Ava warned as she still couldn't believe Katherine's sudden change while she was gone.
"Of course. That was just a mistake that should have never happened. You know I would have never done it if it wasn't for the emperor's——"
"Ahem, Alex, do you want to go meet up with your sisters?" Ava interrupted, not letting Fredrick finish his sentence.
"Um, sure."
As the two headed out of the living room, Alex noted Fredrick's words in his head and became even more intrigued by Katherine's past.
---
When Katherine came back, it was already dinner time, and everyone was seated at the dining table waiting for him.
"Where did you go?" Amelia curiously asked as Katherine sat down next to Alex.
"I just had some work to do. Oh, I'm not going to sleep here. I'm going back to my academy."
"Sure, go for it. I'm sure your teacher is dying to see you." Ava joked as she helped Mary cut through the steak.
"Thank you, Grandma," Mary replied as she began eating the food.
"You're welcome..."
Seeing the two interacting with each other, Alex quickly noticed Katherine's frown.
But she didn't say anything out loud about it, so Alex went back to eating his food at the table.
"Ahem, Kate, I got your kids the invitation to the best school in the capital," Fredrick stated as he took out three letters.
"That fast?"
Amelia looked a little surprised as she and the other two kids had learned what happened in the living room through Alex.
"I know the archmage that runs it... Anyway, your kids can start attending there next Monday."
As Fredrick handed the three letters over to Katherine, she couldn't believe her eyes as soon as she saw the sticker on the front.