That afternoon, Almyth strode straight into Lucifer's penthouse with the real Elder Guntor and Count Jeffrey in tow.
In the center of the massive room, a huge table held a detailed map of the neighboring duchies, counties, kingdoms, and baronies. Lucifer stood over it, calmly refining his newest plan. He was certain it was airtight—no room for failure, no chance of defeat. According to him, if everything went smoothly, there would never be any need to wipe out the Keilname family bloodline—or, as some still called it, the Keil van Hopervent, Segencita, and Hombert lines.
And he was right. Artemis, Rowena, Maxwell, Almyth, Mara, A, and C had executed the plan flawlessly. On top of that, A and C's deception had been so perfect that not even Talmora, Fobila, Jkliona, or Fifi had the slightest clue that the men standing before them were not the real Count Jeffrey and Elder Guntor.
The moment Almyth entered with the two captives, Lucifer crossed the room in a few unhurried steps. He reached out, ruffled her hair with open affection, and planted a warm kiss on her forehead.
Then, in a soft voice meant only for her, he said, "Wake them up."
A short while later, Guntor and Jeffrey stirred from their unconsciousness. They quickly realized they were no longer in their own mansion. Instead, they were in a completely unfamiliar chamber. Seated in a large chair right in front of them was the same girl who had knocked Guntor out cold. But she wasn't alone anymore. She was curled up in someone's arms like a koala bear, her entire demeanor transformed. The face that had been completely emotionless, eyes hollow as if staring at corpses, was now glowing with boundless joy. Her eyes held nothing but pure love and total surrender.
Guntor's gaze locked onto the young man whose arms she was wrapped around. The kid looked no older than nineteen or twenty. Rage exploded across Guntor's face.
"Where the hell am I?!" he roared. "This isn't my county! Who are you and why have you brought us here?!"
Jeffrey wasn't about to stay quiet either. "Grandpa, we have to get back to the county right now! Who knows what those Westirifer bastards are doing to Mom and my sisters… or to the whole county!"
The young man gently ruffled Almyth's hair once more, then rose and walked over to the two men still lying bound on the floor. He crouched down and untied them with casual ease.
"Count Jeffrey, Elder Guntor… welcome to Westirifer," he said, voice smooth and unhurried. "I admit the way I brought you here was a bit… rough. But I had no choice."
He straightened up. "Let me welcome you properly this time. My name is Lucifer Velmora." Then he gestured toward Almyth with a small, almost tender smile. "And this is my wife, Almyth."
Jeffrey's face twisted with fury. "I don't give a damn who you are or who that woman is. I only want to know what your people have done to my mother and sisters—and when the hell you planted spies in my county and why!"
Lucifer gave a faint, knowing smile. "If you had simply listened to me earlier, none of this would have been necessary." He glanced at the two men still on the floor. "But sitting on the ground like this doesn't exactly help us talk. My intention was never to humiliate either of you. So why don't you both calm down and get comfortable first?"
Guntor's eyes burned. "Boy, my county never provoked you. Yet you did this anyway. What greater humiliation could there possibly be?"
Lucifer tilted his head slightly, as if genuinely curious. "Elder Guntor… do you really think this is the greatest humiliation possible?"
Without another word, he reached into his spatial storage and pulled out a magic crystal ball. He fed it a thread of mana. The orb instantly lit up, projecting a crystal-clear image of the Keilname county mansion's main hall.
Inside the projection, C was kissing Talmora. Then A stepped forward and began speaking to her—both of them perfect copies of Guntor and Jeffrey.
Before the scene could continue, Lucifer tucked the crystal ball away again. He looked straight at Guntor. "Elder… when your people eventually realize that the real Count and Elder are here in Westirifer while perfect impostors are running your county… tell me—which moment will feel more humiliating? This one, where no one even knows you're gone? Or that one?"
The words hit both Guntor and Jeffrey like ice water sliding down their spines.
Guntor's eyes flared blood-red with rage. He bellowed the incantation for his strongest earth magic:
"Earth Curse Bind: Swallow my enemy!"
The floor of the penthouse trembled faintly—but the moment the spell left his lips, Lucifer simply snapped his fingers.
Whoosh.
The tremors died instantly.
Lucifer's voice remained calm, almost gentle. "Your magic is impressive, Elder Guntor… to others. To me, it's nothing." He met the old man's furious gaze. "You'd be better off listening to what I have to say instead of testing me."
Then he snapped his fingers again.
Everything froze.
Jeffrey's mouth hung open mid-sentence. Almyth's hand paused halfway through brushing her hair. The entire world seemed to stop breathing. Only Guntor and Lucifer could still move.
Lucifer looked at the elder with quiet, unreadable eyes. "This is my weakest trick—time magic. I can stretch it, shrink it, stop it completely. I can step into the past… but I cannot change it. And right now I cannot see the future."
He smiled faintly, the kind of smile that made the air feel heavier. "So tell me, Elder… if I truly wanted to destroy you or your county, why would I have left either of you alive?"
He snapped his fingers once more. Time slammed back into motion. Jeffrey's unfinished threat came spilling out: "You bastard! What the hell do you want with my county and my family?! Let them all go or I swear my kingdom's allies will never forgive you!"
Lucifer let out a soft chuckle and glanced at Guntor. "Elder, it seems you never taught the Count proper manners. Did you?"
Jeffrey's face turned purple with fresh rage and he opened his mouth to explode again—until Guntor roared at him like a thunderclap:
"SILENCE, JEFFREY!"
Jeffrey flinched, stunned into momentary silence.
Lucifer gestured politely to a chair. "Elder, I wish to speak with you alone. I don't think the Count needs to be present for this. Would you mind if he steps out for a bit?"
Guntor's eyes flicked toward Almyth. "What about that woman?"
Lucifer's answer was simple and absolute. "She is my wife. Where I stay, she stays. This ducal palace and everything in it belongs to her as much as it does to me. Why would she ever have to leave?"
A light blush colored Almyth's cheeks, but she quickly hid her smile.
Guntor jerked his chin at his grandson. "Out, Jeffrey."
Jeffrey protested immediately. "Why, Grandpa? Who knows what this kid will do to you if I leave—"
Guntor's voice rose again. "Jeffrey, get outside. Now!"
"But Grandpa—"
Guntor's eyes blazed. "I said OUT!"
Jeffrey threw his hands up, half-shouting, half-laughing in disbelief. "Old man, I'll go outside—sure! But where the hell am I supposed to go?! This isn't my mansion! I've been trying to tell you that for the last ten minutes but your old ears don't seem to work!"
Guntor's face flushed bright red with a mix of fury and embarrassment.
Before he could roar again, Lucifer spoke a single, quiet syllable.
"K."
A man materialized at Lucifer's side in a swirl of dark smoke. Green hair, pale skin, a sculpted body, and an aura so terrifying that Guntor's soul actually shivered. The man dropped to one knee at once.
"Yes, Master."
Lucifer didn't even glance at him. "Take Sir Jeffrey outside. Make sure he's comfortable and that he causes no trouble for anyone. Understood?"
"Yes, Master."
K rose, grabbed Jeffrey by the arm, and the two of them vanished into thin air.
Guntor sat there, heart hammering. The girl who had brought them here wasn't normal. The servant who had just appeared out of smoke wasn't normal. The two guards who had impersonated them weren't normal. And the young man sitting calmly in front of him—the one who stopped time with a finger snap, who spoke of the past and future like they were toys—was the least normal of all.
Guntor had never heard of, let alone witnessed, anyone wielding power like this. It was as alien to him as the world would be to a newborn child.
He didn't know what kind of entity he was sitting across from.
All he felt was fear… and crushing, suffocating pressure.