The Head Butler stared down at Ezra like he had just seen a ghost crawl out of a grave.

Still...

Years of serving the Sterling family stopped him from showing that reaction openly.

At least not completely, but Ezra could still see it.

The old man’s pupils had shrunk slightly while sweat slowly dripped from the side of his forehead, even the hand resting behind his back had stiffened.

"Please... come upstairs."

The Head Butler forced out a smile that looked more painful than polite.

Ezra narrowed his eyes slightly at him but said nothing.

Since entering the mansion...

He had already been scanning the entire building with his senses.

The servants, the guards, the few Alchemist guards hidden around the mansion and most importantly...

The people he once called family.

Then...

He finally found them.

So that’s where they are...And they’re together too.

Ezra’s gaze slowly shifted toward the hallway leading directly to his father’s private office.

Meanwhile, the Head Butler originally wanted Ezra and Lucy to follow him toward his own office first so he could control the situation quietly.

But Ezra completely ignored him.

He didn’t even spare the old man another glance.

Instead...

He calmly walked toward the office room he sensed his parents inside.

"Young Master, wait..."

The Head Butler quickly stretched his hand forward in panic.

At the same moment...

The three Alchemist guards behind him stepped forward too.

"Stop."

Lucy’s Cognis Presence exploded outward instantly.

The hallway air suddenly became heavy.

The guards froze in place.

Cold fear crawled up their spines so suddenly that their bodies instinctively locked.

"How can a young girl like her possess this level of Cognis..."

One of the Novice Rank guards gritted his teeth while sweat formed across his face.

Both he and Lucy were technically within the same rank, but the difference between them was obvious.

Lucy possessed a completed star, more killing intent.

And unlike him...

Her presence carried the feeling of someone who had actually survived death repeatedly.

The gap between them wasn’t small at all.

Ezra continued walking calmly.

Step by step.

The closer he got to the office...

The clearer the voices inside became, even though the room was built with soundproof wood designed to block noise...

Ezra could still hear them.

Laughter and conversation.

The sound of people comfortably talking together like a normal family.

Especially one particular voice.

Ezra’s eyes darkened slightly.

He finally reached the door, without stopping...

He casually grabbed the handle and pushed it open.

Crack!

The reinforced lock shattered apart instantly under the force.

"Who dares?!"

The moment the door burst open...

His father’s Meister Rank Cognis exploded outward violently.

At the same time...

Zara instantly released his own Cognis Presence too while standing up sharply from the sofa.

Ready to fight.

But then...They saw him.

"Hello... everyone."

Ezra slowly spread his hands with a soft smile on his face, but that smile looked wrong.

Too calm and too cold.

"I’m back from the dead."

The entire room froze.

"E... Ezra?"

His mother’s trembling voice escaped first.

The toy she held slipped from her hand and dropped onto the floor and the one-year-old baby sitting on her lap immediately started crying loudly from the sudden tension filling the room.

Ezra’s eyes slowly moved across the office.

He looked at every face carefully.

The stunned expressions.

No...

Petrified expressions.

Then his eyes stopped on the baby.

"Who’s the baby?"

He asked flatly.

No emotion existed in his eyes while asking.

It sounded less like a son questioning his family and more like someone asking about the weather.

"HOW?!"

His father suddenly shouted loudly; veins bulged from the side of his forehead.

"HOW ARE YOU ALIVE?!"

He pointed at Ezra in complete disbelief.

Zara on the other hand remained standing stiffly beside the sofa. His face had already lost all color with fear, confusion and disbelief.

All mixed together inside his eyes.

The baby’s crying became louder.

"You people seem to be doing well."

Ezra slowly glanced around the luxurious office.

"A new baby too...Wow, what a nice way to erase me."

His tone carried clear sarcasm.

"You were supposed to be dead!"

Zara finally regained his voice.

Ezra slowly turned toward him with his eyes becoming darker.

"Yes...Ezra is dead."

His mother suddenly spoke too, but not confidently nor calmly.

She slowly turned toward his father with trembling eyes.

"He died months ago, honey..."

Her voice sounded broken, then suddenly...Her expression twisted completely.

"His spirit is here..." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

She grabbed her own hair violently.

"Ah... Ezra... Ezra... Ezra..."

Her breathing became chaotic.

The baby continued crying loudly while she started shaking harder and harder.

"What’s wrong with her?"

Ezra pointed toward her without much concern, like he was simply asking about a stranger.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

His mother suddenly screamed hysterically.

Her chest rose rapidly while tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

"MAID!"

His father roared, but nobody entered immediately.

"MAID!"

He shouted again louder.

Zara quickly grabbed the crying baby away from their mother while she violently shook her head.

"MY BABY IS DEAD!"

She screamed while clawing at her own hair.

"MY EZRA IS DEAD!"

The sight honestly looked disturbing, completely broken.

"Lucy."

Ezra finally spoke calmly again while watching the scene unfold before him.

"Let the maid enter."

"HIS SPIRIT IS HERE HONEY!"

His mother pointed directly at Ezra while trembling violently.

"HIS SPIRIT CAME BACK! MY DEAD BABY’S SPIRIT IS HERE!"

She crawled toward his father while grabbing onto his clothes desperately.

Finally...

The maid rushed inside.

Ezra’s father instantly struck his wife lightly behind the neck with controlled force.

Her body went limp immediately.

Only then did he finally regain some composure.

"Why didn’t you answer when I called?!"

He glared at the personal maid with murderous intent.

"I-I’m sorry, My Lord!"

The maid immediately dropped to her knees crying.

"Someone blocked the way..."

Her voice trembled badly.

After all...

This situation could easily cost her life.

"Take her away."

Ezra’s father coldly looked at the unconscious woman and crying baby.

"When I finish handling this mess...I’ll return to you and think of how to punish you."

The maid quickly nodded while trembling.

She carefully carried both the baby and Ezra’s mother away from the room.

"That’s a new maid, huh?"

Ezra casually commented while watching them leave.

His father finally turned back toward him fully with his usual cold expression slowly returning.

"You...How did you survive?"

He asked flatly.

"You keep asking stupid questions."

Ezra rubbed his forehead lightly while shaking his head slowly.

"What’s actually wrong with you?"

"ARE YOU MAD?!"

Zara suddenly shouted.

The Cognis around his body surged outward again while he stepped forward aggressively.

"Who do you think you’re talking to, Ezra?!"

His voice carried the same superiority it always had whenever he looked down on him.

"Or do you think surviving the Trial suddenly gives you the right to speak to Father like this?"

The pressure of his Cognis spread through the room intentionally.

He wanted Ezra to feel it, he wanted him to immediately fear him, like before.

But...

Why isn’t he reacting?

Zara’s brows slowly furrowed.

Ezra’s face remained completely calm.

No fear, no nervousness, no inferiority.

Nothing.

"Enough of all this."

Ezra calmly reached into his coat.

"I only came here to deliver my signed disownment papers."

He tossed the documents toward both his father and Zara casually.

The papers scattered across the table and floor.

"From now onward...I’m simply a child of Ashenlocke, not a child of Sterling anymore."

A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

"Though technically...I’m already dead anyway, right?"

A soft laugh escaped under his breath.

"Huh?"

Zara quickly lowered his gaze toward the papers in shock.

"Enough with these childish jokes."

Their father cleared his throat heavily while refusing to even properly look at the documents.

His expression remained cold and dismissive.

"Now that you’re back..." He waved his hand carelessly. "Go rest in your ro..."

Then he suddenly paused.

"No... that room already belongs to your sister now."

His tone remained casual.

"I’ll have a maid clean one of the basement rooms for you."

Like he was speaking about some random servant.

"We’ll discuss everything tomorrow."

He picked up the glass cup filled with wine and swallowed everything in one gulp afterward.

Ezra stared at him quietly.

For a brief second...

He genuinely almost burst out laughing.

Would you look at this clown.

His hands stayed tucked inside his coat pockets while he suppressed the urge.

"Didn’t Father tell you to leave already?"

Zara spoke again arrogantly.

That same tone, that same feeling that he was naturally above Ezra.

Even now...

He deliberately kept releasing his Cognis to pressure him.

To scare him.

But still...

Why isn’t he lowering his head already? Why isn’t he trembling like before?

Zara slowly became irritated.

And that gaze...That dull black gaze...

It pissed him off badly.

Seriously.

"Are you deaf?!"

Their father finally shouted furiously at Ezra.

Zara smiled slightly.

But then...

"It’s you, I’m wondering is deaf."

Ezra sharply replied.

His dull black eyes slowly moved toward the papers lying on the floor.

"I clearly said those papers are my disownment documents. They’re already signed with my blood."

Ezra slowly stepped closer toward both father and son with the atmosphere inside the office becoming heavier.

"Honestly...I mainly came here because I wanted to see your expressions after telling you this."

He suddenly raised one hand like he was holding a camera.

"Click."

He lowered his hand.

"This picture is honestly worth gold."

A mocking smile appeared on his face.

"HOW DARE YOU, YOU TRASH SON!"

His father finally exploded completely.

Boom!

He slammed his hand heavily against the table, the wine bottles and papers shook violently.

"DO YOU THINK THIS IS SOME KIND OF JOKE?!"

Ezra folded his arms while staring at him expressionlessly.

"This guy seriously just keeps yapping."

The moment those words entered the room...

Zara completely lost it.

Without hesitation...

He grabbed a nearby glass cup and enhanced his arm with Cognis before throwing it violently toward Ezra’s face.

The force behind the throw sharply increased from the Cognis reinforcement.

The glass cup flew forward rapidly.

But...

Crash!

Ezra smoothly tilted his head sideways and avoided it completely.

The cup smashed violently against the office door behind him.

Glass shards exploded across the floor.

Silence briefly followed.

Then...

Ezra slowly lifted his eyes toward Zara.

Those dark abyss-like eyes locked directly onto him.

And instantly...

Zara unconsciously stepped backward.

Fear crawled down his spine so suddenly that even he became confused.

Eh...? What was that just now?

His breathing became uneven. He instinctively looked away first, unable to maintain eye contact and unable to speak.

Clap!

Ezra lightly clapped his hands once.

"Well then...With this done, I’ll be leaving."

He turned calmly toward the office exit.

"Where are you going?!"

His father glared at him while the veins near his forehead visibly tightened.

"Oh right..."

Ezra completely ignored the question again.

"I should remind you of something first."

He slightly turned his head sideways.

"You used Zara’s identity as mine during the registration and now that I survived..."

A faint smile appeared on his face again.

"It won’t take long before the Main Family discovers your brilliant escape plan."

His eyes darkened slightly.

"I honestly wonder how you two will handle the situation afterward."

The room instantly became colder.

Once Ezra finished speaking...

He opened the office door and walked out.

Bang.

The door closed behind him.

"EZRA!"

"GET BACK HERE!"

His father immediately rushed after him furiously while Zara finally snapped out of his frozen state and hurried after him too.

"Guards! Stop that trash son of mine immediately! Don’t let him leave this mansion!"

His furious voice echoed throughout the hallways, but before the guards could even react...

"My Lord! My Lord!"

The Head Butler quickly called out nervously.

"What now?!"

Zara’s father turned around sharply in frustration.

"Young Master Ezra..."

The old man lowered his head.

"He’s already gone."

"How?!"

His father’s eyes widened.

"He couldn’t have gone far! CHASE HIM NOW!"

The guards immediately moved after hearing the order.

Footsteps echoed loudly through the mansion.

"Also... My Lord..."

The Head Butler nervously spoke again.

"What is it now?!"

The irritation on his face became worse.

"A call from the Main Family of Ashenlocke..."

The Head Butler swallowed nervously.

"...is currently on the line."

The moment those words entered the room...Zara’s father froze completely.

The blood drained from his face.

Zara’s pupils also shrank in fear beside him, because both of them immediately understood one thing.

The Main Family had already found out.