"Nice try!" Ashley cheered loudly as Primo’s team was clearly losing to the opposing team.

She clapped hard, checking Primo’s reaction to how the game was unfolding. When she sat down, her brows snapped up at the oozing, arrogant chuckle from their side.

"Haha. Look at the children. How adorable! Seeing them try so hard, it’s moving!"

Lucian and Ashley turned their heads, and there sat Raka with a smirk on his face. He chuckled proudly before looking back at the couple.

Compared to the other rows, this line of seats was quieter. So, Ashley’s cheers were a little too disruptive.

"I guess it’s because of the parents who were just as hardworking," Raka continued, smiling, but the tone of his voice oozed superiority. "Well, hard work and determination aren’t all that bad."

Some parents near him snickered.

As for Ashley, she furrowed her brows before turning to Lucian. "Boo, are you being picked on?"

She couldn’t honestly tell. Or rather, she didn’t want to make a mistake. There was nothing Raka said that was outright wrong, but his tone was something else. He could just naturally sound like that, and she might’ve misunderstood.

Lucian studied Raka, who was telling the other parents something, before shifting his focus back to Ashley.

He leaned toward her ear and quietly shared, "He’s a lonely man."

"Huh?"

"Doesn’t have friends," Lucian clarified as he drew his head back. "He’s not worth it."

Ashley thought about it for a second before turning to Raka again. After a moment, she rocked her head. Having no friends was something Ashley understood, and it could be very lonely. Others might resort to arrogance to hide that.

"You see, you should enroll your child in the lessons my son is taking," Raka turned to the couple once more, smirking. "Your boy will become more flexible and disciplined. It’s just a little costly."

Raka nodded, smiling from ear to ear at the couple. "I’m not sure if you could afford it since I heard your son got into the school through the school’s special program. Even so, I think it’s worth it!"

"Gosh," Ashley whispered, staring at the man flatly. "He really isn’t worth it."

Lucian rocked his head.

The couple had met people just as annoying as Raka throughout their lives. Foolish people like these always ended up in certain places: the sewage, the river, or dumped on the roadside.

But violence was not always the answer. Especially for those not involved in the underground world.

And that... was what saved Raka from the kind of disaster he could’ve brought upon himself.

Nolan was seated just behind the couple, darting his eyes between Lucian and Ashley. Then, he turned to the man who was clearly trying to insult them in a roundabout way.

This other side of the world is truly... just as terrifyingly oblivious.

This man surely had no idea what kind of hell he was knocking on. Even so, he was undoubtedly lucky that the people he was picking on were still rational. If this were some other dons or madams of an organization — or rather, if Gustav or Lukas were here hearing this — this man would pay heavily.

Not with his life, but with everything else besides that.

Those two could be very brutal to people who disrespected Lucian, after all.

Nolan smiled as he eyed the couple. "I’m so proud of them."

But just as Nolan said that, his heart nearly jumped out of his chest at the words that echoed from Raka’s direction.

"Who knows? These sorts of things might help your child," Raka hummed condescendingly. "Or was your child going through some speech therapy? I heard the boy is mute. That must be expensive enough."

Nolan didn’t even think. His body simply reacted the moment those words reached him. With impossible swiftness, he stretched his arms out and grabbed both Lucian’s and Ashley’s back collars, keeping them down.

"Hah," Nolan exhaled, almost panting, as he grabbed the couple just in time before they stood up. His eyes shook, his heart thudding violently against his chest.

His wide eyes remained fixed on Lucian’s and Ashley’s backs. He couldn’t see the blank expressions on the couple’s faces, but he could feel the murderous intent pouring from them. Even holding them back from executing Raka right then and there felt dangerous in itself.

"Nolan, let me go."

A second later, Lucian’s quiet but dark voice reached Nolan. It was only a few words, but it was enough to make Nolan feel suffocated.

Then Ashley’s quiet voice followed.

"I’m going to cut off his tongue."

Master, Madam.

Distressed, Nolan looked back at the guys Ashley had brought with them. To his disappointment, the men were merely staring at Raka with flat expressions. They clearly had no problem watching Ashley or Lucian do something to him.

Better yet, they were just waiting for Ashley or Lucian to give the word.

They’d silence that guy forever. Happily.

"Speaking of therapy, have you done yours yet, Jean?"

As the minute stretched into an eternity of tension, a man’s voice suddenly cut through it cleanly.

"I heard your divorce was already finalized, but people have been worried about your well-being. After all, your ex-wife has been seen everywhere lately with your brother. And word has started getting around."

Slowly, Ashley and Lucian turned their heads toward the owner of the voice. There, seated a few empty chairs away from them, was a slightly bulky man. Even through the simple shirt he was wearing, everyone could see the years of work he had put into that body. He had a thick beard, trimmed cleanly.

The man finally turned his head toward the couple before leaning forward to see past them directly at Raka.

"As a man, I don’t think I could ever picture myself being in the right state of mind if my wife left me for my brother," he continued, looking Raka straight in the eye. "But that’s not true, isn’t it, Jean?"

Raka’s face twisted, his entire body trembling in anger.

"You—"

This time, the people with Raka were the ones reaching for him, stopping him from creating a bigger scene.

Through gritted teeth, he seethed, "I’m going to kill you."

Seeing Raka’s reaction, Ashley’s and Lucian’s shoulders relaxed. The murderous air around them disappeared without a trace.

"Hah," Ashley breathed out before leaning back.

As for Nolan, he studied both Ashley and Lucian before sighing in relief. Slowly, he let them go before turning to the bulky man who had interfered.

The man chuckled as soon as Lucian and Ashley turned to him. "That’s my boy over there," he said, pointing at the boy who had been with Primo earlier.

"Oh," Ashley’s eyes lit up as her lips curled upward.

"We’re on the same team." Then, the man reached out to Lucian, since he was the closest, and introduced himself. "Julius."

Ashley and Lucian glanced at each other before offering Julius a smile.