As both a father and a doctor, Zahn reacted instinctively. He rushed forward to help the child before spinning around to glare at Shin, his eyes blazing with anger.
"What is wrong with you?" he demanded. "Have you been harming children?"
Shin "..."
Tristan "..."
Prince Xati, who couldn't have cared less about dangling upside down from the tree, heard unfamiliar voices and lazily turned his head to see who had arrived.
Not seeing his Empress Mother anywhere, he immediately lost interest.
The next second, Zahn scooped him into his arms and Xati's face instantly twisted in disgust.
"Ah! Get away from me!"
Mistaking his reaction for trauma, Zahn gently patted his back. "It's alright. I'm a doctor. You're safe now."
"Big bro, let's talk this through, okay?" Saeki chimed in nervously.
"He likes trees," Shin replied with a perfectly straight face. "I'm just letting him experience one up close."
Zahn stared at him in disbelief.
Experience it up close? Who in their right mind tied a child upside down to a tree for the sake of an experience?
"You've got it all wrong. That child is-"
Before Tristan could finish explaining, Xati suddenly cried out, "Daddy! I don't want to play anymore! Get me down!"
Zahn "..."
Saeki blinked. "...Daddy?"
Shin silently shifted his gaze toward Tristan.
Tristan's mouth twitched.
Left with no choice, he walked over to the tree and untied the ropes around the little demon prince.
The moment his feet touched the ground, Xati dusted off his clothes, patted his butt, and trotted straight toward Shin. He stopped in front of him and confidently held out his tiny palm.
Shin looked down at him with his usual cold expression, his arms still crossed.
"I don't have money," Xati declared matter-of-factly. "Give me your bank card."
Shin narrowed his eyes, already regretting bringing the little demon to the estate.
It wasn't because of the money. He was certain this tiny demon would end up crashing at his villa whenever he pleased.
In just a single day, Butler Hong had already purchased boxes upon boxes of children's supplies, toys, snacks, and all sorts of other unnecessary things.
"No," Shin deadpanned.
"Why not?" Xati demanded with righteous indignation. "What kind of father are you?"
The chorus of crickets echoed through the trees as the other three fell into stunned silence.
"...Father?!" Saeki suddenly yelped, staring at Shin as though he'd sprouted horns. "Y-you..."
Without saying a word, Shin grabbed the little prince by the back of his collar, clearly intending to hang him back on the tree and leave him there overnight but Zahn immediately stepped forward to block him.
"What is going on?!" Saeki exclaimed, his brain seemingly short-circuiting from the sheer amount of gossip unfolding before his eyes. "Somebody explain!"
"Xati, that's enough. Let's go home," Tristan finally said as he took the child from Shin.
"You're not my father, so why should I listen to you?" Xati huffed.
He turned back toward Shin and once again held out his tiny palm.
"I have rights. I can report you for child abuse and for refusing to provide financial support."
As much as Prince Xati hated acknowledging any kinship with the Mad Emperor, why should he let him live peacefully?
He had already made up his mind.
From now on, he was going to be the Mad Emperor's son and make his life just as troublesome as he'd done back in the Demon Realm.
"Whose son is this child?" Saeki demanded from the sidelines. "Why aren't you two explaining anything?"
Naturally, Shin and Tristan knew exactly what the little troublemaker was trying to do.
The problem was, they couldn't possibly beat up this little demon in other people's presence.
"Xati..." Tristan sighed awkwardly. "I'm your father."
The little prince rolled his eyes so dramatically they almost disappeared.
"How can you lie to a child without even blinking?" he scoffed. "I'm a child, not an idiot."
"You have a son?!" Saeki blurted out.
His gaze darted repeatedly between Tristan, Shin, and Xati, but the garden was too dimly lit to make out the child's features clearly.
Feeling a headache coming on, Tristan simply hoisted Xati onto his shoulder despite the child's exaggerated protests.
"Alright, you've played enough. Let's go home."
Prince Xati kicked and squirmed the entire way, but trapped inside the body of an ordinary child, he was no match for an adult.
With only the three of them remaining, Shin ignored Zahn and Saeki entirely and headed back toward his villa.
"Bro, do you really have a son?" Saeki hurried after him. "When? How? Why didn't I know? Who's the mother? Does sis-in-law know about this?"
"I don't," Shin answered flatly.
"Then why does that kid keep insisting you're his father?" Saeki refused to let the matter drop.
Shin stopped walking and looked at the two of them expressionlessly. "Why are you two trespassing?"
"We live in the same estate," Saeki protested. "Besides, you don't even lock your back door."
As they walked past the patio, he pointed toward the two black dogs sleeping peacefully nearby.
"See? Even your dogs recognize us. They don't even bother attacking."
"Saeki thought it'd be a good idea for the three of us to have a drink," Zahn explained.
Just like Tristan earlier, Shin looked at the two of them with faint confusion.
Given Zahn's personality, someone like Saeki was the last person he'd voluntarily spend time with.
Yet somehow the two had shown up together.
Shin couldn't be bothered entertaining them. It was Saeki who was practically at home in the villa's bar area, casually making himself comfortable.
"Is that child really your son?" Zahn asked as he took a seat.
"Yeah, otherwise how could that kid be so sure?" Saeki chimed in while expertly pouring drinks like a professional bartender. "Or is someone trying to scheme against you by using that child?"
Shin ignored the question altogether. Instead, he looked at Zahn.
"When did you change?" he asked seriously.
Zahn "..."
He had always been the type who never pried into other people's affairs.
Saeki sat down with a sigh. "Big bro, don't be too hard on Stone Face. He's having a rough time with his relationship status."
Shin remained expressionless. What did that have to do with him?
Zahn also fell silent before downing the glass of liquor in front of him in one gulp.
For the next few minutes, only Saeki's voice filled the room. Completely unfazed by the lack of responses, he carried the entire conversation by questioning and answering himself.
A while later, Tristan walked in.
"What's the occasion?"
"I thought you weren't coming back," Saeki said excitedly. "I'd have been bored to death with just these two."
"I wasn't planning to," Tristan replied, tapping the folder in his hand. "I only came back to give Shin some documents regarding Hexion."
"Well, Stone Face needed a drink, and I figured it'd be boring if it was just the two of us," Saeki explained. "Lianna refused to let him stay at their villa."
"You own part of this estate," Tristan pointed out. "Even if you gave your villa to your ex-wife, you could always build another one."
Without saying a word, Zahn picked up another glass and emptied it.
Perhaps he hadn't realized it himself, but he'd been pouring one drink after another ever since he'd sat down.
"Wow, Stone Face." Saeki clicked his tongue. "You're about to break my drinking record. No matter how miserable you are, take it easy, or tomorrow you'll end up in your own hospital as the patient."
Zahn had never been the type to open up about his personal life, not even to people he considered close friends so he stayed quiet.
Saeki and Tristan continued chatting while Shin silently tapped away on his phone.
After what felt like a long silence, Zahn suddenly spoke.
"Is it possible to make someone who no longer loves you... love you again?"
The alcohol had finally begun taking effect, slowly stripping away the reservations he'd held onto all evening.
"You mean ex-sis-in-law, right?" Saeki rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Of course it's possible... but it depends on how deeply you've hurt her. Some people forgive. Some people forget. Some do both. Others do neither because they decide the whole process is just too exhausting."
Zahn stared at him blankly.
Why was it so hard to understand anything this guy was saying?
Turning to Tristan instead, he asked, "You have a lot of experience with women. How can I make Lianna fall for me again?"
Tristan "..."
He really had become everyone's designated relationship consultant just because of his infamous playboy reputation.
Ironically, despite all the rumors, he disliked dealing with complicated women even more than he disliked chasing after them.
Still, the fact that Zahn had come to him for advice meant only one thing.
He had run out of options, and he was desperate.
"Did something happen?" Tristan asked.
Zahn thought for a moment before recounting everything that had happened recently, including the student who had begun showing an interest in Lianna.
"It's not surprising she has a suitor," Saeki remarked. "After all, there are bound to be men eyeing her wealth. In the future, there might be even more of them. She just has to be careful about their motives."
Zahn shot him an annoyed look. He was the one asking for advice, not Lianna.
"She doesn't need to be careful with me around."
"But you're not even sure you're the one she wants," Saeki replied matter-of-factly. "A forced love only breeds resentment."
"Saeki Jie..." Zahn's voice turned cold. "Are you trying to piss me off?"
"I'm just stating the facts. Don't get so worked up." Saeki blinked innocently, completely unaware that he was stepping on every possible landmine.
Tristan raised an eyebrow and exchanged a meaningful glance with Shin.
Listening to those two argue was oddly familiar.
It was almost like Zahn had taken Shin's place, wearing the exact same expression Shin usually had whenever Saeki spoke too much.
Judging by Zahn's face, he looked one sentence away from giving Saeki a beating just to make him stop talking.
"My experience with women is mostly built on mutual interests and business partnerships rather than genuine feelings," Tristan admitted as he looked at Zahn. "So I wouldn't dare claim I'm the best person to advise you. The only thing I can say is that timing matters. You need to know when to approach her and when to give her room to breathe. If all you know is how to keep pushing forward without considering her feelings, you'll only end up making things worse."