Zahn stared at him blankly.
Maybe he'd had too much to drink and he couldn't understand Tristan any better than he understood Saeki.
"I don't understand." Zahn frowned. "I've already been keeping my distance. If I keep doing that, what good will it do? By the time I realize it, she might already be interested in someone else."
"It's not that you don't understand," Shin suddenly said from the side, his eyes still fixed on his phone. "It's just that it's not what you wanted to hear."
Zahn was stunned.
It felt as though Shin had seen straight through his mind, and the realization offended him.
"What do you know?" Zahn snarled, slamming his glass onto the table. "You're so perfect. Have you never made a mistake? You spent your whole life doing whatever you wanted without a controlling, manipulative mother."
Tristan scratched the side of his nose.
He hadn't exactly grown up with parents either. The Keir family had despised his mother for marrying a foreigner and, to this day, had never allowed either of his parents to set foot in the country.
Shin hadn't had it any easier, having grown up under the shadow of a malicious, unstable stepmother.
"I admit I trusted my mother too much," Zahn continued, mumbling more to himself than anyone else. "But isn't it normal to trust the person who raised you? I thought disagreements between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were normal. I never knew she'd been treating Lianna like that all this time."
It was as though years of bottled-up frustration had finally found a crack to escape through and he simply wanted to let it all out.
Saeki opened his mouth to speak, but Tristan quietly kicked him under the table.
At that moment, it seemed Zahn didn't need advice. He just needed someone willing to listen.
Instead of refilling his glass, Zahn grabbed the entire bottle and took several long swigs straight from it before holding it out for another.
"Give him the one with the highest alcohol content," Shin said flatly. "He can drop dead sooner."
Seeing Shin's completely serious expression, Saeki nodded and actually started searching for the strongest liquor in the cabinet.
Tristan immediately stood up, snatched the bottle from Saeki's hand, and sighed.
"Stop being an idiot. Shin didn't literally mean it."
"I'm not trying to distance myself from what my family did to Lianna..." Zahn's voice suddenly rose. "But is it really too late for us to make up? What am I supposed to do about something that's already over and done with?"
"Alright, alright. Here's your drink." Tristan poured him another glass. "Keep your voice down. You'll wake every ghost in this estate."
Shin glanced at his watch. "The three of you can leave."
"Big bro, it's still early." Saeki waved him off. "If you're bored, how about inviting sis-in-law over?"
Shin ignored him.
Before long, their attention returned to Zahn, who was somehow laughing and crying at the same time.
Saeki couldn't help laughing as well. Pulling out his phone, he grinned. "Let's record this so Stone Face can watch it tomorrow! He'll die from embarrassment once he sobers up."
"I really believed I'd always made the right decisions..." Zahn muttered. "I thought everything I did was for the best... so why did I end up losing her? I thought I was protecting Lianna when I stopped investigating that drugging incident. I assumed people would eventually forget about it..."
Then he looked at Tristan with reddened eyes.
"How do I make her at least stop looking at me like I'm a nuisance?"
"That face of yours is the problem," Saeki answered before Tristan could speak. "You're always so stiff, like smiling is some kind of disease. Tristan's greatest charm is his smile. Isn't that obvious?"
Zahn looked genuinely taken aback. For a brief second, he actually seemed convinced.
Then his gaze slowly shifted toward Shin.
"...Isn't he the same?" Zahn asked. "Walking around with that expression, scaring others like they owe him their lives."
"Hahaha!" Saeki burst into laughter, slapping the armrest of his chair. "Big bro, did you hear that? I've been telling you for years! If you keep making that face, no woman will ever date you."
He laughed even harder.
"It's still a mystery to me how sis-in-law agreed to go out with you. Did you hold a knife to her neck when she rejected you?"
Tristan "..."
This idiot truly had no instinct for self-preservation. No matter how many times he nearly got himself killed, he never learn.
'Where's a gun when you need one?' Shin thought as he looked at Saeki.
Yeri had already told him she was attracted to his appearance. Besides, she had never once complained about his expression.
"What makes you think Lianna sees you that way?" Tristan asked, steering the conversation back on track.
Zahn paused before explaining what he'd noticed.
Even before their divorce had been finalized, it was as though Lianna had become a completely different person. Her attitude toward him had changed overnight.
Shin and Tristan exchanged a subtle glance. They both knew Lianna's sudden transformation was the result of Yeri's demon abilities.
"With the way you treated her, even a dog would've ended up depressed," Saeki chimed in. "There are only a few reasons a woman changes that drastically. Either her career became her priority, she had to become stronger to protect someone more important than her own life, which in her case is probably Sean... or she fell in love with someone else. It all comes down to priorities."
This time, Zahn looked ready to smash a liquor bottle over Saeki's head.
"She doesn't have anyone she's in love with."
"How are you so sure?" Saeki shot back. "Are you the tumor in her brain? Do you actually know what she's thinking?"
"Don't let the alcohol cloud your judgment," Shin said calmly. "I agree with Saeki."
Saeki's eyes lit up and proudly lifted his chin. "See? Big bro knows I'm the expert when it comes to this."
"He could be the one she's fallen in love with, or perhaps he's the one pursuing her." Shin's lips curved into the faintest hint of a smile. "If you want to eliminate your romantic rival, now would be the perfect opportunity. I'll handle the aftermath."
Saeki "..."
The next second, he shot up from his seat like a startled rabbit.
"Big bro! What do you mean by that? I have nothing to do with Lianna! Nothing at all with ex-sis-in-law!"
Zahn "..."
There had indeed been a period when Lianna and Saeki had grown fairly close. At one point, he'd even suspected Saeki had feelings for her.
"I see..." Zahn murmured, fixing Saeki with a bone-chilling stare. "So that's what you've been hinting at."
"Hinting?" Saeki's eyes widened.
Then he frantically shook his head.
"Absolutely not! I would never go after a friend's woman, especially one with a child!"
Zahn slowly picked up another bottle. "Do you look down on my Lianna?"
Saeki stared at him in complete disbelief. "Huh? What kind of nonsense is that? Of course ex-sis-in-law is beautiful, but-"
"So you admit you're attracted to her." Zahn sneered triumphantly.
Saeki was utterly speechless.
"Who says friends never betray each other?" Shin casually added, stirring the pot even further. "No wonder you're so fond of his son."
Saeki nearly choked as he pointed an accusing finger at Shin. "Big bro! How could you slander me like that? When have I ever betrayed you?"
He paused, "...Wait. Are you still holding a grudge because I married sis-in-law in the Tartarus game?"
Shin's indifferent expression instantly darkened. "...Married?"
Across the room, Tristan had already moved several steps away and was pretending to admire the decorative plant by the doorway.
Saeki's mind went completely blank, and soon realize what he'd just blurted out.
"It... it was just a strategy to level up faster!" he hurriedly explained. "You know... the marriage perks and stuff."
Yet Shin's expression grew even colder. He already knew Yeri enjoyed online games and often played with her classmate Levi.
But what was this? An in-game marriage?
"And it's not just me!" Saeki desperately pointed toward Tristan.
"He's married to sis-in-law too! I even said it'd be weird back then, but he told me only someone with a dirty mind would think that way. Besides, sis-in-law's character was a succubus. She could have multiple marriages, so we were just helping her level up even when she wasn't online."
Before Shin could even stand, Tristan had already vanished without a trace. He knew well enough that even if Yeri merely said she liked a mosquito, Shin would probably eradicate the entire species.
"Where did Tristan go?" Saeki muttered.
His answer came in the form of a kick.
"You three seem awfully close, playing house together," Shin said coldly as he sent Saeki flying straight into the liquor display.
Bottles rattled violently from the impact.
"He won't die from that," Zahn mumbled drunkenly, swaying in his seat. "I'm a doctor... I'll teach you how to commit murder... and make it look like an accident."
"Wait, wait! Big bro, not my face!" Saeki screamed as he rolled across the floor to dodge the next attack. "Ack! That hurts! I'm going to die!"
No matter how spacious the villa was, the commotion was impossible to ignore.
A series of footsteps echoed down the hallway before the room was suddenly flooded with light.
Master Keir narrowed his eyes as he flipped on the switch. "What are you all doing at this hour?"
"Uncle," Zahn said from the side, sounding unusually serious, "what medicines do you have here? Lend me some. With the right combination, I can make him die from a heart attack... or multiple organ failure."
Master Keir "..???"
"Stone Face, who are you cursing?" Saeki shot back despite his miserable state. "It's not my fault I'm too kind and too handsome."
Butler Hong also arrived after hearing the commotion.
Seeing Saeki sprawled across the floor, he didn't panic at first, assuming it was just another Hexion training session.
However, the moment his eyes landed on the shattered liquor cabinet and the expensive bottles scattered across the floor, his expression crumbled.
"Ah!" He hurried over in distress. "These rare liquor collection! It's not even about the price. Some of these bottles took years to acquire!"
Meanwhile, Shin paid no attention to his surroundings and was still busy beating Saeki.
"Why are you only targeting me?" Saeki cried while desperately shielding his face. "Go get Tristan too! Don't be so unfair! Sis-in-law agreed to it too! It really wasn't a big deal."