Clair's cheek flared as she quickly explained, "You've got it all wrong." her face turned red in embarrassment, and she picked up her chair and sat in it as she added, "he's nothing to me." Her eyes briefly caught sight of Asukem as he appeared on a pillar in the orphanage and leaned against it. She began to feel warm, and her heart started to beat fast as she saw him standing there, all calm and collected. She thought, "Why does he have to act so coolly?"

Bob raised an eyebrow and suspiciously eyed Clair and Asukem as he asked with concern, "What in Great Divines happened to you two?"

They both said in unison, "Nothing!"

Bob smirked and said sarcastically, "Yeah~, sure."

Asukem clenched his fists and snapped impatiently, "Can we get this meeting going!"

Bob chuckled and said, "That's our Asukem - never one for small talk." He placed a map on the table and arranged wooden icons on it. Suddenly, he clapped his hands and declared, "We've got some nobles visiting us today."

Asukem shook his head in disbelief and spat, "What's their game? What do they want from us?"

Bob spoke up, replying to Asukem, his voice dripping with attitude and authority. He slid the pieces of wooden icons across the map with sharp and focused movements. Showing where the nobles will be, "What difference does it make?" he asked. "We'll just take back everything they buy. They have plenty already. We need it more!" Bob then looked up from the table with an intimidating look and made eye contact with everyone in the room. His gaze was cold and fierce.

Asukem noticed that some of the girls were distracted. He walked over to them and slammed his foot on the table, making a wooden piece fall off. He barked at them, "Ladies, do you have a death wish?" He threatened them, "If they catch you and you come crying to me, I will kill you and make the nobles happy!" Asukem's sudden rage scared the girls as he glared at them with fury in his eyes and voice. "Are we clear?" he asked, kicking the table again. The girls nodded quickly, glad when he finally moved his foot and returned to his pillar.

The young boy in the hood sat in the shadows in the corner of the orphanage. He kept a searchful eye on everything that was happening. He held his breath still. Hoping and trying to hide his presence. he was silent and shy. he clenched his hands, and elbows rested on his knees. Words formed after he let out a long sigh out of disappointment, "You think you've gone too far, bro?" his glare darts at Asukem with roughness.

Asukem propped himself against the rotting wooden pillar, causing it to creek and slightly lean. he crossed his arms, and the flustered look on his face showed his rage at his sisters for not paying attention. He locks into the young man's glare, looking straight at him and showing he is not intimidated. He explains, "I'm only saying that I will not bail them out if they get busted."

The hooded man showed sympathy and said, "I get it, Big Brother. But you don't have to be such a douche."

Asukem shrugged, his fury building up at the sight of his sisters' vanity. He grids his teeth in frustration and looks away in rage, his expression deepening even more as he watches the girls giggling and not paying attention. "We're dealing with nobles here, Christopher," he points at them as his voice gets a little meaner as his fury is at his peak, "not some common rabble." he darts a glare at the girls, basically telling them with his eyes to shut up.

Christopher slumps back in his chair, causing it to creak as he shifts his eyes away from Asukem's glare in annoyance as if he lost the staring contest they were having. He rolled his eyes, a hint of sarcasm tinged with a slight irritation at Asukem's lecture. Ignoring his brother's plea, he muttered, "Whatever."

They didn't notice Bob wasn't talking anymore or that his sharp, cold glare was piercing at them. Bob reached down at the wooden icon that Asukem had knocked off the table, chucking it at them in rage. The look on his face was flaring up as his anger started to build up. The wooden icon cracked Christopher in the head and interrupted their chat. That is when Asukem and Christopher noticed they were doing what Asukem was trying to stop. a stern, cold growl roared from Bob, "Will you two shut up and listen!" His voice was low and rough from the years of smoking and drinking. Asukem glared in rage at Bob, getting an attitude. He was about to attack Bob with his words but was interrupted by Christopher, "Asukem, I'm fine. Don't start shit." Asukem held back his comments but grunted in frustration.

Christopher quivers and stammers an apology. He flinched from Bob's glare, scared of his wrath, but Asukem snapped sarcastically a sorry, his eyes narrowing in annoyance. He clenched his fists, his face filled with fury at the abusive interruption.

Bob's glare still locked on them, showing his authority, "Thank you!" His voice was still stern, harsh, and deep. His glare finally moved on to the rest of the orphanage's children. The silence and fear showed as the stare weighed down their souls, and they trembled and gulped. He watched in pride as he was still in control of the children. A cocky smirk forms on his face as he puts a cigar in his mouth and lights it. 

The children became more terrified, except for Asukem, as Bob lit his cigar. Bob saw the children huddled and shrieking down in size in fear in the living room of the orphanage, where the lighting was dim from the lanterns, which were broken and cracked. Motes of dust floated in the air, and small piles of dust formed in the cracks of the battered wooden floors that creaked when stepped on. 

The children sat on barrels and crates, but some chairs looked like they were fixed with planks of wood, and they sat at boxes of wood that seemed to be the tables. Flies and gnats flew around, pestering everyone there, even him. That is when his gaze stops at a little girl in the corner of the room. The look on his face was hard, and his eyes were cold as ice. Trembling in fear, the little girl backs into the corner even more. Her lips quivered as she noticed Bob looking at her as she was ready to burst into tears, but she only gulped down her fear.

The little girl was a picture of innocence and shyness. Dirt clung to her skin and clothes, making her look like a homeless child. Her brown hair was tied in two ponytails with scruffy ribbons that matched her ragged clothing. Her brown eyes were clouded with tears as she glanced around the room nervously. She wore a long, white shirt that was too big for her and no shoes. Her feet were cold and sore from walking on the hard floor. She whispered, "Yes, papa?" when Bob looked at her.

This girl was Isabella. Although she was one of Asukem's foster sisters, the six-year-old girl with ponytail brown hair and a passion for listening to her family's plans was the only person who could make him smile with her sweet, innocent voice and looks.

"You, kid, get that wooden icon for me now!" Bob's voice was dark and harsh but was off about him as he demanded her to do something. Bob's voice seems lighter but not too soft. He tries to keep his composer, but something about Isabella makes his heart soften, and he hates it. He must stay firm and strict about keeping the children in line, especially Asukem. He loves being in control and losing just a tiny bit as he speaks with her ruins everything about how he treats the orphans.

Isabella nodded shyly but said while also trembling in fear, "Okay, Papa." She hurried to the wooden icon Bob had thrown, grabbed it, and returned it to him.

Bob thanked Isabella and put the icon back on the table. "Good girl." A look of chagrin appears on his face as he says that, annoyed by the fact he showed the soft side of himself. In rage, he bites down on his cigar and slams his fist on the table, which startled everyone there, even Asukem. He added, pissed off with himself, "Now leave me alone, Brat!" his voice returning to a dark and harsh tone.

Isabella's face was hurt but confused as she thought she did an excellent job for her Papa. She ran towards Asukem with water in her eyes and tugged on his belt. However, Bob sighed in guilt, as he felt a little too harsh and would probably hear it from Asukem and cause him problems.

Asukem bent down to her level and said, "What is it, Issie?"

Isabella looked at him with innocent watering eyes and asked, "Big brother Asu-su, would you kill me?"

Asukem's eyes widened in shock at the question. He quickly shook his head and replied, "Of course not. Why would you ask such a thing, Issie?" The thought of the question made his eyes water up.

Isabella answers him, explaining herself, her eyes gleaming in cuteness, "Well, you said to the others you would kill them, and they did something bad, right? She then looks down with a frown as she adds with her voice cracking, "plus I made Papa mad."

Asukem glanced at Bob and saw him beating himself up for his harshness towards her. He replies to her gently, "Oh, Issie, you see, you're not old enough to know what is happening, and for Papa, I don't think he is mad at you."

She tilted her head and asked Asukem, "But aren't we taking things from bad people, and who is Papa mad at?"

Asukem chuckled and said, "Well, that's sad. You do have some idea of what's going on."

He smiles and praises her, "I'm happy you're listening." he rubs her hair gently, adding, "For Papa, don't worry about him. He is strong he will get over it, okay?"

Isabella giggled and scratched her cheek, showing her innocence and swaying her body back and forth, and asked, "Will this make me a good girl?"

Asukem laughed at her in a playful mood and ruffled her hair again. "Yes, it will, so let's continue to listen to Papa, okay?"

Isabella nodded and beamed. "Okay!" She skipped back to her corner. Clair watched her with a smile, glad she brightened Asukem's mood.

Asukem paid attention to Bob as he said, "We may live in a small town, but that doesn't mean they can do whatever they want here. So if the nobles cause trouble for you or anyone else, come to me immediately." He looked serious and added, "And don't go to Asukem. He'll only make things worse."