The mansion was engulfed in a silence that seemed foreign to it. Kaius was still in shock—this was no longer the story he knew. Perhaps it wasn't even similar to what he had thought. (You're only realizing this now?) That diary was the same one he remembered from childhood and from his previous life. Originally, that diary had been hidden in the catacombs beneath the Lindverg house. He returned to the armchair, and the twins began to watch with curiosity. Kaius had never truly had the opportunity to read that diary. There was the section where it spoke of his first love, but there was something more—the words that gave clues were underlined in red. That wasn't normal. Ethan also joined the little group and began reading the diary over Kaius's shoulder.

—"Wow, he really was someone who loved poetry. He must have been deeply in love with his wife."

Kaius smiled. He knew it wasn't for her.

—"You're wrong, Ethan. It's not about his wife—it was about his best friend. She was the one he truly loved. She married someone else and died months later. That's what was said."

The twins were very intrigued by this, and so was Margaret. He kept flipping through the pages until he reached the part that spoke about him. He really just wanted to burn it, but he couldn't. He couldn't leave it lying around either. He knew that if he left it there, someone could steal it and search for the stone—but he already had it. So it wasn't just that; he was curious about its contents. He more or less knew what it said, but perhaps if the location had changed, maybe its contents were also very different. So he used a silent copying spell. That was a type of everyday magic, one of the lowest levels, so it didn't drain any of his energy. The magic only lit up his palm, and since it was hidden by the diary, no one noticed. Kaius didn't want to keep reading. He didn't wish to express deeper feelings about his father. When the spell was complete, he closed the diary and returned it to the shelf.

—"Thank you very much, Mrs. Margaret."

Margaret looked at him and said:

—"Darling, I'm the one who should thank you. Please, call me Magi, or just Margaret."

They had a friendly conversation, neither wanting to talk about what had happened at the restaurant. But looking at her, it was evident that very soon that stupid abuser would no longer be a problem for the mother and son. Kaius checked the time—it was past five in the afternoon—so he decided to return to the Lindverg mansion. Unfortunately, he had to spend a few nights there. Besides, Rouge would contact him. He said goodbye to the twins and Ethan. They wanted him to stay for dinner, but he mentioned that he would like to, but he had to have dinner with his little brother Nicolas. He knew Ethan didn't like Nicolas, but he said nothing.

They walked him to the exit, and Kaius drove off toward the mansion. He arrived, parked in the garage, and went inside the house. Upon entering, he found Nicolas in the living room, on the same couch.

—"Nicolas, didn't I teach you not to copy people's entrances?"

They were alone. It was the moment he had been waiting for. He had to apologize. That's when Nicolas spoke.

—"Where were you, Kaius?"

Kaius thought something had happened—an attack or something like that. The poor guy wasn't sure anymore how this story continued, and he was too stressed. But he had already made the decision. He had already broken the story. What else could happen?

—"Nicolas, I'll save you the trouble. Whatever you think I did, I didn't do it."

Kaius grabbed the nearest decanter, poured himself something he didn't know what it was, but thanks to magic and his sense of smell, he knew it didn't contain mimosa—since the Nicolas he knew had the bad habit of drugging him every time he suspected something.

Nicolas stood up and poured himself a glass too. Both drank. Kaius was right next to Nicolas. Kaius was formulating an apology that would make sense to him. He never expected Nicolas to take advantage of the moment to grab his arm and pull back the sleeve of the jacket he was wearing. Kaius jumped and watched as Nicolas stared at the burns and cuts on his arms. Kaius had completely forgotten to remove the spell that had exposed the cigarette burns. He snatched his arm back and covered it again. Part of him wanted to kill Nicolas, but another part knew he could never hide it from him forever. But then he wondered—how did he know? He wouldn't ask, since most of those feelings followed the rule of "if you don't admit it, it doesn't count." That's when he took the opportunity to do something that would throw Nicolas off balance and give him a chance to escape. Since he could now control his actions and emotions, he did something he hadn't done in a long time. He stood up, positioned himself in front of Nicolas, and...

He hugged him.

—"Nicolas, I owe you an apology. I know you won't believe me, or that it will be hard for you to do so. When I arrived and saw you acting like a human, I remembered my own human life and how I loved being one without knowing it. The hatred and anger came out that night. You were scared of being alone. I understand that feeling. Maybe that doesn't excuse you, and certainly not me, much less Marc. He was your friend, and I also admit I grew fond of him. But you both took away my chance to decide, and that was the most horrible thing for me. Besides, I thought you were a hypocrite for demanding that I not feed on humans. Nico, don't misunderstand me—I'm apologizing for how I expressed my negative feelings and took it out on you, not for how I live. We're vampires. You chose to be, let's say, vegetarian, but I can't choose that. I want to be your brother again. I want us to have that connection again. But you must understand that I will defend myself—even from that human. If she does something to me, I will respond. But I also ask you to try human blood once more. Not for me, but for your own safety. I wasn't lying when I gave you that beating—you're no match for me right now, but you're also no match for any other vampire who drinks blood. I love you, Nico."

Nicolas was in shock. He wanted to believe him—he really did. He remembered those moments with him when they were young, when they were inseparable. Kaius had been his only support. His father was quite distant with him, and when he was kind, that kindness always scared him because it always meant that Kai, as he called his brother, would... get sick for a week. That's when it hit him. He remembered why he was there—to talk to him about the scars, those wounds he had seen on his skin. Now he was forming the question he wanted to ask in his head. He took Kaius in his arms, taking advantage of his size, and held him tight, trying to keep him from running away, resting his head on his neck. And there he let the question out:

—"Kai... Father did all that to you, didn't he? Those days when you got sick—it wasn't because of that, was it?"

Kaius didn't respond. He really didn't want to. Elias had never been harsh with Nicolas, and Kaius had made sure of that. Nico shouldn't have reasons to hate him. He didn't want to admit it, but if Elias had only had Nicolas, he probably would have been happier.

—"It was a good talk, Nico, but I'm tired. I'm going to bed. Goodnight, little brother. Rest well."

Kaius broke free from his grip with the help of his magic, but for Nico, it just seemed like—though it was hard to admit—his height wasn't an advantage compared to his older brother's agility.

Kaius went directly to his room, leaving Nicolas in the living room. He locked himself in. He was tempted to put up a magical barrier, but if at some point Nicolas tried to open the door and couldn't, not even with superhuman strength, it would be too suspicious, and he wouldn't have excuses. He wasn't ready to tell him about the magic. So he only put up a sound modulator—it was part of everyday magic, so it was very easy—and locked the door. He sat on the bed, trying to calm down. He didn't know it would happen so soon. That hug was something Kaius had unconsciously been waiting for almost a hundred years. When it happened, he knew he wanted that relationship again. That's when he heard the window opening. There was Rouge.

—"My lord, forgive me, it's late, but I need to give you my report."

—"Go ahead, Rouge. Tell me."

Rouge lifted his head.

—"First, you asked me to investigate Andrea and whether she knew about her lineage. So I went to her house. Her cousin and mother were there, reading a grimoire, and when she arrived home, they talked about it. So that's proof that she's aware."

Kaius noted everything in the ring, since he also used it as a planner with the ethereal keyboard. The answers from these first reports would affect how he chose the victims of his revenge.

—"Second, it seems they still don't know about Nicolas's vampiric nature, although Ivana is already suspicious. Also, regarding Mrs. Margaret's father and husband—it seems she told him she would stay at her family home and return to work in her business, the town's press and news outlet. She got him out of her head and filed for divorce. It seems she'll send it to court on Monday for abuse. And since her brothers are lawyers with connections, I think she'll be fine. Also, you were right, my lord—Ivana's grandfather isn't in town yet, but he still lives where you said. It seems that hunter hasn't made his move yet."

Kaius was satisfied with the information. That man was the antagonist searching for that red stone, so as long as he didn't move, at least there was one less madman in town.

—"My lord, there's something more. I went to the forest and searched for hidden vampires there, but I didn't find any. However, I found something very different in the southern part of town. It was a group of people in black hoods. Among them was Ethan's father—I recognized him by his scent. They were talking about the stone and the power of the red moon. They didn't discover me, but they said the sacrifice would awaken something that sleeps right there."

Kaius could no longer be surprised by new information. He sat on the edge of the bed, taking his head in his hands. He needed to know what they were referring to. So this time he wouldn't ask Yarix, since he didn't know if Yarix was honestly aware of this. Based on what Yarix had sent him, the world was already changing too much, and it no longer suited him to even follow anything from the story he knew. That fascinated him. He also had to make a decision—whether it would be worth sacrificing what he knew of the future for a different and beautiful story where he could be a good older brother and have friends. And then he remembered his true purpose as Daniela. He wanted to change everything. His wish was being fulfilled, and it was all thanks to the force that wanted to destroy and reconstruct that story to his liking. It was ironic. So there he made a decision: he would act based on what he knew, but only the information. He wouldn't repeat the mistakes. With this foundation, he could imagine different endings using this information and his magic.

—"Good work, Rouge. I need you to do something more. For that, I'll put an omega-level protection spell on you. We don't know what we're dealing with, so you'll be in charge of that cult. You'll investigate why they want the stone and what risk it poses to us and our plans. Be careful, and rest for today. Go back home. I'll stay here a few nights."

—"Yes, young master."

Kaius laughed thinking about that phrase. He was twenty-five years old for over a hundred years—he wasn't that young. But he channeled his magic like the first time he created something, only focusing it on protection magic. He accessed the protection magic, took Rouge by the shoulders, and felt how the energy and magic transferred to Rouge. When he finished, he felt the same as the first time—as if he had drunk mimosa. Rouge helped him back to bed, pulled out the canteen he had taken from the car before climbing up to the window, gave it to him to drink along with the pills Raphael had given him—since he knew his master wouldn't wake until the next day—helped him change his clothes, and helped him lie down.

Kaius was exhausted. He just closed his eyes and let go.