Chapter 180 Bound by Guilt, How Can Blood Debts Be Repaid...

Honestly, the executive wasn't too upset. She was a thousand times stronger than she was when she was a child, and it was hard for her to recall the emotions from back then.

Oh, so that's what your expression is. It's really ugly.

"Father!!"

She wasn't sad; someone else was sad for her. Suddenly, Arecino felt a weight on her shoulder; she didn't know which child had rushed up from behind and hugged her.

Both were rare occurrences. A fluffy head was rubbing against her shoulder, making little noise, but Arecino knew her collar was wet.

"Why...why did she treat you like this..."

A small sob sounded in my ear, just like it did back then.

"It's all alright now, Father. The Hearth House is safe..."

“…Yes, I know.” She patted the child’s head.

"Madwoman! Madwoman! That woman is a madwoman!"

"Someone needs to take care of this! I can't stand it anymore!"

"Mainkuhn!"

In the midst of the chaos, Navelette immediately reached out and grabbed the cat-eared youth's wrist, forcefully flipping up his sleeve.

Navelette wanted to find those wounds, to see the needle marks from the punctures, the evidence of the harm he had suffered.

I can't find it!?

How could that be?

Only a few gray shadows remained on her pale, slender forearm.

Most scars fade with time.

"Damn it!"

Paimon couldn't help but cry when he saw the young man's arm. "Such a sharp, long needle went in. He must have been in so much pain!"

"Why are there no traces left now? I... I didn't mean to leave him with a scar, I mean, I mean—"

“I understand, Paimon, I understand.”

Leosley took his brother's arm from the stunned water dragon and gently stroked his once scarred skin.

"I never had a chance to bandage his wounds, and I never held him in my arms to comfort him."

"He had already returned to me as if nothing had happened, trying to pretend that he had not experienced any hardship."

Leo lowered the now-grown arm, supported Mainkuen's head, gently embraced his frail body, and fell silent.

"Leosley..."

Knowing he must be in a terrible mood, Navelette forcibly suppressed the urge to snatch Mainkuhn and thoroughly examine him, focusing her attention on the screen and glaring fiercely at Kujavina.

A guilty person!

Not all children's hands are as steady as Peruvier's; more and more blood flowed down her arm and dripped onto the ground.

"Mother, please, I really don't want this to happen!"

Nasita skipped over this memory, and the audience only saw Kujavina retracting the pin, its tip no longer sharp.

Xiao muttered, "The torture instruments... have become dull."

"Your Majesty!" he suddenly called out to the gods with great unease, reaching out to grab Zhongli's hem.

"Your subordinate, your subordinate—"

"I'm here."

Zhongli reached out and stroked his hair, not minding that he had revealed his identity.

"Don't be afraid."

"Your Majesty..."

Xiao's expression relaxed considerably, but he still looked anxiously at the images in his memory.

"What should we do, Your Majesty! They too are oppressed by the evil god! What should we do? They can't wait for you to come and save them!"

"Xiao, I don't know either."

He reached out to hug the frightened bird, his eyes fixed on the young kitten.

Morax harbors a desire to save others, but is powerless to change what has happened in the past.

"The only thing I can be sure of is that Mainkuhn has not given up the fight."

He looked around the opera house and saw Arecino and Clementine, with halos above their heads, comforting the tearful children with varying degrees of awkwardness and skill.

"Because a knockout tournament that should have left only one person alive actually preserved multiple hopes."

"is that so."

Xiao, upon receiving this answer, felt no relief whatsoever.

Because no one understood better than him that to fight against the ruler while being weak...

"Just how much suffering will we have to endure?"

"I kill you……"

After the last child pulled out the needle, Mainkuen immediately began to struggle again, but his movements were much slower and his ears were lowered.

"Kujavina!"

"You should call me Mother."

Kujavina pinched his forearm, which was covered in needle marks, hard, but didn't punish him any further.

"Let's continue to get along well with our brothers and sisters."

She left with great interest.

"Maine!"

As soon as she left, Clementine ran over to help him up.

"W-How are you? I'm so sorry, I... Waaah... I hurt you..."

"I'm not in pain, don't cry!"

Mainkun stood up, put his arms behind his back, and blinked his vertical pupils sharply. "You are all too weak. You can't hurt me at all."

As the leader, he tried his best to appear reliable, saying, "If there's nothing else, let's disband. We'll sleep together again tonight!"

...

Maine.

Perruvie looked at him with lifeless eyes, puncturing his composure.

"You're keeping your tail between your legs."

"Boss!"

Rongnock wanted to cry. He had never seen Maine with his tail between his legs before, not even when he was being beaten up.

"I'm sorry! It's all because I'm too weak, waaaaah—" He started hitting the hand that held the safety pin.

"Stop!"

It would be a lie to say it didn't hurt; Mainkuhn was in excruciating pain. He felt as if the skin, muscles, and fat on his forearms had been pierced, and now every movement caused some blood to be squeezed out.

"I told you to stop, Rongnock! It wasn't you who hurt me, it was Kujavina!"

"No, it's me!" Rongnuoke cried uncontrollably, looking at his tail, and even started talking nonsense, "If we were all sparks, you wouldn't have to worry, waaaaah—"

“.

With no other option, Mainkun kicked the tail between his legs away, raised it, and held it in his mouth, emphasizing it in a muffled manner.

"Ugh, it doesn't hurt at all!"

"Mr. May is so strong..."

This was clearly a good thing, but the smile on Siegwen's face disappeared. "So many children cry even when they have their blood drawn."

“I can’t take it anymore!” Kavi’s thoughts were even more blunt. His eyes were red as he rambled on, “How could she come up with such a vicious method? I thought that beating up Little May was the limit! Well, she’s meticulous. She didn’t miss a single one and dealt with all the children without shedding a drop of blood!”

“The mental torment is sometimes no less severe than physical abuse, and they are still a group of vulnerable children.” Sino was deeply worried about their 'future'.

"What will happen? The wise prince is too young to protect them; death is inevitable..."

The adults were on tenterhooks, while Xiaomei clearly hadn't thought of that aspect yet.

"I can move things myself, no problem!"

He was still protesting the sudden preferential treatment his siblings had given him.

"No, please..." Buck listlessly helped the kitten spread the blanket on the new bed. "Your arm must hurt a lot, don't move it."

"Let Buck help you move it, Boss Maine, he owes you!" Rongnock roared from the side. "He's a bastard, he should be a cripple for life!"

"Rongnock! Don't say that!"

Just as Mainkuen was about to reprimand him, he saw that Buck had already made up the bed and left, without saying a word or arguing, as if he had tacitly agreed.

"What's wrong with him? Isn't he happy to have a bed to sleep in?"

"Have you forgotten about him killing his sisters?"

Oriz leaned over and placed the pigeon coop beside his bed.

"I've been feeding Gugu for you too, and it's gotten so much fatter!"

"That was Kujavina who killed him, it has nothing to do with him!... Ah, so fat."

Mainkuhn's attention was quickly drawn to the pigeons, and he grinned, revealing a drooling expression.

"It smells even better now."

He originally caught the pigeon to eat, but his brothers and sisters stopped him, so it was only barely turned from food into a pet.

"Coo coo! Coo coo!"

The pigeon squawked in panic in its cage. Oriz glanced at it a few times, then asked hesitantly, "Do you still want to eat it, little Mayin?"

"Of course! Because it smells wonderful."

"Then eat it. I'll go to the kitchen to boil water and help you remove its fur."

"...Huh?"

Mainkun looked at Oriz with some surprise.

"What did you say?"

"Speaking of pigeons... cooking? You should probably pluck the feathers first, since you can't eat the feathers."

The blond girl, not understanding his surprise, sincerely explained, "Although I've fed Tommy for a long time and am a little reluctant to part with him, I just want you to be happy, Maine, so..."

"You...you should continue feeding me."

Mainkun inexplicably lost his appetite and even felt a little nauseous.

"I wouldn't mind having that."

"Is Mei hungry? Perfect timing!" Clementine skipped over, carrying a large food box. "I brought you your favorite things!"

"What...wow, it's grilled pork chops!"

Xiaomei smelled the fragrance and couldn't wait to reach out to take it, but as soon as she did, her arm was in excruciating pain.

"Hmm!"

"Don't move! Pepe just finished applying the medicine for you!" Clementine quickly told him to stop, and personally forked a piece of grilled meat to his mouth. "Eat like this, I'll feed you!"

"Yay!"

The kitten had little sense of shame; it took a bite of the meat on the fork, chewed it, and then proudly raised its large tail and wagged it slightly.

"Is it good? Hehe, eat slowly, there's still lots and lots to go."

"real?"

Xiao Mei loved eating meat and could eat as much as she wanted, but unfortunately, she never enjoyed this privilege in any of her homes. The adults always added bread and vegetables to her meals.

"Where did all this meat come from? Can I eat it all?"

“Of course.” Tommy smiled. “Fifty-seven steaks, I don’t think even the boss could finish them.”

"...?"

The familiar numbers made Mainkuhn look puzzled, but Tommy quickly changed the subject.

"Eat your fill, Boss Maine, we are all very grateful to you."

The eldest son of Maine was confused, but he did have the best night at the fireplace house.

Even though his arms were wrapped in bandages, someone always rushed to do whatever he needed to do.

You don't even need to bring your own toothbrush.

"It seems to be the other way around."

When the lights were turned off and it was time to go to bed, Mainkuen lay on the bed with his eyes wide open in a daze, revealing two bright light bulbs.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Tommy asked from the side.

"I am the leader, it should be my responsibility to take care of you."

“…Mainkuhn, you’ve taken care of me more than enough.”

Mainkuhn couldn't understand, and he felt uneasy.

He quietly got out of bed and ran to the girls' beds.

"Pepe."

Peruvieri opened her eyes, her expressionless face meeting his reflective beastly pupils.

"explain."

I want to sleep with you.

Remembering her previous rejection, Maine pleaded again, "I used to sleep in the same bed as my brother, it feels so strange now..."

"Come on up."

Peruvelli moved aside slightly, "but you're not allowed to touch me."

She readily agreed, without refusing the cat with any arguments about the differences between men and women.

"...Huh?"

Xiao Mei achieved her goal smoothly, but more than being happy, she felt doubtful.

"Pepe, you seem to have changed a lot all of a sudden?"

"Yeah."

Gently kicking Maine's tail away, Peruvieri heard the room filled with chaotic breathing.

No one actually falls asleep successfully.

Even if she actually falls asleep, she'll probably have nightmares.

It's easy to poke a needle into the skin, but difficult to pierce the flesh.

Because Mainkun would subconsciously tense his muscles, making them bulge and hard, requiring a lot of force to pierce through.

Mainkuhn.

"Um?"

"Will we draw again next week?"

"Of course!" The cat flicked her tail again, the fluffy touch brushing against her paws. "Wasn't this a great success? Don't worry, I'll try my best to make sure my friends don't disappear again!"

"I see."

Little Peluvelli stared blankly at the dark ceiling for a while, then pinched her index finger and thumb together, in the posture of holding a needle.

"...I will try my best."

The following week arrived amidst pain and torment. Before all the kindling, Mainkuhn stood with his ears perked up and his pupils sharp.

It's like saying, 'I'm ready, bring it on!'

Kujavina's face darkened when she saw this scene, but she seemed to have expected it.

"The truth of domestication lies in repetition."

Then she lifted Mainkuhn's clothes, forcing him to expose his back.

"Mother! There are bones in there, it's easy to get hurt like this!"

Why do you think the punishment won't escalate?

Kujavina pulled a dagger from her waist and threw it to Peruvieri.

"Let's start with you. Cut it to the length you think will satisfy me, my dear daughter."

...

"Too short, Peruvieri, you really disappoint me."

She demonstrated on Mainkuen's right shoulder blade, "Just do it this way, all of you."

It's completely out of control, Navelette thought.

"Don't refuse my help, Mainkuen!"

When he was thrown out of the toilet for the third time, Rongnock rolled on the ground screaming.

"Let me do something! Let me do something!!"

"I can take my own pants off!!"

"I know! But I have to do something!"

"Why did this happen..."

The audience never expected this.

What overwhelms children first is not violence and fear, but the seemingly insignificant feelings of guilt and remorse.

Despite being hurt, Mainkuhn appeared to be the calmest person.

"What should I do..."

They tried to come up with a solution using their adult wisdom, but they couldn't.

"Lord Navelette."

Finally, one of the audience members, trembling, spoke up and asked the judge an extremely offensive question.

"In this predicament, could killing Kujavina be the solution? Would the child be found guilty?"

The case is still unclear, and according to the rules, Navelette cannot show any bias.

“You already have the answer in your heart, don’t you, sir?”

That was Navelette's answer, and that was her expectation.