"Yes, I know everything. Emlen had told me everything..."

Gray eyes stared coldly at the youth before it. The young lord's gaze grew grim and forbidding. He stood like a terrifying wall Moulin could not climb up to escape. Deep-seated protectiveness lies in the depths of the man's heart.

Yes, he had known since yesterday. At first, when Emlen had explained to him the problem that had haunted him, Maxille could not believe it. However, when he heard that Moulin had dismissed his own personal attendant from her services, suspicion grew inside his heart. Pola was the one that confirmed Emlen's suspicion about Moulin's lover. If Moulin had thrown her out that means Moulin finally knew about Pola's betrayal. Moulin wouldn't act so decisively without reason.

Ah...

When he recalled how Moulin had spoken so devotedly, how his bright eyes had softened when they were enjoying their time back at the greenhouse, Maxille could not help but pale in fright at the realization. Anyone would have been alright...

If he were a simple commoner, a tailor, a sentinel, anyone else would be alright.

But not 'him'...

Does Moulin realized the man's true nature?! A bloodthirsty demon brought to this world?

Does Moulin not know about what that man did to this family several years ago?

Just thinking about it made Maxille want to hide away his family from the world. Disbelief clouded his mind at the thought that his precious, beloved little brother was involved with that man.

He will never approve of it!

Coldness flashed in his eyes as he shifted his gaze away from his dumbfounded brother. He met the gaze of the heir of the Maxinille Family and grimly spoke. "Please excuse us, young master. I have to have a word with my brother."

Callun who had snapped out from his stupified trance quickly lowered his head, "O-Of course..."

Maxille waved his hand to summon a servant to lead Callun Maxinille inside before he turned to face Moulin. Reluctantly, Callun glanced at Moulin before he silently followed the servant.

"B-Brother... "

Moulin forced out as he blinked rapidly. He exhaled a stuttering breath as he looked straight into Maxille's eyes. "I..."

His words were interrupted when Maxille narrowed his eyes. The fierceness that emanated from his body was fearsome and compelling. "Do you know who you are involving yourself with? Are you not truly aware? Or are you just returning to being foolish again?"

Moulin widened his eyes. He felt wronged and accused. Confusion enveloped his mind. Exactly what crime had he done to deserve such words?

Seeing Moulin's expression, Maxille slightly lifted his chin to the side as he silently welcomed another person's presence. The faint presence of mana enveloped the entire area within a barrier.

Heavy footsteps were heard.

"Emlen..." Maxille expressionlessly sighed as the younger man approached them.

"Eldest brother..." Emlen glanced at Moulin who was staring at him with disbelieving eyes. Although there were helplessness and gentleness in his gray eyes, Emlen didn't regret anything. "Moulin..."

When his name was spoken, Moulin flinched. The youth's heart was pounding so loud within his chest that he swore that he could hear it. Moulin once expected that his family would soon know about his relationship with Hadrian, however, he had never expected that their reactions would be so severe it would shake his composure.

Why were they acting as though, I have committed something grave and deplorable?

His brother's eyes felt as though they would devour him whole. Moulin swallowed.

However, Moulin couldn't just stand here and take it. He had to know why they were behaving like this. Was falling in love with Hadrian a crime?

Slender brows furrowed.

"Moulin..." Maxille faced his little brother and spoke, "I will never acknowledge the relationship you have with that man. If you have even an ounce of love for us, leave him."

Those words were like lightning that came to strike Moulin in the heart. What?

Disbelief clouded his eyes.

"Enlighten me on why you are so against him..." Moulin calmed himself narrowed his eyes.

Maxille's patience snapped and he could not control the anger in his voice anymore. His eyes became fierce and intimidating. "That man is fucking demon! Why in the world would you choose that man! Are you insane?"

Moulin hardened his gaze. "How could you even say that? Sure, 'hundreds of thousands had died before his hand' if you choose to believe that nonsense but those rumors don't make him less of a human. You have killed, I have killed, our father has killed. What makes you think we are different from him? How is it wrong for me to be with him?"

Maxille revealed an incredulous expression before Moulin. His pupils trembled in restraint.

Emlen narrowed his eyes and glared at the silver-eyed youth, "Watch your mouth, Moulin"

"No!" Moulin scowled. "You aren't even giving me a plausible reason for me to believe you! How is it that you are all accusing me of being wrong?"

Helplessness filled Emlen's eyes as he sighed. He turned to his elder brother who had pinched the bridge of his nose to calm himself.

Maxille closed his eyes as he spoke. "Do you even know about that man's true nature? Are you so foolishly enamored by him for you to become this stubborn?"

"What?" Moulin scoffed. "I know him more than you do. I have seen sides of him that none of you had ever witnessed. He... is not the bad person that you think he is." He furrowed his brows as he clenched his fists together. "If you give him a chance... then perhaps..."

"You 'really' know him?" Maxille questioned as he took a step forward. His eyes were as cold as ice.

Moulin knitted his brows. "More than you..."

The young heir lets out a scoff in disbelief. "You know his so well that you can even disregard your family's words. Have you forgotten what that man's blood had done to our family?"

"What?"

Maxille paused. Moulin's surprised expression made him waver. He glanced at Emlen who had also met his gaze.

Seeing the two men exchanging looks before him, Moulin felt a foreboding feeling wash over him. "What is it?"

The two men silently gazed at him. It was Emlen who spoke first. "That man's father has killed our grandparents, Moulin. Mercilessly. Menacingly. A memory our parents will never forget."

Emlen spoke slowly as if to let every single word sink into Moulin's mind. "That man's blood is forever cursed. Although they might be one of the most powerful in the kingdom, and they could even toy with the imperial family and the noble houses, their mana is unstable. It poisons their minds and drives them mad, turning them into blood-craving devils. They are even lesser than uncontrollable beasts."

Maxille took in Moulin's shocked expression. He hoped Moulin had finally understood the situation. With a dark gaze, he spoke. "Years ago, our family turned to them in kindness. However, in return, we get the blood of our grandparents on our hands. I was there to witnessed the madness and chaos caused by those monsters."

His eyes narrowed as he spat, "That Hercullio of yours will not more different than his father. His blood is an aberration. It will not be long before he turns on you. So before he does, think again and realize what you have brought yourself into."

Moulin throat felt dry. His pupils quivered as his fists trembled.

No, Hadrian isn't like that...

He is different. He suffers, he smiles, he is not some... some...

He stopped when he recalled Hadrian's mana surges. The instability of his mana and the menacing look within those golden eyes. Moulin remembered the madness within them. How a monster lurked within the depths of that man's soul. An aberration.

It was true.

Moulin had already known that. The reasons his brothers gave him had convinced him that the Hercullio family could be monsters hiding under the guise of human skin.

However...

That passionate smile, the softness within those eyes when they looked at Moulin, the careful touch of his fingertips that made Moulin feel as though Hadrian was treating him like some fragile crystal...

There was life inside Hadrian's heart.

Everyone can call him a monster but Moulin believed that isn't all that lies within the man's soul. How was his touch so careful, filled with gentleness and warmth?

Moulin lowered his eyes.

The two brothers felt as though they had finally won Moulin over to their side.

A relieved sigh escaped from Emlen's mouth. It felt as though a boulder was lifted from his chest. Breathing became easier and lighter. Maxille felt the same thing.

The young heir softened his eyes as he stared at his beloved little brother. He felt sympathy for such a youthful heart to be led astray. His pitiful sibling was vulnerable lured by some black heart. A gentle smile graced the young lord's face.

"Moulin, listen to your brothers. We only want what is right for you. That man... You cannot be with him. Our father and mother would object to it as well. Come, let's go inside and talk..." Maxille tried his best to sound gentle. His arm reached out to hold his brother.

Father and... Mother too?

Moulin raised his brows.

'However, if even if he were a poor woodcutter, a plain fisherman, even if he possessed the blood of a beast or an unknown scholar... if he is a good man who makes you happy then I am glad.'

His mother's soft smile filled his heart with overwhelming softness and relief.

...

Makes him happy?

'Hadrian makes me happy. He makes me feel like the world didn't matter without me.' Moulin's eyes softened.

'My lover is a good man. He may not be to others but that pleases me too. He makes me feel selfish. Gave me the chance to open my heart. His worshipping eyes cannot be compared to anyone else. No one would look at me with such eyes the same way he does. He loves me for I am his... As he is mine...'

Moulin suddenly stepped back from Maxille's reach making the older man stopped in confusion.

"I love him..." Moulin muttered out loud.

Maxille furrowed his brows, "What?"

"Moulin!-" Emlen stepped forward to berate his youngest brother. However, he was interrupted by the sudden shattering of the barrier around them.

The mana dispersed almost instantly and a foreign overwhelming mana surged around the area. Its compelling and oppressive force made every nearby servant weak to their knees. Some had already fallen to the ground.

Alarm etched Maxille and Emlen's faces as their prowled the area. They surrounded Moulin out of instinct.

The silent youth finally lifted his dazed eyes after a few seconds. He sensed the abnormality but he reacted calmly. Silver eyes filled with longing and anxiousness eyed the familiar figure revealing itself from the snowy garden path.

Golden eyes, filled with possessive need and restrained desire, imprisoned within his gaze the slender figure of the youth that was hidden by the two young masters of the Grand Fraunces family. He paid no attention to the other two.

He had been waiting patiently, silently swallowing the debasing words that those brothers had told his lover about. He endured their scornful words and was ready to accept Moulin's decision to finally put an end to their affair. Although it would hurt, he would do it for the youth. He had worn a self-deprecating smile. Because all that was said was true. This blood is filthy, filled with insanity and madness.

It would be to no wonder why Moulin wouldn't leave him...

However...

'I love him...'

His patience and endurance broke with those mere words. It sounded beautiful to his ears.

Lord Hadrian Hercullio strode with intimidating steps. Under the eyes of many, he walked without care and restraint. His golden gaze eyed the one person that had brightened his life. And Moulin, with no hesitation, met his eyes.

There will be nothing that would separate them.