Chapter 610: Little crumb


    "Uncle."


    Samael quirked his brows, shifting his eyes on the door of his workshop where ude was entering. Thetter looked around as he entered.


    "Wow... this ce is... amazing." ude stood in front of the painting hanging on the wall. It was a simple abstract that consisted of dark colors. But what caught his eyes was the little pearly hue in it.


    He nced to his side when Samael stood beside him. "Uncle, why did you call for me? Are you perhaps going to scold me today?" he inquired, tilting his head to the side.


    Samael cast him a side-eye and smacked his lips. "What do you think about this piece?" he asked instead of answering his query.


    "Well... it makes me think that in darkness, there''s light. And in light, there''s shadow." ude shrugged as that what the first thing that came to his head uponying his eyes on it. "Am I in for an art lesson? Will you really not give me Auntie Lilove''s portrait? You can always recreate it, though."


    ude turned his head to the person standing beside him. A few days ago, he was pestering Samael to give him thergest portrait he had for Lilou. He wanted it to hang in his castle in Monarey so he could look at it whenever he missed her. But s, Samael kept saying, ''no.'' How stingy!


    "Did you really think I am that generous, little crumb?" Samael replied without casting him a look, staring at the portrait ahead. "Even if you die right now, I will never give you that painting."


    "Tsk. What a stingy uncle." ude clicked his tongue, peeling his eyes away from him. "All my uncles are not normal. I guess my aunties stole all that from them."


    KNOCK KNOCK


    ude raised his brows and nced at the door. There, Fabian went in with a tray of tea and snacks. As usual, his usual smile was stered on his face, ncing at the two of them.


    "Mister Fabian, I reallymend your diligence in your work." ude watched Fabian serve the tea on top of the small table around the set of armchairs.


    "Thank you for thepliment, my lord." Fabian chuckled, noticing that the two of them were standing in front of the nk portrait. "My lord, if somehow my master told you the reason why that nk portrait is hanging there, please let me know. He won''t tell me."


    "Huh?" ude raised a brow and cocked his head to the side. "What nk portrait?"


    His reaction made Fabian''s brows furrow as well. His eyes then veered to Samael''s back as he spoke a momentter.


    "This painting wasn''t mine, ude. It was a painting originally in this ce," came out a solemn voice, holding his hand behind him. "The reason I hanged it here is that... it''s a painting that is not for everyone''s eyes."


    ude frowned as he gazed at Samael''s side profile, then at the portrait. He wanted to ask his uncle what he meant by that, but he held back. It was rare for Samael to be this serious, so he wanted to listen.


    "To Fabian, this portrait is nk. But to me, to you, and to Law... those who had the blood of Grimsbanne, we can see it very clear." Samael took a deep breath and sighed. "Tilly had mentioned it before, but vampires, darkness, and witchcraft are all connected in a way. The Grimsbanne n was one of the original vampire ns and direct descendants of the devil."


    This time, Samael carefully pivoted on his heel and faced ude squarely. "In other words, we''re all cursed by the blood of the devil. Whose devil? Tilly forgot. Hence, I don''t know. But what I do know is... there will be time we have to face the fate of this blood, ude."


    He raised his hand, nting it on ude''s shoulder. His eyes never left his nephew''s eyes as he was worried about him.


    "We had all survived the blood of the La Crox. The curse that damn father of mine put us all in. However, that is not the end of our struggles, little crumb. You had Auron and the ability of time. There was also someone in this n who had full control of not just time, but life itself. She doesn''t just stop time but reverses it to years. Or use it to trap someone in an endless time loop." His hand remained on ude as he sighed.


    "My point here is, the Grimsbanne blood is something of a different caliber than we can all handle. Without preparation, we are all bound to fall."


    The side of ude''s lips slowly curled up as he chuckled. "Sounds fun."


    "ude, you are young and adventurous. I can understand that since I was in your shoes at one point. If I don''t have my children, I would also react the same. However, I now had a family to protect." Samael patted his shoulder once again before retrieving his hand. "Once you set off tomorrow, you will be beyond my reach. Be careful, nephew."


    "Uncle, although this is awkward, I appreciate your sincere intention. It''s so unlike you, but it feels nice that you are concerned about me." ude chuckled. But even though he sounded like he was taking Samael''s words lightly, he wasn''t. He truly appreciated Samael''s concern, as this was rare.


    Samael simply rocked his head, walking back to his desk to pick up something. When he returned to ude, thetter''s brows raised because Samael handed him a hand-sized canvass. ude carefully epted it, raising it to take a closer look. A secondter, his eyes dted before his brows softened and a subtle smile appeared on his face.


    "I can''t give you Lilou''s portrait, but I can give you something you may keep." Samael smiled, watching ude''s soft reaction. This child had grown, but he was still a child.


    "I guess... I will really never beat you in Auntie Lilove''s heart," ude mumbled, raising his eyes at Samael while keeping the small painting.


    It was a painting of ude and Lilou in the kitchen. With him cupping his cheek while grinning and Lilou was patting his head like his mother. This wasn''t just a painting from Samael''s imagination. It was a painting from his memory when ude helped everyone in the kitchen but ended up just eating since he kept messing up.


    As ude faced Samael, his heart warmed up at Samael''s next words.


    "Happy Birthday, ude."


    While the atmosphere between the two lightened, Fabian, who was watching this, smiled. He raised his eyes at the nk portrait.


    ''So that''s how it is, huh? I guess that''s the sign I should learn witchcraft, just like what Lady Tilly said since that is the case.''