There was a pregnant silence in the room as Yexuan stood still, deep in shock, his body trembling from the fear that rose from his soul. 

"Keith..." Alana was a little flustered as well when she saw him suddenly appear behind her little brother. 

She was worried that he had taken offence to Yexuan's nonsense, even though she knew that it would take a lot more than just words to make him angry. He was not someone who could easily be triggered by words. 

And seeing his narrowed eyes, her heart suddenly clenched. 

"You seem sure that I am an evil person. I wonder why that is the case, Mr. Parker?" He spoke again, and though his words were light, Yexuan stood frozen in fear. 

Alana looked between Yexuan and him over and over again, and every passing second made her more anxious. 

Keith smiled in his heart when the boy suddenly relaxed and then turned to look at him with his brows furrowed. 

"How did you come inside?" He asked. "I need to speak to my sister. Please leave." He kept his voice low, and Keith smiled at him. 

"You are not Yexuan." He confidently said. 

His words dismayed both Alana and the boy, but the latter managed to keep his anxiety from showing on his face. 

"Please stop whispering in my sister's mind. It is ridiculous that you are making her believe that I am not her brother." He sighed. "If this is not evil, what is it then?" 

"You smell of Blood that does not belong in this world, Mr. Parker. You can't blame us for believing that you are not Yexuan." Keith lightly said and watched the boy's body stiffen at his words. "And you are not exactly a Monster either. Not quite yet." He narrowed his eyes. "You are the one who has been killing the Aurors of Mondini and Solanari in the past few months." 

Alana, who was still trying to process what Keith just said, doubtfully looked at Yexuan, making him more uncomfortable. 

"I don't know what you are talking about..." 

"Is that so?" Keith smiled and then suddenly lunged forward, grabbing the boy by his neck and pinning him against the wall behind him. 

Alana looked around to find where the two of them disappeared, but soon heard Keith speak and found him holding her brother by his neck. 

"Who are you?" He grimly asked, and Yexuan struggled in his hold, his eyes quivering in fear. 

"Keith." Alana immediately rushed up, beggingly looking at him, but he ignored her and kept looking into the boy's eyes. 

"I am Yexuan..."

"Are you?" He smiled, and the Child of Destiny nodded his head, struggling to breathe under his tightening hold on his neck. 

"I-I am.." He nodded again, and closed his eyes, feigning more pain than he was in, hoping that Alana would rescue him today. 

"Keith... He will die.." The girl shed tears as she finally reached forward and grabbed his arm, pleading to him to let Yexuan go.

"You trust him?" He asked, not looking at her, and Alana flinched at his question. 

"Please..." She pleaded again, and Keith let the boy go. 

It would have not mattered to him if she pleaded with her life, but the boy was still under an Invincible Halo, and he could not kill him without taking serious risks. 

And he did not intend to kill him today anyway. 

"If you truly are Yexuan, then you should listen to what your sister asked you earlier." He harmlessly smiled. "You wouldn't want her to suffer under the hands of an evil man if you do something that causes him displeasure. Would you?" 

Yexuan was dismayed at his blatant threat, but his heart dropped when he found Alana still hugging Keith's arm. 

Could she not hear what he just said? Was she really too far lost for him to save her?

Before he could even decide what to say, he watched Keith take his eyes off him and then grab his love into his arms, capturing her lips in a kiss. 

Yexuan watched his sister struggle a little, but then she just gave in, allowing him to kiss her the way he wanted. 

His mind was in utter chaos as he witnessed the love of his life reacting to another man's kiss, and the blood in his veins suddenly started boiling. 

But along with rage, helplessness and fear crept in as well, and all he could do was lower his head and walk out of the room. 

He stopped in his tracks when he suddenly heard his sister moan, and he could discern that it was not some forced moan, but something that voiced itself from deep inside of her. 

There was this unbearable urge to turn around and rip Keith off of Alana, but Yexuan knew that it would only result in his death. Perhaps, even in her death.

He could still feel Keith's grip on his neck, and he pretty much understood that there was a huge gap between their strengths that he could not surmount anytime soon.

His heart ached as he stepped out of the room and let the door behind him close. He felt weak, unbearably weak, and as he blankly walked towards the arena, he was quite sure now that he had lost Alana. 

Keith smiled when he suddenly heard a System prompt and checked that he had managed to rip off nearly 900 Fate Value from Yexuan just with this brief encounter, inducing more fear into him and creating a hole in his heart that was filled with his feelings for Alana. 

He had yet to conquer her, but he had successfully marred her image in Yexuan's mind, who would always remember the scene where he witnessed them kiss every time he romantically thought of her. 

What more he could have done was to easily press and force Yexuan into a corner, questioning him about his Blood and forcing him to reveal some things, or even triggering him to take a rash step. However, it would have scared the mouse away, and it would have led to unforeseen circumstances. 

At least, now Yexuan was more apprehensive of him, and he would slowly become sure that Keith did not believe that he was not the same Yexuan. 

It would drive him restless, and knowing that he had been identified as the one behind the disappearance of Mondini and Solanari Aurors, he would rest low after the Trials, focusing on assimilating the Blood quietly, not raising more suspicions. 

Or perhaps, he would make a foolish move and make a run for it, but Keith had already marked him earlier when he grabbed him by his neck, secretly injecting him with a Potion. 

Had Yexuan been in the right mind, he would have noticed it, but now, the Potion was going to remain dormant in his body, and since it was completely harmless, Keith doubted that he would be able to sense it before it was triggered, revealing his location. 

However, even if Yexuan did figure out that he was marked in such a manner, it would not matter much. 

All his reactions and responses were already under his calculations. 

"You did it deliberately..." Alana lowered her head after they separated. "He..." 

"He needs to understand whom you belong to." Keith cut her off and pulled her chin up, looking into her light brown eyes. "What do you think of his words?" 

She furrowed her brows a little, recalling everything Yexuan had said about Keith, and then tried to lower her head again in shame, feeling guilty that she nearly believed in those words and doubted Keith. 

"I don't believe him..." 

"The greatest trick the Devil has up his sleeves is that he speaks the truth, but just twists it and leads people to think the way he wants them to. And what it results in are doubts that can corrupt a heart." He smiled, quoting the words from one of Alana's favourite novels. "What he said was true, almost all of it." 

Her breath froze as she heard his words, and she looked into his eyes to explain himself. 

"There is indeed a reason why I like you so much, and it is because you are special and important to me." He told her. "You possess something that would prove a great asset to me, and that is a major reason why I am interested in you." 

"What?" 

"Your talent." He smiled and watched the relief wash over her face, but his next words froze her again. "And your Special Physique."

"I..." 

"You have one." He nodded to her, and then chuckled, making her snap out of her surprise. 

She kept looking into his eyes, trying her best to stay serious. 

"So you are the devil." She narrowed her eyes, but a smile crept on her lips. 

Now that the surprise had worn off, she truly felt relief wash over her heart. 

It would have been wrong to say that she had never wondered why Keith was always so kind to her. 

She had wondered if he had some ulterior motives, but as she spent time with him and his family, getting to know them, she slowly started wishing that there was something very special about her that he valued enough to pay so much attention to her. And it was because only if she was special enough would she ever have a chance to stand on her own in the family that she wanted to become a part of.

It was mostly because she had seen how talented everyone else was, and she wanted to be just like them.

"Maybe." He shrugged. "But I lie too."

"Do you?" 

"Yes."

"So you like me only for my Special Physique?" She pouted a little, already sure in her heart that Keith was not insincere to her. 

How could he be?

She believed in actions more than words, and he had never given her reason to doubt his sincerity. 

Alana knew very well how he treated everyone in his family. And she was sure that a man like him would not mistreat those he considered his. 

Even if he was only interested in her because of her Special Physique, she still did not feel too restless with the idea. She loved him, and she knew very well that her happiness lay by his side.

"That and the fact that you are gorgeous and quite loveable." He nodded, earning giggles from her. 

Alana closed her eyes and cherished the feeling when he placed his hand on her head and gently caressed it. 

"You are silly to love me so much." He sighed. 

"My choice." She smiled and heard him chuckle at her words. 

"Well, it's too late to have any second thoughts and regrets." He shrugged again. "I won't let you escape my evil clutches." 

"I don't want to escape." She stepped forward and tightly hugged him. "I love you, Keith." 

"I know." He gently stroked her back. "Let's go. The event is about to start." 

She nodded to him and reluctantly let him go, following him out of the room. 

"Keith..." 

"Yes?" 

"What's my Special Physique?" 

"I will let you figure it out. You are smart enough to realise it." He teasingly said, making her pout. "Do you think he is your brother?" He suddenly asked, and Alana furrowed her brows. 

"I don't know, Keith." She honestly replied. "But there is a part of him that is still Yexuan..."

"Which is why you don't want me to hurt him." He understandingly nodded his head, and she gratefully nodded hers. 

"I want to know what is wrong with him..." 

"So do I." He smiled and grabbed his hand, gently squeezing it.