Later that evening, inside the old Emerson Residence, Edward happily continued spending time with Leo after the little boy finally agreed to stay over for the weekend.

For Edward, it felt like winning the lottery.

For Aaron?

It felt like suffering.

The entire evening, Aaron had been sitting on the sofa like a bitter abandoned house cat while watching his grandfather completely ignore his existence in favor of Leo.

And honestly, he was still upset.

Not only because Edward kept acting like he didn’t exist—but also because he had missed the chance to boss Ivy around now that their ridiculous punishment was still ongoing.

Aaron had spent half the day imagining Ivy being forced to obey his every command.

Unfortunately, reality was cruel.

"So, Leo," Edward asked gently while handing the boy another cookie, "tell Gappy more about your mother. Is she a good person?"

The question instantly caught Aaron’s attention.

He nearly choked on his juice.

"Hah?" Aaron stared at his grandfather in disbelief. "How much do you want to know about her exactly? You’ve been asking about that woman ever since we got here."

Edward calmly ignored him and continued smiling at Leo.

But Aaron wasn’t done.

"No seriously, Grandpa," he continued dramatically, sitting up straighter. "Are you investigating her or planning to adopt her at this point?"

Edward finally shot him an annoyed look.

"Can you stay quiet for once?"

Aaron immediately looked offended.

"Excuse me? I’m contributing to the conversation."

"You’re disturbing it."

"I’m your grandson!"

"You’re noisy."

"Wow." Aaron clutched his chest in betrayal. "This is emotional abuse."

Leo giggled quietly while watching the two bicker.

Meanwhile, Aaron still couldn’t understand Edward’s sudden interest in Ivy.

The woman had nearly choked him to death not once but twice.

Yet somehow Edward kept asking about her like she was some mysterious heroine from a drama series.

Aaron narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Wait a minute..." he muttered slowly before pointing at Edward dramatically. "Don’t tell me you actually like her."

Edward frowned immediately.

"What nonsense are you saying now?"

"I’m serious!" Aaron exclaimed. "First you ask about her cooking, then her personality, and now whether she’s a good person? Grandpa, this is exactly how matchmaking starts in family dramas."

Edward’s expression darkened.

"Should I throw you out?"

Aaron instantly scooted farther away on the sofa.

"Violence won’t hide the truth!" he declared boldly from a safe distance.

Leo burst into laughter at this point.

Edward rubbed his forehead in irritation before turning back to Leo with a much gentler expression.

"Ignore your uncle," he sighed. "His brain stopped developing years ago."

Aaron gasped loudly.

"Leo! Did you hear that? Your great-grandfather is bullying me in my own family home!"

"You deserve it," Edward replied mercilessly.

Aaron looked devastated.

Then suddenly, his expression turned suspicious again as he leaned toward Leo.

"Listen carefully, little nephew," he whispered dramatically. "Never trust your Gappy. Today he’s asking about your mommy. Tomorrow he’ll probably invite her here and forget I exist completely."

Edward scoffed.

"As if you contribute anything useful around here."

Aaron pointed at himself proudly.

"I bring youth, charm, and emotional support."

"You bring headaches."

"That too," Aaron admitted honestly before sighing deeply. "Still... I can’t believe everyone suddenly likes that terrifying woman."

His shoulders slumped dramatically. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"She almost killed me, you know."

Leo blinked innocently.

"But Uncle Aaron, Mommy only choked you a little because she thought you were trying to kidnap me," Leo explained innocently. "You know Mommy is very protective of me. She even fought Daddy’s guards when they tried to take me away."

"ONLY?!" Aaron cried out in disbelief, nearly falling off the sofa. "I saw my ancestors that day!"

Leo blinked at him innocently while Edward tried very hard not to laugh.

Aaron pointed dramatically at his own neck.

"Do you know what this woman did to me? My soul almost left my body! For two whole minutes I couldn’t breathe properly!"

"But you’re alive," Leo pointed out honestly.

"That’s not the point!" Aaron complained. "The trauma remains!"

He turned toward Edward with an aggrieved expression.

"And you! Instead of comforting your precious grandson, you keep asking questions about the woman who nearly sent me into the afterlife."

Edward calmly sipped his tea.

"Well, from what I’m hearing, she was protecting Leo."

Aaron looked utterly betrayed.

"Grandpa... whose side are you even on?"

Edward didn’t even hesitate.

"Not yours."

Aaron clutched his chest dramatically.

"Wow. Just wow. This family has changed."

Leo giggled while happily munching on another cookie.

Meanwhile, Aaron continued grumbling under his breath.

"First Xander brings home a terrifying woman... now even Grandpa likes her. At this rate, I’ll be the only victim left without justice."

Aaron continued whining the entire evening while Edward ignored him without mercy.

By the time dinner ended and everyone retired to their rooms, the old Emerson quietly stood beside the bed, watching Leo sleep peacefully next to him.

The little boy had already curled himself into the blanket, sleeping soundly without a single worry in the world.

A gentle smile slowly appeared on Edward’s face.

Carefully, he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss against Leo’s forehead before silently pulling the blanket higher around him.

After staying there for a while, Edward finally left the room and returned to his own.

"It was quite a pleasant day, Master," Butler Ben said warmly. He had already prepared Edward’s medicine along with a glass of water.

"Indeed," Edward replied softly before taking the medicine and drinking the water.

Old age came with many difficulties.

The body weakened.The mind grew tired.And the years slowly caught up to you.

But despite everything, moments spent with the people you loved somehow made all those burdens feel lighter.

Butler Ben took the empty glass from him and was about to excuse himself for the night when Edward suddenly spoke again.

"Ben... do you think I judge people too quickly?"

The question made Butler Ben pause.

He looked at Edward thoughtfully for a moment before answering carefully.

"Does this concern Young Master Leo’s mother?"

Edward gave a faint nod.

"I still don’t know much about her," he admitted honestly. "But after hearing Leo speak about her today... I can’t help thinking differently."

Edward had always been a sharp judge of character.

He was observant by nature and could usually sense when someone carried bad intentions.

But after spending the entire day listening to both Leo and Aaron, he found himself strangely conflicted about Ivy.

Aaron spent hours complaining about how violent she was.

Meanwhile, Leo defended her every single time with pure sincerity.

And somehow, the child’s words carried more weight than Aaron’s dramatic suffering.

Back then, Edward had never realized what Leo truly needed.

They all believed that surrounding the boy with love, wealth, and protection would be enough to fill every emptiness in his life.

But now he understood something important.

No matter how much affection they gave him... no one could truly replace a mother in a child’s heart.

And seeing how deeply Leo had grown attached to Ivy made Edward quietly question where they all stood now in the little boy’s world.

After a brief silence, Butler Ben finally spoke.

"Young Master Leo may still be too young to fully understand right from wrong," he said gently, "but children have pure hearts. They naturally recognize people who genuinely love them."

Edward fell silent for a moment.

His thoughts drifted back to the incident involving Gavin’s son.

None of them had realized Leo was being troubled at school.

Not once had the child spoken about it openly.

And yet somehow, Ivy had noticed what they failed to see.

"You’re right, Ben," Edward admitted quietly. "Sometimes we become so caught up in our own thoughts that we fail to notice the goodness in someone else’s heart."

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

"But children..." he continued softly, "children are honest in ways adults can never be."

Butler Ben nodded in agreement before hesitating slightly.

"But what about Second Young Master?" he asked carefully. "He still doesn’t seem to have a very good opinion of Young Master Leo’s mother."

Edward immediately scoffed.

"That brat complains about everything," he said dismissively. "And honestly, if someone attacked him twice, then he probably deserved it both times."

Butler Ben coughed softly to hide his amusement.

After all, everyone in the Emerson family knew one thing very clearly—

Aaron might be intelligent and capable when it came to work, but emotionally?

He could be unbelievably childish whenever someone bruised his pride.