Fake is Fake

The atmosphere at the dinner table became subtly awkward.

Even the usually less perceptive Irena felt something was off as she chewed her food.

She blinked her eyes, looking at Alvin, then at Mona.

However.

This was probably their family’s usual way of interacting.

Kristine showed no abnormal reaction to it.

On the contrary, she was quite happy because of her mother’s affection and said softly.

“Thank you, Mother.”

Black watched this scene and sighed inwardly.

‘Kristine…’

‘She’s probably seen too many children without parents at the orphanage.’

‘In comparison, she feels that having a complete family is already a great happiness.’

‘So, she has never delved into how much of this love is from the heart, and how much is a superficial performance.’

However.

Although Black was well aware that Alvin was just playing the role of a “perfect father.”

He sometimes had to admit that the other’s acting was indeed realistic.

For example, at this moment.

Alvin tasted the soup Mona had served him and frowned slightly.

He then turned to Kristine and said in a concerned tone.

“The soup is a bit salty today.”

“Your throat has been a little uncomfortable recently. You shouldn’t drink this, lest it gets worse.”

After speaking, he moved Kristine’s bowl of soup to his side.

Hearing this, Kristine nodded, very happy.

“Thank you, Father!”

She hadn’t expected her father to remember what she had casually mentioned last night.

From her reaction, it seemed that Alvin’s meticulous care was something she had long been accustomed to.

Black watched in silence, his feelings a bit complicated.

When he first encountered this plot in the game, he had also been deceived by Alvin’s meticulous “fatherly love.”

Looking at this scene again now, he could suddenly understand why Kristine hadn’t noticed this illusory warmth.

This family was a carefully arranged stage.

Everyone was playing their own role.

But, a play must eventually come to an end.

…

After dinner.

Alvin still had official business to attend to. He gave a slight nod to everyone and walked to his study.

Mona also stood up and said softly that she was “a little tired and needed to rest early.”

Supported by a quiet maid, she slowly left the dining room.

In the living room.

With the departure of the adults, the subtle, awkward atmosphere in the air also dissipated.

“Phew, that feels a bit more relaxed.”

Irena let out a small sigh of relief and patted her chest.

Then she looked at Kristine and asked, choosing her words carefully.

“Senior, is your family always this quiet?”

She didn’t use more direct words.

Kristine didn’t think much of it.

She explained softly.

“My parents’ personalities are just like that. So the house is usually quieter. I think it’s fine.”

She didn’t dwell on this topic and skillfully changed the subject.

“Would anyone like some after-dinner flower tea?”

“It’s a recipe my mother is very fond of. It uses several kinds of dried flower petals, and it smells wonderful.”

Irena was immediately drawn in and nodded repeatedly.

“Yes, yes!”

Everyone had nothing to do, and it was still early before it was time to move.

So they sat down in the living room again, sipping the fragrant flower tea and chatting casually.

As they were drinking, Irena suddenly remembered that Mona had casually mentioned how cute Kristine was as a child.

She suggested enthusiastically.

“Senior Kristine! Your aunt just said you were super cute as a child!”

“Can you show us some of your childhood photos?”

Hearing this, Kristine, for a rare moment, became shy and quickly waved her hands.

“My mother was just talking nonsense. I was very ordinary as a child, not good-looking at all.”

A maid standing by, hearing this, couldn’t help but interject with a smile.

“You’re too modest, Miss.”

“I remember when I first came to work at the count’s mansion, you were still very young, only this tall.”

She gestured with her hand.

“But even then, you were already incredibly beautiful!”

“The first time I saw you, I thought you were a spirit that had fallen from the sky! So beautiful that people couldn’t take their eyes off you.”

This praise from the maid ignited Irena’s curiosity.

Like a clingy kitten, she sidled up to Kristine, pulled her sleeve, and shook it gently.

“Senior~ Just show us, pretty please?”

She didn’t forget to pull Jianye in for an alliance, shaking Jianye’s hand.

“Jianye, you must be very curious about what the senior looked like as a child, right?”

Jianye, who had been quietly drinking tea, was a little helpless at being suddenly “dragged into the water” by Irena.

“Ah, yes, yes, yes.”

Even Leon stroked his chin, looking interested.

“Yes, Lady Saintess, let us see if you also had that ‘holy aura’ as a child?”

Seeing everyone say so, Kristine really couldn’t refuse them and had to nod.

“Alright then. Follow me this way.”

After speaking, her gaze quickly glanced at Black, who was sitting a little further away.

Unfortunately, Black seemed to be preoccupied today and hadn’t spoken much during dinner.

At this moment, he was just holding his teacup, his gaze fixed on the glass window outside.

He seemed to have no interest in seeing her childhood photos.

A trace of disappointment couldn’t help but cross Kristine’s heart.

Everyone followed Kristine through the corridors of the main residence to another building in the count’s estate.

After walking in, everyone was surprised to find.

This entire building was actually used to store portraits and family photos.

“Hiss…”

“A whole building just for photos? As expected of a count’s family! This is too extravagant!”

Leon couldn’t help but exclaim.

Hearing this, Land, beside him, patted his shoulder and teased.

“The money you squandered at places like Drunken Breeze could probably buy this entire building, right?”

Leon was instantly like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He almost jumped up and hurriedly defended himself.

“Hey! Don’t slander my good name in front of so many people!”

Black couldn’t help but be amused by him.

Perhaps his cousin and Leon would get along very well.

Entering the building, the first thing that came into view was a spacious hall on the first floor.

The walls of the hall were hung with many exquisitely framed portraits and photos.

They recorded the lineage and history of the Alvin family, which stretched back for over a hundred years.

From ancestors in ancient noble attire to portraits of some important members in recent times, the lineage was clear.

Although the Alvin family’s title was not very high.

It was indeed a long-standing noble family with a history of over a hundred years.

Then, Kristine led everyone to a more private area.

The decoration here was quite magnificent.

The display shelves were filled with a large number of photos, recording the growth of a certain person.

This person was, of course, Kristine.

“These are all photos of me from when I was a child.”

Kristine explained.

Everyone gathered around, their gazes drawn to a photo of Kristine when she was about five or six years old.