"There was no point attempting to find her but I still had my men search the city for any trace of her but found nothing.

I felt betrayed and I felt lost. I gave her my heart and she crushed it. You can not even begin to comprehend just how much it hurt.

They say there's a thin line between Love and Hate, well, I crossed that line when your mother left me"

'Technically, she's not my mother' Hal thought.

'Depends on how you choose to see it. Your body came from her and while your soul and Blood have nothing to do with her or Gregory, the Body still keeps you two connected' Grimoire told him with a sigh.

Hal knew the Artifact was correct, and while the Devil queen and whoever knocked her up should be the only ones he considered parents, being in this body forced him to acknowledge Svetlana and Gregory.

It was probably why he was feeling very vindictive towards Gregory, which did not make sense,

After all, if Gregory had not sent the old Hal to the Slavehouse and then poisoned him, Hal would not have been able to take over the boy's body and successfully transmigrate.

In all honesty, he should have been thanking Gregory, however, because he had taken over the body of a soul that had departed with grievances, he could not help himself but hate Gregory.

Of course, the Payne Patriarch's incessant dislike and inability to let things go, as well as seeking to kill Hal did not help his case.

Gregory was looking at Hal deeply and it was clear that there was something he wished to say. Hal did not prompt him and simply waited for the moment he would no longer be capable of holding it in,

"You know, I'm starting to suspect that you are not my son. He is nothing like you. He was a shut-in and he let everyone walk all over him. There's something that just doesn't feel right about you"

'So this is what you wanted to say' Hal thought before he shrugged,

"Who knows? Maybe you're right. But do you genuinely believe you have the right to throw out suspicions or even say the words 'my son'?

Considering you sold one into slavery and then tried to poison him and later, you successfully had the other one killed"

Gregory looked as though he had been slapped, but even then, he spoke up,

"Fine! I wasn't a good father but at least I was better than Svetlana, that Blue-eyed witch"

Hal chuckled,

"Yeah, that's very mature. Try to pan off your faults on someone else. I can guess the rest of your 'sad' story.

Since she left, you lost something inside of you and a part of you died. You worked hard to fix the relationship you had with your wife, most likely going against your profession of love for the beautiful stranger and claiming it was a moment of weakness.

Like the sweet woman she was, Lillian gave you a second chance and you tried your best to forget the whole experience. Except you couldn't.

You were forever scarred.

The feeling only grew worse when I was delivered to you, a memory of what you had lost and of the woman you both love and hate.

So you did what asshole fathers just as you do; you took out your frustrations, anger and pain on the innocent offspring of your affair.

I'm guessing the fact that I could not cultivate did not smoothen things over"

Did I miss anything?"

Gregory gulped and said nothing.

'I didn't think so' Hal thought.

"What of Svetlana? You seem to be making her spotless in all this. She's no saint!" Gregory voiced out again in anger.

"Are you a retard? In what way, from all I have just said, did I make Svetlana the innocent one in this situation. She is just as guilty as you are.

It is clear that she was using you and while it can be considered wrong, -which is also a matter of perspective, after all, staying with you or letting you touch them, must be a real torture to any woman- it does not justify your actions.

You were bitter and like it or not, all that happened was still your fault. You have already admitted to being charmed by her looks. Also, she never threatened or ensnared you from all you have said.

You wanted it and you got it. For goodness sake, Greggy, you confessed to loving her and requested your wife and mother of your child be okay with it.

Stop playing the victim.

Also, what if she stole the Golden balls, you had no idea what it was for and were only going with what you had been told by a bunch of dead guys.

When and if I ever meet Svetlana, she'll get what's coming to her, but for now, it's just you and you're going to pay, Greggy.

You... are... going... to... pay"

Gregory was struck dumb and when he looked into those piercing blue eyes, he knew Hal meant it. Yet, he could not bring himself to beg for mercy.

He felt he deserved it and whatever punishment Hal decided to bestow, he could and would take on with pride.

If only he knew how wrong he was.

Hal branded him and let him go free of the Binding Rune while he infiltrated his mind through the Devil mark and got complete details of the memories of Gregory's experience with Svetlana, who he had to admit, was incredibly beautiful.

Gregory and Burt went ahead and returned to Payne Estate. Hal and the ladies would go there as well, but for now, they hung back.

Castor moved a few distances away, very conscious of the fact that this was a private moment between Hal and his women.

"Are you okay?" Rita asked in a quiet voice.

Hal glanced at her and chuckled as he wound his arm around her waist and pulled her closer,

"Of course I'm fine" he said with a smile.

The truth was that he was not truly fine. He had finally put the matter with Gregory to rest and hated that he was feeling so unsatisfied.

Even what he had planned to do to hurt Gregory all the more was not feeling enough. It seemed he would have to tweak things a bit.

Simply demoralizing him would not be enough, he needed to make use of the one thing that could most likely hurt Gregory more than seeing his kinsmen die could.

He needed Lillian.

"What now?" Melinda asked and took her place at his side as he led the two towards the carriage that would take them to the Payne Estate.

As they walked Hal smiled and said,

"Now? Now we make an announcement"

...

Meanwhile,

While Hal proceeded with his plans, a certain man was at the boundary of Salmon city and looking back on where he had spent so many years and lived a semi-peaceful life.

"Master, are you really sure you want to leave?" Orn asked the middle-aged man.

Eugene took a deep breath,

"I have no choice" was all he said but there was a longing to remain in his eyes.

"Maybe he was right. Maybe I do need a change" he mumbled and Orn was about to ask what his Master meant when Eugene turned away.

"We have a long journey ahead of us, Orn. Let's be off" he said and walked briskly away.

Their long journey was only to the nearest teleportation circle and he had more than enough blue gems to get them to the Duchy capital.

As Eugene left, one could not help but wonder when next he would make an appearance and whether Hal's words would have had an impact or not...