"Stop."
The word cut through the air like a blade, sharp yet gentle, carrying an undeniable weight that settled over the entire table.
Damien's body reacted instinctively, the tension in his muscles loosening, his fingers easing against the table's surface as his head turned toward the source of that voice.
And there she was.
Vivienne Elford.
His mother.
The woman who, despite being surrounded by cold ambition and ruthless calculation, had always remained different.
She was breathtaking, even now—her beauty untouched by time, refined by age rather than diminished by it. Her golden-blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders in soft, effortless waves, catching the glow of the chandelier's light like spun silk. Emerald-green eyes—striking and expressive—held a quiet strength within them, tempered by warmth.
She was elegance personified. A woman who had once ruled the fashion world, whose face had graced the covers of magazines across the globe. Yet, despite her status, despite her past, she had always been his mother first.
And at this moment, she was the only person at the table who wasn't looking at him with disdain.
Her gaze swept over Damien, then flickered toward Adeline—stern, yet measured.
"That's enough," she said, her voice calm but carrying an authority that left no room for argument. "This is a family dinner. Not a battlefield."
Adeline wasn't one to back down easily.
Her fingers tightened around her wine glass, her expression twisting in barely concealed outrage as she turned toward Vivienne.
"Didn't you hear what he just said to me?" she snapped, her voice cutting through the once-calm air. "He insulted me—openly—at the dinner table!"
Vivienne, however, remained unfazed. She merely exhaled softly, her green eyes steady as they met her daughter's.
"And who was it that spoke first, Adeline?" she asked, her voice smooth but firm. "Who was it that cast the first stone?"
Adeline's lips parted slightly, but no immediate rebuttal came.
Damien, watching the exchange, almost smirked again. Oh? So even the golden child can be put in her place.
Adeline's hesitation lasted only a moment before she scoffed, crossing her arms. "So, what? You're taking his side now?" Her tone sharpened, and there was something else beneath the surface. Something bitter. "This useless guy? The one who has done nothing for this family?"
Vivienne's gaze darkened slightly.
"Mind your words, Adeline."
It wasn't a shout. It wasn't even forceful. But the weight behind those four words was undeniable.
Even Adeline—Adeline, who always carried herself with such confidence, with such untouchable arrogance—froze for a moment.
Dominic remained silent, merely watching, unreadable.
Adeline clenched her jaw. "…You never say that to him," she muttered, quieter now, but no less seething. "Whenever he talks back, whenever he insults someone, you don't tell him to mind his words. But when it's me—"
Vivienne shook her head before she could finish.
And then, she turned her gaze to Damien.
He met her eyes, already knowing what was coming.
"Damien," she said, her tone softer now. "You should also keep your manners."
For a moment, he simply stared at her.
Vivienne was the only person at this table who had ever spoken to him with warmth. The only one who had ever seen him, not just as an heir, not just as a disappointment—but as her son.
And that was why, despite the irritation lingering in his chest, despite the system's attempts to drag him back into old habits, despite everything—he nodded.
A slow, almost deliberate movement.
"…I got angry for a second," he admitted, his voice steady. "It was impolite of me, Mother."
The words came out smooth. Respectful.
And yet—
Vivienne's eyebrows lifted slightly.
Not because of his words themselves, but because of how he had said them.
Because Damien had always been reactive. Defensive. Caught between anger and desperation, always trying to prove himself, always trying to push back but never quite managing to win.
But this time?
There was no hesitation in his tone. No uncertainty in his gaze.
Just calm, controlled acknowledgment.
As if he had been the one to dictate the outcome of the conversation all along.
Vivienne's lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something else—but in the end, she only exhaled softly and gave a small nod.
Adeline scoffed, the sound sharp and laced with condescension. "Oh, how mature of you, Damien," she sneered, lifting her glass once more but not drinking from it. "Throwing insults one second, then playing the obedient son the next. You really are pathetic."
She set the glass down with a clink and leaned forward slightly, her icy blue eyes locking onto him. "Tell me, is this your new strategy? Hiding behind Mother's skirts because you know you can't win? Because you know, deep down, that you're nothing but a stain on this family's name?"
Her smirk widened.
"I almost pity you."
Ding!
A notification flared before Damien's eyes, glowing faintly in his vision.
[New Quest: Humiliate Your Sister, Adeline.]
[Reward: ???]
He barely even processed the reward line. He didn't need to.
Because at that moment—he was going to do it anyway.
Damien let out a quiet laugh. Slow. Amused.
And then—
He struck.
Not with his hands. Not physically.
But with words that would cut far, far deeper.
"Oh, Adeline," he said, shaking his head as if he were genuinely disappointed. "
"Oh…" Damien exhaled, shaking his head as if he were genuinely disappointed.
"You talk too much," he mused, his voice smooth, deliberate, laced with venom. "For a mere whore."
"You fat pig bastard!"
The explosion came instantly.
Adeline shot up from her seat, her chair screeching against the floor as her hands slammed onto the table. Her face, normally composed and poised, twisted into unfiltered rage. "Watch your mouth!"
Damien simply leaned back, entirely unfazed, his smirk unfaltering.
"What if I don't?" he asked, tilting his head. "What will you do, dear sister? Run crying to Father? Throw another tantrum?"
Adeline's eyes burned with fury, her breath coming in short, sharp bursts, as if barely containing herself.
"Enough!"
Vivienne's voice rang through the room, sharp and unwavering.
She had stood up, one elegant hand pressing against the table as her emerald eyes flickered between her children. Though her voice remained calm, there was a tension in her features—a quiet desperation to control the situation before it spiraled further.
"Both of you," she continued, her tone firm, "that's enough."
Damien felt her gaze on him, but he barely acknowledged it.
Adeline, on the other hand—
She was still trembling with fury, her nails digging into the tablecloth. And then—
"I can't do this," she muttered under her breath before glaring at Dominic, as if expecting support. "Are you seriously going to sit there and let him talk like this?"
Dominic, who had remained silent until now, finally exhaled.
"Calm down," he said, his voice carrying the weight of absolute authority. "This is a dinner, not a spectacle."
That was it.
That was all he said.
Adeline's lips parted slightly in disbelief. "You—" Her voice cut off, sharp and full of frustration.
A long, tense silence filled the air.
Then—
With a sharp huff, she stepped back, her heels clicking against the floor as she grabbed her napkin and tossed it onto the table. "I've lost my appetite," she declared, her voice cold, clipped, but still trembling with barely restrained rage.
She turned on her heel and strode toward the exit, her every step filled with barely concealed fury.
The moment she disappeared beyond the doors, silence fell over the dining hall once more.
Damien exhaled slowly through his nose, his smirk still lingering.
Ding!
[Quest Complete: Humiliate Your Sister, Adeline.]
[Reward: +150 SP]