God of Tricksters

Theo closed his eyes for a moment, not knowing what to say. He leaned on his seat while pinching the bridge of his nose.

Suddenly, a smooth finger touched his forehead and gently massaged it. "You can't frown too much or you'll look older."

Theo opened his eyes and dropped his hands, looking at Agata who was standing behind his seat. "Are you going to tell me to make up with them?"

"No. I won't tell you anything about them. It's just… It seems I have to pass a message from your grandfather."

"A message from him?"

"Yes. It was after the battle in Italy…" Agata paused for a moment while recalling that scene.

After that battle, Agata walked to Theo's mansion to grab the rest of the items to move to their new place. Back then, Leonardo came to visit, finding her who was about to leave the mansion while carrying a box.

"Sir Leonardo." Agata politely greeted him.

"Ah, Agata. You don't have to be so polite to me, you know. You're going to be my granddaughter-in-law soon, so you can just call me Grandfather."

"Ahaha, I'd love to do that, but I have to refrain myself from calling you Grandfather. I don't want to look rushed and make Theo uncomfortable. Maybe after our marriage, I wouldn't hesitate to call you Grandfather, but for now, I'm going to respect Theo's boundaries and not go ahead by myself."

"Is that so? Theo is lucky to have you in his life. Thank you for being sensible, and please continue guiding him on the right path."

"Yes, Sir."

Leonardo looked at her with a troubled expression.

"What's wrong, Sir? Do you have something bothering you?"

"Nah, I…" Leonardo scratched the back of his head. He hesitated for a moment but ultimately said it. "Well, I don't know if I can say it or not. To be honest, one part of me wants him and his parents to reconcile. Another part of me is telling me it's impossible.

"I can understand what they've done in the past, and after mulling it over for months, I could only come up with two better plans than what they've done… Though, those two plans are like standing on top of a threat… Basically, you're gambling.

"That's why I want them to reconcile. However, it's kinda harsh to know that your parents have been making you suffer the whole time. I can understand how Theo felt when he knew about it.

"Due to his suffering in the past, Theo surely had thought of committing suicide many times. And how much he suffered during those ten years? Hunger, pain, being bullied physically and mentally… I couldn't imagine how harsh it was for a child like him.

"That's why I've never tried to smoothen their relationship. However, I know Valerie and Ray personally. Ray won't do something like this if they have another option, while Valerie will work herself to death to come up with the best plan… Unfortunately, the plan they chose is the best plan in terms of results but the worst plan for Theo.

"So, can you pass him a message from me? I'll let you choose the time. If you think it's alright to say it, I want you to pass this message to him. You can just say it's from me and let me take all the blame.

"I want you to tell him to think about this. There is a criminal who is a villager. The villager kills a person and gets sentenced to prison for twenty years. After leaving the prison, the villager can't get a job because he is once a murderer. The people around him don't give him a chance.

"Meanwhile, the villager has changed over the years and promised not to do it again. He has turned over a new leaf, but because the others don't accept him, he has no way to make a living, causing him to fall into despair.

"The villager now only has two choices. The first is to accept his situation and commit suicide since it's basically better than dying from hunger. Or… the villager has to go to the dark world again and kill more people.

"This is… what I want you to pass him. This can be called I'm trying to persuade him, but I don't want to gaslight him. After all, you can't choose your parents…"

Agata remained silent the whole time. The message from this story was pretty clear. If the people had given the villager a chance, the villager might have become a good human being. In fact, he might even help others to atone for his sins. But because they didn't give him a chance, they basically forced him to do the same thing over and over again.

Leonardo didn't ask him to forgive them. This message was just to ask Theo to give them a chance, at least, a chance to get his forgiveness. If punishment was necessary, it was better to give them concrete punishment.

Back then, Theo told them he didn't want anything to do with them. But at that time, Theo didn't think too straight, and he believed this was the best option due to the trauma.

This time, Theo had grown both physically and mentally, so with him being more mature, Leonardo wanted him to rethink his decision. If he still chose not to go back with them, he would accept his decision wholeheartedly.

After Agata passed the message to him, she added, "That's the message. Well, the fact that I'm passing this message can be interpreted as I am helping him persuade you. So, I'll tell you this. I don't care whether you have parents or not. You are the only thing that matters to me. So, if you don't want them, just push them away. I'll support your decision."

Theo let out a sigh while closing his eyes. "There are too many things to think about. As for the answer… I'll just decide when the time comes."

"Mhm." Agata nodded, accepting his decision.