Lessons on Responsibility.

"And you are planning to work for?"

Maxim was seated behind his desk. With his hand on the chin, he was examining his daughter's intent.

"The Kramer family."

Aglaya was not scared of him. She had been pampered a lot by everyone in the family, and her opinion was always taken into consideration with respect.

"For him?"

As her father, he had been keeping an eye on her activities ever since Alex had arrived to the family. She had delegated almost all of her work to her substitutes, and was solely focused on keeping an eye on the boy.

"Yes."

Aglaya wasn't going to lie to him.

The head placed his right palm on his forehead.

"For all your IQ, you really are an impulsive person."

Out of all of his children, Aglaya was the one kid that couldn't follow his path. Her birth defect could have led to the first Infanticide case in the family. But as god would favor it, her mother died before she could be killed, and Maxim decided to raise her like the rest of his children.

Information was power. And unlike the other kids, she was well ahead of her peers by a light year when it came to intelligence. She was so good at processing information, that it took only a few days for her to rethink their entire scouting network and make something different out of it at the age of 7. Add that to her confidence and people skills, and she was unparalleled at her job.

"Your contributions to the family are immense. And I will be happy to grant you your wish."

After all she had done, and after factoring in her wishes, Maxim chose her to be the information handler of the collective. Her choice to leave was inevitable, and he knew that all he could do was give her his blessings today.

"But before that, I would like to speak with the boy in private."

He had to make a decisive statement to the boy before that.

"Can you bring him here?"

---------------------------------------------

"Sir?"

Alex knocked on the door.

"Come in."

A well polished mahogany desk, a large bookcase in the corner, some paintings that looked expensive, oak wood floors and a light blue sofa at the side. Many other decorations as well, but they were far from what he had in mind for the office of the collective head.

Weirdly classy.

His desk was clear, and his eyes were following the boy.

"Take a seat."

He sat down opposite to the head.

'If he wants Aglaya to stay here, then I won't hesitate to agree with him.'

He knew his game plan.

"My daughter wants to work for your family."

A certain amount of bloodlust could be felt behind those words.

"She does."

Bloodlust increased further.

"What do you think of it?"

His face presented a smile, but his aura was filled with intimidation.

"Very bizarre. But who am I to judge?"

Alex released some of his bloodlust as well. Maxim didn't mind it and increased his intensity further.

"And you didn't refuse her. May I ask why?"

"I did want to refuse. But her help is something that my family definitely needs, and I am planning to recruit more people to increase our power."

Nothing to hide.

"You wish to lead a major family?"

"Not really. A small group of useful people is enough."

The boy wasn't lying. Now was the perfect time to bring this up.

"What do you think of Zhao Qiao?"

Alex calmly took that question and made a suitable response in his head.

"A great assassin, but a foolish man."

Maxim snapped his finger.

"Right on point. And what about your mother?"

"A powerful manipulator."

The pressure suddenly increased to maximum.

'Bloodlust Manifest.'

He protected himself just in time

"There is a reason why they both failed to achieve my heights. One was crushed before he could respond, and the other is a fool that thinks that her actions have any effect on my plans."

The head of the collective. He was at the apex position for a reason.

"If you plan to take my daughter with you, she is your responsibility. If something happens to her, I am coming for your head. And after you, your worthless family comes next. Value her life like you value yours."

His bloodlust was enough to kill people with his mere sight. Alex was barely hanging on.

"Do you understand?"

A question. Alex opened his mouth and said,

"Yes."

In an instant, the bloodlust vanished. His expression was back to normal.

"You hold up well. Continue to train and become stronger."

Alex was breathing like there was no tomorrow, and in stark contrast, Maxim was acting like nothing happened.

"You can leave."

He took out a file and started to peruse its contents.

"I-I'll take my leave then."

He regained a sliver of his composure, and stood up to make his way out of the office.

"Better than Dima in bloodlust control."

As soon as he left, Maxim closed up the file.

"Qiao trained him well."

Aglaya didn't make a mistake.

--------------------------------------------------

"How did it go?"

Outside the office, Alex fell on his knees.

"He is ruthless."

A small drop of blood arrived at the corner of his mouth.

"Are you alright?"

She was about help him to stand up, but he raised his hand, signaling that he did not need her help. After a few seconds, strength returned to his legs and he slowly stood up.

"I am fine."

She let out of sigh of relief.

"What did he say?"

Alex was still processing Maxim's power.

"Alex?"

He turned towards her and said,

"A simple conversation. He was just teaching me a lesson on 'responsibility.'"

She patted his back. Dima had been through a lot of these 'Lessons'.

"Go and take some rest."

Alex agreed, and went back to his room. His fatigue was at half, even after the effects of the new trait.

Maxim was too strong for him.