Aunt.

Alexius fired a single shot, the bullet striking the man square in the forehead. His body crumpled to the ground like a ragdoll, but Alexius wasn't done. He swung his legs off the bed, his expression dark with irritation, and strode over to the lifeless body.

Without hesitation, he fired again. And again. And again. Each shot was punctuated by the sharp crack of the gun, the room filling with the acrid smell of gunpowder.

{Fucking bad timing, you piece of trash! You had to come and ruin the perfect mood, didn't you, you damn bastard!}

He only stopped when the gun clicked empty; the chamber spent. The man's head was a gruesome mess, but Alexius didn't so much as flinch. He stood there for a moment, breathing heavily, his jaw clenched as he glared down at the corpse.

Then, with a sigh, he tossed the empty gun onto the table and ran a hand through his hair, his frustration palpable.

Natalia stared at him, her heart still pounding, though now for entirely different reasons. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. What could she even say? The woman on the floor whimpered again, snapping Natalia out of her daze. She quickly scrambled off the bed and kneeled beside her, offering a comforting hand.

Alexius, meanwhile, leaned against the wall, his arms crossed as he muttered under his breath, "Of all the damn times..."

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the narrow hallway as the underworld market guards arrived, their boots clattering against the wooden floor. They burst into the room with their weapons drawn, only to stop dead in their tracks at the gruesome sight before them.

One of the guards, a burly man with a scar running down his cheek, stepped forward, his voice sharp with authority. "What the hell is going on here?!" he shouted out, his eyes widening as he took in the mess that was once a man's head.

Alexius leaned casually against the wall with his arms crossed, as if he hadn't just turned someone's skull into abstract art. "Ah, just a drunkard trying to rape someone in my room," he said with a shrug, his tone disturbingly nonchalant.

"I took care of it for you guys. You should be thanking me, really. Now that I think about it... He nudged the corpse with his boot, tilting his head as if inspecting it. "Does this guy have a bounty on his head?"

The guard stared at Alexius, then down at the unrecognizable mess on the floor. His face twisted in disbelief. "Alexius, how the hell am I supposed to know who this guy is? There's no face left to recognize! His own mother wouldn't be able to ID him!" He jabbed a finger at the bloody remains, his voice rising in frustration.

Alexius blinked, then let out a hearty laugh, scratching the back of his head. "Ah,now that you mention it, you're right. My bad! HAHAH! Well, how much is it going to cost to clean this up and get me a new door? Don't forget the friend discount!" He slung an arm around the guard's shoulders, his grin wide and unapologetic.

The guard sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose as if warding off a headache. "I was going to say ten bucks, but since you're asking for the friend price…" He shoved Alexius's arm off and glared at him. "It's thirty bucks."

Alexius's jaw dropped, his expression morphing into one of exaggerated betrayal. "What?! That's robbery! I thought we were friends! We even played poker together for crying out loud!"

The guard's face turned red, his hands balling into fists. "AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHY! What kind of friend cheats during a friendly poker game and leaves the other guy without even his damn boxers?!" He pointed an accusing finger at Alexius. "Thanks to you, my beautiful Evangeline banned me from the bar for a month!"

{Tsk! And that's exactly why I did it! Who told you to look at my aunt like that?}

As the two men continued their heated argument, no one of them noticed the figure silently approaching from behind. Mama stood there with her cane gripped tightly in her hand, her expression a mix of exasperation and fury.

Without a word, she raised the cane high, her movements swift and precise. Faster than a breath, the cane came down with a resounding smacking sound, first on the guard's head, then on Alexius's.

"OW!" they yelled in unison while clutching their heads as they turned to face Mama, who stood there like an avenging angel with her cane still raised menacingly.

"Enough of your nonsense!" Mama shouted, her voice sharp enough to cut through steel. "Clean this mess up, get the girl some help, and stop acting like children before I give you both another reason to cry!"

Alexius and the guard exchanged a quick glance, their earlier bravado evaporating under Mama's withering glare. "Yes, Mama," they muttered in unison, their voices small and sheepish.

"And you, Cheeto Girl!" Mama shouted while pointing her cane at Natalia like a stern schoolteacher. "Don't let your man do whatever he wants. Grab him by the balls and make him listen to you! That's how you keep 'em in line."

She turned her attention back to the guards, her voice rising as she launched into a heated argument, her cane waving wildly for emphasis. Meanwhile, Alexius and Natalia slipped back into the room to change, the tension of the earlier chaos still lingering in the air.

When they finally emerged, Mama was waiting for them with her arms crossed and her foot tapping impatiently. "There you are! What took you so long? Were you trying on dresses or something?!" She rolled her eyes while cutting off any potential explanation with a dismissive wave.

"Never mind. I don't want to hear what you two sissies get up to behind closed doors. Go with Little Thumb; he'll drive you to your aunt's house. And tell her I said hello." With that, she plopped down onto a rusted metal bench with her cane resting across her lap.

Alexius frowned with his curiosity piqued. "Mmm? Why the car? Can't we just take the secret entrance to the train station?"

Mama shot him a look that could curdle milk. "That entrance's banned for now. The police and the Ironclads are crawling all over the place. Some idiot blew up an office at the academy and killed a prefect and also injured a bunch of guards."

She delivered the news with her usual nonchalance, but the sharp glance she gave Alexius made it clear she knew exactly who the "idiot" was. After all, there was only one person in her contact list with a penchant for blowing things to smithereens.

Alexius coughed awkwardly while scratching the back of his neck. "Ehem… I'll keep that in mind, Mama. Thanks again for your help. I'll make it up to you one of these days." He flashed her a quick grin before grabbing Natalia's hand and bolting toward the exit, eager to escape Mama's piercing gaze.

As they disappeared down the hallway, one of Mama's men, a tall figure in a long black coat leaned against the wall near the bench. "Should we send some of the lads to protect them, Mama?" he asked with his voice being low and cautious.

Mama snorted while lighting a cigarette with a flick of her lighter. "No need. That's Evangeline's territory. We don't want to start a war over a misunderstanding. We've already stirred up enough trouble as it is." She took a long drag, exhaling a cloud of smoke before glaring at the man. "Speaking of trouble, where's my damn cigar box?"

Before he could answer, Mama swung her cane with the metallic end connecting with a sickening thud right between his legs. The man crumpled to the ground with a strangled groan, clutching himself in agony. "M-Mama! Was that really necessary?!" he wheezed while his face contorted in pain.

"Necessary?!" Mama shouted, her voice rising as she whacked him again with her cane. "Do you have any idea what Evangeline will do when she finds out a Valve of the family sent a hitman after her nephew?! Huh?!"

The man groaned while shielding his body from her relentless strikes. "But how was I supposed to know that, Mama?!"

"By asking, you idiot! Or is your head so full of crap that you can't even think straight?!" She finally stopped, leaning on her cane as she let out a heavy sigh.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she already knows. I've sent some compensation her way, but you? You better start praying to whatever saint you believe in. Evangeline might look sweet and beautiful, but she's the worst of us when you piss her off. And you, my dear brainless wonder, just did exactly that."

She kicked him for good measure, her scowl deepening. "Now, where are my cigarettes?"

The man groaned again, fumbling in his coat before pulling out a box of cigarettes. "Here they are, Mama," he muttered while handing them over with a wince.

Mama snatched the box, her expression softening slightly as she lit another cigarette. "Good. Now get out of my sight before I lose my temper again."

Once the man shuffled away, clutching his bruised pride and his even more bruised dignity, Mama was left alone on her rusted bench, the faint glow of her cigar casting a soft halo of smoke around her.

The noise of the underworld market faded into the background as she leaned back, her gaze distant, lost in the labyrinth of her memories.