Kikyo. Kikyo Zoldyck.
Did she like children?
It was a very, very interesting question.
Coleman had once given it serious thought.
The answer he'd come to was no. This woman didn't like children.
She only... only loved the 'children' she approved of.
What kind of child did she approve of?
One who was strong enough, ambitious enough.
Talented enough, ruthless enough.
Ruthless enough that even if the child killed her, she would welcome it.
So, to win 'Mom's' affection, Coleman had deliberately shaped his outward behavior to fit that ideal.
He made sure she liked him enough.
What about Illumi?
Did Illumi Zoldyck like children?
Did he like his younger brothers?
The answer was no, too.
He was a lot like Kikyo, but also different.
He shared his mother's possessiveness and need for control.
But he didn't usually lose control.
Illumi Zoldyck was a child who had inherited the best and worst traits of both his parents perfectly.
He admired strength, but wasn't blind to anything else.
He liked control, but knew where to draw the line.
As long as you didn't dance on his land mines, you could enjoy a relative degree of freedom around him.
So Coleman had also shown Illumi a certain degree of dependence and possessiveness.
That way, he could fill this little snake's 'stomach' without being swallowed whole.
Coleman knew where to draw the line.
He knew this was an abnormal family, and he also knew that if he didn't act a little different in this family, people would become suspicious.
But for Coleman, whose mind was ninety percent ruled by reason, none of this was difficult.
It was only an act. If he wanted to, he could keep it up for a lifetime.
But for the new life that had just been born into this family, unaware of everything around him, all of this was far too dangerous.
A father accustomed to the dark, and long since accustomed to his wife and sons.
A mother and son who admired strength and loved control.
Coleman knew that if this little one didn't turn out 'impressive' enough, he might not have a very happy life.
It might even be downright miserable.
Judging by Mom's behavior just now, she wasn't very pleased with this newborn.
Black hair and black eyes, just like his older brother.
If he didn't have seventy percent of his brother's talent, he might well be 'abandoned.'
That was dangerous.
After all, Illumi was a special case.
He really was strong, and he really was talented.
Coleman didn't think anyone could reach his brother's level.
So perhaps he needed to do something.
For the sake of variety in the family.
It was true that the Zoldyck Family wouldn't harm or abandon their own.
But when it came to differences in treatment caused by a person's innate talent, there was nothing to be done.
Contempt and disgust would always leak out from somewhere in people's eyes.
Careless coldness and distance were always the surest ways to crush a child's enthusiasm.
If no one corrected it, one day this child might become psychologically twisted because of the way he was treated differently.
He might refuse to interact with outsiders, or turn cold and violent. Who knew?
Without anyone meaning to, they might even create a psychologically twisted, disturbed person.
Then the younger generation of the Zoldycks would be a whole family of freaks.
That wouldn't do.
Having my brother and me as freaks is enough.
Why drag anyone else into it?
And what fun was there in a whole bunch of freaks living together?
Wouldn't it be nice to have a few normal kids around?
Licking his lollipop, Coleman looked at the child in the cradle and thought as much.
Just be a normal person, okay?
I'm already the abnormal one in the youngest generation of the family.
There's no need for another one.
Well, it's my first time being an older brother, so I don't have much experience.
I'll just do my best to keep Illumi from tormenting you.
A strange glimmer passed through his eyes. Odd emotions swirled within them as Coleman smiled at the child, whose eyes kept blinking.
After all,
Illumi is mine~
I'm not giving him to you.
Before you continue