A Benefactor For Life

"Promise to visit me often, okay? At least once or twice a week is good," Lady Callista said as she hugged her grandson.

"Understood, Grandma," Thirteen replied. "I'll also bring Remi next time. I'm sure she'll be happy to meet you."

"I'll look forward to it then," Lady Callista said. "Hans, you better stay in touch with Zion, so we can schedule his visits, okay?"

"Yes, My Lady." Hans bowed his head in acknowledgment. 

After saying their goodbyes, Thirteen finally left the Leventis Residence. However, as he departed, he couldn't help but sense the gaze of two people coming from somewhere.

'It might be Michael and that old man, Arthur,' Thirteen thought. 'It seems that my visit here in this place has paid off.'

Not only was he able to form a stronger connection with his Grandmother, but he was also able to leave an impression on the Patriarch of the Family, as well as his Eldest Son.

Five minutes later…

"Here you go, Young Master," Hans handed the vial, in which Lady Callista had placed a drop of her blood into, to Thirteen.

He had only managed to give it a brief glance before the party. But now, the boy was finally able to take a closer look at it.

'Just as I expected, the poison has already spread to her entire body,' Thirteen thought. 'Now I understand why the doctors were only able to suppress the poison and not eradicate it properly. The poison also contains a curse. Fortunately, I can deal with something like this.'

Hans, who was driving the car, looked at the rearview mirror and observed Thirteen's expression. He was looking for any signs that might tell him that the boy would be able to find a cure for his Master.

But the minutes passed in silence.

Just as Hans was about to ask Thirteen whether he would be able to cure his Grandma, the boy raised his palm, facing up.

This put a stop to whatever Hans was going to say. The second thing that Thirteen did was place a finger over his lips, signaling the Butler to not say anything.

The boy then pointed at his ear, before pointing at several places in the car.

Hans immediately understood what the five-year-old was telling him.

It seemed that the car had been bugged, and their conversation was being monitored by people.

Since the Butler had been warned, he no longer initiated any form of conversation with Thirteen and focused his attention on the road.

Five minutes later, they arrived at Thirteen's Residence.

The boy made a gesture for Hans to follow him inside the house so that they could talk in private.

Remi, who seemed to have sensed his arrival, happily ran in his direction. Seeing his sister's brisk tiny steps, Thirteen smiled.

After giving her a hug and patting her head, he held her hand and looked for his mother so that she could look after his sister for a bit.

Remi was a smart girl, and Thirteen didn't want her to be there when he talked to Hans about Lady Callista's condition.

There was a chance that she might mention it accidentally, which would jeopardize his future plans.

Fortunately, Remi didn't throw a tantrum nor insisted that she come with him. Two minutes later, he and Hans finally arrived inside his room, where they could finally talk in private.

"Okay, let's start with the things that you already know," Thirteen said as he made a gesture for Hans to sit on the couch. "First, the Poison has already spread inside Grandma's body. It will slowly cause her body to deteriorate, and if not treated within the next ten years, she will probably die."

Hans was surprised by Thirteen's deduction because this was also the diagnosis of the strongest Healer in the world. 

She mentioned that, at most, Lady Callista only had ten more years to live if the Poison in her body wasn't removed.

The Butler was already impressed with the boy's intelligence, but after his explanation, he couldn't help but think that the boy was also very knowledgeable in the healing art.

Because of this, he felt hope that his Mistress would finally recover from her suffering.

"I won't bore you with the details, but yes, Grandma can be cured," Thirteen stated. "You will need to gather several ingredients, and some of them are incredibly rare. Since it will take some time for me to write a list, I'll just give it to you four days from now.

"That is also when I will go back to the Leventis Residence, with Remi in tow, to see Grandma. But, Hans, take note that gathering the ingredients is just the first step. Grandma needs to undergo therapy, and I can't do it inside the Leventis Residence.

"There are too many eyes there, and I don't want to stand out more than I did at the Party. The only thing I want to gain is recognition from the Leventis Family. I don't want them prying into my secrets. Do you understand?"

Hans nodded. "Does that mean that I need to bring My Lady here in order for you to execute the treatment?"

"Yes," Thirteen replied. "But the only people that are allowed to accompany Lady Callista are you and her maid, Trisha. No other member of the Leventis Family must come with you. I don't care what excuses you make, but make sure that no one else will accompany the three of you. One more thing—I can't trust Trisha as much as I trust you. She reports directly to that old man Arthur.

"The only reason why I'm allowing her to come is because it will be less suspicious. You'll need to deal with her so that I can spend some time alone with Grandma. Do I make myself clear?"

Hans arched an eyebrow after hearing the boy's statement.

Indeed, Trisha did report directly to the Patriarch of the Leventis Family. 

Hans and Lady Callista didn't mind this one bit since the Patriarch only wished for his wife's safety and swift recovery. Trisha wasn't an enemy and seriously cared about her Mistress.

But the fact remained that her loyalty was with the Leventis family, so she must be excluded from the circle of trustworthy people that Thirteen was slowly building to become his strength in the future.

"Understood," Hans replied. "How long will the treatment take?"

Thirteen pondered a bit as he did some calculations. A minute later, he raised two fingers.

"Two years," Thirteen replied. "I can make her recover faster, but there might be some side effects if I rush it. I need Grandma to be perfectly healthy, so two years is just the right amount of time for a full recovery.

"Besides, if she is cured instantly, people will get suspicious, especially those who have treated her in the past. We don't want them to start poking their nose in places that are off-limits to them. Also, I intend to make you work hard for my sake as well. And no, this isn't part of the three favors that I will ask of you in the future. 

"These are just menial tasks to ensure that Grandma's recovery will not encounter any mishaps. As long as you cooperate, I will guarantee that not only will she be able to regain her strength, but her life force will become more robust as well."

Hans felt as if a stone had finally dropped from his heart. Now that there was truly a chance to cure Lady Callista, he was more motivated to collaborate with Thirteen to make it happen.

'It seems that visiting this residence a few weeks ago was truly the right choice,' Hans thought. 'I'm glad I did it.'

Truth be told, he wasn't supposed to make any contact with Gerald's Family since he had already been disowned by his Father.

However, when he saw how sad his Mistress was, he decided to take the initiative to find Gerald and ask him to visit his mother so that she would feel a little better.

Although he might get scolded by Arthur for bringing Gerald back to see his mother, he was willing to take that risk as long as it would make her happy.

"Young Master, I will return four days from now." Hans bowed respectfully. "I pray that the next time we meet, you'll be done listing all the ingredients necessary for curing My Lady's condition."

The Butler was already used to bowing to people because it was his job. But there were only a handful of times when he sincerely wanted to show his respect and acknowledgment to people.

Right now, Hans had already deemed the five-year-old as someone who was worthy of his respect and admiration.

Even though he still didn't understand how a five-year-old could accomplish what he did and know things that even adults were unable to comprehend, it didn't really matter in the end.

He could tell that the boy wanted him to become his ally.

Hans already promised himself that if Thirteen was really able to save Lady Callista from her suffering, forget about the three favors that he wanted from him.

He would gladly serve and do any favors that the boy would ask of him and treat him as his benefactor for life.