The Scards: Start!
Chapter 10: Albert's Story

Albert came out of the bathroom much fresher and better. The hull has been shaved neatly showing a beautiful face decorated with scars, and his slightly wet hair makes the women melt if they see it.

The man was only wearing a black tanktop and long black cargo pants. He sees Kirania talking to Ellios, but he does not see Joshua who usually hangs around with the maroon-haired boy.

Albert was about to ask when the door of the room opened, three pairs of eyes turned his attention towards the door, where a brown-haired man entered the room carrying a shopping bag. The man closed the door and walked to the sofa and sat down.

"I hope my niece doesn't cry when she sees you." Joshua ejek while throwing a coffee can towards Albert which was immediately captured by the man.

"I hope Ran doesn't mind if I throw you out of here." Sarkas Albert as he opened the canned coffee and took a sip of its contents.

Joshua chuckled then looked at Kirania who was sitting leaning on the hospital bed. The man smiled in satisfaction and said, "It looks like my homemade hair-growing ointment is working. If hair generally takes three months to grow an inch from the center of the root, my ointment only takes three weeks. It's also me interfering with a little Suzaku's power."

"Really uncle?" Kirania asked as she fumbled her head. Albert immediately handed a mirror to Kirania which was received directly by the girl who was about to turn teenage.

The girl looked in the mirror and looked at her head. As Joshua said, his hair looks quite short. Kirania sparkled happily as her hair could grow back.

Joshua watched Kirania and Albert intensely. They both look like they're split in two. His face, style of speech and character were almost the same except for his eyes and hair.

"You look like a father and son couple. Your appearance and behavior are exactly the same." Joshua's successful chirping made Albert choke and Kirania looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Albert asked after recovering from his choking event.

"This has been my question for a long time. My mother and I found you on the side of the road dying. Every time I ask, you always put on a pale and nauseous face like a pregnant woman. Tell me, what happened back then." Urge Joshua with a demanding look.

The atmosphere in the room was suddenly silent, to the extent that the sound of each breath was heard in the room. Albert saw the curious gazes of the three people could only sigh in resignation. One day her secret will be revealed, and she does not expect that day to be today.

"Don't you hate me and stay away from me after hearing my story?" Albert asked while looking at them.

"Depends on your story. I just want to hear the truth." Joshua replied steadily followed by a nod of two teenagers who were there. The man immediately sat down on the sofa, right next to Joshua.

Albert seemed to take a moment to take a deep breath and exhale slowly. After feeling calm Albert began to open his voice, "That time, twelve years ago I was sold by my stepfather to a rich woman. The woman wears a mask that covers half of her face, her hair is dark brown and her eyes are hazel brown."

Joshua knew who the woman was and decided to listen to Albert's story until it was over.

"He threatened me and left me with that woman. The woman caught me with a glass of wine. I refused, but the woman kicked me in the leg. I automatically drank a sip of that wine. A moment later I felt my head was very dizzy and my body was hot. Before I fainted, I saw him laughing and I don't remember anything. When I realized the bottom of my body was numb and my body was very weak. As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw the woman above me, she..."

Joshua understood when he saw Albert's body shaking violently. He suspects that it was a nightmare for Albert and tells him to stop telling stories. But Albert shook his head and continued his story. "After doing so, he dragged me to a black-haired man. The woman called him Derrick. The man tortured me so badly that I was unconscious."

Derrick and Helena used to torture a teenage boy out of annoyance with his business colleagues who ran away after giving false cooperation documents. The ill-fated boy was the son of a runaway male business colleague. Joshua knows who the poor teenager is now.

"I was disguised as Alex, Ran." Kirania cried at Albert's words. Ellios looked at him with teary eyes. Apparently the kind uncle who always took care of him and Kirania was the same person.

Albert gripped his nose and pulled it firmly until it came off and removed the blue softlens attached to his eyes. Seen a flawless smooth face with dark blue eyes like Kirania's eyes.

Albert also pulled out his fake hair, displaying jet black hair with some blue strands that were exactly the same as Kirania's hair.

"You can hate me and stay away from me." Albert said while looking at the three people who were there. Unexpectedly Joshua patted the man's shoulder . "I didn't expect men to be victims of abuse. I guess only women experience that. I do not hate you for what happened to you at that time. The important thing is that the truth has been revealed." Joshua said with clever wisdom.

Ellios approached Albert and hugged the man. "Uncle, thank you for helping me all this time. I don't hate Uncle for the past." Ellios said sincerely. Albert returned the young man's embrace.

Albert patted Ellios' shoulder slowly then looked at Kirania who was looking at him with a raging expression. During this time Kirania felt very familiar and comfortable with the man who turned out to be her biological father.

The man who always treated her when she was injured, the man who always encouraged her when she was desperate, the man who always supported her all along turned out to be the same person.

The three men looked at Kirania anxiously, they were worried about the girl when they found out the truth.

"I'm speechless, really. But I feel very close and comfortable with you, especially if you're the only one who cares about me when my family torments me. Can I hold you, dad?" Kirania said at length and hesitated when calling Albert as father.

Albert let go of his embrace at Ellios and approached Tyranny, the girl immediately scattering herself in the man's arms and crying.

A haru atmosphere enveloped the room as a truth was revealed. Kirania finally knows the reason why she is different from the Anderson family members. And the girl also knew the reason why her mother and sister hated her so much.

Albert was relieved, his burden that he had been alone disappeared.

Kirania is happy to learn that Albert is her father. He who had always wanted to feel the warmth of a father's embrace finally materialized.

'Well moving moment.' Ganymede's voice echoed in the head of Kirania. 'He is indeed your real father and the owner of an annoying ugly dragon tattoo.' Further again.

"Basic of mood-destroyers." Maki Kirania in heart who was immediately replied with a ketus by Ganymede, 'I heard it.'

After hugging, they let go. But the three male eyes were rounded when they saw the Aquarius symbol flashing with a beautiful icy blue light at the base of Kirania's neck.

Kirania looked at them fearfully, but a Leo symbol flickered dimly at the base of Ellios' neck with a reddish orange color made the two adult men startled.

"You are the owners of the twelve Zodiac constellations?' Ask them both compact. A blackish-red dragon tattoo appears on Albert's arm and a golden-yellow Phoenix tattoo appears on Joshua's wrist.

"Don't show this tattoo to anyone or you'll be targeted by greedy people." Albert's unequivocal words were immediately answered with a nod by the two gender-different teenagers.