The Strongest Curse Master

'Your son is a little pervert who likes to lick and bite women's palms and eavesdrop on their telephone conversations.'

That's what Janice wanted to say. Instead, she apologized, "Please forgive me, I lost myself in the game," as she removed her palms from my mouth, forming strings of saliva that connected her plams with mine.

"What kind of game is this? Somebody better give me some answers soon," Mary demanded aloud, losing her composure. The meat cleaver in her left hand made her seem more menacing and threatening.

For a second, it felt like the wind went still, the surroundings went quiet, and the tension gripping their throats tightened, only for it all to shatter with the loud crunch of Lilith chewing on her popsicle.

Mandy hurriedly explained before Mary's imagination went wild and she fainted, unable to process them, "We were playing truth and dare. Janice dared me to jump in the pool. I dared Ace to share an embarrassing secret. He decided to share an embarrassing secret about Janice that only the two of them knew, so she tried to shut him up by closing his mouth. I swear nothing indecent happened. We haven't forgotten he is a minor and my nephew. Please, forgive us for not being more careful."

Mary looked at the group skeptically. She wondered if her son was Janice's boy toy, which would explain why she was so generous when buying the ring her son had found. Unable to hold it in, she suspiciously asked her son, "Ace, how do you know an embarrassing secret about Janice? I didn't know you two were that close. Isn't she supposed to be Mandy's friend?"

"That's because your son is eavesdropping on my phone calls. I don't know how he is doing it, but he knows intimate stuff about me that nobody knows. I wanted to talk to you guys about this, but I have no evidence, so I was clueless about what to do. He appears to be very skilled at this. Maybe, this is not the first time he eavesdropped on others' calls," Janice complained with a helpless tone, acting like she was at the end of her wits about how to deal with this situation.

With a single dialogue, she painted herself from a woman preying on a minor to a damsel being preyed on by a minor. She did warn him that he would live to regret calling her that name. She always came through on her promise, be it to her friends or enemies. So, how could she let such a wonderful opportunity slip by?

"Mom, don't listen to her. She is lying to get back at me for knowing her embarrassing little past, and teasing her with it. Other than that, I did nothing wrong. Trust me," I confessed, throwing myself at my mother's mercy, only to hear a familiar voice cry in shock, "Dee3, you are alive? How?"

"Yes, didn't Ace tell you when you called him?" Dee3 asked, throwing me under the bus while pretending to be clueless. Frightened by Lyra's physical and mental state, she did not dare to speak the truth even if the latter were to promise not to hurt her. Fearing she might confess, overcome by the guilt of lying to her friend, she decided to leave quietly. She could come clean when Lyra was in her regular state of mind once again. They would laugh about this someday.

"Ace, you wombstealing son of my mother,—I swear, I'm going to strangle you to death with that lying tongue of yours!" Lyra let out a war cry as she dashed at her baby bro, planning to teach him a lesson he would never forget. Lyra began to hit him with all her might while he just stood there, hunched over, covering his head and face with his arms. In her anger, she even repeatedly kicked his shin enough for her brother to let out a cry in pain, "Ah, Lyra, stop. I had my reasons to do what I did. I know you are angry right now, but you know I am right."

Yes, I had stats way higher than my sister's, but the human shin was a delicate part of their anatomy, which was very hard to train. It withstood a few of her initial blows, all of which added up, weakening my defense. Forcing me to mobilize curse energy to reinforce my shin while I tried to persuade Lyra, who appeared to have turned deaf with rage right now. Therefore, I decided to let Lyra vent by hitting me to her heart's content. I should be grateful she didn't apply her curse energy in her slaps and smacks.

Mary just stood there, paralyzed, watching her kids fight. Too many things were happening, all at once. She wanted to break the fight, but she was also mad at her son after seeing him with Janice. Be it his saliva on Janice's palm or her complaining about him stalking her, she did not know what to make of it. There was this primal urge in her telling her to kill the bitch trying to steal her baby from her. However, she didn't act and waited for her son to fight back, then she would jump in and smack him around to her satisfaction while trying to break up the fight.

Meanwhile, Dee3 quietly left. Mandy and Janice enjoyed the show at my expense. As for Lilith, she tugged on Mary's arm, getting her attention, she asked, "Can I have another popsicle?" showing her a chewed popsicle stick.

"Sure, honey. You know where they are. But, just one, okay?" Mary stressed the last part, knowing Lilith's bottomless appetite.

"Okay," Lilith promised before running back inside, heading for the refrigerator.

"Okay, you two, break it off," Mary finally stepped in, seeing her son show no sign of resisting his sister. Observing Lyra not stop, even though she was disappointed she didn't get to vent, she warned aloud, "Lyra Lander, I said stop hitting your little brother."