She stared at him as she said, "I will continue to force your hand for as long as I can. You either stain your hand with blood and build your character, or you abstain from doing things that will soften you. Your choice."
Arthur was frustrated. He felt frustrated that he was being forced to do things he didn't want to do.
He doesn't consider himself soft. As a businessman who can be honest with himself, he has never been soft. He has done shady things in his life.
In fact, some of the things he had done had led to the death of others. But he had been able to deal with that since it was nothing personal. It was just business.
So he wasn't soft. If he wasn't getting some benefits from giving those children bread, he wouldn't be waking up early in the morning since he was three to do so.
He did it because it helped him immensely. Just the first benefit from it has helped him reach where he is right now. So he will surely pursue it.
But now, his mother wants to stop him from pursuing it. It is clear why she is doing so, which is why he believes that even if he changes his methods from giving out bread, as long as she gets wind of it, she will try and stop him from doing it.
He couldn't allow his future path to be blocked. Without it, he would lose his greatest reliance.
So he laughed. His voice rang clearly through the darkness.
"You want to turn me into a cold-blooded killer who is willing to do everything possible to have his way, right? Is that what you want? Then you've succeeded. You will get what you want."
He had become sick of being bossed around, tricked, lied to, manipulated, and forced to do what others wanted. He didn't want that anymore, and he doesn't care about who he will offend for it.
He made up his mind there and then that he wasn't going to let her block his path. He wasn't going to let someone use anything, including the lives of others, to prevent him from getting stronger and achieving the limit of transcendence and immortality.
The alternative is to capitulate to her demands. But if he does so now, she will be able to use it to force him to do other things he doesn't want to do in the future. He simply couldn't allow that to happen.
He chuckled and said, "I don't negotiate with terrorists. I see why that is so now."
He was still laughing after he said that. His mind had become a little unhinged. He found everything amusing.
Lady Vena was actually concerned when she saw his outburst.
She asked with concern, "Are you fine?"
"Fine? I'm great. After all, I just decided to prioritize my personal interests over the lives of others. When have I not done that before? I am fine with it. I am completely fine with it."
He even began taking off all his clothes to show just how fine he was physically with everything.
Lady Vena realized that she might have pushed him too far. She was sure of it when he decided to show the neighbors how fine he was mentally and physically.
He was naked, and he rushed towards the house beside theirs. He wasn't willing to listen to reason and didn't care how it would look for him to show run around naked and show his neighbors his body at night.
Lady Vena had to knock him out to stop him. Then she dragged him into the house.
When he woke up in the morning, he had forgotten about the meeting he had with her before he was put to sleep. So he wasn't worried about his decision to collect bread and bring it to the servant's quarters.
But he was very surprised when he returned home and was abducted by his mother. He couldn't understand why she would force him into a carriage.
But it began coming back to him when she insisted that they take Ruff and realized that they were going in the same direction as the boring location of yesterday.
Everything his mind had been burying about that traumatic experience came back in full. But he didn't resist or ask for leniency.
He was ready to stand by his decision. So his face became cold and impassive during the ride.
He put Ruff on his lap and petted his beloved dog. He didn't say anything during the ride. Neither did she.
This ride became part of his daily schedule from that day onwards. He would take it with Ruff and his mother every morning after returning from harvesting Karma.
One moment he would be busy giving luxurious sustenance to the poor and unprivileged, the next, he would be taking the life out of some poor and unlucky fellow.
At first, it got to him. The eyes of his victim haunted him for days. He couldn't sleep, and he couldn't eat.
Nightmares plagued him day and night. His legs would shake while he was doing the deed, and he would feel exhausted mentally, emotionally, and physically after it.
But after three years, he got used to it. The eyes no longer haunted him. The death of some people at his hands seemed to be a foolish reason for why he shouldn't live and enjoy his life.
He no longer shook when he performed the deed. His body and mind didn't feel any stress after either. Instead, he thought the whole thing was a nuisance.
He had asked Lady Vena to stop forcing him because he was used to killing now, but she had said that if he stopped giving people food, she would have no need to force him to kill people.
He had refused to back down, and so has she. However, the day came when she could no longer force him anymore. Or at least, he hopes that day is today and their current ride will be their last.