It was now mid December, two weeks before Christmas, and Joseph was currently doing some holiday shopping at the market. He had always loved this time of year, but this year in particular was very important to him as it would be the first one he would spend with his new family, and he wanted to go all out with the gifts to let them know just how much they meant to him. By this point, he had managed to get and wrap most of the gifts on his list. The only one he had left was Cassandra's as he had something very special planned for his girlfriend. So special in fact, that the only person he told about it was Heisenberg, because the lord was a brilliant blacksmith and he needed his help.

As he walked around, he got several looks from people, some friendly, some not. His confrontation with Miranda at the Thanksgiving feast stirred up quite a ruckus in the village, and now the residents were more divided than ever. Some praised him for his bravery and kindness, while others thought he was just someone who 'helped the bad guys'.

One of the people who fell into the later category was Anton. He was the son of one of the village's elder residents, Luiza, and Joseph had run into him the other day on a different gift shopping trip. The only way Joseph could describe him was that he was a complete asshole who really only cared about himself. He refused to listen to any of Joseph's reasoning or explanations and said that if he sided with the so-called 'freaks', he was no better than they were. He even went as far as to mock Joseph's relationship with Cassandra. Luckily, Raphael was there to step in before it turned into anything serious. Joseph was thankful for that too, because that had been one of the few times since he started his life over that he'd lost his temper.

Putting the incident out of his mind, he continued to browse through the market, and after finding what he was looking for, he made his purchase and headed back to the castle.

Sarah greeted him at the front door when he arrived.

"Hi Joseph! Everyone's in the entertainment room right now if you wish to join them. Shall I take those items to your room?"

"That would be great! Thank you, Sarah." He said with a smile.

As the maid brought his purchased items upstairs, he made his way to the entertainment room, and sure enough, it sounded like quite a lot of people were in there.

When he opened the door, he was greeted with a sight that warmed his heart. Miranda, Daniela, Heisenberg, and Angie were all on the Nintendo Switch playing Mario Kart, while the other lords as well as Bela, Elena, and Cassandra were spectating, cheering on.

"Angie, you piece of shit! You'll pay for that blue shell!" Heisenberg shouted.

"Mwahahaha! Feel the power of my wrath!" The doll cackled.

Joseph had to try really hard to contain his laughter. He used to play Mario Kart with his fellow students at the dojo all the time, and he knew first hand just how infuriating those blue shells were.

Finally, the race ended with Daniela as the winner.

"Yes! Victory!" She shouted as she jumped up and down.

"Careful Daniela, you'll spill your drink." Miranda chuckled.

As the next race in the cup began, Cassandra finally noticed Joseph and walked up to him, greeting him with a kiss.

"Welcome back, Babe. How was your shopping? Did it go okay this time?"

Hey boyfriend nodded.

"Yeah. It was uneventful, thankfully. I would prefer for this time of year to stay jolly."

Cassandra nodded.

"Definitely. I think you will love your present. I actually got you two. One from my family, and one from me personally."

"Two? You didn't have to get two, Cassie."

The brunette only gave a sly grin.

"I think you'll forgive me once you see mine. Believe me, it will be the best present ever. What about you? Do you get me something good?"

"Oh, you bet. You're going to love it, I guarantee." Joseph said with a smile.

"And I believe you. Anyway, you want to join us? The others will be done with their cup soon."

"You bet!"

Joseph got on the console a few minutes later with his girlfriend, Bela, and Elena, and they chose to race in the Triforce Cup. The winner would get three thousand lei.

Needless to say, it was quite a hectic time filled with tension, shouting, and people insulting each other, but it was all friendly insults, as everyone was having a good time. Well, at least for the most part. There were a few moments where the frustration was real, but no game is truly without those moments.

The final race however was when the show really began. It was on a race track based on the Legend of Zelda series, and everyone was shouting and sweating as they raced along the track with shells and bananas flying left and right. At one point, Cassandra sniped Joseph with a green shell, causing him to crash into a piranha plant and lose his lead.

"Oh, you think that's funny don't you?" Joseph teased as the brunette snickered.

"I got her for you Joseph! Blue shell away!" Bela shouted.

Cassandra's smile didn't fade however as it was just then that Bela noticed her sister had a horn, the one item that could protect her from a blue shell.

"No!" The blonde shouted.

Now Cassandra was cackling.

"Victory is mine!" She shouted as she approached the finish line, but just as she was about to cross it, Elena suddenly plowed past her with a mushroom and beat her to it.

The brunette's eyes widened.

"What the fuck?!"

The whole room was in an uproar over Elena's win. Heisenberg in particular was cracking up.

"Yes! That deserves a replay! Elena, you have to replay that!" He shouted.

And she did. She even played it back in slow motion to savor the moment.

Cassandra grumbled a bit before she relaxed and handed Elena one thousand lei while Bela and Joseph did the same.

"You really suckered me there Elena." The brunette said. "I guess this shows I shouldn't celebrate too early huh?"

"Absolutely. I made that same mistake earlier. It turns out that things can change on a dime with this game." Elena replied.

"It was only your third time too. You did great!" Bela said as she kissed her cheek, causing her to blush.

"Okay, who wants to go next?" Joseph asked

Donna, Moreau, Alcina, and Heisenberg got on. A battle royal between the lords, and the cup they chose was the special cup.

"Going hard ball I see." Joseph said, amused.

"Oh yeah! Competitions aren't fun otherwise!" Heisenberg said.

"Competitions don't have to be hardcore, Karl. They just need to be fun." Miranda said.

The lord just shrugged his shoulders.

"Whatever you say, Miranda. Anyway, bring it on!"

Joseph turned to Miranda as the cup began.

"Has Karl always been-?"

"Yes. Every time."

Like with the previous cup, it was the last race where the chaos truly started, but here the course was rainbow road, and that made it even worse.

"Why are there no barriers on these roads? Did the people who built this have any regard for safety?!" Alcina asked in frustration.

"It's a video game, Alcina. I don't think it's supposed to make sen-ack!" Donna yelled as she herself flew off the edge.

It didn't take long for Alcina to recover however and soon she found herself in second behind Heisenberg, but she just couldn't catch up to him no matter how hard she tried.

"Sorry Vampy, guess I'm just too quick for ya." Heisenberg said, but he made the cardinal sin of celebrating too early, because at that moment Moreau spoke up.

"I may not win, but I can at least help you Alcina." He said.

Heisenberg's eyes widened in horror.

"You better not do what I think you're gonna do."

Sure enough, just as he was about to cross the finish line, that dreaded blue shell came, but unlike Cassandra, Heisenberg didn't have a horn to protect himself.

And just like that, Alcina was the winner, and everyone could practically taste the amount of salt coming from Heisenberg.

"Thank you for the assistance, Moreau. You'll be getting some extra money along with your gift this year." The Countess said with a smile.

"Thank you Alcina. I'm glad I could help." Moreau smiled back.

Heisenberg let out a heavy sigh.

"Okay, maybe you were right, Miranda. Maybe I should take competitions less seriously."

"It took you this long to admit that?" The Priestess replied with a laugh.

"Don't rub it in." He grumbled.

Miranda couldn't help but short at this. As she did, she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Joseph.

"How are you holding up?" He asked.

Miranda let out a sigh.

"It hasn't been easy for me, coping with my past, but I think I'm beginning to learn to 'make peace with it' as you say."

Joseph smiled.

"That's great to hear. I know how hard it can be, especially when it comes to forgiving yourself, but we're all here for you if you need us."

Miranda smiled back at him.

"I know Joseph, and thank you."