Jeong Taeui had changed his mind.

He looked at the old man and then slowly turned to Ilay with a very serious expression and said,

“Although I had thought about this before, today I am still impressed by Rick’s sophistication and style. His elegance and sincerity in welcoming you have captivated me. I’m just a guest visiting this house for a short time, so I want to keep that wonderful image in my mind for a long time because I don’t know if I’ll ever have the chance to see this again.”

Only the first sentence was a lie. The rest were sincere words from the bottom of his heart. Literally.

When would Jeong Taeui get the chance to see Ilay wearing the mask of a refined and polite man in such elegant attire again? If he didn’t take a good look now, he would regret it.

As soon as he finished speaking, Jeong Taeui looked at Ilay again. His wide-open eyes showed no hesitation.

After a moment of silence, Ilay quietly looked back at him. Jeong Taeui didn’t flinch and maintained his resolute gaze at Ilay.

For a moment, the old man’s laughter broke the silence.

“Haha, that’s right. Riegrow has always attracted a lot of attention. You truly have a good eye.”

Facing the old man’s kind smile, Jeong Taeui wanted to explain, ‘That’s not what I meant.’ But he decided to keep his mouth shut.

Beside the old man, Ilay looked at Jeong Taeui for a moment longer before turning back to the old man and saying with a faint smile,

“I feel like I’ve been excessively praised. I think I will have to meet him privately later to express my gratitude.”

Everyone else remained silent except for the old man, who smiled at Ilay and said,

“That’s right.”

Despite the atmosphere being so quiet, Jeong Taeui seemed unable to hear the words – “I will meet you later” – that Ilay had directed at him.

Damn it, why do I keep digging myself into a hole?

Jeong Taeui pondered, lowering his head, his face flushed red. He quietly ate the fruit ice cream that had just been served (it seemed Johan was indeed blessed when it came to food). While eating, he thought that if Ilay ever brought this up, he would have to insist that it was genuinely a sincere compliment.

Feeling frustrated, Jeong Taeui quickly finished his fruit ice cream in just a few spoonfuls, then glanced at Ilay. This time, he was careful not to have another obvious staring contest like earlier.

Ilay, who had been conversing with the old man, soon glanced back at him. Although he couldn’t see Ilay’s eyes clearly because he had his hands clasped over his forehead, Jeong Taeui could tell that his eyes were smiling. For some reason.

Suddenly, he felt something boiling up, heating his cheeks. Without thinking, Jeong Taeui reached for Johan’s dessert ice cream when he was happily eating a spoonful of it. Johan, who had his ice cream snatched away, could only cry beside him, but he pretended not to notice. Anyway, Johan would just call the server and order another.

Jeong Taeui’s face burned for no reason. The smile in Ilay’s eyes and the narrowing of those eyes made him feel embarrassed. So, Jeong Taeui quickly averted his gaze and decided not to look in that direction anymore.

Meanwhile, the old man continued talking to each young person at the table. Until his gaze settled on Christoph, who was sitting at the end.

“Well, Chris. How do you feel living with everyone?”

When the old man asked, Christoph looked up and stared directly at him. His eyes were clear, reflecting surprise as if not realizing someone had spoken to him.

However, as soon as he saw the old man’s gentle smile, Christoph’s gaze lowered.

“Thanks to you, I am doing fine.”

His voice was deeper and calmer than usual.

Jeong Taeui lowered his head, looking at Christoph and listening to the old man’s voice. Christoph was indeed a pure and beautiful young man.

“If he stays like this, who would think he’s crazy?… It would be much better if he kept behaving like this.”

When Jeong Taeui muttered to himself, Johan—who had just received a new glass of fruit juice from the server—muttered beside him,

“Wrong, wrong, wrong. Once a perception of a person is formed, it’s hard to change. Do you think those two words ‘fearsome’ appeared without a reason?”

Jeong Taeui pinched Johan’s back and grumbled – “Just like how everything you do looks annoying, huh?”

“I heard you joined T&R’s special team. What are you doing these days?”

The old man asked, looking closely at Christoph. Like with the others, his face showed undisguised affection for his grandson.

It was the same affection for everyone. From the most outstanding grandson in the world to the one feared and despised by the world, he loved them all equally.

“For now… I’m still resting.”

Christoph hesitated and answered. The old man nodded and said – “That’s good.”

Everyone seemed to have finished eating, but the conversation showed no sign of ending.

After a while, the old man finally stood up and reached for the cane standing beside him. Seeing this, Christoph quickly stood up and handed the cane to the old man, and Jeong Taeui also got up from his seat.

Everything was over. Now he could go back to his room, rest comfortably, sleep, or read a book. As Jeong Taeui began to walk forward, he thought; ‘Maybe I should watch a good movie tonight?’

In the chaotic atmosphere as everyone else was also standing up, Jeong Taeui glanced at Christoph, who was standing quietly beside the old man like a good boy. And then, suddenly, Christoph smiled.

At that moment. The old man, who was leaving the restaurant with his cane, suddenly turned and looked at Christoph thoughtfully. Christoph turned his curious eyes to the old man, but as soon as their eyes met, he awkwardly looked away.

The old man spoke in a low voice,

“Now that I think about it, your mother said she wanted to attend the day of the succession decision. I told her to do whatever she wanted.”

At that moment.

Jeong Taeui seemed to hear something shatter.

The sound seemed to come from Christoph’s eyes.

For a moment, those eyes froze coldly. They widened, then shattered like fragments. His face turned pale in an instant.

***************************

Should I take a walk in the forest tonight?

Jeong Taeui thought while looking down at the distant forest.

The forest surrounded the back of the mansion and faced the majestic mountains. The deeper one went, the denser it became, but there was a very clean small path in the middle of the forest.

Besides the path suitable for walking, one could also ride horses there, so Christoph often came here.

Jeong Taeui sometimes took a walk there when he had time in the evening.

Perhaps because most people only used this path for horseback riding, Jeong Taeui – who was walking along the trail at the moment – had never encountered anyone else here. Occasionally, he could only hear the sound of horses running in the distance.

“Alright, tonight I must go into the forest. I need to relieve the mental and physical fatigue that has built up all this time.”

Jeong Taeui muttered, feeling sorry for his mind and health, which had been unknowingly deteriorating since he came here.

This forest was wonderful. In Germany, oaks were a rare type of tree. But here, dense oak trees covered the entire forest. Lying under the trees and looking up at the sky through the leaves was enough to make him forget everything.

There was also a birch forest behind his house in Berlin, but the oak forest here was even denser and quieter.

“A forest this beautiful, and it’s privately owned.”

“No wonder someone keeps coming here repeatedly and takes a long time to return.”

Jeong Taeui muttered as he looked down at the entrance to the forest, just a few minutes away from the mansion.

Christoph was still in the forest. Several hours had passed, and he hadn’t returned.

…… And just a short while ago, Jeong Taeui had finished cleaning up Christoph’s bloody office and went outside for some air.

Christoph’s mood was unstable. Even from the beginning, his personality had unpredictable and dangerous turns, but it had worsened in recent days.

If today had been like any other day, it wouldn’t have been so serious.

While Christoph was away briefly, a messenger brought a telegram from the main building. Perhaps because there was something urgent to reply to, the messenger wanted to leave a note on Christoph’s desk when he wasn’t in the room. Just as he was rummaging through Christoph’s drawer for a pen, Christoph unexpectedly returned.

He had been complaining all morning about a headache and ringing in his ears, looking extremely uncomfortable. Eventually, he had to go to the main building to get something more effective than the headache medicine he usually took.

There had been times like this before. As soon as he got the medicine, Christoph would immediately chew the pills in his mouth. Jeong Taeui wondered if he had just overdosed, but before he could think more, he had to hurry after Christoph back to the annex.

This time, seeing Christoph take several times the necessary amount, he frowned and said, “Let me keep the medicine for you. You can come to me whenever you need it, okay?” But Christoph didn’t even listen. Jeong Taeui kept silent, sensing the danger of provoking him further. Since waking up, Christoph’s mood had been terrible, probably because he had a bad dream. Later, when he felt better, Jeong Taeui thought he would try to steal the medicine somehow.

At that moment.

As soon as they returned to Seoik, Christoph couldn’t help but immediately put several pills in his mouth and chew them. His pale face turned even paler when he saw the door to his office open.

Jeong Taeui, following a few steps behind, suddenly saw Christoph slow down a bit and quickly realized the door was open.

It seemed he hesitated for a few seconds but then hurried forward. With an expressionless face, he roughly pushed the half-open office door.

When the door suddenly opened, the messenger inside turned around in surprise, still rummaging through the drawer.

“Ah… you’re here. I thought it would be rude to just leave the letter, so I was looking for something to write a note…”

The messenger stuttered, making excuses.

“Why did you enter here without permission?”

Christoph whispered. His gaze was cold as he looked at the messenger.

The messenger was terrified. He seemed to stupidly remember what kind of person Christoph was only now.

“They said it was an urgent message… very urgent… so I had to deliver it immediately.”

“Did I say others were allowed to step into my room?”

“I-I’m sorry. I just wanted to leave a note… Oh, the message was sent by your uncle, Christoph.”

The messenger, almost in tears, hurriedly explained. But it seemed those words didn’t reach Christoph.

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue, and before he could say anything, Christoph approached the messenger.

He said nothing more or listened to anything else. He strode towards the desk where the trembling messenger stood and grabbed something from the nearby cabinet.

It was a porcelain statue. The statue was almost knee-high.

Jeong Taeui had no time to stop him.

Christoph approached the messenger with a pale, motionless face and wide eyes and took him down in one swift move without blinking.

With a loud crash, the porcelain statue shattered. The head, face, body, arms, and legs of the porcelain mother holding her baby lost their original shape and scattered into pieces soaked in blood.

The messenger only had time to scream once before collapsing on the spot, clutching his head. Blood flowed through his fingers.

Christoph coldly looked at the messenger and continued to strike with the remaining half of the porcelain doll in his hand. Until the messenger was drenched in blood, and his voice broke from screaming.

Jeong Taeui, with a hard expression, rushed over. He grabbed Christoph’s arm and pushed him away roughly.

“Stop it, Chris!”

“I warned you not to touch me.”

Christoph said coldly. No longer were his eyes the strange green they turned whenever he lost control. Now, Christoph was looking at them with a perfectly normal – perhaps even colder and calmer than usual – expression.

He raised his hand. The porcelain doll, now reduced to the size of a large glass, was thrown directly at Jeong Taeui without hesitation.

The porcelain shards flew past Jeong Taeui’s head as he immediately dodged and shattered against the wall behind him.

No more porcelain dolls. Only blood-stained porcelain fragments scattered here and there.

Jeong Taeui, having narrowly escaped harm, looked down at the shards behind him with a frown and then turned to Christoph. He then shouted.

“Chris! You! Your hand!”

Christoph’s hand was covered in cuts. This was entirely understandable since he had clenched the broken porcelain pieces so tightly that his hand seemed about to burst with veins, but his face was so calm that Jeong Taeui hadn’t noticed.

“Damn it, who hurts others while injuring themselves, you idiot!”

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue and approached him.

Christoph didn’t respond but looked at Jeong Taeui with strange eyes.

However, when Jeong Taeui told him to extend his hand for inspection, Christoph flatly turned around and left the office.

Jeong Taeui tried to follow him but stopped when he saw the messenger groaning in a pool of blood behind him, so he turned back.

In the end, Christoph didn’t return, even when Jeong Taeui called for an ambulance, and the paramedics came to take the injured man away.

Jeong Taeui, still in shock, stood in the blood-soaked, shard-strewn room, and upon hearing that the culprit of this chaos was leisurely riding a horse in the forest, could only curse the owner of the empty room.

“Making someone like that and then leisurely riding a horse in the forest?! Oh my god, this lunatic. Look at this room! Does he think his blood isn’t mixed in with those damned shards?!”

So, after cursing as much as he could at the empty room, Jeong Taeui grumbled, hoping Christoph had treated his hand before riding the horse, and then rolled up his sleeves to start cleaning up.

It took quite some time to clean the entire room, searching for shards in the hard-to-see corners.

While cleaning, Jeong Taeui put a band-aid on his fingertip. A shard had lightly scratched his finger, and a few drops of blood fell. Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue while mopping up the bloody floor, seeing his pants spotted with blood around his knees. Finding the last shard left him physically and mentally exhausted.

He began to crave a cigarette, something he had almost given up during his time in Berlin.

However, remembering the dignity of the mansion and its remoteness from the outside world, he decided to see Johan. Jeong Taeui didn’t know if Johan smoked, but even if he didn’t, Johan knew more people than he did, so he could ask him to get some cigarettes.

Johan was shocked to see Jeong Taeui in blood-stained pants. He thought for a while and, although he didn’t smoke much, remembered he had some cigarettes left by a friend long ago. Johan rummaged through a cabinet and finally found a pack, giving it to Jeong Taeui. The pack was almost new, with only one cigarette taken.

Jeong Taeui found a suitable place to smoke. He stood in a beautiful spot where he could look down at the forest and feel the wind rustling through the leaves.

It was a simple rest area with an artificial garden on top of the tower connecting the main building and Seoik.

Initially, the main building, Dongik, and Seoik were designed as one structure, but due to structural and functional issues, they were built separately. Instead, the buildings were connected by this simple tower.

He heard there was a similar tower between Dongik and the main building.

The tower’s sole function was to connect the main building with Dongik and Seoik, so the lower level of the tower only had corridors. On the rooftop was a small artificial garden, making it a great place to breathe fresh air, look out, and feel the gentle breeze.

In other words, it was a perfect place to smoke, as it was windy and hidden from view. Moreover, it was an ideal spot for those wanting to smoke an entire pack like Jeong Taeui at the moment.

“There’s a problem……”

“That kid indeed has some issues……” 

Jeong Taeui muttered while smoking his second cigarette.

Almost everyone was afraid of Christoph. Even those who didn’t hate him didn’t want to get close to him.

And it was understandable.

Earlier, when the bloodied messenger was taken to the hospital, the people in charge of contacting the hospital and arranging transport were terrified but not surprised that such an incident had occurred. This indicated that such events happened frequently.

“…… Puff… .”

Jeong Taeui tilted his head back and exhaled the smoke. The second cigarette was nearly burned out.

Without hesitation, he took out another cigarette and lit it. Perhaps because he hadn’t smoked in a while, his throat felt a bit sore.

At that moment.

Below the tower, Jeong Taeui heard the sound of a group of people coming up.

It was the sound of children.

He listened carefully to see if they were just passing by to other buildings, but they were indeed coming up.

Jeong Taeui thought they could use the corridors below to other buildings, but the footsteps passed the corridor and started climbing higher.

Jeong Taeui hurriedly put out his cigarette. Even adults shouldn’t smoke in front of children.

He quickly extinguished the cigarette, stuffed it into the pack, and waved his hand to disperse the lingering smoke. Just then, he heard the small footsteps climbing the final steps and stepping onto the rooftop.

“Huh.”

“Huh……”

Although he had known they were coming and knew the children were arriving, Jeong Taeui thought he should still pretend to be surprised when facing the child who stopped in front.

A little girl stepped up first, followed by four or five other children. They all saw Jeong Taeui standing there and exclaimed together.

“Huh… huh.”

“You all came here to play? You guys have a good relationship.”

Jeong Taeui said with a smile. They were all children he was familiar with. These were the next potential successors that Christoph taught.

These kids, just a few years old, had to compete fiercely from a young age, just like Christoph and Richard did before.

“Hey, I’m not playing with him. He’s just a bookworm who loves to bury his head in books all day.”

“Better than you! You suddenly play boring puzzle games.”

As soon as Jeong Taeui said they were good friends, the kids began to chime in, pointing at someone and saying they didn’t want to play with them because they were no fun. Jeong Taeui could only smile.

Richard and Christoph would never be like this. He thought that even at this age, their relationship would not be much different from now.