“We definitely need to finish our conversation. But first, I don’t want to be rude by keeping my partner waiting too long. I was about to end the call, but it was interrupted by someone who wouldn’t stop talking…….. Ah, right. Christoph, would you like to take this call? It might be better.”

Richard handed the phone to Christoph. He looked at the phone and Richard with a mix of suspicion and anger.

“Why should I take your call――?”

“You should listen. This will help you make a better decision.”

Richard smiled lightly and pressed the button to resume the call.

Suddenly, from the phone Richard handed him, a small voice emerged after a brief silence.

[“Hello, hello…….?”]

The high-pitched, gentle, and slightly anxious voice, though faint through the phone, was unmistakable to Christoph.

In an instant, Christoph’s face turned blank.

Richard gently shook the phone in front of Christoph, who was staring blankly at it without intending to take it.

“Aren’t you going to answer…….?”

Richard smiled faintly and asked.

Christoph stared at him and slowly took the phone. As his hand touched the phone, he was startled and almost dropped it, but Richard quickly caught it and gently said – “Be careful.”

Christoph placed the phone to his ear. The anxious and gentle voice immediately sounded right next to his ear: [“Hello? Hello?”]

“…….Mom.”

Christoph spoke softly, his voice choked. On the other end of the line, there was a moment of silence. A few seconds later, the voice spoke again.

[“Christoph…….? Why are you there?”]

Her voice had a slight surprise and was higher. While Christoph hesitated to say: “I have something to do here…….”, he felt Richard’s sharp gaze on him. That gaze seemed to devour every expression on his face, ensuring that what Richard wanted would come true.

[“Oh really……. Then you will have a lot to talk about with Richard.”]

Her voice now was completely different from when she called Christoph earlier. Although still slightly worried, her voice had softened significantly, and she seemed very excited.

[“Richard told me. That I had been away too long and should return to Tarten. Indeed, if they call me, I will return immediately. Richard is a generous and forgiving person; he said he had forgotten about the conflict with you. Isn’t he a good person?”]

Christoph looked at Richard. He had sat back in his chair, looking at Christoph calmly. When their eyes met, Richard smiled, his eyes curving.

Christoph felt a chill run down his spine. The blood seemed to drain from his body.

[“Christoph, help Richard well. If that boy succeeds thanks to your help, it will be good for you too. Richard is a very good person, you understand?”]

The mother who once cried out in desperation and pain was no longer there. Instead, she was filled with the delusion that she could return to Tarten.

And the man in front of him knew that very well. He knew Christoph couldn’t tell her – “That will never happen.”

Christoph’s hands trembled. He quickly gripped the phone tightly to stop the shaking. 

Richard saw his pale hands and sighed with satisfaction.

Christoph felt breathless. He tried not to show discomfort in his breath and looked down at his feet. His mother continued to speak, but he couldn’t hear clearly. The loud noises in his ears made it hard to understand what she was saying.

[“…….Christoph. Christoph? Are you listening to me?”]

“Ah……. Yes, Mom.”

[“Why didn’t you answer? You will help Richard, won’t you? You will work hard to help him, won’t you, Christoph?”]

Christoph’s lips trembled. He tried to answer but couldn’t speak. His pale lips couldn’t utter a sound.

[“Christoph, Christoph”] – His mother’s voice grew more tense and sharp as she called his name.

Not until her voice turned shaky with anxiety did Christoph finally reply as if choked with emotion: “Yes.”

Immediately, his mother’s voice softened, filled with relief and joy.

[“That’s right, tell him how much I love Tarten. How much I want to return and live there……. You know that.”]

Christoph knew very well.

His mother loved Tarten so much that she was willing to plead gently and affectionately with him, even though he always kept a distance and was cold to her. Returning to live in Tarten was her only dream. Since being forced to leave a long time ago, she had always relied on sleeping pills and suffered from depression.

When Christoph ended the call, Richard stood up and gently took the phone from his hand and put it down.

“Did the call between mother and son go well?”

Christoph didn’t answer. He just stood there, staring into space.

Richard sighed, sat back in his chair, clasped his hands together, and placed them on his knee, waiting for Christoph to speak.

With a pale face, Christoph finally spoke slowly.

“Richard, did you tell my mother that she would be allowed to return to Tarten?”

“Oh, I just said it would be better if she came back to live here. I also regretted not having the power at Tarten to help her.”

Christoph stared at Richard. His sharp, icy gaze met Richard’s, but Richard didn’t show any fear. On the contrary, a faint, almost delighted smile appeared on his face.

“You look much more interesting like this than with that cold, boring face, Christoph.”

“Then…….”

“Hmm?”

“If you had enough power, would you be willing to let my mother return to Tarten?”

Even when asking that question, Christoph knew that even though the succession had not been officially decided, Richard already had enough power to do so.

Richard frowned at the question, smiled wryly, and answered briefly.

“No way.”

“……., …….!”

At the moment those words came out, Christoph lunged at Richard. He threw his entire body at Richard, who was sitting comfortably in his chair.

Richard didn’t show any surprise, as if he had anticipated this, and didn’t dodge. They both fell off the chair. The heavy wooden chair rolled away, and the sound of their struggle echoed loudly.

“YOU…….!!”

Raging anger enveloped Christoph to the point where his vision darkened, and he couldn’t say anything else.

He pressed his knee on Richard’s chest, almost straddling him, and grabbed his throat, squeezing as if to choke the life out of him. Richard didn’t panic much but frowned from the difficulty breathing.

“WHY DID YOU DO THAT…….!!”

Christoph’s voice trembled as if grinding his teeth.

The fierce anger made his eyes red, and he couldn’t control it.

He hated the man in front of him so much that he didn’t know what to do.

In blind rage, Christoph bit his trembling lips and squeezed Richard’s neck as if he had nearly drowned in his overwhelming anger.

But then Richard, who had let Christoph hold his neck for a while, suddenly struck Christoph’s wrist hard.

The wrist, already injured before, couldn’t withstand the light blow and easily loosened.

“Why? I already told you. To see you suffer.”

Richard rubbed his throat, coughed a few times, and sneered.

“Just because of that—”

“Just because of that? No. That’s the most important and legitimate reason.”

Richard sneered, but his words were not a joke.

For a moment, a murderous intent flashed across Christoph’s face. His hand reached right above Richard’s neck.

However, Richard remained calm and didn’t avoid or try to stop him.

“Are you planning to kill me? At this moment?”

“…….―.”

Christoph’s hand stopped right above Richard’s neck. His trembling hand wanted to snap the man’s neck, but then he slowly shook his head.

“That’s not a wise move, Christoph. If I were you, I would think differently.”

Christoph looked at him with a terrifying gaze, then slowly lowered his hand. His low, angry voice still trembled with almost uncontrollable rage.

“My mother’s dream will never come true, so I have no reason to help you.”

“Is that so? Tell your mother that – ‘Even if I help him, he won’t let you return to Tarten, so I decided not to help him’ – When she contacts me, I will tell her that I never said such a thing. 

Your mother won’t blame me. You know who she will believe more, between me and you, poor Christoph.”

At the end of his words, Richard’s voice sounded regretful. Christoph’s face turned pale.

Richard knew what made Christoph react that way. He knew Christoph understood that was the truth.

Richard looked at Christoph’s pale lips for a while, then unexpectedly wiped the smile off his face. With a cold expression – which Christoph found more fitting than a friendly smile – 

Richard spoke.

“But alright. Such one-sidedness is not fair. We will do it this way.”

Richard sighed and raised his hand gently.

“Until the succession decision is made, if you follow my instructions and satisfy me, I will consider letting your mother return to Tarten.”

“…….―.”

“If so, I will consider letting your mother return to live in this mansion.”

Christoph looked at Richard with eyes full of resentment for a long time, then snorted as if talking to himself.

“Consider it? An empty promise.”

Christoph had seen many foolish people who believed in such empty promises and were exploited.

“You want me to accept such a vague and disadvantageous deal, especially with you?”

“But you don’t have many choices.”

Richard sneered. Christoph angrily pressed his lips together. Richard looked at him and shrugged as if giving Christoph a favor.

“Alright then. I’ll give you a definite promise. If everything goes as I want, I will let your mother return to live in a corner of this mansion. Satisfied?”

“…….”

Christoph didn’t answer. Instead, he slowly removed his knee from Richard’s chest as if he didn’t want to touch him any longer. When he stood up, Richard grabbed Christoph’s ankle.

When Richard’s fingers touched the skin under his pants, Christoph’s face stiffened.

“Let go.”

He tried to pull his foot back, but Richard’s fingers gripped tightly and didn’t let go.

“I gave you a promise. Now you must be clear too. Until the succession decision is made, you will work under me.”

“…….”

“You won’t refuse any task I ask. You won’t do anything to disadvantage me and will only follow my words. Understood?”

Richard looked straight into Christoph’s eyes.

Christoph stared at his hand holding his foot, silent for a long time. Finally, he frowned and spoke in a low voice.

“Let go.”

“Answer me.”

“I UNDERSTAND. NOW LET GO!”

Christoph shouted as if his long-suppressed anger exploded and tried to jerk his foot away.

Richard let go and gently stood up. He looked at Christoph, shaking his leg irritably, not hiding his discomfort and dissatisfaction.

“You made it clear that you understood.”

“You better not change your words later. If that happens, I won’t hesitate to shoot a bullet into your head, no matter what anyone says.”

“Haha, if you can, go ahead.”

Richard spoke casually and spread his arms as if challenging, while Christoph looked at him with cold eyes.

The day of succession was not far away. Once this period was over, Christoph would leave 

Dresden and never return. Occasionally, he might come back to accompany the old man on walks, but he would never officially return to Tarten. And then the relationship with this man would end.

Christoph thought of this as the price he had to pay to part with someone he never wanted to see again.

“What do you want me to do?”

Christoph spoke coldly.

He had felt uneasy before. The feeling of nausea was rising, and if it got worse, he might vomit.

It would be better if he could vomit right on that disgusting face, but Christoph tried to stay strong and not show weakness in front of Richard.

While Christoph rubbed his chest, Richard shrugged and spoke casually “Ah”.

“With the work at Tarten, you can’t do much since you have been away too long. You just need to follow me as an assistant, doing trivial tasks, etc., and show that we get along. 

During that time, I will see how useful you can be.”

Richard added as if not expecting much from Christoph.

Christoph wiped his pale lips with the back of his hand and turned away.

He didn’t want to stay there any longer. The humiliation of this decision weighed heavily on his shoulders.

Since entering the room, he had intended to help Richard. And that had happened as he thought.

But the way this decision was made made him very uncomfortable.

This was not entirely Christoph’s decision. Even if the result was the same, it felt more like coercion and threats.

Christoph quickly walked towards the door and didn’t look back. Richard didn’t try to stop him, just happily brushed the dust off his clothes.

When Christoph was about to step out of the door.

“Oh right. Christoph.”

Richard spoke as if he had just remembered something.

Christoph deliberately ignored it and continued walking, but Richard’s next words made him stop.

“In a few days, guests from Riyadh will arrive.”

Christoph slowed down and stopped after a few steps, frowning and turning back to look.

“There will be the final negotiation about debt repayment. You will be interested because it involves your precious friend.”

Richard emphasized the words ‘precious friend’ particularly, making Christoph silent and stare at him. Richard looked straight into Christoph’s eyes and spoke in a clear but low voice.

“Don’t forget who you are helping. Don’t go against my words……..Under any circumstances.”

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

On the innermost wall of the library, there was a picture frame hanging in that place.

In the finely carved antique wooden frame, there was a portrait of a young woman smiling gracefully.

“Did ladies of the past have little joy, or was there a rule that they couldn’t smile broadly in portraits?”

Jeong Taeui whispered to himself as he looked at the painting, his finger gently tracing the lines of the lady’s smile. From behind, Christoph, who was sitting at the reading table and staring into a mirror, did not turn around but replied briefly.

“Boucher 1753, it’s an original.”

“……..”

Jeong Taeui quietly withdrew his hand, which had been carelessly touching the painting. Even someone who didn’t understand art like him knew that a piece by this famous artist was incredibly valuable.

“Is it appropriate to hang such a precious painting in the corner of this library without proper temperature and humidity control?”

Jeong Taeui said with a look of dissatisfaction. Christoph said nothing, merely pointing towards the door. There, just like the picture frame, was a temperature and humidity control device that Jeong Taeui had never noticed, despite frequent visits to the library.

[Humidity: 55%, Temperature: 20°C]

“…….I thought this was just a dusty old library.”

Jeong Taeui blinked and scratched his head. Then he turned back to look at the painting.

He gazed at the face of the woman in the portrait, with her elegant and faint smile, and glanced at Christoph, who was intently looking into the mirror beside him.

They looked very similar.

Christoph’s expression as he tried to smile in the mirror was exactly like the smile of the woman in the painting.

Because of his noble background, just standing still exuded an innate elegance, but the smile was somewhat stiff and unnatural.

Having never in his life worn a wide, bright smile made Christoph and the woman in the painting very similar.

“Still strange, isn’t it?”

“No…….not that strange.”

Christoph asked, turning his head from the mirror to look at Jeong Taeui, still keeping the faint smile on his face. Jeong Taeui crossed his arms and shook his head.

Although it looked stiff and unnatural, like an amateur model, it wasn’t a strange face. At least, it wasn’t as bad as his first attempt, where it was hard to tell if he was smiling or frowning.

“It looks like a haughty princess politely smiling at her suitors.”

Christoph immediately erased the smile and frown at Jeong Taeui’s comment.

“What? Are you saying I look unpleasant?”

“There’s no other way. Even if I lied, I couldn’t call it a warm and bright smile!”

“…….Is it really that strange?”

“It’s not strange; it suits you very well.”

Jeong Taeui raised his hand as if to reassure him.

It wasn’t a lie; that smile…….had a noble air, almost looking down on others, which suited Christoph very well. With a little more practice, the stiffness would disappear, and it would become a natural expression.

However, the problem was that the smile Christoph imagined and wanted – a warm and joyful one – was far from that.

“Maybe the problem is in the eyes? Right, people who smile beautifully often have eyes that curve like this. Let’s see…….”

Christoph mumbled to himself while looking in the mirror, like the witch in Snow White. Jeong Taeui sighed silently.

He never thought one needed to practice how to smile.

But clearly, smiling was better than not smiling, and smiling brightly was better than smiling stiffly.

“…….It seems you need to practice smiling for business.”

“Anyway, the one who officially handles guests is him, so I don’t have to worry too much about expressions, but I don’t want to hear ‘Because you looked gloomy, the negotiations didn’t go well’ or something like that.”

As Christoph spoke, he suddenly remembered the moment Richard said that to him, his eyes flaring with anger.

Realizing Christoph was about to throw the mirror, Jeong Taeui quickly held it firmly and grinned widely.

“Come on, if you don’t want to show your weakness, you have to smile. Smile!”

Jeong Taeui said with a bright smile. Christoph just looked at the mirror angrily. He sighed deeply in frustration and softened his gaze.

/Flashback/

Recently, Christoph was almost never home for half the day.

Since agreeing to help Richard, Christoph always went out with Richard whenever he went out.

Jeong Taeui didn’t know exactly what Christoph’s job was. But hearing the stories Christoph complained about every night when keeping him back, it seemed his job was just to accompany Richard and ‘show off their good relationship’ next to Richard. Christoph had to be present in the main work related to Tarten’s projects that Richard was in charge of.

Every night, Christoph would come to Jeong Taeui’s room. He would bring a small mirror the size of a notebook and stare at it to practice smiling.

“Isn’t Christoph not doing business work, so why practice a business smile?”

The first time Jeong Taeui saw Christoph staring angrily at the mirror because he couldn’t smile as he wanted, Jeong Taeui stood from a distance and asked, surprised. Ilay, who was sitting reading the evening newspaper in Jeong Taeui’s room, didn’t even glance up and respond.

“When it comes to dealing with people in business, Christoph also has to do that.”

“Isn’t Richard the one who mainly handles the work related to Tarten?”

“Yeah, well, for example–”

Ilay then looked up. He glanced at Christoph, struggling with his face in the mirror for a moment, then took off his glasses and set them down.

“Among the people Richard met today, there was someone who was once related to SIS*. This person also knew Christoph. They only met a few times when Christoph was still in the mobile team, but the man recognized Christoph and greeted him.”

(Secret Intelligence Service – SIS: often known as MI6 (Military Intelligence, Section 6), is an agency responsible for providing the British government with foreign intelligence)

“Hmm…….”

“And as usual, with his cold face, Christoph just slightly nodded. It chilled the atmosphere right before the negotiation started.”

Before Christoph unexpectedly barged in, Jeong Taeui was lying leisurely on the sofa. He had his legs draped over the armrest and his head resting on Ilay’s lap, and sipping beer. Taeui frowned and squinted disapprovingly, beginning to badmouth ‘someone.’

“And then they tell him to practice smiling? Richard is too much.”

“No way. He never starts things he thinks are impossible. It’s just that Christoph doesn’t want to hear any unpleasant words from him, so he practices on his own. Still, it doesn’t help much.”

Ilay replied indifferently, taking a sip of beer, then glanced at Jeong Taeui, who was staring intently at Christoph and stroking his chin. When Ilay noticed Jeong Taeui’s gaze, he asked, “What?” – Jeong Taeui shook his head and waved his hand, saying it was nothing.

Jeong Taeui looked at Ilay suspiciously, then frowned and said, “Okay, I don’t care. Really!” – ignoring his gentle comment.

Finally, unable to bear seeing Christoph grimacing like an elf showing his teeth and seriously asking, “Is this smile okay? Does it look fine?” – Jeong Taeui threw the beer can and ran to the mirror.

Even Ilay thought Christoph’s ‘smiling’ face couldn’t be left like that. Jeong Taeui roughly pulled Christoph’s cheek and said,

“Smile by pulling this muscle up, understand?”

/End Flashback/

And after many nights of practice, Christoph’s smile finally improved.

That smile looked like a lady’s in a portrait, not a light, natural smile for everyday meetings, but at least it was no longer hard to tell if he was smiling or frowning.

Jeong Taeui sat down in the chair opposite Christoph after watching him try to force a smile in the mirror by using his fingers to push down on his eyebrows. Taeui sighed and took a sip of the remaining beer.

“Even though I’m still worried when you go with Richard, things seem surprisingly smooth. It’s been a few days without any incidents.”

“Hmm…….? Oh, a guy in the secretarial room hasn’t shown up for a few days, but it’s nothing serious. Just a few broken fingers to make sure he doesn’t touch anyone’s thigh again.”

“…….Richard didn’t make it hard for you, did he?”

“HOW COULD HE? I’M HELPING HIM. WHY WOULD HE MAKE IT HARD FOR ME?”

Christoph stopped practicing his smile, frowned, and shouted fiercely. Jeong Taeui quickly changed his tone.

Well, unlike in old comics, no one stuffed nails in shoes, poured dirty water on someone’s head, or knocked each other down. Even if they hated each other, no one played dirty like that…….

“Thinking about it now, I smeared wax on his shoe soles, and he almost slipped on the stairs. Haha…….maybe I’ll put some nails there tomorrow.”

“…….”

It seemed Jeong Taeui had worried about the wrong person.

Seeing Christoph now happier with a smile, Jeong Taeui scratched his head and sighed.

What Richard probably wanted was to prove that he could put Christoph under his control and make Christoph obey him.

One couldn’t expect anything from Christoph – who had long left Tarten – to be able to carry out real deals. Richard probably just wanted to show his negotiation and control skills by making the person he hated (and who hated him) obey him at critical times of inheritance.

And it seemed he had achieved that.

In reality, when people saw Christoph accompanying Richard and pretending to help with his work, many were so surprised they were shocked. And they often concluded with admiration: ‘How did Richard manage to do that?’

Just getting along with someone and having such a reaction proved their relationship was really bad.

“Well, maybe it’s good in its own way.”

Jeong Taeui muttered to himself as he took a sip of beer.

Still, the biggest seed of trouble was temporarily resolved. There would be no more unfortunate incidents from their strained relationship, which made Jeong Taeui feel relieved.

Only one problem remained…….

“You like smiling, don’t you?”

Just when the real problem was about to surface in Jeong Taeui’s mind, Christoph unexpectedly spoke up. When Jeong Taeui turned around, Christoph was still looking into the mirror and hesitated a bit before continuing.

“I’m not good at smiling, but you like my smiling face. So I think I should smile more at you.”

Christoph’s voice sounded gruff as if he were angry. Jeong Taeui stared at him, then couldn’t help but ask.

“Are you practicing smiling because of me?”

Christoph didn’t answer but just stared at the mirror. However, his slightly pouting lips and the annoyed look on his face seemed to answer for him. It felt like his cheeks were a bit red or maybe that was just Jeong Taeui’s feeling.

Jeong Taeui said nothing more, just quietly drank his beer.

This wasn’t good.

Receiving someone’s affection was nice, but this wasn’t good at all.

It wasn’t that Jeong Taeui hated Christoph. In fact, since discovering different aspects of Christoph, Jeong Taeui liked him more and more.

But precisely because of that, this was worse.

Jeong Taeui’s feelings were not the same as Christoph’s, and he couldn’t reciprocate that affection. He couldn’t even politely refuse.

“If anyone dares to touch you, and you remain silent, I’ll kill him first and make sure you can never use your ‘thing’ without me.”

The person who threatened like that was very close by.

“It’s annoying when some people think that just a light touch means deep feelings, but it’s also annoying when it’s like this…….”

Jeong Taeui felt the beer turn bitter. Even so, he finished the beer and set the can down.

Yes, that was also a problem.

One of the headaches Jeong Taeui was facing – although he wasn’t directly involved – stemmed from the man staring into the mirror in front of him.

It was fortunate Christoph didn’t cause any major incidents with Richard, but that led to a situation where hearing it made Jeong Taeui faint in 5 seconds.