“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, Mother.”

[“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,……, 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.”