Of course, it was no surprise that Malik and his group sat in the most honored position – the big boss was not attending tonight’s banquet.

That of course made sense. This banquet was held for them.

However, Jeong Taeui didn’t understand why he was present at a dinner limited to just ten seats. Even sitting in the worst seat, he would have been grateful – wondering why he was invited – but this time, he sat quite close to Malik.

And that reason Jeong Taeui realized soon after.

“I heard Jeong Jaeui recently completed research on RCS?”

“Does Jeong Jaeui plan to stay at UNHRDO?”

“We are always looking for outstanding talents. My boss believes human resources are the most valuable asset.”

“Personal contact is strictly limited at UNHRDO, but as brothers, you can communicate frequently, right?”

Malik kept talking to Jeong Taeui every ten sentences or so, and Jeong Taeui only responded with short, awkward smiles: “Yes”; “Well, I don’t know”; “Maybe”; “No”.

To be frank, Malik was very blatant. Unless there was another intention, it was hard for others to see through it so clearly.

If Jeong Taeui planned to go to Frankfurt, he might have accidentally said: ‘Yes, I’ll pass the message.’

Jeong Taeui looked around while Malik spoke with a Tarten member sitting next to him, and he slowly picked at his appetizer.

If it was a Tarten member sitting here, then that person must have a say in deciding the successor. Indeed, most of the unfamiliar faces sitting here were middle-aged or older men who looked very formidable.

Among them, there was an empty seat that stood out.

It was the seat opposite Malik, two seats away from Jeong Taeui.

When thinking of the person who should be sitting there but wasn’t, the answer was obvious.

“Could it be that Tiger Balm is really that effective……”

Looking at Richard’s empty seat, Jeong Taeui muttered to himself. He sensed Ilay’s gaze beside him, but Ilay simply said: “He will be here soon.”

Jeong Taeui wasn’t surprised that Christoph wasn’t present, but he thought Richard should definitely be here. But once again, Malik interrupted his thoughts.

“I heard Jeong Jaeui will be coming to Frankfurt soon. I suppose you’ll be seeing him after a long time?”

“What? Oh…… no, I’m not going.”

Jeong Taeui shook his head. Then suddenly, he thought of the terrifying reunion plan of the man sitting next to him and hurriedly added.

“There’s no need to meet right now. We’ll meet when the time is right. When both of us have no obstacles.”

Jeong Taeui said, smiling, and Malik nodded: “Yes. I understand” It might have been just his imagination, but the words “I understand” seemed full of implications.

Jeong Taeui shuddered, thinking about the superior of that man. Thinking about the man who had to endure a high price for kidnapping and detaining him made Jeong Taeui feel bitter.

In summary, Malik was here for a contract with the Saudi Arabian state-owned company. And that kidnapper was Malik’s superior. And at the same time, he was the patron of the half-brother of one of the princes involved in a power struggle……

Jeong Taeui began to feel a throbbing headache. He decided not to think about it further to avoid a headache and instead made a joke to lighten the mood.

“If it’s a state-owned Saudi company, could it be Aramco*? Haha.”

(Saudi Aramco*: the national oil and natural gas company of Saudi Arabia, headquartered in Dhahran. Its market value was estimated at $2 trillion, making it the second most valuable company in the world (2021) after Apple.)

He made a light joke just loud enough for Ilay sitting next to him to hear.

“You know it well.”

But the response wasn’t joking.

Jeong Taeui froze with a smile still on his face. He looked at Ilay with a questioning look, then deliberately elbowed him in the side.

“You’re joking, right?”

“You think I’m joking?”

“……”

Jeong Taeui fell silent. The smile on his face disappeared.

He had mentioned that company because, with his brief knowledge of economics, it was the only state-owned Saudi company he knew.

“I was talking about Aramco, a very successful private company……”

He mumbled, wondering if it was another company with the same name. Ilay replied calmly.

“There is no private company in the world with a higher enterprise value than Aramco.”

This time Jeong Taeui really fell silent.

He felt his headache worsening. Malik sitting at the honorary table in front, suddenly seemed menacing.

“The man named Raumaan…… He once held an important position at Aramco, right?”

When Jeong Taeui muttered with a frustrated expression, Ilay looked at him with a strange look for a moment before saying: “Oh.”

“Oh, I see, there has been a bit of a misunderstanding. Raumaan is indeed that man’s superior, but he has nothing to do with Aramco.”

“What?”

“To be precise, that man’s superior is Al Faisal. Initially, he was Al Faisal’s chief aide. He didn’t work for Al Faisal’s enterprise but worked for Aramco. However, in reality he still remains Al Faisal’s chief aide.”

“……Can you explain more clearly?”

“There was an agreement between Aramco and Faisal, and Aramco entrusted the negotiation of the loan entirely to Faisal. So that man temporarily held a position at Aramco. Perhaps once this job is done, he will return to Faisal.”

“Explain it more simply. Even simpler” 

Jeong Taeui said, pressing and rubbing his temples.

Ilay took a sip of water and then spoke more straightforwardly.

“That means Al Faisal is actually the true creditor in the repayment of the loan.”

“Good. Now that’s easier to understand.”

Jeong Taeui removed his hand from his temple and took a sip of beer from the glass the server brought.

Al Faisal.

That man was the half-brother of Prince Ali, who had won the power struggle that had been going on within the Saudi royal family for several years until last year.

Although he had withdrawn early from the power struggle, his ability to negotiate independently with such a large state-owned company indicated his power was beyond imagination.

And at the same time, that man was……

“The guardian of Raumaan……”

Jeong Taeui muttered as he set down his beer glass, feeling a bitter taste.

“And a very powerful guardian.”

Ilay added, as if reading Jeong Taeui’s thoughts.

Jeong Taeui scratched his head and sighed: “Haizzzz.”

That was the reason.

Despite Malik showing great friendliness to Jeong Taeui, he still couldn’t be completely at ease.

From what Jeong Taeui remembered, Raumaan always hated him. He didn’t know why. From their first meeting, Raumaan had disliked him.

“Even after turning that wonderful mansion into rubble and leaving, he must hate me a lot.”

Jeong Taeui nodded to himself.

This time, the person who turned that wonderful mansion into rubble said nothing.

Well, it didn’t matter. He just hoped he wouldn’t have to see him again.

Jeong Taeui sighed in relief and began to eat again with his fork.

At that moment, the door opened, and Richard walked in late.

He hurriedly apologized and sat down in the empty seat, immediately joining the conversation naturally as if he had been there from the start.

“Is the food to your taste?”

Richard asked Malik, who smiled generously and nodded.

“Everything is wonderful. It makes me want to live here if I could.”

“Ha ha ha, feel free to visit whenever you come to Germany. It’s a pity you’re only staying for a few days this time.”

Even though the conversation seemed like part of a scripted scenario, from Richard’s mouth, it sounded sincere. That was one of his remarkable traits.

Jeong Taeui looked at Richard with admiration, unable to find any sign of falseness in his friendly smile. Meanwhile, the social conversation between Richard and Malik continued.

“Before the meal, I took a walk around the estate and found the forest trail to be fantastic.”

“Ah, behind there is a mountain. If you go too deep, you might get lost. So be careful. However, the terrain of the mountain is not too dangerous, so no major issues have occurred.”

“Ah, a mountain. Wonderful. When I was younger, I used to go hunting during vacations, but I’ve been too busy to enjoy it lately.”

“Well, if you’d like, during your stay here. Unfortunately, there are plans for tomorrow, but the day after, we can arrange a light hunt. Around this time of year, red foxes often come down from the mountain.”

“Red foxes? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen them.”

Upon hearing the topic of hunting, Malik’s eyes lit up, and he looked at Richard with delight. Jeong Taeui felt somewhat relieved – knowing that at least for a while, Malik wouldn’t ask more about Jeong Jaeui – and focused on his meal. Indeed, shifting the topic to something the other person enjoyed was the best way to avoid unwanted subjects.

Jeong Taeui was grateful to Richard for changing the subject to an engaging story, even though it might not have been for Jeong Taeui’s benefit. He continued to enjoy his meal.

While eating, he glanced at the door.

He thought that when Richard arrived, Christoph would come with him, but it seemed Richard had come alone. Taeui thought Christoph might arrive later, but as the meal progressed and Christoph still hadn’t appeared, Jeong Taeui began to feel uneasy.

From what he had overheard earlier, Richard and Christoph had a rather intense fight, and Richard arriving alone made him feel uneasy.

Although Jeong Taeui didn’t think that Christoph – someone as strong as him – could be lying somewhere dying in a corner, he was still worried.

“Didn’t Christoph come with you?”

Taking advantage of a lull in the conversation, Jeong Taeui gently asked.

Richard kept his smile and turned his head toward Jeong Taeui. Their eyes met.

“……?”

Was it just his feeling? For a moment, that gaze seemed quite sharp.

But when Jeong Taeui looked back with curiosity, Richard was still smiling warmly as usual.

“He’s not feeling well, so he’s resting. If you don’t mind, please visit him after the meal. Christoph will be happy to see you…….Though I’m not sure if he will be awake.”

Speaking with concern and shaking his head slightly, Jeong Taeui responded: “Ah, yes.”

Seeing Richard speak like that, it seemed Christoph wasn’t seriously injured. In fact, Richard had a few wounds on his forehead and neck, but he was sitting there quite well.

Jeong Taeui continued to eat diligently, thinking that after the meal, he would visit Christoph’s room before returning to his own. Beside Taeui, Ilay looked at Richard with cold eyes.

“Do you think Christoph will be happy to see him?”

Hearing those gentle words, Richard looked at Ilay with a strange expression. Then he laughed mysteriously.

“No. Why would I feel uncomfortable?”

“It seems you don’t intend to hide this.”

Richard sneered slightly, frowning slightly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Rick. We all know and pretend not to.”

Ilay placed the glass he was holding down. He spoke calmly but firmly.

“I don’t care about any of your matters as long as you don’t involve those who shouldn’t be involved. I will be very upset if this guy visits Christoph, so don’t force it. I understand what you want to show, but……”

Richard looked at Ilay for a moment, a vague smile on his lips as if pondering something. Then he chuckled lightly and shrugged.

“Rick, I have no ulterior motives. They are very close, and I think Christoph would be happy if someone visited him while he’s miserably lying in bed.”

“If you’re really worried, why don’t you take care of him yourself?”

Ilay’s voice remained gentle as usual.

However, the volume was enough for Jeong Taeui, sitting right next to him, to hear.

A strange conversation was taking place…… and it didn’t feel very pleasant.

Jeong Taeui wasn’t sure what Richard meant or what Ilay was implying.

“Is Christoph okay?”

Jeong Taeui took advantage of the pause in the conversation to ask.

For a long moment, there was no answer.

Just when Jeong Taeui was about to frown in discomfort, Richard answered instead of Ilay in a deep voice.

“You don’t need to worry too much. Lately, he’s been exhausted both mentally and physically, so he just has a slight fever.”

“Haa…… yes……”

Richard gently wiped his mouth with a napkin while waiting for the new dish to be served. A brief silence passed.

When Jeong Taeui tilted his head, still puzzled by the strange feeling, Richard suddenly turned and spoke to his uncle sitting nearby.

“Come to think of it. Uncle, I’m planning to take Aunt to Dresden soon.”

Richard’s uncle, who was conversing with the person next to him, turned with a surprised expression and asked with a puzzled look.

“Aunt……?”

“It’s Aunt Bianca, Christoph’s mother.”

With Richard’s straightforward answer, his uncle was silent for a moment. He frowned at Richard, then hummed and asked again.

“You mean you intend to bring her back to Tarten?”

Richard smiled and shook his head.

“No. Since the succession day is approaching and Christoph seems unstable, I thought if she stayed here for a while, he might calm down.”

His uncle slowly nodded.

“Yes, the succession day is approaching, and it’s almost time for others to gather. Do as you wish.”

Richard smiled reassuringly and ended the conversation.

Jeong Taeui unintentionally paused, not realizing he was staring at Richard.

Christoph’s mother.

―When Christoph’s mother arrives, he will be even more unstable.

Those words suddenly popped into his mind.

―The way he thinks like others is thanks to his mother. The mother who despised and feared her own child.

Along with those words, Jeong Taeui recalled the gentle and elegant voice from the other end of the phone. And Christoph’s face when he picked up the phone.

A pale, tense face. Pale blue, trembling lips. Contrasting with those expressions was the soft and calm voice responding into the phone.

The fragile, glass-like pale face overlapped with Richard’s gentle smiling face sitting next to him.

Jeong Taeui quietly put down his fork. He no longer felt like eating anything.

Suddenly, a white finger tapped lightly on the table right in front of him, catching his attention.

When he looked up, Taeui saw Ilay looking down at him.

“As the succession day approaches, close relatives, unless something special happens, will all come to Tarten.”

Christoph’s mother will also come to Tarten sooner or later.

Ilay reiterated the fact gently. Jeong Taeui looked at Ilay thoughtfully, pondering for a moment, then nodded: “Yes.”

As Ilay said, the succession decision day was approaching.

The days in Tarten were also coming to an end.

So was the day that would decide the direction of the future.

【END VOL 3】