The executive office of the Giuliano organization.
Matteo looked sharply at the squinty-eyed man and asked.
“Why are your eyes like that?”
“During the war, I was crawling across the barbed wire fence and got stabbed in the eye.”
"Yes?"
Matteo came out from behind the desk and walked towards the man.
The man swallowed hard, as if he knew who the man in front of him was.
“I respect the veterans.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“Which war did you fight in?”
"Yes?"
The man looked confused for a moment, then took a breath and answered.
“It’s Ovid’s Wars.”
“Oh, I see.”
Matteo ran his hand over the marks on the man's jacket.
“Where can I buy these things?”
“Huh? Are you buying it?”
The marks Matteo pointed out were those given to soldiers who participated in the war.
“Look, I can’t work with people who aren’t honest.”
And Matteo called Nigel, who was nearby.
“Just throw this swindler out.”
"All right."
Nigel roughly grabbed the man's arm and lifted him up, his face expressionless.
“Yes, just a moment! Sorry.”
The man immediately knelt down and begged.
“I’ll tell you the truth, so please don’t kick me out!”
Just tell him about Killian, and he'll give him enough money to feed a family of five for a year.
He couldn't let this opportunity slip away.
“Actually, this eye was taken out by a loan shark because I couldn’t pay my debt.”
“Oh my, who did that?”
“Oh, from the Giuliano family...”
“Oh, us?”
Matteo shrugged as if he had no idea.
"I always taught my kids to be generous, didn't I, Nigel?"
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Tsk tsk, the kids have a bit of a weird personality, so please understand.”
It seemed like a strange problem to dismiss, but the man nodded, trembling because he was so scared of the situation.
“Yes, then. Sit on the sofa over there.”
As the man sat down, Matteo also sat down on the personal sofa at the head table and began asking questions.
“What did you say your name was?”
“My name is Billy.”
“Yeah, that’s a good name, Billy.”
Matteo placed the gun on the table.
"As you know, guys like us always have to be careful. If you lie to me, I won't be able to stop you."
Billy kept wiping the sweat from his hands onto his pants. The knees of his pants were damp.
"There will be absolutely no lies. I swear it on my children!"
Matteo smiled contentedly.
“Yeah, I wish it had come out like this earlier.”
"I'm sorry."
Matteo motioned to Nigel, who was behind him, and immediately placed a glass filled with water in front of Billy.
"I feel like I haven't treated you well enough. You've worked so hard to get here. Drink up."
"...Thank you."
Billy gulped down the water that wouldn't go down, keeping an eye on Matteo.
“Did you finish drinking?”
“Yes, I enjoyed the drink.”
Billy carefully placed the glass back on the table.
“Then tell me now. What do you know?”
Matteo's eyes shone sharply.
“You lived in the same neighborhood as that Killian when you were young?”
"Yes, yes."
"Good. Tell us some interesting facts you'd like to share. I can give you as much money as you need."
Matteo asked, leaning back on the sofa with his hands clasped together.
“So Eddie and I...”
“Eddie?”
“Yes... When Killian was young, he introduced himself as Eddie.”
“Edira... Yes, keep going.”
Billy kept telling stories that Matteo had no interest in, such as the times he and Killian stole from each other when they were kids, and the times they got into fights with other neighborhood thugs.
“Haa~ um.”
Matteo yawned with a bored expression.
Just that one action alone was enough to terrify Billy.
“That, and.”
Billy racked his brain, trying to recall everything he knew about Killian.
"Ah!"
"Why did I only think of this now?" Billy blurted out, his expression as if struck by lightning.
“Count Sinope!”
"Yes?"
"At the time, I didn't know who that nobleman was, but I found out after reading the article. It was the Count of Sinope! I'm certain of it."
When the meaningful story finally came up, Matteo leaned forward and said.
“So, what about Count Sinope?”
“That nobleman suddenly took Killian away.”
“Oh? Why the Count all of a sudden?”
“Well, I don’t know for sure... I remember it clearly because I was in the same group as Eddie that day. I remember what the Count called Eddie as he took him away...”
Matteo asked, raising one eyebrow.
“Edwin?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Edgar?”
Billy shook his head.
“That’s not even the name...”
He pressed his temples together, trying to recall the name.
“Then... Adrian?”
“Yes, yes! That’s right!”
Matteo, who had guessed the name, buried his face in his hands and began to tremble slightly.
“Why are you like that...?”
Billy glanced around, then met Nigel's eyes. He signaled for him to remain still.
The shaking in his shoulders subsided, and then suddenly Matteo leaned back and started laughing loudly.
"Nigel! Take Billy to the Saints Club right now. Give him plenty of food and drink!"
"Yes."
Billy just looked between Matteo and Nigel with a still bewildered expression.
Matteo, who had stopped laughing, patted Billy's shoulder and said.
“If you need a job around here, just let me know, buddy.”
It was the moment when he was promoted from a squint-eyed person to a friend.
“Oh, thank you.”
He doesn't know which part of his words impressed Matteo, though.
"Don't worry, I'll give you enough money. When you get home, your family will probably be enjoying a hearty meal in the warm room. Just look forward to it."
Billy nodded with a bewildered expression and followed Nigel out the door.
“Adrian Velvet...”
Matteo laughed out loud as he came up with sinister plans to get rid of Killian, leaving the office empty.
After finishing her bath, Emily was enjoying a scalp massage with Chili taking care of her hair.
“Killian?”
“He came home while Madam was bathing.”
“Really? He came back early today.”
Emily tilted her head and said.
Since becoming the chairman, he had a lot of appointments, so he often ended up staying out until the evening to finish them.
“So is he in his room now?”
"Yes."
Chili, who was answering like that, suddenly clapped her hands and said, "Ah!"
“Before entering the room, Madam, he stopped by the study.”
"What!"
Emily's eyes flashed open.
“Why there?”
“Well... He said there was a book he needed in that study.”
There were two large studies in the Starr mansion, but they weren't specifically divided into Killian's and Emily's.
It was implicit that the study on the first floor was used by Killian, and the study on the second floor was used by Emily.
Since Killian usually didn't come into the second-floor study, all the romance books she ordered from the bookstore or received as gifts were stored in that room.
“By the way, what kind of romance novel did you buy today?”
“Why are you asking that?”
“I’d like to read it too.”
"Yes?"
“Wouldn’t it be better to read a book like that to find out what kind of actions excite you?”
"No!"
Emily screamed and sat up as the conversation they had had a while ago came back to her.
Chili, who was completely unresponsive to external stimuli, flinched and stepped back at Emily's shout.
“Is he still in the bedroom?”
“Yes... Since he just entered the room, he's probably taking a shower, right?”
“I’m going out for a bit.”
Emily put on a robe over her thin house dress and went straight out to the room.
And she had to fall into deep thought in front of Killian's room, where she had arrived without thinking.
'How do I sneak into a room?'
He didn't want to dig his own grave by assuming it was a romance novel when he didn't even know what book he had taken.
“But if you really took my book, I won’t let you go.”
Emily gritted her teeth and put her ear to the crack in the door, but thankfully, she heard no sound from inside.
She carefully turned the doorknob, thinking that Killian would be showering as Chili had said.
'No.'
Emily rechecked the hallway, made sure no one was there, and quickly went into the room.
He could see books piled up on the bedside table.
'It must be one of them, right?'
She quickly walked over to the side table and looked at the titles of the books.
Fortunately, there were no romance novels in it. They were all history books, one or two of which she had bought as a disguise.
“Phew, if you had come here to ask me out of the blue, we could have been in big trouble.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ugh!”
Emily threw down the books in her hands and collapsed onto the bed in surprise.
She was really shocked. It was so, so shocking that no one would think it was strange if she died of a heart attack like this!
“Ugh.”
Killian, suddenly hit by a book, let out a low, short groan.
But Emily didn't have the mental capacity to care about his pain. Feeling dizzy, she lay down on the bed and closed her eyes.
While Emily exhaled and caught her breath, Killian picked up the books that had fallen to the floor and placed them back on the nightstand.
"I'm sorry."
Emily muttered an apology with her eyes still closed.
“I heard you stopped by the second-floor study, so I was wondering what books you took.”
"Oh, I heard the book I was looking for was in the study on the second floor, so I went there. I apologize for not asking your permission."
At those words, Emily shook her head and sat up on the bed. The dizziness finally subsided.
“It’s not even my personal study.”
Killian's expression became quite serious as he heard those words.
“Why did your expression suddenly darken?”
"I was short-sighted. I'll create a personal study for you."
“Huh? No.”
Emily quickly declined, fearing he would spend too much money again.
Since she started to keep a close eye on the books, she'd noticed that Killian was spending money without any restrictions, especially on Emily.
She can't tell how many times she looked at the expense list and was shocked.
“Please don’t waste money, just a second-floor study is enough.”
Does she still not know the extent of Starr's wealth?
Killian found Emily's needless worry cute, and a smile spread across his face without him realizing it.
Emily's appearance, just out of the bath, caught people's attention even though she didn't have anything on.
Wet, dark brown hair that gently curved along the face, dark eyebrows of similar color, large, watery eyes, and a high nose bridge.
In particular, the luscious lips beneath it made him want to kiss them.
Without realizing it, he lifted his finger and stroked Emily's side.
A suffocating tension permeated the room.
'What, what is it?'
Emily blinked, not knowing where to look in the strangely erotic atmosphere.
Although she had been getting more physical with Killian recently, this was the first time she had felt such a strange and ticklish feeling.
Seeing her shaking pupils, Killian seemed to finally realize what he had done.
He quickly removed his hand and stood up as if nothing had happened.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
He felt like he was going to lose control if he stayed in the room any longer.
Emily nodded awkwardly.
“Yes, it’s meal time.”
It was a much earlier mealtime than usual.
Only Mayo, who had finally put on an apron to prepare the ingredients, was about to suffer.
The subtle feelings between the two people were developing gradually, like this.
Matteo looked sharply at the squinty-eyed man and asked.
“Why are your eyes like that?”
“During the war, I was crawling across the barbed wire fence and got stabbed in the eye.”
"Yes?"
Matteo came out from behind the desk and walked towards the man.
The man swallowed hard, as if he knew who the man in front of him was.
“I respect the veterans.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“Which war did you fight in?”
"Yes?"
The man looked confused for a moment, then took a breath and answered.
“It’s Ovid’s Wars.”
“Oh, I see.”
Matteo ran his hand over the marks on the man's jacket.
“Where can I buy these things?”
“Huh? Are you buying it?”
The marks Matteo pointed out were those given to soldiers who participated in the war.
“Look, I can’t work with people who aren’t honest.”
And Matteo called Nigel, who was nearby.
“Just throw this swindler out.”
"All right."
Nigel roughly grabbed the man's arm and lifted him up, his face expressionless.
“Yes, just a moment! Sorry.”
The man immediately knelt down and begged.
“I’ll tell you the truth, so please don’t kick me out!”
Just tell him about Killian, and he'll give him enough money to feed a family of five for a year.
He couldn't let this opportunity slip away.
“Actually, this eye was taken out by a loan shark because I couldn’t pay my debt.”
“Oh my, who did that?”
“Oh, from the Giuliano family...”
“Oh, us?”
Matteo shrugged as if he had no idea.
"I always taught my kids to be generous, didn't I, Nigel?"
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Tsk tsk, the kids have a bit of a weird personality, so please understand.”
It seemed like a strange problem to dismiss, but the man nodded, trembling because he was so scared of the situation.
“Yes, then. Sit on the sofa over there.”
As the man sat down, Matteo also sat down on the personal sofa at the head table and began asking questions.
“What did you say your name was?”
“My name is Billy.”
“Yeah, that’s a good name, Billy.”
Matteo placed the gun on the table.
"As you know, guys like us always have to be careful. If you lie to me, I won't be able to stop you."
Billy kept wiping the sweat from his hands onto his pants. The knees of his pants were damp.
"There will be absolutely no lies. I swear it on my children!"
Matteo smiled contentedly.
“Yeah, I wish it had come out like this earlier.”
"I'm sorry."
Matteo motioned to Nigel, who was behind him, and immediately placed a glass filled with water in front of Billy.
"I feel like I haven't treated you well enough. You've worked so hard to get here. Drink up."
"...Thank you."
Billy gulped down the water that wouldn't go down, keeping an eye on Matteo.
“Did you finish drinking?”
“Yes, I enjoyed the drink.”
Billy carefully placed the glass back on the table.
“Then tell me now. What do you know?”
Matteo's eyes shone sharply.
“You lived in the same neighborhood as that Killian when you were young?”
"Yes, yes."
"Good. Tell us some interesting facts you'd like to share. I can give you as much money as you need."
Matteo asked, leaning back on the sofa with his hands clasped together.
“So Eddie and I...”
“Eddie?”
“Yes... When Killian was young, he introduced himself as Eddie.”
“Edira... Yes, keep going.”
Billy kept telling stories that Matteo had no interest in, such as the times he and Killian stole from each other when they were kids, and the times they got into fights with other neighborhood thugs.
“Haa~ um.”
Matteo yawned with a bored expression.
Just that one action alone was enough to terrify Billy.
“That, and.”
Billy racked his brain, trying to recall everything he knew about Killian.
"Ah!"
"Why did I only think of this now?" Billy blurted out, his expression as if struck by lightning.
“Count Sinope!”
"Yes?"
"At the time, I didn't know who that nobleman was, but I found out after reading the article. It was the Count of Sinope! I'm certain of it."
When the meaningful story finally came up, Matteo leaned forward and said.
“So, what about Count Sinope?”
“That nobleman suddenly took Killian away.”
“Oh? Why the Count all of a sudden?”
“Well, I don’t know for sure... I remember it clearly because I was in the same group as Eddie that day. I remember what the Count called Eddie as he took him away...”
Matteo asked, raising one eyebrow.
“Edwin?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Edgar?”
Billy shook his head.
“That’s not even the name...”
He pressed his temples together, trying to recall the name.
“Then... Adrian?”
“Yes, yes! That’s right!”
Matteo, who had guessed the name, buried his face in his hands and began to tremble slightly.
“Why are you like that...?”
Billy glanced around, then met Nigel's eyes. He signaled for him to remain still.
The shaking in his shoulders subsided, and then suddenly Matteo leaned back and started laughing loudly.
"Nigel! Take Billy to the Saints Club right now. Give him plenty of food and drink!"
"Yes."
Billy just looked between Matteo and Nigel with a still bewildered expression.
Matteo, who had stopped laughing, patted Billy's shoulder and said.
“If you need a job around here, just let me know, buddy.”
It was the moment when he was promoted from a squint-eyed person to a friend.
“Oh, thank you.”
He doesn't know which part of his words impressed Matteo, though.
"Don't worry, I'll give you enough money. When you get home, your family will probably be enjoying a hearty meal in the warm room. Just look forward to it."
Billy nodded with a bewildered expression and followed Nigel out the door.
“Adrian Velvet...”
Matteo laughed out loud as he came up with sinister plans to get rid of Killian, leaving the office empty.
***
After finishing her bath, Emily was enjoying a scalp massage with Chili taking care of her hair.
“Killian?”
“He came home while Madam was bathing.”
“Really? He came back early today.”
Emily tilted her head and said.
Since becoming the chairman, he had a lot of appointments, so he often ended up staying out until the evening to finish them.
“So is he in his room now?”
"Yes."
Chili, who was answering like that, suddenly clapped her hands and said, "Ah!"
“Before entering the room, Madam, he stopped by the study.”
"What!"
Emily's eyes flashed open.
“Why there?”
“Well... He said there was a book he needed in that study.”
There were two large studies in the Starr mansion, but they weren't specifically divided into Killian's and Emily's.
It was implicit that the study on the first floor was used by Killian, and the study on the second floor was used by Emily.
Since Killian usually didn't come into the second-floor study, all the romance books she ordered from the bookstore or received as gifts were stored in that room.
“By the way, what kind of romance novel did you buy today?”
“Why are you asking that?”
“I’d like to read it too.”
"Yes?"
“Wouldn’t it be better to read a book like that to find out what kind of actions excite you?”
"No!"
Emily screamed and sat up as the conversation they had had a while ago came back to her.
Chili, who was completely unresponsive to external stimuli, flinched and stepped back at Emily's shout.
“Is he still in the bedroom?”
“Yes... Since he just entered the room, he's probably taking a shower, right?”
“I’m going out for a bit.”
Emily put on a robe over her thin house dress and went straight out to the room.
And she had to fall into deep thought in front of Killian's room, where she had arrived without thinking.
'How do I sneak into a room?'
He didn't want to dig his own grave by assuming it was a romance novel when he didn't even know what book he had taken.
“But if you really took my book, I won’t let you go.”
Emily gritted her teeth and put her ear to the crack in the door, but thankfully, she heard no sound from inside.
She carefully turned the doorknob, thinking that Killian would be showering as Chili had said.
'No.'
Emily rechecked the hallway, made sure no one was there, and quickly went into the room.
He could see books piled up on the bedside table.
'It must be one of them, right?'
She quickly walked over to the side table and looked at the titles of the books.
Fortunately, there were no romance novels in it. They were all history books, one or two of which she had bought as a disguise.
“Phew, if you had come here to ask me out of the blue, we could have been in big trouble.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ugh!”
Emily threw down the books in her hands and collapsed onto the bed in surprise.
She was really shocked. It was so, so shocking that no one would think it was strange if she died of a heart attack like this!
“Ugh.”
Killian, suddenly hit by a book, let out a low, short groan.
But Emily didn't have the mental capacity to care about his pain. Feeling dizzy, she lay down on the bed and closed her eyes.
While Emily exhaled and caught her breath, Killian picked up the books that had fallen to the floor and placed them back on the nightstand.
"I'm sorry."
Emily muttered an apology with her eyes still closed.
“I heard you stopped by the second-floor study, so I was wondering what books you took.”
"Oh, I heard the book I was looking for was in the study on the second floor, so I went there. I apologize for not asking your permission."
At those words, Emily shook her head and sat up on the bed. The dizziness finally subsided.
“It’s not even my personal study.”
Killian's expression became quite serious as he heard those words.
“Why did your expression suddenly darken?”
"I was short-sighted. I'll create a personal study for you."
“Huh? No.”
Emily quickly declined, fearing he would spend too much money again.
Since she started to keep a close eye on the books, she'd noticed that Killian was spending money without any restrictions, especially on Emily.
She can't tell how many times she looked at the expense list and was shocked.
“Please don’t waste money, just a second-floor study is enough.”
Does she still not know the extent of Starr's wealth?
Killian found Emily's needless worry cute, and a smile spread across his face without him realizing it.
Emily's appearance, just out of the bath, caught people's attention even though she didn't have anything on.
Wet, dark brown hair that gently curved along the face, dark eyebrows of similar color, large, watery eyes, and a high nose bridge.
In particular, the luscious lips beneath it made him want to kiss them.
Without realizing it, he lifted his finger and stroked Emily's side.
A suffocating tension permeated the room.
'What, what is it?'
Emily blinked, not knowing where to look in the strangely erotic atmosphere.
Although she had been getting more physical with Killian recently, this was the first time she had felt such a strange and ticklish feeling.
Seeing her shaking pupils, Killian seemed to finally realize what he had done.
He quickly removed his hand and stood up as if nothing had happened.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
He felt like he was going to lose control if he stayed in the room any longer.
Emily nodded awkwardly.
“Yes, it’s meal time.”
It was a much earlier mealtime than usual.
Only Mayo, who had finally put on an apron to prepare the ingredients, was about to suffer.
The subtle feelings between the two people were developing gradually, like this.
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