DM Chapter 100
A black sedan stopped in front of an old mansion in Moscow. Even in the darkness, the ancient heritage, built solidly with red bricks, stood grandly, displaying its elegant, old-fashioned charm.
The mansion was so vast that it was impossible to gauge its size with just one or two visits.
Even though the car had stopped, Owen didn’t get out. He sat with his legs crossed, staring straight ahead, prompting Yuri to turn up the volume on the radio.
The radio news reported the discovery of a corpse. It went on to say the method resembled the typical way the Russian mafia eliminated traitors, so the investigation was focused on the mafia.
Every day, hundreds of people lose their lives, but not all of these deaths receive media coverage. However, the purpose of mentioning the mafia was to send a message to those living in this world.
That a long-standing traitor had been dealt with.
The police investigation was merely formal. The chances of catching the culprit were slim. The figure who openly moved within this mansion had never been touched by the police.
After the short news segment ended, Owen finally turned his head and looked at the butler waiting outside the mansion through the window.
The butler opened the car door and bowed politely.
“Welcome, sir; the old man is expecting you.”
Everyone inside the mansion wore black attire, akin to mourning clothes. Owen, with his sharp features, smiled slowly, almost mockingly. His black shoes sank softly into the carpet. No sound echoed anywhere in the mansion.
When he arrived at the library where Russia’s long history was preserved, the butler who had been following him knocked on the door instead.
“Sir, he’s arrived.”
There was no response from inside.
But both of them knew that the silence meant permission.
As the butler opened the door and stepped aside, Yuri took a step back, and Owen entered alone. Only a few lights were turned on in the dimly lit library, casting a faint crimson glow.
As expected, Nikolai, dressed in black and sitting on the sofa, turned his gaze towards Owen. Layers of longing, regret, and anger flickered in his eyes.
“Sit down.”
Owen unbuttoned one button of his suit jacket and sat opposite him. Despite his languid expression, Nikolai noticed the bloodshot in Owen’s eyes and clicked his tongue. It was no illusion. Perhaps chasing away the woman was the best thing to do.
“Pavel loved this mansion the most.”
The unidentified male corpse.
Someone found it openly discarded near the mansion. The body’s identity remained unknown due to its extreme mutilation.
“Each of us must be satisfied in our own way. Your grief must be immense.”
“Let’s exchange one for one.”
Owen took Pavel from Nikolai. The moment Nikolai, who had loved Pavel, saw his dirtiest and most vile secret exposed, he was enraged.
There often comes a day when you have to discard the things you love. As frustrated as he was, he didn’t hesitate to discard them.
He mourned even without retrieving the body.
The objects of exchange were Pavel and Sarin. Since Pavel was dead, it implied that the woman should also be killed.
When the Dimitris couldn’t be reached, Nikolai realized they were dead. He could have released more hounds. He could have made even more people chase after the woman.
“Stop it. No one can go after her anymore.”
“In the end, everything I have will be yours anyway. You unnecessarily disrupted the place I had prepared for you. In that case, I can only teach you a lesson.”
“In Eden City.”
Owen spoke without hesitation.
His city, the world he created. Nikolai had planned it, but it was Owen who created the city of pleasure.
“There are a few things I’ve done with your permission. If you want to keep your penniless throne, keep doing something.”
He says to do something, whether it’s chasing Sarin or mourning Pavel.
“What makes you think I can’t do something for you because of that pathetic city?”
Like Pavel, he could kill Owen right here in his mansion and send him out into the world’s news as an example.
“Pathetic as it may be, it’s still your dream.”
A sly smile hung on Owen’s lips, balancing precariously. With eerie eyes showing hints of red, he looked at Nikolai, not quite resembling the face of a living person, causing even Nikolai’s long-hardened heart to flinch.
A shiver ran down his spine.
While contemplating whether he could find a proper successor and calculating how far Owen’s influence could reach, Owen spoke up.
“I thought it didn’t matter if I trampled and destroyed it, but that woman quite liked it.”
The eyes that looked at the rainbow standing on the dam said it was pretty. Her gaze upon the scenery of Eden City had changed his heart.
“If you find her first, you’d better show her some respect, because it’s because of her that Eden City isn’t underwater.”
“You bastard!”
Thud!
With a loud noise, Nikolai’s fist crashed into the armrest of the sofa. He was furious to the point that half of his body trembled.
“If you touch me, the dam will explode. How long will it take to rebuild the city? No, it’ll take decades to rebuild. Think about how much time you have left.”
If he couldn’t have it, he would let everything sink into the water. Exactly 10 minutes later, the city would be submerged along with the wailing sirens. Evacuation drills were always conducted within that time frame. Since he created it, he had to be the one to sink it.
“Tell me. Can you really live to see the second Eden City?”
The freshly laundered new money could be traced by Owen. No matter where Nikolai diverted his slush fund, Owen could trace every last drop of it. Without Owen, Nikolai could not escape anywhere.
“…You’ve learned well; I picked up a bug and raised it to be quite the boss.”
He had become the last resort.
This was Nikolai’s last stand, and his own as well. The muzzle of the self-destruct switch was aimed at both of them. Owen’s consciousness continued to sink beneath the surface. With a frozen mind, unable to think, he furrowed his brow.
If she was indeed in the river, he left behind.
His teeth gritted slightly. Now, a different habit followed him. His nails kept scratching at the spot where his ring used to be.
He had pushed Nikolai out of Eden City, and as planned, Nikolai was waiting for him in his Moscow mansion.
Nikolai and Owen fueled each other with different intentions—Nikolai wanted to manipulate Owen, and Owen wanted to find any trace of her.
Nikolai’s gaze flickered towards the table, but Owen moved first. His palm firmly grasped the table’s surface.
“Bring Karlena to me. We both want what she has now.”
When his daughter’s name came from Owen, Nikolai looked at him. After the child born from the illicit union died, Karlina never returned to the Moscow mansion. She had never once faced him privately.
“This is going to be interesting.”
It was a brief respite. There was no place in Russia that Nikolai’s influence didn’t reach. If there was someone who could find the fugitive Karlena the fastest, it was only him. The longer it took, the more precarious Sarin became.
Owen realized that Nikolai, too, had deferred his own disposal. He had ruled Russia in his lifetime.
“I sincerely hope the woman remains alive. That way, my city will also be safe.”
Seeing Nikolai, who mocked the gamble of risking his life, Owen didn’t laugh. He always had to be prepared to discard everything with such a person who clung to his lineage. Since the moment Pavel tried to take over his role, Owen had been preparing for this day.
Owen also took a step back.
Until Karlena was found, Nikolai’s leash lengthened a bit more.
In less than three days, they brought Karlena to the mansion. Nikolai’s one remaining child had entered the mansion without much resistance. Dressed in a red velvet dress that hugged her neck, she walked across the carpet with one slender leg peeking out from beneath the skirt, unhindered by anyone’s restraint.
Without asking where Nikolai was, she headed straight to her own room, the finest room overlooking the garden on the second floor.
Nikolai had given Karlena a room that her brothers and even her mother had not been allowed to use.
Before the maid could open the door for her, Karlena, who had opened her own door wide, breathed in the dust-free air. Through the open curtains, she could see the fountain and ornamental trees that recreated a medieval garden.
“To feed and clothe me in the finest things, to sell for the highest price.”
Still, she scoffed at the extravagantly decorated room, no different from before she got married.
“Yes? Miss?”
“I’m tired; go out.”
Everyone here called her Miss. Karlena scoffed at the people dressed in black, as if in mourning. None of them were truly saddened by Pavel’s death—it was just the unnecessary etiquette of the old man.
“The master’s waiting for you downstairs.”
“If he needs me, he’ll come himself. I told you I’m tired.”
Finally, the maid bowed her head in agreement with Karlena’s cold words and left. Karlena couldn’t move in this cage-like room. Reflecting on her life lived under Nikolai’s whims, it was nothing special.
Several sheets of letter paper, her favorite fountain pen, and a few stationery items remained unchanged, just as they were when she left this house. Karlena approached them and lifted the paper knife. It was blunt, but reasonably sharp.
