Chapter 95
The door opened behind, and Kirill came out. Dmitry’s gaze shifted to him.
“Kirill.”
“Faster than I expected.”
Kirill shrugged. Should he kill here? They wouldn’t be oblivious to the fleeting thought that crossed his face, but Karlena was there.
Approaching without hesitation, Kirill stood behind Karlena, gently placing his hands on her shoulders.
“We’ve always been fast. You were even faster.”
A compassionate smile flickered on Dmitry’s lips as he looked at their most exceptional pupil. However, despite that, they were now standing on opposite sides.
“Your mother isn’t used to these kinds of things.”
“Of course not. You’ve been with our elder the longest, after all.”
Dmitry praised Karlena, who had lived not just beautifully but also suffered greatly as Nikolai’s daughter. If there was anyone who had paid a heavy price, it was Karlena. Through Belov and Nikolai, she had lost her loved ones and even a child between them.
“To come here to kill a defenseless person… Nikolai’s judgment seems to have blurred quite a bit.”
“You’re alive and well because you’re his blood. It would be wise to hand over the woman. You have someone to protect too.”
Gaeyun’s blunt words were expected. Yet, Kirill’s gaze grew colder.
“Where do you think you are? You act like stray dogs without a leash.”
Karlena coldly rebuked them. Her hand pointed outside the mansion. The line of her upright shoulders stretched straight.
“If you touch my child and guests on my property, you’ll lose your loyalty. Remember that.”
Karlena’s severity was no different from Dmitry’s momentum. Her solemn yet devastating words were a declaration of war against Nikolai.
“Miss.”
“The old man who walks with a cane should look back at his past. Who remains, who follows him. You’re no different. You may not know who the old man will choose in the end, but it won’t be you, and that’s pitiful.”
If you didn’t want to be buried alongside Nikolai, you should behave properly. His kingdom wouldn’t go back to those loyal to him. It was the first time Karlena had shown such agitation since losing her loved ones and even a child.
It was firm and sharp.
“Time is running out until sunset. Soon it will rain, and that’s when it’ll start.”
Karlena’s quick judgment was nodded by Kirill. He agreed. Although he learned from them, Karlena grew up with the Dmitry brothers.
“Anton, activate the mansion’s security system.”
Anton nodded. As he disappeared, Karlena quickly stepped into the underground storage. Kirill, Gaeyun, and Sarin followed behind. Before they knew it, Sarin and Gaeyun were holding hands.
“I didn’t expect you to go this far.”
“I decided to show you which side the devil of Eden City chose to move.”
The ominous words referred to Owen. Standing still in the corridor for a moment, Karlena glanced back at Sarin behind her. Aside from the grey eye, there was nothing peculiar about her appearance, but Karlena knew about Sarin from Nikolai’s side.
Ultimately, the devil of Eden City revealed its true colors.
Karlena had known about Owen since she first came to the Moscow mansion. Her sentiments were similar to Kirill’s. He was someone she didn’t want to indulge. He stimulated the fundamental nature of humans, their cunning and evil, and their cruel nature.
Nikolai was proud to have such a child in his bloodline. Even if Kirill hadn’t been ill when he was young, Nikolai would have considered Owen.
They were very similar. So Karlena could recognize him better.
As they descended into the shaking underground, a loud noise echoed throughout the mansion, and the shutters came down.
Thunk.
Despite the lights being on, the entire mansion felt enveloped in darkness.
“Probably, all the shutters have come down on the windows, doors, and any entry points.”
Gaeyun explained that natural light was blocked, making it as dark as night. Sarin nodded. When Karlena’s figure was no longer visible even after descending into the underground, the remaining people also hurried their steps.
As they descended, a wide space opened up. The entire space was not made of granite walls like the mansion but thick alloy. This was not just a place to store weapons but also a bomb shelter prepared for nuclear war or any other war.
They quickly grabbed the weapons they could use.
Karlena, holding a Russian pistol, placed it in front of Sarin.
“Do you know how to use it?”
“…I was taught to release the safety and shoot.”
“By Owen?”
“Yes.”
With a faint smile at Sarin’s honest answer, Karlena showed her how to release the safety mechanism on the gun and told her that she should practice shooting directly if someone appeared in front of her since there was no time. The tension burned through Sarin, feeling like she could hardly swallow.
As if hearing Sarin’s dry swallow, Karlena turned to her with a long shotgun in hand.
“I’m sorry.”
Unintentionally, an apology slipped out upon meeting Karlena’s indifferent eyes and gaze. The metal part of the gun felt cold. It felt similar to touching Owen’s revolver.
“Are you scared?”
“Everything that happens because of me.”
It sounded like something out of a fairy tale for strangers to protect her. Even if there were any unknown benefits or agreements, she wasn’t willing to risk their life for hers. Perhaps if she had just handed herself over to the people waiting outside, the burden would have been less.
Sarin couldn’t voice any opinion.
Everyone spoke, excluding her opinion. They discussed placing Sarin in the safest place and then talked about what to do afterward. As the person involved, she couldn’t interject or offer her opinion. She wondered if this was how it felt to be like a doll.
“Actually, it’s not Miss but the men’s business, isn’t it?”
Her chest tightened.
As the tension was suffocating, Karlena’s words eased the tension, as if saying that what happened wasn’t because of her.
“Sarin, what can I do to help?”
Gaeyun, who had brought plenty of bullets and useful weapons, asked while looking at Sarin, who was breathing heavily. Karlena’s gaze lingered momentarily on Gaeyun, who was affectionate to everyone, before moving away.
“No, thank you.”
Kirill, who stood with an expressionless face, looked at the three women.
“We’re going to leave through the underground passage behind the mansion.”
The underground passage served for purpose to leave the mansion. It was not a big deal to build a mansion with evacuation routes in mind from the beginning. It was clear to Kirill that Karlena had come here considering that too.
“Mother.”
“Seeing that you spare no means or methods, you won’t be safe either.”
That was evidence enough that Nikolai was angry. Karlena’s gaze towards him seemed complex.
This place was just a transit point. It would be best if they didn’t provoke Karlena to action, but if not, it would be a place to cover up the traces.
Approaching one side of the wall, Karlena pressed a hidden button.
With a slight vibration, one side split open, revealing another passage leading outside.
Karlena and Kirill exchanged silent glances. When Gaeyun, sensing something strange, tried to approach Kirill from Sarin, Kirill asked his mother to take Gaeyun with her and leave this place.
“Kirill!”
“Someone has to stay here anyway. If I’m here, of course, they’ll think the target they’re looking for is here too.”
The Dmitry brothers could never imagine Kirill being alone in an empty place. He was so determined to protect what he was assigned to, and because he had taken what he wanted so cruelly. They believed that Kirill’s nature hadn’t changed and couldn’t change.
They still believed he was moving out of necessity.
“It doesn’t make sense. Why you…”
“I thought something like this might happen when I accepted Owen’s offer. It was the worst-case scenario.”
They all thought they were going together. Sarin couldn’t have anticipated what happened either, so she bit her lip.
