Black Label Union #2(3)
As the Union representative left, Rockefeller suddenly wondered about the Ismail family, who hadn't shown up yet.
'By the way, it's quiet for the Ismails who were supposed to come on their own.'
The Ismail family was different from other families; they were secretive and quiet.
Even the members were not well known, and apart from the prince who was openly exposed as an Ismail descendant, there was almost no information about where and what they were doing. They were like ghosts.
'They must have made a decision by now.'
From the beginning, it seemed that the Ismails were involved in this matter without their knowledge.
Otherwise, the Union representative, who was rumored to be a failure and a former pirate captain, couldn't have been so confident and quietly left.
'They must have intervened in the middle. His attitude changed suddenly.'
Rockefeller, who had paused for a moment, spoke to Ricardo, who was keeping watch nearby.
"Phew, the Union representative has a nasty side, huh? I had a rough idea since he was a pirate, but I didn't know he was such a fool."
As if nothing had happened.
Ricardo calmly opened his mouth.
"I'm glad nothing major happened."
"Anyway, there's no news from the Ismails. Did you contact them properly?"
There was almost no change in Ricardo's expression at the question.
"Their family is so quiet that it seems that way. I might have made a mistake, but I think it would be good to wait patiently."
"If they didn't like us doing business here in the first place, they would have moved sooner…"
"I'm sorry I have nothing to say."
"No, there's no need to apologize."
Rockefeller stood up from his seat and said again.
"They'll contact us on their own. So far, we've just been waiting patiently."
As Rockefeller finished speaking and moved to attend to his work, Ricardo, who had been watching him, stood in his place for a moment and then began to clear away the teacups in front of him.
That night.
Rockefeller, who had been dozing off in the store for a while, woke up due to a chilling sensation.
The night air was quite chilly.
He got up from his seat and went to the window, wondering if he had left it open, and found it wide open.
'I thought I closed it?'
At that moment.
"Shh…"
Something cold touched his neck, and someone grabbed him from behind like a ghost.
"…"
Who could it be?
An assassin hired by the Union representative?
Or them?
Rockefeller swallowed nervously and asked hesitantly.
"By any chance… are you from the Ismail family?"
There was no answer from the other party.
Rockefeller remained standing, frozen, and soon realized that the metallic sensation tormenting his neck had disappeared.
'What?'
Startled, he touched his neck and found nothing there.
He looked back in confusion, but no one was there.
He was alone in the room.
'Was it an overreaction?'
No way.
The metal feeling that had touched his neck earlier was real, and the eerie voice that reached his ears was also not a lie.
They were all experiences he had gone through.
'They've come. I wondered when they would show up.'
Finally feeling at ease, Rockefeller walked over and sat down in his usual chair.
Then, in a much more relaxed posture than before, he called out to someone in the room.
"You've arrived. I was wondering when you'd come from Ismail's side."
Unfazed and rather bold, the mysterious figure emerged.
"..."
After a brief silence, the enigmatic presence spoke up.
"I've been watching quietly for a few days, and you really are extraordinary."
The owner of the voice was, of course, not Ricardo.
Was he called a thousand-faced person for no reason?
'But why does it sound like a woman?'
However, that didn't mean he could be sure that the person who had come now was Ricardo.
'Changing voices freely is something everyone from Ismail does....'
"You sound like a woman just by your voice."
The person who had come could have been Ricardo, or someone else from the family.
But that wasn't particularly important to Rockefeller.
Ricardo's will was the family's will, and the will of the family was the will of the person who had come.
'Either way, it doesn't matter who comes. The conversation will be the same.'
The previously closed window flew open, letting in the cold night air.
As Rockefeller's gaze turned toward the window, the mysterious voice continued.
"Is that important?"
"You're right. It's not important."
Rockefeller quickly erased the fact that the other party was a woman from his mind.
He couldn't be sure if she was really a woman or just a man imitating a woman's voice.
"Ahem! I have a rough idea why you came."
"Then the conversation will be quick."
Rockefeller took the initiative.
"Our position remains the same. I don't know if you attended the guild meeting and heard what was said, but we intend to support the Second Prince regardless of the Sinclair family."
"..."
"And as for the matter here, our power must grow in order for the Second Prince to receive strength. In many ways, it should be a good thing for those on Ismail's side."
"Will it really only be a good thing?"
Rockefeller began to nod as if he understood.
"Of course, we're not ignorant of what the Black Label Union meant to you. It must have been a great source of money."
"You know well."
"Then this is how it should be. We will consume the it without any trouble. That way, the existing money source will remain valid. And our power, which is trying to push the Second Prince, will grow even stronger."
"..."
While waiting for the other party's response, Rockefeller suddenly had a thought.
'Something doesn't feel like Ricardo?'
If it's not Ricardo, then who?
Someone from the same family?
'It's just a feeling, but... it might be someone else.'
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Maybe Ricardo was a woman from the start.
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