Misleading Solitude

A week had passed since the execution. Nobody was talking about it; the way these people complied with Marvel's decision was beyond my imagination. Now that they were left with no more witnesses, no more suspects, no more evidence, the further investigation couldn't proceed and the case was on hold, just like that.

I didn't know how to feel about it - if I felt relieved, would it be called arrogant?

That day, I learned that when you had been proven doing prohibited things in this circle, you were already found guilty and confession was no longer necessary because what awaited you at the end was absolute.

At that time, I was convinced about what Gilbert told me was true because I was also thinking the same.

Unfortunately, Marvel disagreed.

It was still mysterious to all of us why he destroyed his only witness and suspect before collecting all the pieces of evidence. Being sly as I knew he was, normally, he wouldn't do something that put him at disadvantage.

That night after the shot, I didn't know what happened to James Laurier. To be honest, I didn't want to know what they did to his dead body after that. I just did what I could do at a time like that and served Marvel as I should. I tried my best not to annoy him and so I did whatever he wanted.

But, that night, I didn't know why, rather than being scared of what he could do, I was more afraid of his silence. The state of Marvel that didn't talk at all, if I said or did something wrong, I might have ended up like James...

It was safe to assume that he was angry. On the contrary, he normally talked a lot when he was angry, torturing both my mind and body for punishment. All he did was the opposite that night. Then again, being angry and being gentle were not something that would work together, so the reason he acted that way was still an enigma.

Escaping from my thoughts after a while, I turned my gaze at Marvel. He was sitting on his chair in his office, talking with Tanaka.

It was Friday morning and the weather spoke of chilly overcast. I was waiting for my turn to report about the company's financial situation, but they didn't seem to close their discussion soon. Suddenly, there was a loud bam and it startled the three of us.

"Marvel, you still alive?"

The door was pushed open without hesitation it created a loud bam followed by a loud voice of a man. The man walked into the office room leisurely as if he was familiar with this private part of Yerevan's mansion, he even reminded me of the owner's demeanor when he was here. After making such a dramatic entrance, the male in a grey suit officially joined us.

Just like how he had a similar atmosphere as the alpha of this household, his features conveyed the same; tall and manly. I glanced at him for a quick guess; he might be around thirty-five. His hair was naturally dark brown, his eyes were sapphire blue, and his skin was fair - what a rare combination. Within the first minute after he forced his presence into the room, his relaxed attitude made it less awkward and before long, it had blended with the air.

"Underboss?!"

Breaking the silence, Tanaka exclaimed in surprise as he addressed the fourth member among us, blinking in quick succession to make sure his eyes didn't lie. I turned at him in confusion, and as he was standing beside Marvel, I could see Marvel was also staring at this intruder.

At first, Marvel seemed a bit surprised as if he didn't expect the visit, but then he maintained his expression to stay calm and composed, unaffected by the change of ambience that man created.

Usually, he would just continue with his business and not give a single damn if he wasn't interested. But, seeing him rather distracted by the appearance of a person, even making him stop in his track, I started to wonder about the reason that caused him to be like that.

"Oh, look at this new face here."

A low-toned voice caught me off guard as it pierced my ears. I immediately shifted to the source that felt so close to me, and that man was already standing within an arm's reach in front of me.

I lifted my head to meet his eye level and he was standing there, leaning back a little to his comfort, his hands were inside the pocket of his trousers. I looked at him and he scanned me from head to toe, as if judging my features. He seemed unimpressed, but didn't demonstrate his feelings in a bad way.

"How old?" The man asked me out of the blue, his gaze was sincerely curious.

I blinked in bewilderment. This was our first meeting and he wanted to know my age yet didn't even ask my name? Somehow, it reminded me of someone...

"Twenty-seven, Sir," I shortly replied.

"I mean, how long have you been here?" He corrected.

That?

"Nearly two years now," I answered.

I felt there was something strange in the way he questioned me, but I didn't show it on my face. Indeed, he did call me "new face", but I didn't expect it was something like that.

He said nothing after that, but his expression clearly stated "damn it" at my answer and I wasn't sure why.

"You both can leave," the man casually ordered me and Tanaka, and we immediately turned at Marvel almost at the same time, expecting his decision, but he was just sitting there in silence.

Come to think of it, Tanaka called him "underboss" just now, right? But, what was it supposed to mean?

Marvel knew this man - judging by how he let the man behave in his territory, I was convinced about that fact. The man might not respond to Tanaka's greeting earlier, but from the way he reacted to this sudden coming, I was sure Tanaka knew this man as well.

But then, there was me here as well and that man didn't even pretend to act a certain way to conceal his identity, instead, showed that he was such an important figure in this circle.

After being repelled by the unanticipated guest, Tanaka and I got out of the office room without question and he closed the door for us. We were walking together through the corridor silently when he suddenly stopped and I also halted behind him.

"This is bad!" Tanaka exclaimed in dismay, scratching his hair with both of his hands. "Why is he here?! What's he doing here?!"

I watched him as he was preoccupied with his own grief. Knowing the Yerevan's association, there were so many official members I had never met before, and that blue-eyed brunette was one of them. There were no photos of the people of such an organized crime, even some information could be twisted, and just as difficult as it was to be secretly investigated, espionage was needed.

Tanaka is a bit of an airhead compared to Gilbert, I thought to myself. He might tell me who the man is if I try to talk to him...

"Do you know him?" I asked Tanaka carefully, inserting enough curiosity, but not so much to summon suspicion.

I didn't ask directly who the man was even though I wanted to know, and that was the point; I couldn't let Tanaka know I wanted to know about that man. By asking if he knew the man, I was less prone to be seen as interested.

"Of course!" Tanaka claimed, blurting out quickly. "He's the underboss! The underboss!"

Never heard about that.

"Well, you did call him that, but..." I hesitated. Simply by its name, was the underboss like a deputy or something like that?

"Do you know anything about a consigliere?" Tanaka hinted.

"In general? Hmm... Is it like the Mafia boss' adviser?" I asked for confirmation, even though I couldn't be wrong as I had learned about it.

"Correct! But, he's more than that," Tanaka lowered his voice for the next words, coming closer to me. "Have you ever heard of a man named Mikhail Yerevan?"

My eyes throbbed, betraying my ears. Hearing that surname belonged to someone else other than Marvel, I could only think of one person, but I never thought I would have the chance to meet that person in real life someday.

"No," I shortly replied, pretending not to know.

"Just as I thought!" Tanaka roared, certain that my lack of knowledge was understandable. "Well, can't blame you. You've been only here for a couple of years."

Unexpectedly, Tanaka didn't let me know more than that. He wasn't as easy as I thought he was. I didn't demand a further explanation - I couldn't, but at least, he had helped me to make sure of one fact: that man was Mikhail Yerevan.

This so-called "consigliere" man was Marvel's only relative alive, six years older, Mikhail Yerevan. Yes, he had the same name as Marvel, and yet, there was a rumor that he didn't have the Yerevan's blood in him, or that he was an adopted child.

Even though there was this rumor that Mikhail didn't carry the Yerevan's blood, Marvel's people still treated him with equal respect. Thanks to Marvel's influence, no one in the Yerevan Family dared to bring the nasty topic to the surface, even though both Marvel and Mikhail never officially spoke about the matter. Their relationship remained unchanged before and after the rumor spread.

There wasn't much valid information about the profile of this man, because the consigliere could be anyone, sometimes acting as the boss itself to deceive the enemy and also to protect the boss' real identity from the exposure. But, showing in front of someone he never met like that, I wondered if it was on purpose...

What is he coming for? What is he going to talk with Marvel about? How long will he stay?

There were so many things I wanted to know, and I hated not knowing them. With the company being in the worst position after a decade, the betrayal of a three-year official member and his execution - the current situation was the least of good timing to ask Marvel about his personal life and the people in it, and I had to wait until he was willing to tell me - which never came on the first task.

I didn't yet know if I could find a way to figure things out soon. One thing for sure, unlike Marvel, I left with the impression that I should never touch Mikhail Yerevan.