Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Elder (3)
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Colton set down his teacup.
“Nice to meet you.”
It was just like him—clear pronunciation. That polite yet overbearing tone always stuck in your ears, no matter how many times you heard it. His calm, charismatic voice never wavered.
Even when a bomb went off right in front of him, that refined voice never shook.
But not “pleased to meet you for the first time” or “long time no see”—just “nice to meet you.”
The message was crystal clear. While Porden greeted him in a voice thick with tension, I observed Colton. He was a master at hiding his true feelings, so I couldn’t gauge exactly what kind of greeting he considered this for Porden.
But I could tell precisely how I needed to act at this table.
Colton remembered me.
But he wouldn’t act like he knew me here.
A little thought made it obvious. The gazes landing on our table in the corner of the banquet hall. Eminent figures from all walks of life were watching us. It was impossible to have a deep conversation in such a public place.
“I’m honored to finally meet you.”
Porden bowed politely as he took his seat.
He seemed to have completely forgotten about my presence beside him. Well, it wasn’t easy to get distracted with Colton Wiseman right in front of you.
“Please forgive me for bringing up dull business first.”
“It’s far more reasonable than beating around the bush unnecessarily.”
Colton naturally accepted Porden’s attitude, which was like he was being granted an audience with royalty.
The elegantly aged friend lifted his teacup and offered this praise.
“Isn’t it better than wasting time with unnecessary words?”
He’s pleased.
Porden’s delighted because he got praised. It’s probably just Colton’s perfunctory courtesy, devoid of any real feeling.
In any case, Porden beamed like a child praised by his parents and got straight to the point.
As befitting a company owner, he had a way with words. I half-listened to his talk about business.
Something about new construction, profitability there, whatever.
None of it was worth paying attention to. I pretended to listen while rolling my eyes.
A white, ornate venue. People pretending to chat while straining to eavesdrop on Colton and Porden’s conversation.
A few steps behind Colton stood Jaeyeon.
Jaeyeon glared at me with eyes full of hatred.
‘He can’t say anything right now.’
I rummaged through the resurfaced memories.
Jaeyeon. Colton’s first lieutenant. The one being Colton Wiseman treated with special favor in various ways (probably).
I’d seen this dynamic plenty of times. In public settings like this, Jaeyeon stood behind Colton like a shadow. He guarded Colton and got his hands dirty on his behalf.
There were others like that, sure, but Jaeyeon was the only one who could directly kiss Colton’s hand and foot.
That didn’t mean he could freely run his mouth while Colton worked. Colton didn’t tolerate it.
My old friend managed people by mixing a drop of mercy into his terror.
“Mr. Hildebert.”
While I recalled memories of Jaeyeon, one conversation seemed to have wrapped up.
Colton’s voice pulled me back to reality. I slowly withdrew my gaze from Jaeyeon and shifted it to the man sitting across from me.
Porden stared at me with an incredulous look. Ignoring him, I met those blue eyes.
“Yes?”
“What do you usually do after training?”
Formal speech didn’t suit him at all.
Part of me wanted to say, ‘Hey, formal speech really doesn’t suit you. It gives me chills just hearing it, so cut it out,’ but I knew how to keep up social appearances.
So I suppressed the urge and smiled.
“I play games.”
Porden dropped something.
Among the eavesdroppers, a few couldn’t hold back a “pfft.” Several turned around, wondering if they’d misheard. Some gaped.
Even Jaeyeon looked at me with utter disdain.
“Computer games?”
“Yes.”
Why ask if you know?
“That’s usually it.”
As if I’d be sitting here playing poker like some refined gentleman now. I didn’t hate card games, but they couldn’t match the thrill of video games. You know nagging won’t change that.
My inner thoughts didn’t make a sound this time either.
I gave a sly smile at Colton’s expressionless face.
“I like console games and mobile games too.”
A few people gasped.
Stop persecuting gaming. Quit looking at me like I’m trash for giving that answer in front of the pinnacle of power.
Is reading noble and gaming vulgar, you people?
Of course, none of the people here probably had gaming as a hobby.
They were all the type whose days were too short for work alone. Ignoring Porden’s ‘I must be crazy for inviting this guy as a special guest’ face, I watched Colton set down his teacup.
Colton lowered his eyes and kept silent.
A strange silence settled around us. Ignoring the stares pricking the back of my neck, I waited for his response. I ignored Porden’s irritated glare too.
The invitation to the salon probably came through you because of Colton’s behind-the-scenes work, dear Porden. You’ll never know in your lifetime.
Colton had a natural talent for getting others to do his dirty work.
My rotten friend finally broke the silence after a long moment.
“Then, as thanks for finding me a business partner, I’ll build a gaming center on one floor of the tower under reconstruction.”
Seriously?
Nothing beats an old friend!
My face lit up with genuine joy, but Colton continued.
“However, I know nothing about games. In one hour, in the third-floor parlor, could you give some guidelines to my subordinates? It won’t take long.”
“Ah.”
So that’s the real point.
Amid the wide-eyed stares, I answered with a smile plastered on my face.
“Of course.”
That’s what salons were like.
“It would be my honor. I’ll head to the third-floor parlor in exactly one hour.”
Unnecessary procedures. All sorts of actions for show. Today, we showed the clueless eminent crowd that ‘Colton and Hilde met for the first time.’ But we also showed we’d become acquaintances for some trivial reason. To hide the truth and move freely behind the conveyed lie.
Frequent meetings and chats wouldn’t seem odd now, but we’d give the impression of a relationship with little substance.
One hour later, third-floor parlor.
That’s where the real substantial conversation would happen. With the message clearly delivered, I left the table with peace of mind.
***
“Will you be coming too, Commander?”
Ten minutes before the appointed time. As the salon began to thin out, I asked Ye-hyeon.
My pale boss blinked at me before dropping his gaze.
“Yeah. It’s a mini-meeting.”
“Ah.”
Seeing my boss look depressed about the sudden private meeting made me feel guilty.
It was obvious the meeting had been hastily called because of me. I sincerely apologized to Ye-hyeon as he bitterly downed his coffee.
“I’m sorry.”
“No. What do you have to be sorry for?”
He looked like a sulky panda.
Ye-hyeon let out a weary voice beside Yoon, who was rolling his eyes in annoyance.
“You’re the one who’ll suffer going into that parlor with those guys. Let’s go now. They’re probably already there.”
“Already? They don’t seem like the type to arrive early and wait.”
“They’ve got plenty to discuss among themselves. All three disappeared thirty minutes ago.”
Aha.
I should’ve realized sooner why people were starting to leave the salon one by one. I glanced around the emptying space and nodded. I still had a lot to learn. I hadn’t even noticed that.
With the center gone, the space felt hollow. I stood with Ye-hyeon.
If I’d known there was a meeting, I would’ve worn a black suit, Ye-hyeon muttered to himself. What’s wrong with that, Yoon replied dryly.
Our master, lounging lazily in his chair, looked up at us as we turned to head to the third floor.
“Contact me as soon as it’s over.”
He was speaking to Ye-hyeon.
“I’ll be waiting here.”
“Yeah.”
Ye-hyeon replied briskly.
“I’ll be quick.”
We headed to the third floor.
Passing people gathering their coats and leaving, we climbed the stairs.
After two flights, we reached a space devoid of presence. Soft carpet that muffled footsteps. The carpeted hallway led to the parlor at the end of the third floor.
A door intricately carved with grapevines covered the parlor. Ye-hyeon strode toward it with long steps and pushed open the wooden door.
It creaked open.
I followed him into the parlor without a second thought.
The moment I passed through the door, the atmosphere shifted, and I held my breath.
Air so tense it made my skin crawl.
In the razor-sharp air like a veil, they all turned to me in an instant. I couldn’t breathe properly. Their unblinking gazes stabbed into me. It felt like they could see right through me.
Three people sat at the table filling the parlor.
Eric Airhart on the left. Yekaterina on the right.
Colton Wiseman in the center.
Behind the elders stood their lieutenants, shadows motionless, their eyes warning me in an instant that any funny business meant death. Just rolling my eyes conveyed the silent threat clearly.
‘It’s a slaughterhouse.’
Even without creatures or weapons.
It felt more suffocating than being outside the Core.
I scanned the lieutenants standing in the parlor, feeling queasy.
Colton Wiseman’s was Jaeyeon.
Behind Eric Airhart stood a pale man with his red hair half-tied back and a man with curly blond hair. Both were strangers. From their positions, the redhead seemed higher-ranked than the blond, but both shot me murderous glares the moment my foot hit the parlor floor.
The redhead with hollow eyes, the blond smiling sweetly, both conveying I should stay put.
“Ah. Right on time.”
Their boss, Eric, greeted me indifferently.
“Come in. Still a boring guy, even on second glance.”
“Close the door before you enter.”
Yekaterina scolded coldly from across from Eric.
“How long do you plan to stand there?”
Like Colton, Yekaterina had only one lieutenant guarding her back.
I closed the door, entered, and sat in what was clearly my spot, observing her lieutenant.
An East Asian man in a pitch-black suit. A man whose furrowed brow probably rarely smoothed out, piercing me with the sharpest gaze in the room.
Short black hair and cold black eyes.
Despite his stiff, irritable impression, his features were refined. Handsome, but subtly delicate. I blinked as I took in the man’s face. Really prickly and irritable-looking handsome, but delicate.
And somehow...
Familiar?
What? Have I met this guy before?
My head ached faintly, suggesting yes, he was an acquaintance? But Yekaterina was definitely a stranger, so why would I know her lieutenant? And why didn’t recognition hit me instantly like with Colton or Jaeyeon?
Where have I seen this guy?
Lost in surging doubt for a moment, apparently.
Click. The sound of Jaeyeon lighting Colton’s cigar snapped me back.
Look at me spacing out. This isn’t the time.
I turned my gaze to the center. My old friend slowly putting the cigar in his mouth, Ye-hyeon sitting like an outsider between Colton and Eric.
I took in the mafia-meeting-like scene and waited for my friend to speak.
Until the man wrapped in an aura that could bury someone exhaled smoke long and slow, leaned lazily back in his chair, and fixed me with eyes devoid of even a fragment of mercy.
Until he spoke in that authoritative real voice, stripped of all pretense.
“Hildebert.”
Smoke billowed from the cigar between his fingers.
“Still wasting time on useless things, I see.”
“I told you to give up on that.”
Even after all this time, still nitpicking.
“Opera or games, unproductive either way.”
“Your crude speech is the same as ever.”
Colton murmured with his eyes closed.
“My old friend.”
A being who’d shared endless ages.
One who’d watched time flow, the world change, each other’s changes together. Things that hadn’t changed amid all that shifted.
Hearing that unchanged voice, I smiled long and wide.
My dear companion.