A Sister's Choice
The moment Leroy stepped out of the car, his gaze turned toward the church. It was the same small church he visited every morning on Tezman's orders. Leroy gave a slight nod to the men standing behind him. At once, the men carrying boxes moved silently toward the front of the church.
Leroy watched quietly as they set down the boxes filled with bread and milk for the children, lost in thought.
He never questioned his master's actions. His duty was to move exactly as ordered, exactly as Tezman desired. Yet today, curiosity stirred. Just what kind of woman was this nun that Tezman would go to such troublesome lengths?
After spending time observing her, he had found nothing particularly special. Every dawn, she went to the church to pray, then cleaned. In the mornings, she prepared meals in the convent dining hall beside the church. At lunch and dinner, she helped ready the Mass. Late at night, she offered one final prayer before the church doors closed, then returned to the convent. That was the entirety of Sua's routine—a day that repeated itself without variation.
It was completely different from Tezman or Leroy. While their days were unpredictable, filled with the unknown, Sua's were remarkably peaceful and monotonous.
Perhaps that was what had drawn his master in.
The image of Sua carefully lowering her head in greeting flashed through Leroy's mind. The way her red-rimmed eyes, as if she had been crying, had curved gently just moments ago. And how the wariness she showed around children vanished completely when she smiled brightly at them.
“Ah.”
A soft exclamation escaped Leroy's lips—lips that rarely betrayed any emotion.
Now he understood. Why his master had become so obsessed with a mere Eastern nun. She wasn't merely an Eastern nun. It was because she was Sua.
Leroy lifted his left wrist and glanced down at the time. His eyes then drifted elsewhere. It would soon be time for Sua to appear in front of the church.
As he stared at the stone path connecting the convent and the church, Leroy's expression grew strangely restless. After staring silently at the path for a long while, his eyes softened.
From the convent door emerged Sua, dressed in pure white nun's robes. Even the veil pulled tightly over her head, leaving not a single strand of hair visible, was snowy white.
Leroy's gaze followed her every movement with sharp focus. Whether she sensed the observant stare clinging to her or not, Sua only noticed the boxes stacked in front of the church once she reached the entrance. She looked around.
Her eyes swept left and right before landing on Leroy. They widened with pleasant surprise. As she quietly waved at him, Leroy's hand froze mid-air.
Why—why had his hand tried to move on its own?
Leroy stared down at his own hand, his eyes turning icy cold.
“Leroy.”
A voice he did not wish to hear right now reached him. When he looked up, Sua was already standing before him. She must have approached while he was distracted.
“Good morning, Sister.”
His voice was dry, completely devoid of emotion.
“Thank you again today.”
“There is no need to thank me. I am simply doing as Tezman ordered.”
Even at Leroy's curt tone, Sua remained completely unfazed. Having grown accustomed to Tezman's bulldozer-like way of speaking, she could easily brush off someone like Leroy.
“Still, you brought them all the way here. Well then, I hope you have a day filled with God's grace.”
Sua gave a light bow. After finishing her greeting to Leroy, she turned back toward the church. Since the children were still asleep, she had to open the door carefully.
As Leroy watched her in silence, one of the men approached his side.
“Will you be leaving now?”
Unlike usual, Leroy's response was delayed.
“No. I'll stay a little longer.”
He needed to report back to Tezman. He couldn't simply say that she was doing well. Even so, Leroy's gaze remained fixed on the church door where Sua had disappeared.
“You've brought bread and milk for the children again today.”
He was usually quite perceptive. Yet he hadn't noticed Father Vincenzo until the priest was standing right beside him. Leroy's eyes, which had been fixed on the church door, turned coldly away.
“Good morning, Father Vincenzo.”
“The children will be leaving tomorrow. It feels strange.”
Leroy nodded silently.
“The church will feel quite lonely for a while. Especially since Sua will be returning to Korea as well.”
Returning?
“Did the sister just say she is returning?”
The eyes that always maintained perfect composure flickered.
“You didn't know?”
“When?”
“She said she would decide once the orphanage children left, so it won't be long now.”
Not long now meant there truly wasn't much time left. Leroy asked, his voice tense with urgency.
“So suddenly?”
“Well...”
Father Vincenzo looked toward the church door with an unreadable expression.
“I don't know how much she agonized over it, but it is Sua's choice—to no longer be tested.”
Slowly turning his head to meet Leroy's gaze, Father Vincenzo continued.
“Please convey that to him properly.”
Him. Leroy knew better than anyone who that referred to. Father Vincenzo had clearly noticed. From the moment the famous Tezman of the Pavard Family had begun donating to this tiny church of all places.
“Well then, may God's grace be with you today as well.”
Leroy watched with narrowed eyes as Father Vincenzo walked toward the church with a gentle smile. There was no more time to waste.
Turning sharply on his heel, Leroy strode toward the car. The waiting man quickly opened the rear door. As he climbed in, Leroy spoke.
“To the estate.”
The estate. Tezman's estate.
Ting. The sound of a Zippo lighter opening echoed across the dark pavement. Matteo, who had lit the cigar between his lips and taken a deep drag, spoke.
“Since we're burning it all anyway, let's burn everything.”
The movements from the Tianpu side had grown ominous. After Tezman had blown up one of the Golden Triangle's factories, they had begun openly targeting Pavard Family operations in earnest. Michele, who had stayed silent until now, had finally ordered Matteo and Tezman to confirm the situation directly. As a result, Tezman's plan to see Sua every day had fallen through spectacularly. Naturally, this had left Tezman extremely on edge.
“Maybe I should have done that from the start.”
A small, dry laugh escaped Tezman, but his sharp eyes remained chillingly cold.
“If I had, I wouldn't have bothered with these annoying tasks.”
In an instant, the revolver in his hand swung toward a target. The muzzle aimed precisely.
Bang.
The man struck perfectly between the eyes staggered before collapsing. The two men who stepped past the corpse as if it were nothing wore utterly calm expressions.
“So,”
Matteo put the cigar back between his lips. Then he grabbed the head of the man charging at him with a knife and slammed it straight into the ground.
With a sickening crunch, blood began pooling on the floor. Matteo moved the cigar back to his hand and continued.
“How's the romance going these days?”
At the word romance, Tezman's discomfort showed plainly on his face.
“Since when have you taken such an interest in me?”
“That hurts, Tezman.”
Matteo took a deep drag from his cigar and exhaled a hazy cloud of smoke into the air.
“Even if it's only in name, you're my one and only little brother. Isn't it natural for a big brother to show interest?”
Tezman let out a hollow laugh.
“Brother, clean up the trash before you get a hole in your head.”
To think the word brother from Tezman's mouth could feel this repulsive. Matteo made a face as if he'd gotten goosebumps.
After that, the two men fell silent. Or rather, they had no choice but to be silent. They were too busy dealing with the endless swarm of Tianpu underlings rushing at them like madmen. For a brief moment, Tezman regretted not bringing any capos or soldiers to loosen up, but soon enough, both men moved as if it didn't matter.
Tezman, who had rolled through the underworld with his bare hands since childhood, and Matteo, who had faced only men like these. It was like unleashing the collars of starving hunting dogs.
The sounds of brutal blows, sporadic gunshots, and men's groans all blended together.
Once the cleanup was complete, exhaustion was clear on both men's faces, but they were far from collapsing. As Tezman stared at his blood-stained revolver with a languid expression, Matteo pulled out another cigar.
Ting. Tick. The sound of the Zippo lighter opening and closing was followed by hazy smoke spreading through the air.
“Good timing.”
Matteo snorted as he saw dozens of headlights flashing toward them. Soon, between the cars that stopped in front of them, Cact and Matteo's secretary Giovanni appeared.
As Tezman turned toward Cact, signaling that the job was done, Matteo's voice came from behind him.
“A nun and a mafia boss.”
Taking a deep drag from his cigar and swallowing the smoke, Matteo continued.
“I'm already curious.”
Tezman slipped the revolver back inside his jacket. Knowing full well how many meanings were packed into the word curious, he merely turned his head to look at Matteo.
“Stay out of it.”
Without another word, Tezman approached the car. Cact, who had been waiting, quickly opened the door. He was exhausted, and not having seen Sua had pushed his irritability to the extreme. He had no time to waste exchanging pointless jokes with Matteo in this state.
The car door clicked shut. The moment it did, he leaned his head back against the rear seat. Even though he had simply closed his eyes from fatigue, Sua's face hovered before him. At this point, he really must be crazy.
He briefly considered going to see Sua like this but then remembered his current appearance was far from presentable. He let out a small sigh. He couldn't frighten her—someone who would recoil at the sight of blood.
“I'll take you to the estate.”
Tezman nodded. Finally, tomorrow he would be able to see Sua. Thinking of the woman who had filled his mind until this very moment, he murmured quietly.
“I should head out at dawn.”