The armored vehicle carried Jane, Oliver, and Jonathan somewhere.
Despite its strong defense, the car was quite slow in comparison to its high defense, but that didn't mean it was bad.
Thanks to it, Oliver could enjoy the view outside.
"…is this your first time here?"
asked Jane, who sat next to Oliver.
Oliver answered, taking his eyes off the blue night view.
"Yes, I've never been to a place like this before….. Do you know where it is?"
"Well, given that there are many skyscrapers and many airships, I think it's District J or D, but I don't know the details. I haven’t looked around all the cities either."
Having finished speaking, Jane looked at Jonathan, who answered tactfully.
"It's District J. It’s an area where cultural and entertainment facilities are concentrated for nearby residents. That's why it's so bright at night."
As he said, it was bright outside, and countless people and cars could be seen moving everywhere.
Airships could also be seen, more than those seen in other areas, some of which landed on tall buildings that seemed to reach the sky.
It was the biggest among the places Oliver had ever seen, and it was so amazing that he wondered why it was so different from other Districts even though it was in the same city.
‘Who should I ask to find out?’
"District J. I've been here a few times. For education… It's fancy, fun, and a place to spend a lot of money, but I don’t think it's a good place for safety, so why are we here?"
Jonathan answered Jane's question.
"Not necessarily. Although it's a noisy place, it's much more secure. At least, the place where VIPs stay is safe enough for Parliamentarians and foreign royals."
"The VIP room costs millions a day… By any chance, is my father there?"
Jonathan shook his head at Jane's question.
"I'm sorry, I can’t answer that. I'm just an errand boy doing my job… All I can tell you is that you are safe now, so don't worry too much."
Jonathan's words were sincere, but Jane quickly began to disagree and get nervous.
Her insides were boiling with anger, disgust, and anxiety. She only regained stability after taking a deep breath.
Oliver didn't know much, but the reaction was awkward for meeting her father, from whom she’ll be getting a huge inheritance.
‘Aren't they close?’
"Oh, we're almost there.”
As if calling attention to himself, Jonathan spoke.
At the end of his gaze was a very large skyscraper, and a subtle blue light shone throughout the building.
It was like a jewel
As a matter of fact, there was a phrase on the top of the building that read [Sapphire] for everyone to see.
It felt somewhat similar to the hotel Oliver visited with Joseph in the past.
"…is it a hotel?"
"It is a complex cultural facility where bars, casinos, theaters, and stores are gathered at the same time as a hotel. It's built rather recently.”
With Jonathan's explanation, the car passed the front of the building and slipped into the road on the right, and entered the basement.
There were countless expensive cars gathered in the underground parking lot, and Oliver, who had never seen so many cars parked, was amazed. Jonathan, on the other hand, moved calmly as if he was used to it.
"If you don't mind, could you please come out?"
"Where are we going?”
"I'll show you to a safe VIP room. But before that, let's stop by the clothing store. There is a dress code for the VIP room."
Laughing, Jane recalled what outfit she was wearing.
"…a lot happened today.”
"I understand. Follow me. There's a clothing store in the basement, and I'll show you around."
Jonathan’s words were true.
In the basement, there were not only parking lots but also several colorful and neat shops, each selling perfumes, brooches, and ribbons.
And of course, there was a clothing store that displayed a lot of clothes.
Jonathan spoke politely to Jane.
"You can choose the clothes you like here."
"It's going to take a while."
Jane said as she looked around the numerous clothes.
"I know, as a lady, that's a given. Take your time to choose… And you too, Mr. Dave."
Jonathan said to Oliver, who was waiting behind him as if it was someone else's business.
"What? Me too?"
"Yes, as I said earlier there's a dress code, so Mr. Dave also needs to change. The cost will be handled by the company, so choose comfortably."
He said it as if it wasn't a big deal, but still, Oliver was a bit confused.
Having only worn clothes roughly so far, he wasn't familiar with wearing them according to the dress code.
As he was contemplating whether he should wear a large suit like Forrest, Jane intervened.
"Can I pick one for you if you don't mind, Dave?"
"Pardon?"
"Think of it as my reward for protecting me? I want to pick one for you. I studied fashion in my own way. Will it be okay?"
"Of course, I'm rather grateful."
Oliver spoke from the bottom of his heart.
The only thing he knew about clothes was to wear a top and tuck his pants into his legs. And he was glad to have Jane’s help.
As if she didn't hate that answer, Jane smiled slightly and held up the clothes one by one.
"Well, it looks too old, it looks too young. Hmm… How about this?"
Jane recommended a simple white and black suit.
"These days, flashy stuff has become a fad, so I think it would be attractive to go simple. Especially for Dave. What do you think?"
"Yes."
It didn't take Oliver a second to answer.
A troubled smile spread across Jane's face.
"How about thinking about it for a while?"
"It must be a good thing because you chose it. You know clothes better than I do."
Even though Oliver was just telling the truth, the words raised Jane's lips.
"…As before. You're not doing this on purpose, are you?"
"What do you mean?"
"No… nothing."
With those words, Jane tried to undress, and soon, Oliver turned around and took off his clothes as well.
At that moment Jonathan said in embarrassment, with a face that crumbled for the first time.
"Wait a minute, you two… You have to change your clothes in the changing room."
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
" I was so tired today. I didn't sleep well either. The mansion burned, I ran a lot, and I almost died. Please don't misunderstand."
Inside the elevator, Jane explained what happened in the clothing store.
The words ‘Yes’ kept coming from Jonathan’s mouth but he never believed it, and Oliver…he just stayed still.
In fact, he did not even know what the misunderstanding was.
Jane tried to say something to make Oliver clear the misunderstanding, but after thinking for a moment, she shook her head.
She judged Oliver would be of little help.
Ding
In the meantime, the elevator reached the target floor.
The golden needle pointed to the 66th number, and when the door opened, there was an antique space with a red carpet.
There were elderly people in expensive tuxedos, young people in casual clothes, and foreigners with brown skin and headscarves.
Many people were present, and the space was large. Some people were gambling, others shared alcohol or tea, and on the other side, people were listening to the radio and checking documents.
Thanks to noise-canceling magic, even though they were doing various things in a large space, they did not interfere with each other.
It was quite an unfamiliar sight.
As if he was familiar, Jonathan politely extended his hand and started guiding the way.
"Follow me."
Jane and Oliver went in the direction Jonathan pointed.
They left the large hall and entered a hallway.
An antique door closed each room on either side of the large hallway.
The use of the door seemed to control the movement inside and outside, but the doors also contained noise-canceling magic, and when Oliver focused the energy into his eyes out of curiosity and looked inside, he was able to see various emotions.
He wondered what the person was doing there to have emotions of extreme pleasure, shame, humiliation, and anger.
‘Um…’
"Here it is."
Jonathan stopped in front of one room and said.
He picked up the wired communication device similar to the one Oliver saw in [Angel’s House] and spoke to the person on the inside.
After a while, a woman with a rabbit mask on her face came out, and she went out as if she didn’t see Jonathan and Jane.
"Come on in."
From the inside, came a familiar voice.
It was Edith Rock.
He was on a big bed, wearing only panties and socks, just like when Oliver first met him, but unlike before, he seemed fine.
"Father…"
Jane went into the room.
"Yes, it's me."
"…. didn’t you say you were leaving Landa?”
"I changed my mind on the way and just came back. Why? Do you have a problem?"
"Oh, no. . .. I'm just happy to see you again like this."
"….Hahahahaha!"
Edith interrupted Jane with a loud laugh.
Oliver thought he wanted to give Jane his inheritance because he liked her, but it didn't seem to be the case.
It was a complex emotion, not a mere like or dislike.
It was a mixture of hate and guilt.
The contradictory emotions fluctuated with a strong light inside Edith.
"The game has already been decided. You'll get your share, so you don't have to pretend to be stupid anymore. So stop it. Watching your acting disgusts me. It reminds me of your whore mother."
Jane's expression hardened coldly at the sudden vitriol.
She began to be filled with despair, and anger as if even the slightest hope had been lost….. No, more than that, the feeling of emptiness shone.
Oliver personally didn't like that emotion very much.
"….I see. So I don't have to act like a stupid lovely daughter anymore.”
"Yes, you did a great job wearing that mask for a year. Thanks to you, I laughed a little, so you don't have to do it anymore….. I'll pay you for your hard work, so just get the fu*k out of here."
It was the end of the conversation.
Less than a few minutes after the meeting, the relationship between the two crumbled like a shattering glass, and soon, Jane disappeared somewhere under Jonathan's guidance.
At that moment Oliver tried to follow her, but Edith Rock stopped him.
"Where are you going?"
"Me?"
"Yes, it’s you sick motherfu*ker. Who else is here beside you? I've felt this since we first met, are your goddamn ears blocked."
It was the same attitude as when he first met him, but Oliver didn't hate it.
"I was going to follow Ms. Jane because I was hired to protect her."
"Well, Cancel it for a while and change it to another request."
"Another request? I'm sorry, but that should be through Mr. Forrest…"
"… You got to suck it up motherfu*ker. If I say do it, you should do it. I pay for it. About… 200 million?"
"…It's a huge amount. It's the same cost as for protecting Ms. Jane."
"Of course, it’s huge. 200 million to protect such an illegitimate child. Well, thanks to that, I got to remove the leach that was sucking my blood, so it's not a big loss."
"leach?"
"Why? Did you think I didn't know that Duncan betrayed me by holding hands with my family?"
"Did you know?"
"It's not to this extent, but I knew he was doing something behind my back. He was an ambitious man. Well, he did hide it well until now. The fundamentals of people don't change much."
Oliver thought for a moment.
"…I don't understand?"
"What?"
"If you knew he would betray you, couldn't you have prevented it in advance?"
"I didn't know he would betray me like this. And most importantly, if I had prevented it beforehand, do you think I would have found evidence of the sh*t my family did? I can use it for not giving them an inheritance in the court."
Edith drank as if he was really frustrated. It was a magic wine, but it did not seem to be a product made by Murphy.
"Fu*k! What is this horses*t? It's way worse than what that prostitute house had. I've to call that manager and shove this in his assh*le.”
"Then, is it to find something to intimidate the family who doesn't like leaving the inheritance to Ms. Jane?"
"Hmm. I didn't mean it from the beginning, but it's roughly like that. They thought I’m done for and tried to fu*k me and this is what they’ll get in return. Now they will know who the real Boss is. Hey, little sh*t, do you know the trick to be respected in this world?"
"Um, no?"
" You have to show everyone that you will fu*k them if they go against you, they should sh*t their pants just thinking about it. Then you have to smile and be kind like a sage. Otherwise, you'll end up getting fu*ked by the whole world."
It sounded like a simple statement, but Oliver could feel the conviction that transcended the sincerity, like Joanna's faith in God.
Curiosity rose in Oliver.
"Can I ask you what your request is?"
"Oh, you look a little human now. It's not that big. You need to talk to me."
"Talk to you?"
"Yes, but honestly. You have to be very honest. Well, as I said, I'll give you 200 million. It's easier than smiling, right?"
‘Um… 200 million.’
Oliver thought for a while and answered.
"Can I ask for something else as a reward?"
"Something else? What? Do you want me to double it?"
Oliver shook his head.
"No, Mr. Edith, please answer my questions. Honestly. I have a lot of questions about you.”
This surprised Edith Rock, who laughed out loud.
It was as if he found the situation amusing.
"Hahahahaha! That sounds fun. All right."
(To be Continued)
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