Free Web NovelLess than a day later, a report investigating Choi Seohyeon's movements was placed on the table.
As I read through it, my gaze stopped at one line.
“France?”
It stated that she had gone to Paris for a friendship exchange organized by the France-Korea Parliamentary Association.
“And she met with the French president...”
There was nothing particularly suspicious on the surface.
But my instincts were telling me otherwise.
Something had happened there.
“Hm... no matter how I think about it, this is strange.”
There were dozens of friendship associations between parliamentarians from various countries.
But most lawmakers merely put their names on several of them and rarely attended any events.
Yet someone preparing to run in the presidential primary had flown all the way to Europe for something like this?
“Chief Ma. Tell them to investigate Choi Seohyeon's activities in France in more detail.”
“Yes, understood.”
“And...”
After giving Chief Ma several more instructions, I put down the documents.
“Europe at a time like this. There's definitely something going on.”
My thoughts became even more tangled.
The next day, I called Igor.
— Boss.
“Igor, you've taken over command, right?”
— Yes. The handover is complete.
“How are things? And what's Lorenze doing?”
— People have been deployed everywhere searching for Lorenze. The estate is guarded by armed security personnel...
Igor calmly reported the situation.
— Occasionally, loud noises come from Lorenze's room. Most of the time it's things breaking or him shouting.
Looks like Lorenze was under tremendous psychological stress.
Slowly rubbing my chin, I thought for a moment before speaking.
“Igor, tell Lorenze to contact me.”
— Are you accepting the request, Boss?
“It seems Baltice is trying something dirty. In that case, I should shake things up on my end too. Tell him to contact me immediately.”
— Understood.
Not even ten minutes after ending the call with Igor, Lorenze contacted me.
— Charlie!
Apparently Igor had informed him I would accept his request, because Lorenze's voice sounded much better.
“Lorenze, does Baltice happen to have some plan prepared to attack me?”
— An attack against Charlie?
“Yes. Like revealing my identity to the public...”
— Revealing who Charlie is counts as an attack?
How naïve.
“I don't exactly deal only in legitimate business. I'm tied up with political funds too.”
— Hmm... there was a plan like that once. But the consensus was that we'd lose more than we'd gain, so it was scrapped.
“What kind of plan?”
— It wasn't very detailed, but in summary...
Lorenze explained the ideas that had circulated within Baltice.
“It certainly sounds like something with more losses than gains. But if they get cornered, couldn't they put it into action?”
— Hmm... I'm sorry, Charlie. I don't know exactly what Baltice is plotting. There were meetings held without me.
I needed to send Lorenze back into Baltice.
But first, he had to reclaim the family.
“Keep your promise. You said you'd grant any ‘favor’ I ask.”
— Will you really help me?
“If you break your promise, then next time we meet, we'll be enemies.”
My icy tone made Lorenze suck in a breath.
— Charlie. I don't want to become your enemy. I will absolutely, definitely keep my promise.
“Good. I'll notify Black Bear headquarters. Once you officially submit the request, all the mercenaries there will obey your commands. Since this is a special request, they'll charge double the usual fee.”
— I don't care how much it costs. But... I want protection until I seize control of Baltice.
He must have been terrified.
His voice trembled slightly when he asked for protection.
“Discuss the details with headquarters.”
— Thank you. I will never forget this debt.
“I don't believe in words of gratitude. Just keep your promise.”
After ending the call with the repeatedly thankful Lorenze, I summoned Chief Ma.
“Chief Ma. Contact Black Bear headquarters and tell them to accept Lorenze's request. Charge double, and let them negotiate the contract period and conditions themselves.”
“Understood, Boss. Are you helping Lorenze?”
I nodded with a smile.
“It seems this mess in Korea was Baltice's doing. Choi Seohyeon doesn't have the nerve to pull something like this on her own. She'd never do it without someone backing her.”
Chief Ma seemed to think the same and nodded.
“Understood. I'll contact them immediately. Anything else?”
“Raise surveillance on Choi Seohyeon to maximum. Contact the media companies and suppress the articles as much as possible. Tell them that if they publish anything unfavorable about me, every company connected to me will pull their advertisements.”
Suspicions were only suspicions.
If the mainstream media didn't bite, this could remain nothing more than a storm in a teacup.
But they should've chosen their target more carefully.
“An eye for an eye.”
They had dared to touch me.
I intended to repay them accordingly.
* * *
Black Bear accepted Lorenze's request and immediately signed the contract.
Both Igor's team and John's team were deployed.
The fact that Igor's team was involved alone changed the scale of support.
Igor's team only accepted missions related to Kim Muhyuk.
Only those with exceptional operational abilities could join Igor's team, and the待遇 reflected that.
After finalizing the contract, Igor appointed John as vice commander and began discussing operations with Lorenze.
“If we secure the estate, can you reclaim the family?”
At Igor's question, Lorenze nodded.
“Yes. Grandfather is there. With the symbolic importance of the estate and Grandfather's support, reclaiming the family won't be difficult.”
When Igor silently looked at him, Lorenze continued.
“Giuliano intended to capture me and force me to publicly relinquish the family headship. But since I escaped, he can't carry out that plan. If I don't surrender the position, things become complicated. He could invoke the family rule that transfers authority to another member when the head is absent, but... that process takes at least a month. Giuliano must be desperate.”
In other words, they had to retake the family within a month.
“What happens after one month?”
“A family council involving all branches convenes and elects a new head.”
“So retaking the estate quickly is crucial. The secret passage you used to escape is unusable now, right?”
Lorenze nodded.
“They've discovered its location. Without the key I have, they can't open it, but they'll definitely be guarding the area where our traces were last found.”
Igor looked at John, and John immediately replied.
“Based on the location where we rescued him, it's obvious, Captain. There are still guards there.”
“So that means a frontal battle...”
Igor frowned.
Then Lorenze hurriedly interjected.
“There is another secret passage.”
“Another one? Shouldn't we assume they've found that one too?”
“No. They'll never find it. No matter how thoroughly they search the estate, they won't search Grandfather's bedroom.”
After thinking for a moment, Igor raised an eyebrow.
“You mean it connects to the former family head's bedroom?”
“There are four secret passages in the estate. We should assume the others have all been discovered. But Grandfather's bedroom is different. Giuliano would never dare search it.”
His voice was filled with certainty.
Staring at him, Igor asked,
“What are the chances the former family head betrayed you?”
“Zero. If Grandfather intended to abandon me, Giuliano wouldn't have gone through all this trouble.”
Having grasped the situation, Igor nodded and turned to John.
“John, we'll split into two teams. One attacks through the front gate, and one enters through the secret passage. Your team and mine.”
“Understood. My team will take the front.”
“Then I'll enter the estate with Lorenze through the secret passage.”
Detailed plans immediately followed.
Listening to the two men strategize, Lorenze tried to calm his anxiety.
* * *
“You... you dare!”
“Grandfather, my brother has caused far too much damage to the family.”
Cosimo glared at Giuliano while breathing heavily.
“Please pass the family headship to me. If you use your influence, it can be done.”
“It will never happen while I still breathe.”
“The elders and the younger generation have all pledged their support to me. Are you really going to watch the family collapse like this?”
At Giuliano's calm words, sparks seemed to flash in Cosimo's eyes.
“You are absolutely unfit to become family head! Your greed is too great!”
“Grandfather, I've never once been greedy in my life.”
“Foolish. So very foolish. You think you've hidden your true nature well. But I know. You're insane.”
Faced with the torrent of condemnation, Giuliano lowered his head.
But then his shoulders began to shake.
“Kh... khk...”
It was impossible to tell whether it was laughter or a groan.
After chuckling for a while, Giuliano muttered darkly,
“Grandfather, what exactly do you know about me? Even after my brother became family head, I used every means possible for the sake of the family.”
When he raised his head again, his eyes held no emotion.
“Enough. I don't need your support. If time simply passes, everything will resolve itself. The family rules will do what even you cannot stop.”
“You bastard!”
“Lie there and watch me become family head.”
“Giuliano!”
As Cosimo shouted, his breathing suddenly became ragged.
The machines surrounding his bed erupted with loud alarms.
The medical staff waiting outside rushed in.
“Lord Cosimo! Lord Cosimo!”
The attending physician desperately called out to him, but Cosimo had already lost consciousness.
Watching the scene, Giuliano spoke.
Even amid the shrill alarms, his voice remained completely emotionless.
“Keep him alive. Until I become family head. Understood?”
“......”
“If he dies before then, everything will be your responsibility. At that point, even death won't come easily.”
The color drained from the physician's face.
After staring at Cosimo's face for a moment, Giuliano stood.
“Report any changes immediately.”
As Giuliano exited the bedroom, the elders were waiting.
“Giuliano! What did Father say?”
“He said he'd never allow me to become family head as long as he still had dirt left to cover his eyes.”
Alessandro raised his voice.
“Why? Everyone in the family knows you're more capable than that Lorenze fool!”
“Thank you for your support, Uncle and Aunt. It can't be helped. We'll simply follow the family rules.”
At that moment, a subordinate came running.
“Lord Giuliano.”
“Control yourself. We're in front of Grandfather's bedroom.”
“Armed forces are approaching the front gate.”
Giuliano's face immediately twisted.
“What? Who dares attack the Medici estate with armed men?”
“Unknown. Their numbers and equipment are on an entirely different level from ours.”
The elders' faces turned pale.
“Lorenze! Isn't it Lorenze?! Has the family head brought in the military to retake the estate?!”
“Aunt, calm down. The government and military already informed us they wouldn't interfere in family matters. Even my brother can't mobilize the army. He's probably hired mercenaries...”
Giuliano's words were interrupted by a voice crackling over the radio.
— Antonio! This is Antonio!
Giuliano immediately ordered,
“Find Lorenze at once! Recall all scattered forces!”
“Yes, Lord Giuliano!”
After relaying the orders, the subordinate hurried away.
“Uncle, Aunt, please go inside and rest. I'll handle everything.”
Leaving the anxious elders behind, Giuliano walked away.
“Traitors who seized the estate, listen! By the authority of Lorenze, head of the Medici family, I order you to throw down your weapons and surrender!”
Antonio shouted into the loudspeaker.
But no reply came from those guarding the estate.
Moments later, Giuliano appeared atop a watchtower.
“Brother Antonio. It's me, Giuliano. Where is Brother? Is he still hiding like a coward?”
The moment Antonio saw Giuliano's face, flames seemed to burst from his eyes.
