His voice was completely flat and even, but that very flat sentence instantly brought Sehir to the peak of tension.
Isri had been behaving very strangely since the beginning. Ceshir glanced at Isri a few times, and Isri seemed to notice the gaze, so he opened his mouth again.
"Is there anything else, young master?"
Sehir realized he was being too obvious, so he looked away, said it was nothing, and turned to shove himself into the bathroom.
The large bathroom only had hot water prepared by Isri. When Sehir walked up to the mirror, he was startled by the person in the mirror.
Her eyes were rubbed raw and red, with a few drops of water glistening at the corners. Her dry, pale lips were slightly parted, and her hair was a mess. Everything about her looked extremely disheveled.
Sehir gave a wry smile and slowly took off his clothes. When his gaze fell on the mirror again, he was surprised once more.
Even the slightest red mark on his clean, fair skin would have been shocking; now, these red marks were scattered all over his upper body.
After glancing at it, Sehir immediately turned away and shrank into the bathtub, his heart pounding. He was afraid that Isri would come in through the door at any moment.
The hot water kept washing over the red marks, making them itchy, and the scene from earlier kept replaying in my mind.
Yes, he remembered very clearly that when he first met Isri, his collar was open, so it was obvious that Isri would have seen the red mark on his chest.
A strange sense of fear slowly crept up Sehir's back. In the past, Isri would never have been as calm as he was now.
Sehir's heart palpitations grew stronger and stronger, and he stayed in the bathtub for more than an hour before getting out. Isri was still standing straight outside the door, holding a towel and the hot milk he had prepared in advance, just like always.
After drying Sehir's hair, Isri handed him the hot milk.
The taste was the same as usual, with no change. Cesil glanced up at Isri before drinking the milk in one gulp.
"Good night, young master," Isri said, bowing as he took the blanket.
"Did you see anything today?" Cecil asked, still unwilling to give up.
Isri paused almost imperceptibly in the hand holding the cup, then smiled and said.
"No, young master, you should rest now. See you tomorrow."
After saying that, Islam pushed the food cart, dimmed the bedside lamp, and went out.
Sehir looked at the closed door, but finally couldn't resist the torment of sleepiness and fell asleep a few minutes later.
After finishing his tidying up, Isri returned to his room, dressed, and put on his ever-present white gloves, his eyes devoid of any emotion.
After confirming that Sehir was completely asleep, Isri gently pushed open the door and went out.
Evenings are when the chambers of commerce are bustling with activity, as groups of people are actively unloading goods from the docks to prepare ample supplies for the next day.
-
"Why are you here now? Is something wrong?" the administrator asked as soon as he saw Isri.
Islam leaned against the pillar in front of him, looking extremely languid.
"Do you think your task is heavy?" Isri squinted slightly, looking at the workers carrying goods in the distance.
Upon hearing Isri's words, the administrator immediately became extremely alert, staring wide-eyed at Isri, his voice slightly stammering.
"I...I, the task is not heavy at all! Please tell me what you need!" The administrator immediately bowed.
He couldn't afford to lose this job.
Isri breathed a sigh of relief. He was no longer the steward of the Cretis family; he was now just a businessman.
“I expect you to buy back the neighboring chamber of commerce tonight,” Isri said casually.
Suddenly, the administrator breathed a sigh of relief. He thought it was something serious, but it was just the Chamber of Commerce.
The administrator looked up at Isri and immediately said with a smile, "Understood! I'll take care of it right away."
After saying that, he led a group of people and rushed over.
The people who were still handling their goods next door were startled when they saw this group of people. The administrator was standing in the center of the chamber of commerce, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Where is your boss!"
Immediately, everyone around looked over, and those who were capable secretly went to inform their superiors.
After the administrator shouted a few times, a figure finally appeared on the second floor.
"Why aren't you managing your own chamber of commerce at night? What are you doing here causing trouble?"
The person speaking came down from the second floor, staring at the administrator with round eyes.
He had just returned from Las Vegas and hadn't even had time to change his clothes before being dragged here, leaving him seething with anger.
The administrator, not to be outdone, chuckled and said, "You seem to be having a lot of fun. Enjoy your time tonight."
After saying that, the manager picked up the box and placed it on the counter, opening it with a "bang".
"From now on, I will buy back everyone who works here at ten times the price!" The administrator raised the volume again so that everyone could hear.
Immediately, everyone's eyes lit up, staring intently at the money in the box, their feet itching to get started.
"What do you mean?" The man seemed to be starting to feel uneasy.
The administrator stared at the man without flinching and opened his mouth again: "It doesn't mean anything, I just want to acquire you."
Before the man could speak, the administrator spoke again: "Have you thought it through? This is your only chance tonight."
"I'll do it!" As soon as the words were spoken, a person rushed forward.
The person standing at the top of the stairs seemed to be getting impatient. He took a few steps forward, glared at the person, and shouted, "Who told you to do this?!"
The administrator took a step back, seemingly a little disgusted: "Nobody's here. It's just that you might have offended someone you shouldn't have."
Chapter 51
The man frowned thoughtfully, and after a long while, only one person's image appeared in his mind.
"Your Grace?" the man asked tentatively.
The administrator glanced at it, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Good to know."
As soon as he finished speaking, people rushed up one after another. Ten times the price—that was an amount of money they would have to earn in more than ten years—and now they could get it without lifting a finger.
Why not?
In just a moment, everyone stood behind the administrator, their eyes showing no lingering attachment to the chamber of commerce.
The people who were just moments ago so arrogant can now only watch helplessly as their staff leaves, unable to do anything about it.
Offended? The only thing he could think of was what he had said when he invited the Duke. The more he thought about it, the more complicated his mind became. In just two seconds, his eyes were filled with fear.
The administrator counted the number of people, picked up the box, and said calmly, "Enjoy the rest of your evening as soon as possible."
It's all gone! Everything is gone. In this society, money is fundamental; without money, you are nothing.
You can't win back ten times your initial investment.
After the administrator left, a loud cry could be heard coming from the Chamber of Commerce hall.
It seemed as if he regretted everything he had done.
Upon receiving the result, Isri simply nodded slightly and walked out without saying a word.
-
The next day, Sehir got up earlier than usual, and Islam prepared his clothes and breakfast early in the morning.
While changing clothes, Cecil deliberately covered the red marks on his body with his arms, but Isri seemed not to see anything and continued changing clothes without any reaction.
"Young Master, it's cold outside today, put on a shawl." Isri turned around and picked out a thicker one from the clothes rack behind him.
Because the collar was a bit high, all the fine, soft hair was squeezed at the neckline, making her look exactly like a mushroom.
Islam knelt down and slowly slipped the shoes onto his feet. Only when he tied the last knot did he look up and speak softly.
"Young Master, it's time for a haircut."
Cecil touched his short hair, which had grown to his neck, and thought it made sense, so he responded to Isri's voice: "Come back and get it cut."
“Yes, young master, I’ll go prepare the carriage.” Isri stood up and left through the door.
Today is Wednesday in the middle of the month, the anniversary of the death of the Crettis family, which is one of the few times Sehir wears black throughout the year.
As the carriage continued up the mountain, the scenery outside the window changed so quickly that it was almost impossible to take it all in.
The mountainside seemed like a paradise, unhindered by the thick smoke below, and even the fog seemed to have avoided this secluded place.
The higher you go, the more vibrant the flowers seem to be, and the grass on the ground is an eye-catching green.
Isri parked the carriage a little further away, afraid of disturbing everything here.
“Young Master, I’ve been waiting for you here.” Isri opened the car door and helped Ceshir out.
Islam seemed to be obsessively fixated on this rule, which forbade servants from approaching the family cemetery.
Sehir had tried to persuade him several times, but in the end he compromised with Islam.
The place had already been bought. When Sehir reached the top of the mountain, he was surprised to find that the flowers on the trees had not yet all fallen.
When the wind blows, pink petals are everywhere.
There was only one tombstone on this land, standing beside a tree. There was no mound of earth or epitaph; it was just a simple stone tablet.
For some reason, the wind suddenly picked up and blew all the petals that had fallen on the tombstone off.
Sehir stood in front of the tombstone, his bright blond hair blown about and getting in his eyes several times.
Standing at a distance, Islam could see this scene perfectly. The hillside was very high, connecting with the sky, and the golden threads were gently lifted by the wind, scattered in the air.
He was a little jealous of Feng.
Sehir brushed his disheveled hair behind his ears and knelt before the tombstone.
"Long time no see, I've come to see you all."
Sehir's voice was very soft, and his hand was cold when it touched the tombstone, which stung his heart.
The mother who used to play with me, the brother who said he was going out to run errands but actually went out to buy me a birthday present, and the father who was always running around to various business associations.
Scenes kept replaying in his mind, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember their faces. It was as if they had been erased, and his memory was a blank.
He imagined it countless times, and reviewed the merchant records countless times, but there was absolutely no clue to investigate.
His father had no enemies with anyone, and the inexplicable killing came to an abrupt end, leaving him the only member of the Noda Cretis family.
Whether by design or she was simply lucky, he escaped the killing but ended up living with a demon.