Fair Trade

“Mr. Petrov…?”

“But who is this?”

Sei wasn’t the only one who was surprised and perplexed. When Yuri Petrov’s gorgeous platinum blonde hair came into Justin’s line of sight, he dropped the huge bouquet of flowers to the ground. Sei did not pass up this opportunity to get Justin off her back.

“This is Justin. He’s the older brother of my roommate, Chloe…”

“Oh… But why is your friend’s brother giving you flowers?”

“That…”

“Let’s talk about this slowly. There shouldn’t be any secrets between us, Rose.”

He smiled, but his displeasure was obvious. The man then licked Sei’s face for a long time before leaving little kisses behind. Justin, who blushed seeing this intimate act, alternated his gaze between the two of them, spat out a little expletive, and began to back away. Then he dashed down the steps, making a loud noise in the process.

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The sound of his fast, thumping footsteps reverberated up and down the stairwell.

It felt as though something had been resolved yet also had become even more complicated at the same time. Sei put her hands against her hurting temple, tightly closing her eyes.

“Excuse me… Mr. Petrov.”

“Call me Yuri.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I told you. That I’ll see you at your home. I thought you were only good at seducing mafia members, but it looks like you’re pretty popular even among the common folks too.”

Shaking her head, Sei responded by tucking away her disheveled hair. “It’s just that there are some men who are obsessed with women with black hair. It’s been like this ever since I was young. Because my hair is so dark… Anyway, thank you. You are also very good at acting.”

“I’m good at everything,” he replied with a satisfied look. Then, he went out into the hallway and picked up the bouquet Justin had just dropped. The bouquet of hyacinths went well with his pale skin. Yuri, after smelling their scent, tried to bring them into the house.

But Sei stopped him. The pale and tired-looking woman took the bundle of hyacinths and threw them into the trash bin at the end of the hallway.

“Hmm…”

He had an unreadable expression on his face. Sei let out a loud sigh and pulled him into the house.

“I hate flowers. Especially hyacinths. I hate them very much.”

“Is there any reason?”

After locking all the locks again, Sei turned around, clasping her trembling hands.

“Other than having a conversation that delves into our personal history… shall we talk about something else? I’d like us to discuss the gift you brought.”

* * *

Sei narrowed her eyes as she examined the cell phone which was of the same model as the one she possessed. It wasn’t just the model, but even the serial number of the device was the same. However, she could tell that it was different from her cloned cell phone made by a third-class engineer.

He took the cell phone she was looking at, put in a SIM, and turned on its power, and the same screen appeared even with all the applications she had downloaded on the other phone. Sei smiled at the absurdity and accepted Yuri’s cell phone.

“As you expected, it’s a cell phone with tracking functions. You don’t have to worry if the power is off. It will work unless it is incinerated.”

“… How did you know that the cell phone that Giulio gave me was for military use?”

“If I recall correctly, the signal system of the call you got the other day was the same as Guilio Parenti’s? DE:A has a lot of interesting devices. They make it very easy to detect a signal.”

That’s expected.

She asked, scratching the corner of her eye, “So you want me to use this cell phone from now on?”

“Yes.”

Things now seemed no longer surprising. Sei was even confident that she wouldn’t be surprised if this man suddenly pulled a missile out of his arms.

Well, I guess this is my cell phone from now on.

Sei pulled out another thing from the shopping bag. A strange smile hung over the corner of Yuri’s lips when he saw the dark purple velvet case. She could now figure out why the man appeared young. His eyes, nose, and mouth were all sultry, but his exceptionally smooth and red lips were sexy enough to draw one’s eyes to him. In addition to that, his skin didn’t have any blemishes.

It was the sound of the lid of the velvet case opening that woke her from her wandering thoughts.

Inside the case, there was a dark gray baroque pearl that was slightly larger than the palm of her hand.

Baroque pearls, which had been neglected due to their irregular shape, began to be reevaluated after the Renaissance, and the fashion houses that considered their irregular shape as their charm were competing to make and present them as accessories.

That also played a part in its charm in terms of price, which was only half that of natural pearls.

Its price was not high enough to make her nervous.

But the problem was its value.

Sei bit her lip anxiously.

“I hope it’s not what I think it is.”

The 3.5 cm-diameter gray pearl was hung on a chain made of white gold, which 100% matched the collection she saw at the Lyon Museum in France a few years ago.

She stared at the man with a terrified look on her face as he picked up the necklace from the case.

“Should a woman who wished for La Peregrina tremble over such a thing?”

He came round the chair and fastened a pearl necklace around her neck. Sei looked at her reflection in the window. If she wore this to France, she would face problems from the immigration desk till departure.

“I have no interest in being your human shield. If you were trying to scare me, you have succeeded. So…”

When she tried to take off the necklace, he laughed out loud and took out another case and held it out.

“You’re cute.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

“Actually, this is the real present. That was just a joke.”

There was a Cartier logo engraved on the second case. Sei took off the necklace, carefully put it down, and opened the second box.