Fair Trade

Yuri and Romano emerged from Guilio’s bedroom. Stefan, who had been waiting, then took over watching Yuri. When Yuri saw Romano walk into Sei’s room, he gave him an unusually cold look and rubbed his lower lip.

“Contact David Meyer. Tell him that if he recognizes my face, that day’s deal will be null and void.”

Stefan, who nodded his head, turned his attention to the sound of Sei’s door opening.

“What are you going to do with Yuri Rose? Why the hell are you hooked on that woman?”

Stefan was rendered speechless. He could sense an unusual rage emanating from Yuri’s figure, who was standing with his hand in his pocket.

“Stefan Kuzmin. I can excuse anything, but if you mess with Sei’s food one more time, your brother will make you regret it. That strawberry-flavored candy… change your preference.”

*  *  *

Sei put on her sunglasses in the dazzling morning sun.

Maybe it had been a while since she had severe body ache, her body was shivering with chills despite the warm wind. Her entire body ached as if she had done a strenuous workout. It was like jumping into boiling water. But she didn’t want to draw attention to herself because of her illness. She knew she would only be met with sympathy, criticism, or meaningless affection.

Sei left the villa early in the morning and boarded Guilio’s private jet in that state. A pair of sunglasses, a red lipstick and an in-flight blanket was enough for her. Sei took medicine for the cold, which she secretly took from a flight attendant and did not wake up even once until she arrived in Milan.

After the gunfight, neither Yuri nor Guilio stimulated her much, but it continued to make her extremely anxious. She didn’t know what to do because everything was so calm.

Guilio is meticulous about everything. Was such a man really deceived by Yuri’s lies? Or has he set up a trap pretending to be deceived?

Their world was full of things she didn’t know much about, so she decided not to complicate things by overthinking them. In either case, one of them would die. If death was not the end, a fitting end awaited them.

“I believe we can get Lorenzo out.”

“Do everything you possibly can.”

“We’d have to finish it before the trial started.”

“Just do whatever you can.”

Romano nodded his head with a determined expression.

Meanwhile, a few sedan cars driving through downtown Milan stopped in front of the hotel lobby.

Sei was still suffering from a cold. Stefan’s eyes widened as he opened the car door and grabbed her staggering figure as she tried to exit. Sei shook her head as if nothing had happened and slipped out of his grasp.

Under the light of a grand, hanging chandelier, the slow music of Bach flowed out.

The hotel lobby was buzzing with the mafia members. Those who knew Guilio Parenti averted their gaze for fear of making eye contact with him, while the general manager kept nagging the slow concierge staff.

Sei recalled the scenery she had seen in the car. The appearance of the Duomo Cathedral, which was quite different from the rest of Florence and the view of streets brimming with European elegance captivated her.

But it was now difficult for her to even take a step forward. She knelt in the lounge, waiting for someone to bring her the assigned room key.

However, the damned room she got was a five-bedroom penthouse that everyone could share. Passing through the manager who started to tell them about the hotel and explaining the pride of the historic hotel, Sei opened the door of the cornermost room.

She chose her room by putting her luggage in a room with a single bed and a front window overlooking the streets of Milan. The exotic scenery and the small room appealed to her. Except for the main room, her only complaint was that there were only two bathrooms left.

I’d have to leave this room eventually.

But now, even such worries were a luxury. Sei burrowed her body into the sheets with her jumper on.

“Then I’ll use this.”

She could hear Yuri’s voice vaguely. Sei recalled that the ‘four days later’ he mentioned was today.

“I promise. Four days later… No one will ever touch you again.”

She couldn’t tell if it was the medicine or her cold. Even though she slept so much on the plane, she still felt sleep deprived. There were about five hours until the event’s start time.

How long has it been since I slept? Someone entered the room with the curtains closed, allowing no light in. The intruder sat on the edge of the bed without saying anything. Sei opened her eyes when she felt the mattress tilt.

“Get out,” she said coldly on purpose. But the person just stayed beside her stubbornly.

Sei grabbed a hand that was about to touch her forehead. She recognized the man the moment she caught a whiff of his scent. He clasped her hands and touched her forehead. A feeling of being crushed by an overwhelming sense of weakness washed over her.

“I said, get out, Mr. Kais Miller.”

“… I’ll call a doctor.”