Christoph's whisper suddenly echoed in Jeong Taeui's ears.
"Mother."
That weak and fragile voice clearly said that.
Christoph's complexion became increasingly pale. Eventually, he seemed unable to breathe,
his hands tightly gripping his neck, his knuckles turning white.
Jeong Taeui began to move slowly. His steps quickened, almost running towards Christoph.
With a face turning blue as if he were about to faint, Christoph panted heavily, but his voice
remained very soft. Just by listening, one wouldn't think it was trembling or shaking; it
simply became quieter as if speaking normally.
But Christoph was trembling violently, his empty gaze staring into the void.
"…Chris."
As Jeong Taeui got closer to Christoph, the call ended.
Christoph slowly lowered the phone, still with a pale face, he curled up. In the cool, air-
conditioned library, he looked pale as if cold, shivering with a blue-tinged face.
"Chris…"
Jeong Taeui called again, gently placing a hand on Christoph's shoulder. As expected,
Christoph's shoulder trembled violently and shrugged off Jeong Taeui's hand.
Christoph slowly raised his head. Chris's clear blue eyes finally met Jeong Taeui's.
The trembling gradually subsided. His shoulders, body, lips, and hands also slowly stopped
shaking.
He sat like that for a long while, then looked down at his clasped hands, staying silent. Even
as time passed, his pale complexion did not return to normal.
Finally, he stood up. Somewhat abruptly, Chris left the library, seemingly without looking
back. Jeong Taeui hesitated for a moment, then followed.
"Christoph, where are you going?"
"Horseback riding."
Christoph answered curtly. The cold and brief tone was no different from usual. He seemed to
have returned to being the usual Christoph.Jeong Taeui frowned and shook his head in frustration.
"Riding in the forest at this time of night? It's too dark to ride a horse."
"I can."
Christoph answered without turning back, descending the stairs.
Jeong Taeui followed him. Outside, it was pitch black. Even though there were lights in the
forest, riding a horse at this hour was still very dangerous. However, Christoph didn't seem to
care about what Jeong Taeui said.
...Ah.
"The horse's leg! You said the horse's leg was injured!"
Earlier, when he returned from riding, Christoph had said his horse seemed to have an injured
leg.
Christoph seemed to remember this right after stepping out of the house, slowing down a bit
as he walked towards the stable.
"If you want to go out, just take a walk in the forest. The trail is well-lit."
Jeong Taeui suggested an alternative, but Christoph only hesitated for a moment before
continuing towards the stable.
"I always go with that horse in the forest. If I can't ride it, I'll walk it."
Jeong Taeui wanted to say something but then sighed and remained silent. Given Christoph's
current state, anything he said would fall on deaf ears.
However.
"Christoph."
Jeong Taeui called out to him.
Christoph, walking a few steps ahead, turned back with an irritated expression. Jeong Taeui
gently asked him.
"Can you see clearly in front of you?"
Are you alert? Is your body okay? Are you overwhelmed with worry and anxiety making it
hard to move?
Christoph stared at Jeong Taeui for a moment without saying anything. Then he slightly
frowned. It seemed he had calmed down a bit.
"Of course."He said coldly, then turned and continued towards the stable.
Jeong Taeui hesitated but slowly followed. Anyway, Christoph couldn't ride a horse, so Jeong
Taeui could follow him while he walked the horse. Maybe he would observe Christoph going
out, take a stroll on the lit trail, and then come back.
Jeong Taeui followed Christoph into the stable, thinking he might take this chance to have a
refreshing walk.
At night, the trail in the forest usually only had one lit path. Occasionally, he would meet a
few people walking at night, but generally, not many ventured into the forest at night.
He sighed lightly, thinking he could enjoy the starry sky in the forest, then walked into the
stable. The chair near the entrance was empty; it seemed the stable guard had temporarily
left.
The stable was U-shaped with two wide entrances to accommodate over a dozen horses.
The horse Christoph usually rode was in the far corner of the stable. That place was out of
sight from the entrance.
Christoph was walking towards the inside but stopped right before the turn. He stood there,
staring inside.
"...? Christoph."
Jeong Taeui tilted his head in surprise, calling out to Chris. But Christoph seemed not to hear
Jeong Taeui's call and just stared inside.
Jeong Taeui scratched his head and approached him. To lead the horse out, one needed to go
deeper inside, but Christoph's sudden stop and refusal to move forward were strange.
Jeong Taeui called again - "Chris" - as he got closer to Christoph, but then fell silent. From
inside the stable, there were faint voices talking. Laughter mixed with the low voices of five
or six people could be heard.
"That's why I said not to injure the horse's leg. If its leg is injured, it can't be ridden, and
naturally, there's no danger."
"But still, he can't ride the horse he loves, so his face is long and gloomy all day. He's a real
nutcase."
"Look, let's put a few thorns under the saddle. When the horse runs, the saddle will slip, and
the thorns will poke into the horse. No matter how good a rider he is, he will be in trouble."
Hearing those vile words, Jeong Taeui gradually frowned. He understood the meaning behind
those words, which were mean and filled with malice.
He clicked his tongue in discomfort and looked at Christoph worriedly. Then he stopped.Christoph stood there silently, listening to those words. From Jeong Taeui's position, he
couldn't see the people, but from Christoph's position, he could.
A thought flashed through Jeong Taeui's mind: would Christoph turn as pale as before?
But Christoph did not turn pale or tremble. He simply looked at them with a cold gaze.
"...Alright. Good job."
Christoph said softly.
But his cold voice rang sharply in the stable, causing the voices inside to suddenly fall silent.
The men inside turned around, their faces changing color. When they moved, Jeong Taeui
could finally see them clearly.
Six men were gathered there, all followers of Richard. Although Jeong Taeui had never
talked to them personally, he often saw them in the dining hall and remembered them because
they usually muttered curses at him or Christoph when passing by.
"Did Richard tell you to do this?"
Christoph asked. His gaze carried a hint of disdain as if looking down on those men.
The men immediately glared angrily, realizing the meaning in Christoph's eyes.
"It has nothing to do with Richard! We just can't stand seeing a nutcase like you wandering
around Tarten!"
"Nothing to do with Richard...? Fine, even if this isn't related to him, you guys are still
associated with him."
Christoph said softly. He glanced at Jeong Taeui, who was standing a few steps behind with a
displeased face, then said briefly - "Don't interfere." - Then he turned back to the men and
spoke.
"Just in time. I needed something to change the atmosphere. Today, I'll deal with you guys
and him."
"…You madman...!!"
The men quickly rushed up together.
Christoph, with an expressionless face, also stepped forward to face them.
Jeong Taeui did not know exactly what kind of person Christoph Tarten was.
He had only heard bits and pieces about how Christoph fought and survived many battles.
Jeong Taeui did not know about Christoph's ruthlessness and brutality, nor did he know the
face and eyes he had when defeating opponents.He could only guess from the stories.
An expressionless face, an unfocused gaze, precise and unwavering movements like a pre-
programmed machine.
This was the first time Jeong Taeui witnessed Christoph coldly and calmly tear apart other
people's bodies without any violent spasms or superfluous movements.
At this moment, Christoph was like a machine.
A beautiful machine like a finely crafted glass statue, but without hesitation in tearing apart
other people's bodies.
Where Christoph passed, fragments of flesh lay in pools of blood, unrecognizable to whom
they belonged.
The time didn't last long.
Just a few minutes.
Covered in blood, Christoph stood silently where only weak groans remained in place of the
painful screams that had ceased to ring out.
Christoph looked around, wiping the blood off his shoes with dry grass as if it made him
uncomfortable.
No one was left there to attack him anymore. The six men lying on the ground couldn't harm
him any longer.
"You guys must have heard many rumors about me, but you're truly foolish..."
Chris muttered as if feeling pity, then sighed and looked up. But his face showed no
expression, no sighs or pity.
He looked up slowly, then suddenly his gaze stopped at Jeong Taeui, who was standing on
one side.
Jeong Taeui hadn't had time to intervene, or even if he wanted to, he couldn't because the
men blocked him. By the time he realized, it was already quiet.
"Oh... you're still here?"
Christoph mumbled vaguely.
His voice and the slight raising of his eyebrows made it seem like he thought Jeong Taeui had
left long ago.
"Christoph, these people..."
"Are still alive. I didn't kill them. This isn't a battlefield, so I can't kill."Chris's voice was clear and slow, as if he were reading from a textbook or someone had
forced him to memorize the rule that killing was not allowed off the battlefield.
Jeong Taeui looked at him with a tense face, then sighed softly.
It seemed like someone had indeed taught Christoph this rule: don't kill people where it's not
permitted. For this dangerous man, it was as if he remembered and followed instructions like
an innocent child.
Christoph wiped the blood off his face with his sleeve. But since his sleeve was already
soaked with blood, it was ineffective.
Christoph didn't look tired. He wasn't panting heavily either.
It seemed his rational mind was still intact. Aside from the strong smell of blood, he was no
different from usual.
"So then... let's catch that guy." – Christoph mumbled, lightly twisting his neck to stretch.
"Who is 'that guy'?"
"The one above them. He must take responsibility for not managing his subordinates
properly. I've thought that I should clean him up once and for all. This is the perfect
opportunity."
Jeong Taeui quickly realized who he was talking about.
Richard.
Jeong Taeui shook his head. If they clashed again, things wouldn't end easily.
"Chris, you can't cause trouble in the house..."
"Oh, don't worry. He'll be at the bar tonight."
"Bar?!"
"He owns a large bar... And today is Tuesday, so he'll be there."
Christoph added, explaining that Richard usually had others manage the bar, but on
Tuesdays, he personally checked it. He flicked his hand to shake off the drops of blood from
his fingertips.
"He has a suspicious bar with many private rooms. No one knows what he does inside. Going
there to confront him is perfect. And if I get to drink a cocktail, that would be great. As long
as there's no poison in it."
Christoph shrugged.
Then he quickly turned and walked straight out of the stable.Jeong Taeui frowned, watching Chris's back, feeling that things would get very troublesome.
No, they were already troublesome.
"What to do with these guys first..."
The men lay scattered on the ground, their bodies occasionally twitching. If they weren't
quickly taken care of, they would become actual corpses. So he had to do something about
them first...
"Damn it. I have to follow Chris to stop him... He really will turn someone's bar into a
bloodbath."
Jeong Taeui worriedly watched Christoph's fading figure. As he fumbled in his pocket for his
phone, the stable guard returned from the bathroom.
Seeing the stable turned into a scene from hell in just a moment, the stable guard stared at
Jeong Taeui in horror, clearly suspecting him. He stammered something, but Jeong Taeui had
no time to listen.
"Can you contact the hospital and the house? I'll leave it to you."
Jeong Taeui gently patted the shoulder of the trembling, pale stable guard, who looked like he
was about to faint from the bloody scene behind him, then quickly ran out of the stable.
Behind him, the stable guard was still stammering, but Jeong Taeui had no time to listen.
Christoph had turned the corner of the mansion and was heading straight for the garage.
With the thought that - 'I can't lose track of Christoph' - Jeong Taeui ran like crazy to catch
up.
Damn it, why is this happening? Why did things turn out this way? I just want to live
peacefully, so why do I have to deal with this?
Jeong Taeui cursed under his breath as he ran. Then he saw Christoph inserting a key into a
sedan parked silently in the garage, so he mustered all his strength and sprinted towards it.