“Yes, just a moment. You’re registered as a scheduled visitor. May I have your names?”

“Ro, Upsilon.”

“Confirmed. I’ll guide you to the penthouse-only elevator.”

The staff quickly confirmed the appointment and led the two of them to the elevator at the far end of the first floor. Inside the private elevator operating only for the few floors classified as penthouse levels in this high-rise apartment, there were no floor buttons and no panel displaying floor numbers, but the moment Ro and Upsilon stepped inside, it began to move as if it had been waiting for them.

“They’ve hidden even the concept of floors here.”

All Upsilon could tell was that the elevator was moving, but he had no idea which floor it was heading to as he muttered.

“Yeah. I get that security is tight, but it seems way too inconvenient. I don’t know how anyone lives surrounded by such a suffocating system. I’d feel like I’d suffocate to death.”

“For someone at the boss’s level, this doesn’t seem excessive at all.”

“I’m not at the boss’s level, so I wouldn’t know. Forget the cost. If someone told me to live in a place like this, I’d probably die from feeling trapped.”

Even though the elevator moved very quickly, it took well over thirty seconds before it finally stopped, which told them just how high up their destination floor was.

“Ugh, my ears feel clogged.”

When the elevator opened, Ro stepped out while rubbing his ears uncomfortably. As expected of a place that prioritized security, the front door wasn’t visible the moment they exited the elevator. They had to pass through a refined anteroom, smaller than the first-floor lobby but still elegantly maintained, before they could see the entryway leading into the penthouse.

Ro went ahead first and approached the door, and before he even reached it, the lock inside clicked open and the door swung inward. The moment Ro saw the person who came out, the earlier murmur about his ears feeling clogged disappeared, and he stiffened like a soldier standing at attention.

“O, long time no see, Clive. I hope you’ve been well?”

“So-so.”

The tall man, who looked to be in his early to mid-fifties, roughly the same age as Robert, had a very cold, sharp impression. Upsilon felt a familiar energy from Clive that he had long since forgotten. The pressure he used to feel from the high-ranking mafia bosses who had ruled the dark underworld in his days as a mafia member.

But unlike them, Clive wore clothes that were both comfortable and neat, and his movements were disciplined. They were not intentional so much as habits ingrained through long years of living, and he looked less like a mafia man from the underworld than a calm, experienced soldier. Just as Ro had said, he was clearly a man with a completely different atmosphere from Robert.

“You should not make it obvious that you’re probing someone while you’re doing it. Don’t they teach even the basics at Amabile these days?”

Clive asked coldly, fixing his gaze on Upsilon, who stood behind Ro. Upsilon flinched slightly at Clive’s words, because he had seen through his gaze in less than a few seconds. It hadn’t felt like Clive had looked at him before shifting his attention just now. Upsilon, whose intent had been seen through in an instant, lowered his head slightly toward him.

“My apologies. I’m Upsilon, an agent at Amabile.”

“Yes, I heard from Ravi.”

Ravi?

“Both of you, come in. Ravi seems to have plenty to say.”

…Ravi? Was that round, cute name referring to Robert, the boss of Amabile? Upsilon looked at Ro in disbelief, but Ro seemed to have no room to worry about him and entered the penthouse after Clive, still creaking along like a wooden doll.

The penthouse interior Clive led them into was so vast it felt grand, but the decor was surprisingly simple and clean. The only unusual thing was that one entire wall was a wine storage rack. He didn’t know if it was merely for decoration or if the bottles were actually drinkable wine, but it was the kind of interior that seemed to show off the penthouse itself and its owner’s refined tastes.

“Wow, nothing’s changed since the last time I was here. Those flashy wines too. Looks like Clive’s taste is still the same.”

“Lu… no, Ro. Stop saying unnecessary things.”

“Yes, sir.”

Ro, who had tried to make small talk with Clive after such a long time only to fail spectacularly, gave an awkward smile. Upsilon, who had followed quietly behind them, had his eyes on Clive’s right leg, which was very slightly limping. Unless one looked closely, they might not even notice he limped at all, but it was clear one leg seemed to be troubling him.

“Go into that room.”

When Clive pointed at one of the many doors with a finger, Ro quickly nodded and headed toward the room he indicated. Upsilon gave Clive a short bow before following after Ro.

“Both of you, come in. Sorry to call you here without even giving you time to rest.”

When they entered the room Clive had indicated, Robert, who had been sitting back against the headboard of a large bed, greeted Ro and Upsilon with a gentle smile. Even though it was the same situation as when they were at headquarters, just in a different place, Ro and Upsilon were quite taken aback. The IV stand beside the bed, and the pure white cast wrapped around his left arm, too. No matter how you looked at it, Robert was in the appearance of a patient.

“W-what happened, Boss?”

“Ah, this? It’s not as bad as it looks. Clive made a big fuss, that’s all. Sorry for making you come all this way. It’s a little embarrassing to say this, but I’m under house arrest right now.”

Answering Ro’s question, Robert added that he had tried to escape several times and failed, giving an awkward smile. At that, Ro roughly guessed what had happened. Robert must have been injured in some incident, and when he tried to go to work at headquarters saying it was nothing, Clive had stopped him. But as far as Ro knew, Clive was absolutely not the type to place Robert under house arrest over something as trivial as that.

“How did you get hurt?”

Upsilon asked the question Ro had wanted to ask, and after thinking for a moment, Robert let out a small sigh and spoke.

“I was attacked by an assassin hired by the Duke of Ashford.”

“Who? The Duke of Ashford? …The duke hired an assassin?”

“At least, ostensibly.”

At Robert’s words, Ro’s expression twisted into something beyond disbelief, as though he couldn’t make sense of it.

“How is that not a big deal? Clive wasn’t making a fuss, he was justified in keeping you locked up. When were you attacked?”

“The night before last.”

“Why didn’t you tell me and Upsilon?”

“Because I was fine. Clive was with me during the attack, so there was no problem at all. If anything, the other side probably took more damage. And how would it have changed anything for you two, being out on a mission, if I had told you?”

Robert wasn’t wrong, so there was nothing to say, but Ro still didn’t let his expression soften as he rubbed his forehead. After Ro, Upsilon picked apart the meaning of what Robert had said.

“What you mean by ‘ostensibly’ is… that you believe the assassination attempt wasn’t done by the Duke of Ashford?”

“That’s right. First of all, if they really meant to assassinate me, the assassins had far too many openings. And the day after the attack, as if they had been waiting for it, the Ashford family contacted me through a broker under the pretext of providing information on the assassins and offering an apology.”

“Could it have been Geoffrey Ashford?”

“That’s what they claimed. Said their foolish nephew seemed to have been involved in this latest attack.”

When he met Reginald in the private gallery, they had been told that Geoffrey Ashford would try to reach Amabile in one way or another, but to think it would be like this.

A fake assassination attempt against the boss of Amabile of all people. It was the kind of thing only someone with nerves of steel could even dream of doing. Or someone so intoxicated by the power they held that they were arrogant enough to look down on even the boss of Amabile.

“Then there was no contact from the Duke of Ashford, the one named as the mastermind?”

At Upsilon’s question, Robert lightly shook his head. While Geoffrey Ashford had moved the very next day after the incident, Rowan Ashford had taken no action up to now. Not even Reginald Carrington, Rowan Ashford’s representative.

“I think it’s one of two possibilities. Either Geoffrey Ashford deliberately framed his nephew so that Amabile would come to hate the Duke of Ashford, or the Duke of Ashford really did deceive Amabile.”

“The first is possible, but if it’s the second, isn’t the motive too weak? If they really intended to assassinate the boss, they would have hired skilled professionals for the job. What does the Ashford family or Ashburn Arlen lack? Is it money? Power? Information?”

Ro, still unable to relax the crumpled look on his face, spoke in a voice laced with a sigh. If Duke Rowan Ashford had fed false information to Amabile, then it meant he was aligned with his uncle Geoffrey Ashford.

Even if the two were in a power struggle within the family, that would still make them people trying to seize control of the house. In that case, it made even less sense for the duke to play the role of whistleblower against Ashburn Arlen, the family’s main source of funds. And even if the request to uncover Ashburn Arlen’s corruption itself had been false, the link between that false request and the motive to assassinate Robert still seemed far too weak.

“Boss. In my opinion, it’s more convincing to think Geoffrey Ashford was trying to drive a wedge between the duke and Amabile.”

At Ro’s words, Upsilon cut in with a question.