The car stopped by the coast,
as the entire castle was not built directly reliant on the coast, but rather it was actually positioned off the coast, connected by a long black stone passage.
This passage wasn't suitable for driving, only for walking.
Someone was already waiting by the shore.
Because Ethan had sent a greeting to Sandro before departing, confirming that he was available tonight before setting off.
The person who came to greet them was not unfamiliar either, it was Emilio.
He was still dressed the same way, high-collared trench coat, round hat.
He looked quite frail by the seaside on the verge of nightfall, but he seemed unaffected by the cold.
"We meet again, Ethan."
Compared to the anger during their last parting, Emilio was now calm and composed.
"Emilio, as for last time, I must offer my sincerest apologies to you."
Ethan said, spreading his arms, as if to hug him.
"There's nothing to apologize for, let's just say Joan was unlucky himself, come on, Sandro is waiting for you."
Emilio said, turning away.
Two subordinates were following behind him, they were not as resistant to cold as Emilio, shivering, yet still coming over to help carry the gifts.
Actually, Ethan hadn't prepared any special gifts, just things money could buy.
But the real gift he intended to give Sandro today wasn't here.
The black stone passage was even longer than Ethan imagined, by the time they reached the foot of the castle, the sky was almost completely dark.
The castle's lights were already lit, Ethan could sense the solid malice all around.
The Conte family, being the foremost of the five major families in Wenster, indeed possessed formidable strength.
Following Emilio into the castle, in the dim light, the first thing that caught Ethan's eyes was an enormous mural.
In the mural, a massive figure dominated most of the canvas.
It was a woman with a serpent's hair, her form unbelievably gigantic, rising from the sea towards the sky, completely obscuring the sky.
Meanwhile, wind, rain, and lightning swirled around her, and the sea was boiling.
In the boiling sea, there were numerous marine creatures, sea monsters, giants, various mythological entities, all bowing beneath this woman.
The scene on this painting was truly grand, and the techniques employed were quite masterful, with a strong religious aura pervading it.
Ethan distinguished from his former self's memory that the figure depicted in the painting was likely a secular image of the Sea God Isis, though he had never seen such content before, unlike the several passed-down artworks depicting Isis.
"Is Sandro a follower of Isis?"
Ethan casually asked.
"Sandro believes in nothing, he only believes in himself." Emilio paused, then added, "This painting was here when Sandro bought this castle."
Sandro bought this castle.
Yes, he bought it, not built it.
Speaking of it, Sandro was absolutely a legendary figure.
Several levels higher in legend than Ethan.
Ethan's two-day-and-night feat of slaying enemies and reclaiming family enterprise was indeed legendary, but in front of Sandro, it paled in comparison.
This was a self-made man, who founded the largest Mafia family in Wenster.
About thirty years ago, no one knew where he came from, he seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
He carved a bloody path through Wenster's underground mire in the shortest time, creating the most powerful underworld army, unstoppable.
He took over the most lucrative underground business, and in the following decades, quickly washed himself halfway clean, forming connections with various bigwigs in Wenster's political and legal circles, becoming a truly top-rank hero in Wenster.
He walked the path in thirty years that other families could not complete in several generations.
After establishing the Conte family as the leading amongst the five major Mafia families in Wenster, he bought this castle and began living in seclusion.
And speaking of family, in reality, the Conte family until now, consisted of only Sandro himself, as far as known, he has not married, has no children, and there have been no rumors of his having lovers.
He hasn't even adopted a godson.
The Conte family is named as such because Sandro claimed he was a person of Feng Cui, from a small town called Conte, at the time.
He's truly a mysterious individual.
Passing through the enormous Sea God audience mural, Ethan entered the vast castle living room.
Unlike the impression of such castle living rooms, there were no displays of various armors and weapons, instead, traces of Sea God worship were evident everywhere.
For example, the sea beast carvings hanging on the walls, and the fish scales, tails, and tridents carved into corners and stone pillars.
Beneath a trident, a man was holding a newspaper reading, this man was about the same age as Emilio, but compared to Emilio, he was more masculine, and exuded a more rugged aura.
He, unlike Emilio, wore not a high-collared trench coat, but a white shirt, with suspenders showing off his robust muscular lines, even in this exceptionally cold living room, where a fireplace was lit yet not warm, there was a tangible sense of heat from his appearance.
"Klei, when did you return?" Upon seeing this man, Emilio frowned.
"Why, you don't want me back?" The hardy man named Klei still held a cigar, blowing a puff of smoke upon hearing the words, lightly flicked it, staring at Emilio.
"I was just thinking this task is so tricky..."
"Indeed, very tricky, so I sped things up, but looking at it now, I was overthinking, things have progressed better than I thought without me, Ethan, you must be Ethan, come, let me take a look at you."
As Klei spoke, he suddenly beckoned to Ethan.
Ethan was a bit confused, he searched his memory, seemingly having no recollection of this person.
But it was understandable, his former self was truly disinterested in family matters.
"Don't be afraid, come over, I'm a friend of your father's, we grew up together." Klei beckoned again.
This time, Ethan walked over.
Klei examined him for a moment, then stood up and gave him a heavy pat, so strong that if Ethan's body hadn't already been baptized by the 'True God's Name,' he probably would have been knocked down.
"Good lad, well done, good lad." He said, handing the newspaper to Ethan.
The ink on the newspaper was very fresh, evidently just printed not long ago, Ethan glanced at it, and to his surprise, the headline was a scene of him at the Security Office's door step.
This was an expedited newspaper.
But clearly, what Klei referred to as well done, indicated more than just this.
"Go on, Sandro is waiting, we'll talk about other matters later. I didn't manage to attend your father's funeral, I'll certainly come by to visit his grave with flowers." Klei said after watching him for a while longer.