Bidding a temporary farewell to this so-called father's friend, Klei, whom he grew up with, Ethan followed Emilio to the second floor of the castle.
In a seaside dining room, Ethan finally met Sandro.
Compared to the last funeral, Sandro was dressed more casually this time, donning a thick red floral pajama set, exuding a lazy nobility.
"You're here, Ethan, come and have a seat."
In terms of attitude, there was no change; he remained very cold and indifferent, simply stating matters.
Ethan was used to it, and sat down in front of him.
This was not a particularly long dining table, and Ethan wasn't too far from Sandro, while the sea view outside the window was quite visible. Perhaps it was a good night, as the iceberg on the sea was exceptionally clear.
"You have something to discuss with me?"
The dinner was ready, a simple affair, one that hardly befits someone as prominent as Sandro.
A cod fillet drizzled with sauce, two asparagus stalks, a glass of red wine, and nothing more.
"Honorable Lord Sandro, I have never had the chance to thank you for everything you've done for our family, so I specially came today to express my gratitude." Ethan spoke while raising the glass on the table.
"No need to thank me too much, actually it was Klei who asked me. I am considered a friend of your father's, but just a friend."
Sandro spoke as he cut a small piece of cod and put it in his mouth to chew.
"Regardless, you were a great help, so I prepared a gift for you." Ethan insisted on thanking him.
"A gift, what kind of gift?" Sandro didn't stop eating, continuing to chew.
"It's downstairs, a bottle of wine. Mister Emilio, could you please fetch it?"
The gift Ethan prepared mostly consisted of common items, except for that bottle of wine, which was unavailable on the market. It's the newest product from his private distillery.
It was just a small portion of the gifts he had prepared for today.
Emilio quickly brought up a bottle of wine.
Ethan poured himself a glass, drank it, then poured another and handed it to Sandro.
Sandro, without any reservations, drank it down, then smacked his lips and continued eating the cod fillet, commenting, "Nothing special, just a slight improvement over the wines from my distillery."
Ethan was not discouraged and continued, "I've made a deal with Carlos, the first officer of the Sea God, and I have his exclusive authorization."
"Carlos is indeed a character, but there's not only one giant ship called Sea God in this world." Sandro still didn't stop chewing the cod fillet.
"I think you've misunderstood, Lord Sandro." Ethan shook his head, saying, "Your lordship, what I mean is, private liquor is a huge business. Instead of fighting over this business individually, making everyone earn less, why don't we join forces to expand this business together?"
"We?" Sandro finally stopped eating, put down his dinner knife, and looked at Ethan.
"Us." Ethan nodded, then began naming, "You, me, the Corleone Clan, the Murich Clan, and other friends of yours, anyone who wants to can participate, and we'll share this grand feast together."
Ethan mentioned many people and many names, except for one he didn't mention.
Evans.
The Evans family.
Sandro wiped his mouth and finally laughed, "Ethan, I must say, I admire a young man like you, decisive in action, meticulous in thinking, and most importantly, you repay favors and grudges, which I was also like in my younger days. Now, let's talk about us."
The talks lasted for a whole hour, during which Ethan also ate a cod fillet and drank a glass of wine.
Only when Sandro expressed he was tired did Ethan bid farewell and leave.
Descending the stairs, Ethan saw Klei still reading the newspaper, waiting.
Seeing Ethan come down, Klei laughed, "Looks like the talks went well, it took quite a while."
Ethan nodded, "Not bad."
"Come on, let's go into town for a drink, this damned place is too damp, I don't want to stay here another minute."
Klei said, folding up the newspaper and extinguishing the cigar in his hand as he stood up.
Ethan couldn't figure out the origin of this Klei, but he agreed.
Thus, they left the ancient castle together, got into the Klaus Long Spear, and headed towards the city.
As soon as they got in the car, Klei put an arm around Ethan's shoulder, examining him again, "Kid, I really didn't expect it would be you saving the Bolita name, let me take a good look at you, I really haven't seen you much before, haven't I? I only heard your father say you were studying art in the Royal Capital, that you would become a great artist in the future, so, did you learn how to kill alongside painting?"
Ethan quietly returned his gaze and said, "Maybe I did?"
"Ethan, Ethan, you little rascal." Klei released Ethan, sighed, "You're really different from your father and your brother, you're very suspicious, you're doubting me. Anya, you're called Anya right, tell him, what kind of person Ernest Kreine really is."
But Anya remained silent, simply driving quietly.
Not until Ethan called out Anya did she finally speak, "Ernest Kreine is indeed Al's friend. In their youth, they worked together for a time in the Black District, later Al returned to the family, but Kreine didn't join the family. Instead, he formed the Conte family with Sandro, who was just starting out. He's now the second in command of the Conte family."
"Is that all?" Klei waited for a moment, realizing Anya wasn't going to say more, so he asked again, but Anya still didn't answer him, "How did you raise this girl? I remember she was supposed to be the blade your father prepared for your elder brother..."
"I didn't join the Bolita family at the time because I wanted to make it on my own, I... Forget it, let's go to the Virel Tavern. You know Virel, don't you? He knows me."
Ethan nodded in the rearview mirror, and Anya immediately changed the car's direction, heading towards the Virel Tavern.
The Virel Tavern was not currently open to the public, as Virel had been extremely busy after acquiring the former Cappreya family's business. Today also saw Ethan's arrest and the threat of a potential Evans family raid, so Virel, busy until now, had just returned to his lair, planning to pour himself a drink to relax when he saw Ethan's car pull up outside.
He hurried to open the door, just about to greet him, when he saw someone he really didn't want to see jump off the car.
"Klei, what are you doing here?"
"Hey, Virel, don't be like that, we're friends, aren't we?"