9:00 AM
Russia – Kazan
In that dark room, a faint light slipped through the curtains, caressing black strands of hair as dark as the night itself.
The owner of those black eyes blinked in annoyance at the arrival of morning, then rose tiredly, dragging his body toward the bathroom. He stood before the mirror, staring at his bare body, muscles dominating every inch.
Playful drops of water slowly trickled down from his head along the curves of his body, as if enchanted by him. The boy felt a sharp pain, yet his facial expression didn't change — like a mountain unmoved.
Ivan placed his hand on his wound, recalling the wild fight from last night, how close he was to death. His hand slowly rose to his chin, covering half of his face.
Ivan scoffed, "Idiots… they thought they could escape after trying to kill me. Ah, how foolish."
A while later, Ivan exited the bathroom to find the maid waiting, having prepared his clothes and tidied his messy bed.
"The young master, Mr. Igor is waiting for you at the breakfast table. He asks that you get ready quickly."
Ivan hummed in acknowledgment, then got dressed and went down to find his father staring at his food with complete indifference. The atmosphere around him felt like a cage of ice.
"Good morning, Father."
"Good morning, you lazy brat. Do you even know what time it is? Is this the hour decent people wake up? Especially since you—"
"Father, don't you get tired of repeating the same speech every morning? If you want a son who follows orders, you should've raised a dog, not a human."
Mr. Igor sighed in frustration at his son's recklessness and muttered with concern, "I fear your carelessness will be the end of you one day."
"Don't worry, Father. I won't die before you."
"Tch… Arrogant little brat."
"Didn't I inherit that arrogance from you?"
"And a master manipulator, too."
The conversation ended as they each went off to their own affairs.
---
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Kazan...
The sound of a phone ringing nearly deafened everyone in the room — and was immediately followed by a loud scream, "AAAAARGH! You damn monkeys! Can't anyone sleep around here?! Can't you see someone's trying to get some peace?! Damn it, damn it!"
She answered the phone in a fiery rage, and a voice from the other side calmly said,
"Ohayou, Elly~ How's your morning? Hope it's a good one!"
Trying to suppress her anger, Elia responded,
"Is your phone broken or something?"
The boy sounded confused. "No??"
"Then why in heaven's name are you calling me this early?! Did you dream about me or something? Damn you all!"
The boy laughed at his friend's antics and said,
"Sorry, I just thought I'd let you know… you're late for university."
Elia blinked several times, trying to comprehend his words. Then she jumped out of bed like a madwoman. About thirty minutes later, she was somewhat ready — at least she had grabbed one of her mom's sandwiches in her mouth.
She headed to the garage, looked at the motorcycle parked there, and said,
"Ohhh my precious baby, did you miss your owner?"
She rushed to the university, and upon entering the classroom, the professor looked her up and down and refused to let her in. Meanwhile, her friend Artyom laughed uncontrollably at her messy appearance.
Elia made her way to the campus cafeteria, waiting for the lectures to end so she could meet up with her friends at the racing arena.
---
To be continued...