Dante released a sigh as he finally came back to the present and looked away from the maids working in the garden. There was too much drama to unpack from what happened back then, and Dante would prefer to just not think about it. Dante turned when he heard someone coming toward him, and he smiled at Risa as she bowed respectfully.
"Master, the preparations are completed, and the lawyer is here. We are just waiting on Master Richard's appearance."
Dante furrowed his brow slightly. Richard wasn't here yet? Dante looked up the stairs at where Richard's room was, and he told Risa to wait there for him as he started climbing up. There were a few maids working on the stairs, and they all bowed and greeted Dante respectfully as he passed them. Dante reached the top of the stairs and turned left into a corridor before he finally reached Richard's room door. Dante knocked once on the door while placing his ear against it, and he narrowed his eyes when there was no answer.
"Richard."
There was no answer from the other side of the door, and Dante grew worried as he reached for his gun behind him.
"Richard, I'm coming in."
Dante only said this before he twisted the knob and opened the door—
"Kyaaa!"
A woman's voice suddenly echoed from the other side of the room as she struggled to put on her clothes!
Dante let out a suffering sigh as he dropped his gun in exasperation while taking in everything that was happening in the room. Richard was naked on the bed with a woman that Dante recognized as one of the maids in the mansion, and their clothes were thrown around the floor randomly. The maid had a huge blush on her face as she hid her chest from Dante's eyes, and Richard called out:
"Hey, hey, what's the big idea! Did I tell you to come in, you bastard!?"
Richard was righteously angry that Dante had interrupted him, but Dante didn't bother responding as his eyes trailed toward the table at the side of the room and the white powder that was arranged in neat lines on it, with a credit card and a rolled-up dollar bill beside it.
Dante knew that Richard was an extravagant fool who would throw away his duties to focus on worldly pleasure at every chance he got, but Dante didn't think that it was this bad. Didn't that bastard know that today was his father's will reading!? Why the hell was he here taking drugs and having sex when he was meant to be in the hall!?
Richard grabbed a pillow and threw it at Dante, and Dante caught it easily as Richard called out,
"Hey, I'm talking to you, bastard! Get the fuck out of here!"
Dante took in a deep breath as he tried to calm himself. He couldn't kill him. He couldn't kill him. Dante turned to the naked maid and gave her a heavy glare as he growled,
"Get your things and get the fuck out."
The woman didn't even dare to argue as she quickly began to rush off the bed, but Richard held her hand while asking her where she was going! Was she really going to listen to Dante when she was in his room!?
Dante's anger suddenly reached a boiling point, and he let out a bark:
"I SAID GET OUT NOW!"
The maid's entire body shook, and she quickly pulled away from Richard and hurried to grab her things off the floor! She hid her breasts with her clothes while bowing her head in shame, and Dante turned to the side and allowed her to run out of the room!
Once she was gone, Dante turned back to look at Richard. Richard clicked his tongue as he moved to the table and began arranging the white lines again, and Dante spoke in a calm, even voice.
"Your mother and siblings are waiting for you in the hall for the reading. Please put on some clothes."
Richard huffed as he spoke in a knowing voice.
"Why the fuck do I have to go for something like that? I mean, we all know what's going to happen anyway. Fredrick is gonna take it all, and he's going to be the new boss. My sister and I are just going to get some money and maybe a house, and we'll be free to do whatever the fuck we want…"
Richard leaned down and snuffed up a line of the white substance in one go, and he let out a loud, ecstatic cry as he fell back on the bed. But Richard was still fully naked, so Dante was treated to a very unpleasant sight. Dante had to hold in his anger as he spoke once more.
"Your father had high hopes for you, Richard. That was why he sent you to school in Canada and put so much effort into your education. I hope that now that he's dead, you won't spit on his legacy. I'll be just outside. Please put on some clothes and meet me in five minutes."
Richard stared up at the ceiling with a faraway look as Dante's words echoed in his head, and once the door closed shut, Richard let out a sigh and finally sat up. He hated agreeing to anything that bastard had to say, but the mention of his father suddenly reminded him that the man was really gone, and it made him feel slightly guilty for what he was doing.
Richard decided that since he missed the funeral, it wouldn't hurt to just go for the will reading. He definitely wasn't doing this because Dante asked him to. He just wanted to respect his father! That was all!
Richard cursed quietly as these excuses continued to play through his mind. Even Richard knew that he was just thinking nonsense, and he decided that it was best to ignore the feeling of guilt in his chest and go to the reading hall. After all, this was a chance for him to get more money from his father, so why shouldn't he be there!?
Richard threw on a clean pair of shorts and a hoodie before he eyed the lines of white substance on the room table. A small war raged inside Richard's head as he considered whether or not he should take one more sniff, and it didn't take long before the devil in Richard won out.
Richard shrugged nonchalantly as he quickly grabbed his card and leaned forward before snorting up a line.
Sniff~!
"Woah! Oh yeah!!"
Richard exclaimed happily once he was done with the line, and his entire mood seemed to shift into one of absolute excitement as he made his way toward the door and opened it grandly!
Dante was waiting for Richard with his hands behind his back, and the moment he saw Richard, Dante knew that Richard had taken another line. Dante felt anger fill his heart from the idiotic actions that Richard always performed, but Dante decided that it wasn't worth getting angry over and allowed his emotions to settle back into his usual calmness.
"Well, are we doing this or not?"
Richard spoke up with a nonchalant smile while putting his hands in his hoodie pocket, and Dante nodded as he turned and started to lead Richard downstairs.