Nicholas remained silent for a long while, and Don Marcelo himself made no attempt to rush him, instead leisurely sipping the brandy in his hand.
Had an outsider witnessed the two of them at that moment, they would have thought they were close acquaintances enjoying a pleasant conversation over trivial matters. No one could have imagined the intense battle of wits unfolding beneath the surface.
Ultimately, Nicholas let out a long sigh before speaking.
"To be honest, it's not that I'm deliberately trying to withhold information from you, Lord Don. Rather, it's because I myself possess limited knowledge regarding what happened to Antonio. There are certainly some matters that might prove useful to you, but some of the information is… rather sensitive. Even I prefer not to compromise professional ethics by casually divulging such details."
Before he could finish, Nicholas once again felt a murderous intent brush against his senses.
It seemed the man before him wasn't nearly as patient as he appeared.
"...But regardless, we can certainly exchange information with one another. Consider it a small gesture of cooperation to maintain favorable relations going forward."
Only then did the suffocating pressure gradually subside, though it did not disappear entirely.
"The Marcelo family has always operated on principles of mutual exchange," Don said. "Naturally, we would be willing to cooperate. My only concern is whether you possess the authority to make such decisions."
"I can't make promises regarding everything," Nicholas replied with a smile, "but on matters like this, I do have a certain degree of authority."
In reality, his reasoning was fairly straightforward.
Since his earlier attempt to seize the initiative through intimidation had clearly backfired, he had decided to shift tactics to employ softer methods, as he intended to gain something in return.
To demonstrate his sincerity, Nicholas took the initiative to reveal a piece of information from his side first.
"Recently, the telecommunications station detected an anomaly in signal transmission throughout York City. They suspect the interference is being caused by some external factor, so they asked me to investigate the matter personally." He paused briefly before continuing.
"After preliminary investigation into the source, I discovered information concerning an individual who calls himself 'Broker.' This person moves in the shadows and his origin is unknown. I myself have only communicated with him via telephone."
Nicholas spoke while carefully observing the emotional state of the man before him. When he detected no visible shift, he continued.
"Naturally, my correspondence with him was strictly a private affair. Given my profession as an attorney, the Broker eventually introduced me to Antonio—That's how I ended up handling his legal affairs. So, it wouldn't be strange to say that this matter might be connected to Antonio's disappearance to some degree."
Don Marcelo sank into silent contemplation.
"When did all of this happen?"
"Around the middle of this year."
A faint ripple passed through the man's emotions. It was subtle—nearly impossible to notice—but it did not escape Nicholas's perception. It seemed the mafia patriarch had begun to sense that something was amiss.
"May I ask, had the young master ever mentioned this Broker to you?"
The Don offered a slow shake of his head in response to the young man's inquiry.
"Have you managed to track this Broker down?"
This time, it was Nicholas who shook his head.
"Not even a trace. To be honest, I was hoping you might have some leads for me."
Then, as though recalling something, Nicholas followed up with another question.
"Prior to Mr. Antonio's disappearance, did he exhibit any behavior that seemed unusual or out of character?"
The family patriarch fell into thought for a moment before replying,
"If we're going by the timeframe you mentioned, that was when an internal conflict broke out within the family. Since it's a family matter, I can't discuss the details with you. However, he began to distance himself from the family, even severing lines of communication with the main branch. I was occupied with other pressing matters and assumed it was nothing more than youthful stubbornness, so I paid it little attention. It wasn't until the family's internal affairs had finally settled that I learned he had gone missing."
That alone was enough for Nicholas to confirm part of his suspicion.
Antonio had orchestrated the Moon Worship Cult's scheme against the previous Nicholas entirely on his own. It had nothing to do with Le Purgatoire or the Marcelo family.
This realization allowed him to breathe a little easier.
Naturally, Nicholas did not believe every word that came out of Don Marcelo's mouth. However, he could be reasonably confident that much of what the man said contained substantial truth.
If the Marcelo family truly had ties to the Moon Worship Cult, he would never have been sitting here, cautiously probing the man before him.
He would have been dead the moment he set foot inside this mansion.
"Did your son, by any chance, converted to another religion or joined some cult outside the Four Churches?"
"Not to my knowledge... never," Don replied before continuing,
"As you know... I don't live in this city, so there are many things I'm unaware of. To be honest, as his lawyer, you probably knew far more about him than I ever did."
"I'm starting to feel like I'm getting the short end of this bargain."
A faint smirk appeared on Don's face at Nicholas's remark.
Though they had agreed to exchange information, the truth was that Nicholas had received very little in return.
Good grief... He would wager that the reason Antonio had devolved into such a degenerate of a human being was undoubtedly due to having an utterly irresponsible father like the man before him.
...Naturally, he kept that thought to himself.
"So you're suggesting that my son's disappearance is connected to the abnormalities occurring throughout the city... and to this man you call the 'Broker'?"
"I never said that," Nicholas replied evenly. "I'm only telling you what I know."
Don set down the brandy glass in his hand, leaned back against his chair, drew deeply from his pipe, and slowly exhaled. The cloud of tobacco smoke drifted across Nicholas's face, yet the young lawyer's expression remained completely unchanged.
"What does the telecommunications station intend to do about this?"
"There aren't any concrete measures in place yet. For now, we'll probably have to continue observing the situation."
After that question, Don posed no further inquiries. Nicholas exhaled silently to himself. It seemed the man before him had obtained the answers he wanted. Steeling himself, Nicholas spoke again.
"Today's invitation from you was rather... abrupt. I believe it would be quite inconvenient for all parties involved if I were compelled to repeatedly justify incidents like today's to my superiors."
The Marcelo patriarch cast a momentarily irritated glance at the young man, yet he ultimately gave a firm nod.
"No member of the gang will approach your residence again and there won't be another sudden invitation like today's. You have my word."
"That would be most appreciated."
With the agreement reached, both parties exchanged smiles, requiring no further words. Nicholas then politely took his leave.
"No need to see me out."
With those words, Nicholas rose to his feet and walked toward the exit. Behind him, Don remained seated, watching him off with an unreadable smile.
Just as Nicholas reached for the doorknob, however, he paused.
Turning back, he looked at the head of the Marcelo family with apparent sincerity.
"I wasn't planning to mention this... but since the Marcelo family have been such gracious hosts, I will share one additional piece of information. Yesterday, a rather serious disturbance occurred near York City's cemetery. Because of it, the telecommunications station has gone on heightened alert, and a large number of personnel have already been deployed into the field."
"Then I suppose we owe the station our thanks for its service to the public..." Don replied calmly. "May I ask whether the incident was resolved without issue?"
Nicholas shook his head.
"Not exactly. Things became complicated enough to the point that even the Association in the lower district has become involved."
The listener fell silent for a long time upon catching those words, then giving a slight nod to show that he understood.
Nicholas returned the nod with a smile and stepped out of the room, leaving the formidable gang lord alone in the room.
Don stared at the closed door for quite some time. He leisurely drew another puff from his pipe and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.
In the silence of the empty room, he suddenly spoke.
"What's your take on this?"
At that moment, a man clad entirely in black emerged from the empty space beside Don.
His figure seemed to meld seamlessly with the shadows filling the room, as though he were part of the darkness itself. Every inch of his body was concealed, making it impossible to distinguish his appearance.
"Merely an Éna-ranked Extraordinary." the shadow form rasped in reply. "But the fact that he endured your oppressive aura without changing his expression... it's possible he's concealing his true rank."
"Even the Almighty Lord Shadow couldn't see through him?"
"I specialize in concealment, but I do not have divine sight."
Don curled his lip into a mocking smile, while the man in black seemed visibly displeased.
The mafia patriarch then posed another question.
"What do you think of what he said?"
"If he wasn't telling the truth... then he's an exceptionally good liar."
"Weren't you going to use your ability to verify it, Elder?"
The remark made the shadowy figure glare at the family patriarch before replying irritably,
"Activating my ability is not difficult, but he'd notice. That young man may not look like much, but his instincts are remarkably sharp. When he walked in, he glanced in my direction once. I had to cast another layer of concealment before he finally looked away."
A quiet chuckle escaped Don's throat.
This time, it was the shadowy figure who asked the question.
"Do you believe him?"
"Only partially." Don remarked. "His story was too vague and full of holes. Still, I think a good portion of it was true. I just don't know which parts he concealed... and which parts he twisted. But one thing is certain—he's definitely involved in my worthless son's disappearance."
"Then shall I capture the young man and force the truth out of him?" the shadow figure suggested.
"If I intended to do that, He wouldn't be able to walk through that door."
"Is his position within the Church really that high?"
"From assessment, it is fair to say he carries some weight. He likely possesses some authority within the organization. But then again..." Don shrugged. "He could simply have been exaggerating his own importance to gain leverage against me. That's also quite possible."
Don set his pipe aside and reached for the glass of brandy on the desk.
"But that young man miscalculated one thing."
After taking a sip, a scornful smile spread across his face.
"So what if he's with the Church?"
"Does he really think killing one of the Church's operatives would be anything new for our family?"
A murderous aura surged through the room, so oppressive that even the bodyguards standing outside felt a chill run down their spines.
Yet the elderly figure shrouded in darkness remained completely expressionless.
Once Don had reined in his killing intent, he smiled and admitted,
"The truth is... the moment he turned his back and walked toward the door, I already felt the urge to kill him."
"But for some reason, he turned around and said those words."
With that, his eyes revealed some curiosity.
"Not only did he hand me valuable information, but he also slipped in a subtle warning. I can't tell whether he sensed my killing intent in that brief moment, or whether he was simply incredibly lucky."
For Don Marcelo, eliminating an operative from one of the major Churches was certainly risky, but it was by no means unthinkable. However, if the matter involved both Churches, then it became an entirely different matter.
"If that's really the case… wouldn't it be better to get rid of him?" the shadow figure asked. While Don waved his hand dismissively.
"Forget it. Avoiding entanglement with the Churches is the preferable outcome."
"Then, what do we do now?"
"What else can we do?" Don replied with a shrug. "My foolish son's affairs will have to be shelved for the time being. Start relocating the family's operations and the gang's key personnel to another city, then wait and see how things unfold. Ever since I set foot in this city, I've always felt uneasy. And what our Esteemed guest told us just now only served to further confirm that ominous feeling. The sooner we get out of this filthy city, the better."
Upon receiving the order, the shadowy figure gave a slight nod before vanishing into thin air.
Left alone once again, Don's lips slowly curled into a chilling smile as he murmured, almost to himself,
"Should fate permit... perhaps we shall meet again, Mr. Nicholas."
10.11.550
Nicholas Parlay
Spirit Medium (Éna)