SYNO Chapter 11

Ssangryeong almost burst out laughing, despite the absurdity of the situation.

‘Is he serious?’

Calling a captured criminal who’d just undergone a body search a new official? Any other official would faint if they heard that.

Moreover, Lucas was one of the people who knew best that he was a lowlife information thief.

‘Lucas was the one who gave me countless requests.’

So, for Pienne to call him a “new official” right in front of Lucas was beyond ridiculous.

“Commander. Your joke has gone too far. Do you now put blue tape on the mouths and handcuffs on the wrists of new officials?”

Lucas maintained a composed expression.

Ssangryeong looked at him with a puzzled expression.

‘What’s this?’

Normally, Lucas would be clinging to him, making his usual insipid jokes. But today, not only was he treating Ssangryeong like a complete stranger, he wasn’t even acknowledging him.

Ssangryeong didn’t expect loyalty or affection in the deceitful world of organized crime. This sudden distancing was more puzzling than offensive.

‘Is it because the Commander is here? Is he trying to act like an innocent person?’

But that didn’t make sense. He was the boss of a fairly large organization. How could someone like that pretend to be innocent?

As Ssangryeong tried to decipher Lucas’s intentions, the Commander, who had been glancing between Lucas and Ssangryeong, chuckled.

“There were… circumstances. Regarding the tape and handcuffs.”

The man, swirling his wine glass lightly, stared directly at Ssangryeong.

Ssangryeong flinched involuntarily. He remembered how, just a few days ago, this man had touched and manhandled every part of his body

The suffocating atmosphere, the intensely stimulating sensations that made his body burn, flashed through his mind.

Ssangryeong felt his legs weakening.

And then, Pienne, who had been looking at him with an intense gaze, suddenly started using a strange form of address.

“Ryeong.”

As if they were on very friendly terms. Ssangryeong frowned.

At the same time, Lucas, who had a calm expression, also raised an eyebrow.

“Do you know who this gentleman is?”

Pienne, with a faint smile on his face, gestured with his eyes towards Lucas, who was sitting across from him.

Ssangryeong’s gaze followed, meeting Lucas’ eyes.

“…….”

“…….”

Lucas was looking at him with an unreadable expression.

‘He’s asking if I know who Lucas is?’

Was that even a question?

Ssangryeong had a lot to say. He had a lot of questions for Lucas. He glared at Lucas intensely, his gaze filled with all his unspoken questions and accusations.

Before Ssangryeong could react, Pienne spoke first.

“It seems you don’t know him. Ryeong, this gentleman is…”

“What are you trying to do, Commander?”

Pienne, who was about to introduce Lucas as a Brigadier General from the Home Nation, raised an eyebrow smoothly. Brigadier General Lucas had interrupted him, preventing him from finishing his sentence.

A look of amusement spread across Pienne’s face.

“What do you mean?”

“The state of your new official is rather… disheveled. I’m asking what kind of sadistic pleasure you’re deriving from putting someone in such a state on display.”

“Sadistic pleasure, you say.”

Pienne chuckled, savoring the words.

“Think of it as you wish. This is the Dependent Nation, where any form of sadism is permitted.”

“…What did you say?”

“And what brings you, Brigadier General, to this Dependent Nation?”

Pienne emphasized the word “Brigadier General,” his tone almost a sneer. Ssangryeong frowned.

‘Brigadier General?’

Did he just address Lucas “Brigadier General”?

Ssangryeong wondered for a moment if Lucas had a hidden twin or something. Even if he did, it didn’t make sense for him to be a Brigadier General from the Home Nation.

‘Lucas was a man of the Dependent Nation, through and through.’

Come to think of it, that man was currently exchanging formalities with someone of the Commander’s rank in the government building and even being treated to a sumptuous meal.

Unless he was an idiot, he could easily figure out that Lucas had been deceiving him all this time, pretending to be someone from the Dependent Nation.

‘So, Lucas is really a Brigadier General from the Home Nation?’

Ssangryeong cursed under his breath.

F*ck, he had been completely fooled by that bastard, taking on so many requests without knowing.

If he’d known Lucas was a Brigadier General from the Home Nation, he would have never associated with him. Who would have guessed that someone of such high rank would be playing boss in the Dependent Nation?

‘Now that I think about it, it makes sense. He was the one who sent me to the Home Nation to dig up information on high-ranking officials.’

Because of that, he was now a fugitive for life.

Ssangryeong’s eyes turned cold. He glared at Lucas with darkened eyes.

Lucas was looking at the Commander with a displeased expression.

‘So, the reason he hasn’t extradited me to the Home Nation… was to test my relationship with Lucas? Did he anticipate Lucas coming here?’

Otherwise, there was no reason for Pienne to play word games by calling him a new official and bringing him to the reception room.

A three-way confrontation was usually a method used to confirm a relationship or a fact.

‘That’s why he’s been observing Lucas and me.’

As if confirming Ssangryeong’s suspicions, Pienne added,

“As far as I know, Brigadier General Lucas has never visited the Dependent Nation according to his travel records. So this must be your first visit.”

He tilted his head and smiled.

“You say you came to congratulate me on my inauguration, but it’s been several months since I took office as the ruler here, so you’re quite late.”

“…….”

“Or did you come to see something?”

“Commander.”

“Or to retrieve something?”

“What are you—”

“Or perhaps to steal something.”

Even as he spoke sarcastically, Pienne’s gaze was fixed on Ssangryeong.

Ssangryeong met his gaze directly.

It was as if he was saying that the object he came to “see, retrieve, or steal” was Ssangryeong himself.

‘It seems like he’s saying that for me to hear.’

So, it seemed Pienne wanted to confirm something.

Whether Lucas had come to this building because of the captured criminal, ‘Ssangryeong.’ He didn’t understand why Pienne was so curious, but his instincts were usually accurate.

Ssangryeong could guarantee it. Lucas had definitely come to this building because of him, even risking the exposure of his hidden identity as a Brigadier General.

It made sense. He had handled countless requests for Lucas, and how many lives were now entangled in the information stored in his head?

Therefore, even if Lucas was truly a Brigadier General from the Home Nation, he wasn’t afraid. Lucas could never threaten him.

‘I know too much. This shameless bastard.’

Not only had he toyed with him for so long, he’d even come to clean up the mess. How thoughtful.

He wanted to expose everything Lucas had done in the Dependent Nation right here and now, and even set up an examination room for him next to his own.

‘But it’s a gamble.’

If he did that, the Commander might decide he was done and send him straight back to the Home Nation.

‘I can’t open my mouth recklessly unless I know what Pienne’s thinking.’

Ssangryeong nibbled on the inside of his lip.

‘When will they finally remove this damn tape?’

Finally, unable to bear Pienne’s taunts any longer, Lucas’ face contorted.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while.”

He tensed his jaw.

“It seems you have no sense of decency, Commander. Seeing as you can’t even show basic courtesy to a guest.”

“Courtesy?”

Pienne tapped the table in front of him with his index finger. His slow finger tapped out a steady rhythm.

“As you said, I offered you a meal meticulously prepared with ingredients hard to come by in the Dependent Nation.”

His index finger then pointed at Ssangryeong.

“I even had the new official I just hired greet you.”

His finger finally pointed to himself.

“And earlier, this Commander personally welcomed and entertained you.”

His tone implied, what more courtesy do you expect?

Pienne, leaning back leisurely in his chair, exhaled silently. The smile he’d been maintaining finally disappeared.

“Then why did you barge in without permission? Without the authorization of the ruler of the Dependent Nation?”

“…….”

“Like a dog with its tail on fire¹.”

As the atmosphere grew increasingly hostile, Vice Commander Fredrick, unable to watch any longer, stepped forward.

“Um, Commander.”

He conveyed his silent plea for him to stop. If he spoke the words aloud, it would appear as if he, as a subordinate, was condoning Pienne’s disrespectful remarks.

Pienne raised a hand in acknowledgment. He drained the remaining wine in his glass and stood up.

“I’ll consider your congratulations as having been received earlier. Since you’ve come all the way to the Dependent Nation, please rest comfortably, enjoy your stay, and have a safe trip back.”

Saying so, he grabbed Ssangryeong’s arm and pulled him along with a firm grip.

“Let’s go, Ryeong.”

Along with a friendly call.

Lucas sat there, silently watching the three of them leave.

More precisely, he was watching Ssangryeong’s retreating figure.

Until the very end, Ssangryeong had been staring at him with clear fury in his eyes.

And just before the door closed, he even made sure to flip him off behind his back.

‘I hadn’t planned on meeting Ssangryeong right away…’

As Pienne had probed, he had intended to secretly infiltrate and steal Ssangryeong away. He had planned to keep the Commander occupied while he did so.

However, it seemed the Commander had anticipated that as well. He was a man with sharp instincts. His rise to this position from a commoner background wasn’t solely due to luck.

‘Is he trying to confirm my relationship with Ssangryeong to figure out what I’m up to behind his back? To verify the truth behind the rumors?’

Lucas scoffed.

Unfortunately, Ssangryeong wouldn’t open his mouth. They were each other’s mutual destruction switch.

Lucas tightened his grip.

Crack, a thick crack appeared in the wine glass he was holding.