Shadow Slave

Some time before that, Mordret, the CEO of the Valor Group, was left alone in his office after the two detectives left... or rather, he was left in the company of his vast entourage — a person of his status was never really alone, which suited him fine.

Mordret remained seated in his chair for a while, moving his finger across the handrest absent-mindedly.

His executive assistant bowed deeply.

”I am extremely sorry, sir. This will never happen again.”

The head of his security bowed, too.

”I will contact the responsible parties immediately. These nobodies will be thrown out of the Police Department by tomorrow… since it was my negligence that allowed them to disturb you, I will accept any punishment with gratitude.”

Mordret remained silent for a while, his gaze distant, then looked at them with surprise.

”What? No, don’t do anything. Why would we want to be rid of these valiant detectives? I actually... find them quite admirable.”

The man, Sunless, was known as the Devil Detective. He was an ace of Mirage PD and somewhat of an unsung hero — a rare officer who was both competent and incorruptible, even if that seemed to have taken a toll on him. Mordret was more than aware of his stellar track record, as well as of his peculiar personality.

The woman, meanwhile…

Reminiscing about his youth, Mordret smiled fondly.

Who knew that he would meet the star athlete, Athena, one day? And she was a detective now! As a young man, he had been a huge fan of hers… he might have even developed a small crush, which earned him a disproportionate amount of teasing from Morgan.

At the thought of his sister, his smile dimmed a little.

Mordret sighed.

”You know, I had a bit of a lonely childhood. But there was this stack of old detective stories in my grandfather’s attic… I was probably too young to be reading them, but who was going to stop me? Those books kept me company, and what an exciting company it was! I have had a soft spot for detectives ever since.”

Shaking his head, he looked at his assistant.

”Anyway, leave them alone. What is on my schedule? I imagine that the board meeting had to be moved because of this unexpected delay.”

The assistant, who had been bowing this whole time, finally straightened.

”The board is waiting, sir — as they should. The chairman is quite impatient, as you know, but he does not dare complain. The issues on the agenda for today’s meeting are as follows: budget allocation for the R&D activities in the next quarter, preliminary discussion of the government contracts regarding repair and restoration after the forecasted flood damage, issues concerning the increased financing of our charitable initiatives…” Ṛ𝐀ɴꝊᛒЁs̈

Mordret listened silently, then nodded.

”Nothing out of the ordinary, then… wait. Repairs after the forecasted flood damage?”

The assistant nodded.

”Yes, sir.”

Mordret looked at him with a confused expression.

”What about preventative measures? Why is there nothing on the agenda regarding that?”

The assistant shifted uncomfortably, then said in a flat tone:

”Well… it’s because there’s little to no money to be made in prevention, sir. Naturally.”

Mordret closed his eyes for a moment.

”Naturally, huh?”

Rising from his seat, he gave his assistant a somber glance and headed for the door.

”I guess I’ll be making changes to today’s agenda then, after all.”

***

The day passed in the usual busy work. Late in the evening, Mordret was driven home in his luxurious car. Sitting in the leather seat, he looked at the vistas of Mirage City floating by with a distant expression on his face. His assistant continued to report something from the front, but he did not seem to be listening.

One would think that a man of nearly endless wealth and status would be out enjoying the infinite pleasures life had to offer in his free time, but actually, Mordret led an almost monastic life. His days were usually spent between the offices of the Valor Group and his manor, and what little free time he had was spent with family.

He had been different in his youth, but for many years now, Mordret focused solely on these two things — family and work. Despite being surrounded by countless people every day, he was a solitary person. Nobody really knew what was going on in his head, and what emotions hid behind his perfectly pleasant and mild-mannered facade.

”Sir?”

Mordret looked away from the window, shaken awake from his reverie.

”Yes?”

His assistant handed him a document.

”This is the flood prevention plan you requested. It is a preliminary report, but Valor Construction has been quite efficient in compiling a list of possible measures…”

The car flew through the rain, eventually reaching the shores of the Mirror Lake. From here, one could see the proud walls of the historic castle that served as the most recognizable landmark of Mirage City. Valor Manor was situated on the shore of the lake, surrounded by several acres of old woods.

The family butler, Sebastian, met Mordret at the door and bowed with his usual refined elegance.

”Welcome home, Young Master.”

Mordret smiled at the aging man and walked inside.

Once there, he looked around with a subtly lost expression on his face.

The manor… felt terribly empty as of late.

His grandfather had long moved to one of their vacation homes in the countryside. His parents were away on one of their trips. Morgan… Morgan was temporarily away, as well.

Mordret was faced with an empty silence for the first time in a long while.

He stopped near a family portrait hanging above the fireplace in the main foyer and studied it for a while. His assistant, who had followed him inside, finished the report and bowed.

”If there is nothing else, I will depart now, sir. Please have a good rest.”

Mordret nodded slowly, letting the man go, but then stopped him suddenly.

”Wait.”

The assistant looked back.

”Yes, sir?”

Mordret hesitated for a few moments.

”In the morning… the detectives mentioned a blood sample found on the crime scene. Was my blood really found there?”

His assistant frowned.

”I can check the veracity of their claims if you want, sir. However, I don’t see why they would lie about such a thing.”

Mordret remained silent for a moment.

”...Who ordered to suppress the investigation, then?”

The man blinked a few times. It seemed that he had been anticipating a different question —who was behind planting the blood sample on the crime scene, for example.

He looked down.

”I assume that it was the chairman of the board, sir.”

Mordret pursed his lips.

”The chairman again, huh?”

Soon enough, he was left alone in front of the family portrait.

Mordret stared at it for a long time, his expression slowly growing more and more troubled.

Eventually, he whispered:

”Are you still there? Have you come back?”

Of course, there was no answer.

Turning away from the portrait, Mordret quietly walked away.