Neither of them needed to lie.
Thus, one of them must have been obtained by a member of the Black Organization, but it was not actually handed over to the organization.
Who would do such a thing?
Gin stood before Brandy.
..
In his youth, Gin had visited Brandy's home several times. The Mission Evaluation he received when he obtained his codename was strongly recommended by Brandy; in a sense, Brandy could be considered the one who recognized his talent.
Some of the influence he holds now was also left to him by Brandy when he stepped down back then.
Later, Gin had once had a brief cooperation with Brandy—for the research left behind by the Miyano couple, Madra was the primary Person in charge during that cooperation.
However, in the end, they still took completely different paths.
With Heine's help, Gin infiltrated Brandy's home alone, uncertain whether Brandy would appear.
It was a matter of probability, also a matter of Luck.
—It looks like his Luck is good today.
The two parties facing each other felt no resentment toward the current standoff that could only be described as tense. In fact, both of them had more or less expected this day to arrive.
The man opposite appeared not to be very old, still maintaining the same appearance as when Gin first met him; his face still looked to be in his early thirties, but Gin knew that his true age was far beyond what his disguise suggested.
Brandy had a pair of reddish-brown eyes that carried a heavy sense of pressure; when he stared directly at someone, it almost gave them the eerie sensation of being watched by a monster.
The man's every move carried the elegance and indifference of someone long accustomed to a high position. Even though they were now enemies, even when faced with Gin, who had silently eliminated his subordinates to infiltrate his room, Brandy maintained a calm and indifferent demeanor.
"Sit down." He even had the composure to invite his opponent to sit, his tone calm.
Brandy's voice was as hoarse and unpleasant as always; it was hard to imagine a person's voice could be this raspy, to the point where one might almost suspect he had some kind of ailment in his throat.
Gin sat there with an expressionless face, but hearing that impressive voice, the Silver-haired man couldn't help but think of the Owl he kept at home.
He had to admit, he found the cries of the noisy Owl at his home much more tolerable than the Brandy.
Gin was originally from an assassin background; although his actions had become increasingly flamboyant over the years and ordinary missions were no longer his responsibility, his skills remained agile.
To be honest, although he has grown accustomed over the years to the practice that "assassination" means killing everyone who witnesses it to ensure there are no 【living】 witnesses, that does not mean Gin does not perform true assassination.
Similarly, even though Brandy has been living a seemingly retired life for these years, with his subordinates either retiring or dispersing to the point where most of the guards in his house were wiped out by the Mafia brought by Heine, it does not mean he has no trump cards.
For Gin, going to see Brandy alone was a very risky matter—
For Brandy, encountering the Black Organization's Top Killer in his own study was a very dangerous matter—
However, what could they do, considering they spent most of their time moving through danger and adventure, even enjoyed it?
In a sense, these two were quite similar, living up to the fate that bound them together.
After both parties had taken their seats, Brandy raised his eyes to look at Gin, his reddish-brown eyes clear and cold, carrying an inorganic dim light.
Gin, however, could sense Brandy's exhaustion.
It was a fatigue akin to that of a dying old man.
Madra stood quietly behind Brandy.
This woman, who held a position within the Black Organization and had once had a brief collaboration with Gin, stood quietly behind her Master, silent and soundless, like an ordinary shadow.
Many times, Madra really was like Brandy's shadow.
She followed everything of Brandy's instructions, appearing to have no thoughts of her own at all.
Even at this moment, a faint smile still lingered on the corners of Madra's mouth.
Her face remained as pale as ever, her smile maintained that same respectful and polite demeanor. Dressed in a proper white coat, she possessed a delicate face, with her black hair tied up high, leaving only a few stray strands frizzy by her ears—a rare sight. Her small ears were exposed to the air, revealing a rice-sized ruby stud hanging from her earlobe.
The vivid Crimson and the excessive whiteness silently complemented each other, like a blooming red plum blossom upon a boundless snow mountain.
Or perhaps it was a single drop of blood upon the woman's fair skin.
Madra always seemed to be wearing those Ruby earrings.
During several meetings with Madra, she was wearing those ruby earrings.
It wasn't that she didn't have the money to buy better ones; it wasn't that this style of Ruby earrings wasn't relatively outdated; it wasn't that she didn't even need specialized repairs to keep the earrings in their original shape—
But Madra still did not change them.
She maintained those earrings with almost meticulous care; by comparison, other pieces of jewelry were insignificant to her.
He could stand in the Laboratory, where testing had already been completed, wearing earrings far more valuable than these Ruby earrings, yet she was so cautious that she was unwilling to let even a single scratch touch this Crimson.
The usual indifference and rigidity in the Woman's eyes seemed to be mixed with something else at this moment, adding a touch of humanity to her almost mechanical movements.
Her gaze lingered on the Brandy for a long time.
But in the end, she was still nothing more than a shadow.
Gin lowered his eyes slightly, suddenly remembering the words Shiratori Midori had once said to him.
—Brandy likes Ruby.
..
Gin looked silently at Brandy.
His green eyes appeared even clearer under the study's Light, the persistent and certain gaze in his eyes instantly reminded the man opposite him of a lone wolf in the snowy lands.
When a lone wolf sets its sights on its Prey, it is likely this kind of gaze, isn't it?
Brandy did not dislike such a gaze.
Or rather, quite the opposite, he was Interested in such looks.
When he was young in Russia, he was used to such looks.
After coming to Japan later, he was even more familiar with such looks.
Those who exist within the Dark, if they wish to fight for a high position, have all stained their hands with blood, to varying degrees.
Friends, enemies.. there are both.
Or rather, if he didn't have that predatory gaze of a carnivore.. then that man wouldn't have become such a big deal.
Even so, the gaze of the silver-haired man before him was still one of the most aggressive he had ever seen.
The man, no longer young, laughed softly in his heart.
He spoke, "What do you know?"
..
Brandy asked Gin, "What do you know?"
This was not actually a proper opening, to some extent, that man had placed the initiative into Gin's hands.
But given his composed and effortless manner, he didn't seem like he was planning to just let everything go to ruin.
Gin pursed his lips slightly, a faint, mocking smile playing on his thin lips.
He coolly lifted his eyelids, a small amount of silver bangs covering half of his face. Under the shadows cast by the Light, the man's voice sounded exceptionally low:
You and him.. you truly have such deep brotherhood..
The tone of the last adjective was ethereal, its final syllable even dissipating into the air, yet it did not seem weak; it merely increased the level of mockery in Gin's words.
There were only three people in the study—and when Brandy was present, Madra had almost no presence.
They all knew exactly who Gin was referring to when he said "him."
So there was no need to state it explicitly.
Brandy closed his eyes.
The man's voice was as hoarse as glass shards scraping against a window, carrying a faint melancholy, his eyes, which were usually as still as stagnant water, seemed to show a few slight Ripples.
Those Ripples were named helplessness:
He has become.. more and more crazed in recent years.
Gin tilted her head slightly.
Brandy did not feel angry.
His voice carried a faint, elusive sorrow, yet it still radiated a profound understanding.
This seemed like a kind of inexplicable tolerance, yet it also seemed like more than just tolerance.
He seemed very exhausted.
Gin thought.
Perhaps it really is so.
After all, if Brandy and the Master of B. W. are truly brothers, he is already an old man now.
No wonder this old man's voice always carried a sense of exhaustion and deathly silence.
As far as Gin's own heart was concerned, he did not feel he had any need to bully the Old man.
However—
“He hasn't just started acting this crazy in recent years.” Gin curled his lips without a single ripple of emotion, his gaze carrying a faint, intangible coldness.
"Didn't he break his own subordinate's ribs more than ten years ago?" The Silver-haired man raised his eyes to look at the Old man in front of him.
For a vague reason." Gin's green eyes flashed with a faint, eerie coldness under the light. "For a person who is already deceased.
Brandy let out a sigh.
His gaze held a deep sorrow.
..
Perhaps there was some tacit understanding or some bond between them, but none of that mattered anymore.
These two, despite their vast difference in age, both occupy high positions within the Dark, they had developed an irreversible conflict long ago.
At the moment Brandy revealed Gin's personal information to his brother—
At the moment he, whether intentionally or unintentionally, catalyzed the death of Shiratori Midori—
Or perhaps, many years ago, when he first met Gin, the man's reddish-brown eyes gazed at the youth's still somewhat immature features and that silver hair, which was as exquisite as moonlight, a thought had already secretly taken root.