Chapter 19
I swear, there's still a little place for Illumi in my heart.
Although I sometimes think that it would have been better if I hadn't gotten engaged to him, the truth is that I haven't done anything to betray him since our engagement ceremony.
On the contrary, it was his friends and brothers...
A sliver of reason pulled me back from my fantasy.
"That's not a good idea," I said firmly, rejecting Milluki's temptation. "Even you can tell I've been restless lately. Let's wait until Big Brother lowers his guard before..."
The rest of the words were automatically silenced under Milluki's speechless gaze.
"...Anyway, let's talk about it later." I changed the subject. "Isn't your schedule packed today? Aren't you going to hurry up?"
When the plan was mentioned, Milluki's obsessive-compulsive disorder immediately kicked in. He took out his phone to check the time while exclaiming, "We've wasted too much time!" Then he darted to the side of the road and hailed a taxi.
"Get in the car quickly!" he urged me. "There's no time to rent a car, let's just go like this."
I took the back seat all to myself, while Milluki sat next to the driver. After stating the destination, the driver started the engine and then slowly asked:
Are you here for tourism?
Miki doesn't like to talk to strangers, and with a sour expression, he pretended not to hear me. I spoke up to ease the tension:
"Yes."
"What is your relationship?" the driver asked again.
Me: "He is my brother."
The driver said, "Oh, he does look a bit like him... If the young man lost weight, he would definitely look more energetic."
I laughed and said, "He's great as he is. Someone tried to cause me trouble just now, but he scared them away with just one glare from him."
Miji couldn't take it anymore. He turned and glared at me. I raised the corners of my lips and smiled. Helplessly, he turned his head back.
"Oh, by the way," the driver suddenly asked, "you're planning to stay here for a few days. There's going to be an exhibition downtown soon. It's a huge one; would you like to go and visit?"
"No!" Milluki, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up, resolutely rejecting the suggestion.
“What a pity,” the driver said. “The opening was originally scheduled for last week, but I heard there were some problems with the collection, so it was postponed to these past few days. I was thinking that you guys would have the chance to go and see it.”
"When exactly?" I asked, blinking.
Mi Ji read the itinerary over. His task was on the morning of the 17th. As long as we avoided that time, we could go and participate.
"It seems to start on the 17th and last until the 20th," the driver replied. "You can find out by searching online. This exhibition is really grand, and there are no tickets required. It would be a shame to miss it."
"As for the 17th..." I asked Milluki, "we can go see it in the afternoon. Tell your flight schedule that we'll go back a day later."
“No,” Milluki insisted. “I’ve already discussed the departure time with my elder brother, and he won’t agree to extend it.”
I remained silent for a moment.
“You just said you would help me,” I pointed out.
“But as I said, you must absolutely cooperate with my plan,” Milluki said firmly. “Challenging Big Brother in this matter will not do you any good, so you should give up this idea.”
...Less than half an hour ago, this guy said he would overcome all difficulties and help me deal with Illumi.
As it turns out, the "deal with" he used and the "deal with" I understood were not the same thing.
I turned to look out the car window. Outside, the traffic was heavy, and a billboard I passed happened to read, "[...Sculpture Exhibition is about to open]", with the address and opening time below.
I stared intently at my reflection in the car window, my arched eyebrows, curled eyelashes, and the proportions and lip contours that seemed to be cut from the same mold as the Zoldyck family.
Looking at this face, what kind of me do they actually see?
I'm not a pet that blindly obeys its owner or only needs occasional comforting.
...
Upon arriving at their destination, Milluki rented a tent by the sea, bought some snacks and fruit, and then took out his figurines from his backpack, arranging them one by one in a staggered fashion, and raised his camera to take pictures of them.
I sat in the corner with my knees drawn up to my chest. After he tried several different poses for the photos, he waved me over, holding a bunch of figurines, and asked me to take a picture of him and the figurines together on the beach.
...It feels like playing house.
After taking the photos, he suddenly pulled out a deck of cards from somewhere and played five roles: two battled in front of the cards, two were tense spectators, and the last one was himself, responsible for commentating on the battle and observing the audience's expressions.
All I can say to that is... Illumi, please keep an eye on your brother.
This is the first time I've ever had the fleeting thought that it would be great if Illumi were here.
“You… uh,” I carefully chose my words, asking Milluki, “how long is your battle going to last…”
I want to say my legs are numb and I need to go for a walk.
But Miki was engrossed in role-playing and didn't want to listen to me finish. As soon as I started to speak, he waved his hand repeatedly without turning his head.
...It seems I've temporarily fallen into a state of obsession.
That happens occasionally, you know, Miki.
This isn't the first time something like this has happened.
I sighed and decided not to ask for his opinion anymore; I would just stand up and run away.
But as soon as I was about to pass by him, Milluki became alert, stopped what he was doing, and looked at me warily:
"where are you going"
Me: "...I was just about to tell you that I wanted to go out for some fresh air, but you ignored me."
Miki reached out, stopping me from speaking. He rummaged in his backpack for a while and pulled out an ugly black bracelet:
"Take this with you when you go."
I refused: "No, it doesn't match my dress. You can consult Kurt before making something like this next time; his aesthetic sense is very much in line with my taste."
Miji was furious: "I didn't do it for you! Who wants to ask that brat—I'll just use the gift he gave you next time, okay?"
"...So you still agreed, didn't you?" I didn't know what to say.
Milluki gritted his teeth: "Stop talking nonsense, you're such a picky person... Wear it, I'll get you a nicer one next time."
I took the bracelet and bent down to fasten it to my wrist.
"What's this?" I fiddled with the decorations for a while. "A locator?"
"More or less," Milluki said vaguely. "It's been imbued with Nen, and it's not completely finished yet, but it's enough... You should leave now. Don't try to secretly remove it, or you'll be repelled by Nen abilities; and don't go too far or stay too long, or something terrible will happen."
"Why did you give me this kind of thing..." I couldn't help but ask, "Am I some kind of cat or dog that will run away if I let go, so I have to be on a leash?"
"To Illumi, that's pretty much how you are right now—"
Please, I'm just complaining, not actually wanting to hear the truth.
"So this is what Illumi made you do?" I asked.
Milluki, with his back to me and still clutching the cards in his hand, said impatiently, "Who else could it be?"
“So,” he reiterated, “you absolutely must not provoke Illumi again, unless I advise against it, or you’ll really get a lesson! You’ll regret it then.”
I didn't want to reply, so I snorted, bent down, and went out of the tent.
The sky over the sea is very blue.
The sea is so vast that ships appear tiny. Walking along the sea for a while, you can see the port and many containers of various colors in the distance.
I suddenly remembered the ship ticket that I had kept in my clothes, which had expired long ago, and which I only discovered later.
If, back then, I had followed that person's wishes and boarded the ship to escape with him, what kind of beings would we be now?
Will he continue to play the role of the perfect older brother I've always dreamed of? Will I continue to blindly love him?
Will Illumi be angry or resentful about this? Will my mother reflect on her excessive neglect of me?
I can't imagine it.
If something didn't happen, it didn't happen.
Feeling a bit tired from walking, I found a relatively clean patch of sand, tucked in my skirt, and sat down.
The sound of the waves was long and distant, "whoosh—", "whoosh—", "whoosh—".
As I sat there, I started to feel sleepy again.
...
When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the tent.
Miki put away all the figurines and was fiddling with something behind my back.
I raised my empty wrist and looked at it for a while, then he suddenly spoke up as if he had eyes in the back of his head:
"woke up"
Me: "Mm."
He asked, "How did you fall asleep while lying on the floor?"
Me: "I'm so sleepy."
He angrily retorted, "Aren't you afraid something bad will happen?!"
"Anyway, I brought that thing with me..." I replied slowly.
Miki stopped talking and continued to concentrate on studying his invention.
"Is it really not okay to go see it?" I asked after lying down for a while, unable to fall asleep. "The sculpture exhibition."
“No.” He gave the same answer firmly, but this time, he added an explanation, “The Phantom Troupe has their eyes on that place… Have you heard of them? That’s why Illumi insisted that I take you back after completing the mission.”
I was stunned for a moment. I couldn't hear what Miji said next. A figure kept flashing vaguely through my mind.
Oops.
I wasn't particularly interested in Milluki's suggestion at first.
but……
If that's the case...
"...Is that okay?" I asked.
"What can I do?" Milluki was completely bewildered by my question.
"If the person I want is the leader of the Phantom Troupe," I repeated, "...would that be alright?"
Mi Ji was greatly alarmed.
“It’s okay if we can’t get the person,” I added, “It’s okay if all we have is a head…”
"Anyway, please let me see him," I said, smiling. My previously dull life suddenly seemed to be filled with color. "Second Brother, can you take on such a mission?"
Milluki was even more shocked by the mention of the Phantom Troupe. He asked urgently, "Are you sure it's the Phantom Troupe...? My brother can only accept the child having the Zoldyck surname!"
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