Chapter 31
...While Kurapika was fretting about how to deal with the capricious young lady in front of him, news of Miss Adrian's disappearance spread rapidly and irresistibly among certain groups of people.
Lady Adrian is the undisputed ruler of the intelligence empire. Through years of empire management, she has developed unique methods for uncovering information.
News of Rai's disappearance reached Milluki's ears quickly, a day after she returned to Kukuroku Mountain alone. Her response was to commission someone to search for her daughter.
Given that Ray's identity made it unsuitable for him to appear in public, the search was conducted discreetly and secretly. Almost everyone only received an old photo from several years ago and a vague written description.
They were looking for a beautiful woman with long black hair and black eyes.
Lady Adrian's request was to bring the woman back to Adrian Manor unharmed, for a reward of one hundred million jenny.
While Mrs. Adrian's search for her daughter was in full swing, her daughter, who had been living in exile, was struggling to escape, carrying only meager belongings and constantly on the run.
...
I don't want to see the Zoldycks.
Until I heard about the Phantom Troupe, I never thought about leaving Kukuroku Mountain or breaking off my engagement with Illumi... To be honest, even now I still can't really imagine what it would be like to leave him with a strong will.
However, having already taken this step, I cannot easily convince myself to return to that cage called "Zoldyck".
I want to run away from my wedding.
I made a decision that even I find unbelievable.
I'm going to elope with Illumi's ring.
If my escape fails, I will shift the blame onto anyone, no matter who it is... In short, I want to elope.
Anyway, Illumi said that as long as I wear the ring, he won't hold it against me.
I made this plan with complete confidence.
...If it succeeds, I'll cherish the memory of Illumi for the rest of my life, wearing this engagement ring.
I believe I have treated him fairly.
It's better for someone to run away from their wedding than to elope with his brother... It's not because I'm inexplicably afraid of Killua.
Before making this decision, I had repeatedly consulted the blond young man next to me:
"Are you really going to abandon me and leave me with Killua?"
He lowered his eyes and said that Killua was a good person and that he would treat you very well.
I said I don't like Killua.
He didn't respond.
There was nothing I could do; things had come to this. I simply remained silent for a moment, stood up, quickly gathered my change of clothes, put them into a sturdy-looking shopping bag, and prepared to leave.
"...Where are you going?" His voice finally came from behind me at that moment.
But it was too late, and the answer wasn't what I wanted to hear.
“Go somewhere without you,” I replied. “I don’t want to see either of you, you or Killua.”
He seemed to stand up too... I don't have eyes in the back of my head, so I can't see clearly, but I heard the sound of chains clanging.
“If you’re not going to save me,” I said softly, standing in front of the door and looking at the doorknob that I could reach out and touch, “…at least don’t push me into the fire.”
“If Killua is as good as you say,” I added, “he will definitely respect my choice.”
After he finished speaking, the room fell silent, and he made no further move.
"I'm leaving." So I said, "Sorry, I'll pay you the wages I owe you next time."
He did not stop him further.
I pushed open the door and left.
After leaving the house, I started thinking about where I could go.
I only know a few places and a few people. I definitely can't go back to Kukuroku Mountain. I don't want to have any contact with anyone related to the Zoldyck family unless it's absolutely necessary, including Hisoka. His personality is too unpredictable, and I'm afraid he'll expose me.
I can't go to Adrian Manor either; my mother wouldn't care about me at all.
Phantom Troupe... Where am I supposed to find the Phantom Troupe?
I stood there for a while, letting the cold wind blow against my face. After a long while, I suddenly remembered that I had a father I hadn't seen in a long time.
Although he was expelled from the Adrian family long ago and thus severed ties with me, many of his henchmen still needed to rely on Adrian, who was my mother.
I just need to go find those people; eight or nine out of ten of them will know where Father is.
The only problem now is how to get there, and how to silence them once we get there... I lost all my documents on Kukuroku Mountain, and I didn't bring any with me.
This is such a hassle.
I put on the hat that Kurapika had casually slapped on my head a few days ago, first went to a nearby store to buy a new phone, searched for routes to another city, and then took a taxi to the bus station... I guess in this country, only long-distance buses don't check documents.
Before I dumped Milluki, I should have played the victim and gotten him to make me a bunch of fake documents.
It's a pity I didn't know sooner.
I bought a long-distance bus ticket with a heavy heart, boarded the bus with a heavy heart, and stared blankly out the window with my hand supporting my chin. I don't know how much time passed, but then a faint golden light seemed to flash across the glass.
I was startled awake by the pale gold color and subconsciously turned around to look, but saw nothing. Undeterred, I stood up and looked around again... but still saw nothing.
My heart finally settled down at this moment. I had to admit that I had failed for the first time. Due to the time constraints, I was unable to win over that blond young man who seemed so easy to fool.
He actually didn't get on the bus with me.
I lowered my head in frustration and stared blankly at my toes.
The seat next to me suddenly sank, revealing green boots and straight, healthy, tanned legs. I turned my eyes and saw a lively brown-haired boy wearing green clothes and carrying a small backpack.
Noticing my gaze, he paused for a moment, then naturally raised his hand to greet me:
"hello."
Normally, I would probably smile at him and reply in a friendly manner, "Hello to you too."
The problem is, I'm in a bad mood today.
So I stared at him for a while with no expression on my face, then lowered my head again to look at my toes.
He was sensible and stopped talking, remaining quiet.
...The car didn't start until a while later.
Before the car started, when the doors were already closed, a bearded man whose face was obscured suddenly stood up from his seat, got out, and asked the driver to open the door for him so he could get off.
Because the situation was so unusual, and because I'm a very curious person, I couldn't help but stare at the person's back for a while longer.
Then I noticed that the boy in green with brown hair next to me was also staring intently at the man, his expression serious, as if he was trying to figure out some difficult problem, or as if he had seen someone he cared about.
...
What a strange attitude.
The man got out of the car in the blink of an eye.
The brown-haired boy's gaze followed him down.
I then shifted my gaze from the man to the brown-haired boy in front of me.
"What are you looking at?" I couldn't help but ask.
“That person looks familiar…” The boy showed no surprise or panic at being asked this question by a complete stranger like me. Instead, he answered as naturally as if we had known each other for a long time, “I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before.”
"Then why didn't you call him over and ask him?" I asked again.
The brown-haired boy blinked, thought for a moment, and answered seriously:
"I feel like this will upset him... He doesn't seem to really want me to pay attention to him."
That sounds even stranger.
I asked, "Can you still feel it...? He clearly didn't even glance at you once."
Then I peeked out the window, looked at the guy outside, curled my lip, and commented:
"Hmm, his face was completely covered by his beard, even his neck was hidden..."
As he spoke, a gust of wind blew by, lifting his long black hair and revealing a light golden sheen at the roots.
I fell silent.
A moment later, I turned to the boy beside me and asked, "Do you really know him?"
He scratched his head.
“I don’t know either,” he replied. “I don’t remember knowing anyone like that… but he looks really familiar.”
"What's your name?" I asked again.
“Jay,” he said. “Jay. Freecss.”
Me: "Are you here as a tourist?"
He shook his head.
“I came with my friend, but he has something to take care of, and I have to go home first,” he said.
"What's your friend's name?" I asked.
The boy, who had been so forthcoming, suddenly became wary, his big, round eyes widening in confusion as he asked:
Why ask this question?
I smiled and made up a random excuse to brush it off: "We were talking about it, so I just asked casually."
He said "Really?" and then fell silent.
I rested my chin on my hand and turned my head back. The car had already started, and the disguised guy had completely disappeared outside the window.
Without a doubt, that guy is Kurapika.
...How should I put it? I thought I had completely failed, but it seems he still cares about me a little.
Unfortunately, there weren't many; they only followed us this far.
Based on the conversation we just had, I really wanted to ask the brown-haired boy next to me if he knew the other person, but firstly, I thought it might not be such a coincidence, and secondly, even if they knew each other, I could just pretend I didn't know and part ways with the boy appropriately.
I'm going to find my father now, not to cause trouble or hasten Illumi's move to bring me back.
With a "ding," the boy's phone next to him rang.
The windowpane reflected the faint light from the screen.
“…Um,” the boy who called himself Xiao Jie suddenly spoke up, “Are you Ray?”
I turned around.
He looked somewhat dazed, his whole body was blank, his eyes were open and blank, and his speech was also blank:
"Probably... Kurapika sent me a message saying you didn't want to go home with Killua, so you sat next to me. He has to go back and take care of Killua, and asked me to stay with you for the time being..."
I was taken aback when I heard those words: "What do you mean... Didn't I say I don't want to go back there? Even if Killua comes, it's not allowed!"
"No, no," the boy waved his hands frantically, trying to explain, "Although I don't know what happened between you two, Kurapika told me about it, just to ask me to protect you temporarily... He said someone like you really shouldn't be involved with the Zoldycks, and he'll explain it to Killua..."
As he spoke, he muttered to himself:
"But, Killua doesn't seem to mean that..."
He was rambling on and on when his vision started to blurt out. It took him a long time to recover, and he looked at me with a pitiful expression, asking:
"But isn't Rai Killua's sister-in-law, the one... Illumi's wife? I heard it from Alluka."
Me: "...I'm not married yet."
He suddenly realized: "So you're still considering marriage partners, huh... I understand now!"
He flashed a bright, sunny smile, gave me a thumbs-up, and solemnly promised:
"I will definitely protect you until they decide the winner, Sister Lei!"
This time, I was the one who felt dizzy.
For a moment, I didn't know what to say.
“No,” I said after a moment, “things might not get to that point. Nothing should happen between them… No one would be willing to challenge Illumi for me.”
"How could that be?" The brown-haired boy's eyes widened. "Sister Lei is so beautiful. If it were me, I would definitely beat up Illumi for you! Not just Illumi, but whoever makes you unhappy, I will not let them get away with it."
He spoke with absolute certainty.
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