Chapter 43
...When Kuroro's companions were about to return, I was sitting quietly alone in a corner.
That spot was right in the wind, and Kuroro wanted me to move to another spot. He reached out his hand, as if to pull me up.
I silently curled up, avoiding his outstretched hand, and pressed my cheek against my knee.
After warming up, the sweat-soaked clothes clung coldly to my skin, and a cool breeze sent a chill through me.
My fingers, which were already cold, were now completely frozen solid, and my legs, which had been in a tired position, were starting to ache.
But I still don't want to move.
The initial surge of fear subsided, and a series of memories flashed through my mind.
The more I thought about what I had just done, the more nauseous I felt.
I've actually... yet again... even though I've become numb to this man.
Why is that?
A sense of despair gradually crept into my heart, lingering and rising.
I was almost suffocating in overwhelming anger and self-loathing.
Soft strands of hair brushed against my cheeks, the wind was still blowing, and I buried my head a little lower, when suddenly a warm feeling came over my shoulder.
I looked up blankly, and there was Kuroro, who had taken off his long black coat trimmed with white fur and covered me with it.
He looked at me intently, reached out, brushed the bangs from my forehead, and gently cupped my cheeks in his palm.
It is warm.
Of course, from another perspective, it's because I'm too cold.
“Lay,” I heard his voice, softly, almost as a sigh, “you’re cold, come here.”
I shook my head.
“You’re angry with me again,” he asked.
I don't understand why he asked that question.
“I’m a hostage, aren’t I?” I looked up at him, offering a casual reminder, “Was it really necessary for you to do this?”
He stopped moving.
I reached out and pulled his hand away from my face.
“We're over a long time ago, Kuroro.” Then I said to him seriously, “You're not my brother… I was just scared by your partner. You don't really think the whispers in your nightmares could be real, do you?”
"Forget it," I said sarcastically before he could answer. "Anyway, when the time comes, you'll probably just push me out again. There's no need to put on an act with me for that little bit of sweetness just now. Sir, I'm not my mother. You won't get anything from me."
The wind was strong, so I pulled his coat tighter, moved to the side, and finally composed myself.
"Anyway... that's the gist of it. Thanks for your coat, I'll borrow it for now. It won't do you any good if I freeze to death, it'll just cause trouble, right?"
This was probably the first time he had seen me so completely without pretense; his eyes followed my every move.
I squinted at him in a mocking manner and smiled. He looked at me with a deep gaze, lost in thought. I thought he would offer some opinion, but unexpectedly, he said nothing.
Then, the eyebrowless guy I finally remembered seeing somewhere before, along with the annoying man next to him who caused my downfall, came in.
She disliked men who were short, huddled under a long, black robe, with the lower half of their faces covered by a mask painted with white skulls.
As soon as he came in, I looked away from Kuroro and stared at him intently.
His senses were clearly very sharp; he noticed me the moment I looked at him, raised his eyes and gave me a cold glare, his eyes and brows conveying a chilling warning.
...If he hadn't used those strange suggestive methods to intimidate me, I wouldn't have lost my composure in front of Kuroro at all.
I really hate that guy!
What was originally just a desire to provoke him swelled uncontrollably after being subjected to torture, and was twisted into something even more terrifying by hatred and anger.
He actually dared to... That's the side of myself I least want to face.
Our eye contact didn't last long, but it felt like we were in the distant future in an instant. To avoid being cruelly punished again if I rashly retaliated, I wisely and obediently looked away and lowered my face.
Then they started discussing things in front of me, like where to stake out, their experience dealing with chainmen, and their speculation about whether I could actually be of any use.
You should think that this is something you should avoid talking about with me, right?
When they say it to my face, I always have the feeling that I'm about to die and will soon be silenced.
I couldn't help but purse my lips, then grabbed Kuroro's coat from my shoulders and pulled it over my head, shrinking into the darkness. Out of sight, out of mind.
...That guy, the one with no eyebrows, who seemed to be called Finks, chuckled at that moment.
But there was only one sound.
I simply pretended I hadn't heard anything.
After a while, they finally finished talking, and I pulled down my coat to reveal my head.
"Have you finished discussing it?" I asked Kuroro directly, avoiding any contact with the man I disliked.
Knowing his temperament, he certainly wouldn't hold such a rudeness against me.
My guess was obviously correct, and Kuroro looked over cooperatively.
I blinked: "I want to change my clothes."
he:"……"
Looking past Kuroro's shoulder, Phinks raised his eyebrows excitedly again behind him, as if he was about to whistle.
He really loves to stir up trouble.
"Don't you need to change your clothes?" I asked.
The annoying guy finally spoke.
Strictly speaking, that doesn't even qualify as a sentence.
He just snorted.
I deliberately ignored his malice and complained to Kuroro:
"The treatment you're giving me here is terrible... Please, whether you're trying to catch my chained hands or my annoying fiancé... at least let me take a shower and change my clothes first!"
If he still doesn't agree, I'm going to expose his secrets in front of his friends.
For example, what exactly caused me to become so pathetic?
The guy who dislikes others should bear three-tenths of the responsibility, while Kuroro should bear seven-tenths.
“I understand,” Kuroro said, thankfully, just as I was seriously considering what to say next. “...You guys stay here, I’ll take her out first.”
I originally thought that Kuroro was the only leader of this little gang who had the final say.
But unexpectedly, the annoying man who had been silent all along, only humming once since he returned, finally spoke up.
"Why?" His voice was cold. "Didn't you say you wanted to use her as a hostage first?"
Finks didn't take sides; he looked left and right, remaining aloof.
Kuroro nodded calmly: "Yes."
“But she’s special,” he added, “...besides Chainhands, there are other people looking for her, like the Zoldycks and Adrian.”
"So what?" the annoying man asked again, "Are we going to put the interests of the Phantom Troupe aside for these things...? So what if it's related to the Zoldyck and Adrian?"
“The chained hand hasn’t been dealt with yet; now is not the time to provoke new enemies,” Kuroro explained calmly.
The man who dislikes her remained noncommittal.
My interest was piqued, and my eyes lit up. Like Phinks, I watched the two of them expectantly, wondering if we could uncover some exciting scenes of infighting within the troupe.
But those expectations were dashed.
A few minutes later, the annoying guy took out a coin, and the two of them tossed the coin to decide whether to take me to get my appearance fixed.
"Yes." I dislike male gamblers.
Kuroro tossed the coin into the air.
The man who disliked it looked up, his eyes fixed on the small coin, awaiting the final verdict.
But I could no longer tolerate it.
I jumped up, letting my coat slip off, and then leaped up, clutching the coin tightly.
Nobody stopped me.
Phinks was just watching the show, Kuroro always inexplicably indulged me, and the annoying guy who had just given me a painful lesson was just watching coldly for some reason.
“Don’t throw it away,” I said. “I’m the one who wants to get out. If you want to stop Kuroro, you should stop me first.”
Upon hearing this, the man laughed contemptuously, showing he didn't take me seriously.
“It’s not your place to speak here,” he said.
All right.
He really made me angry.
I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself down.
But it failed, and I couldn't calm down.
I'm sorry, Kuroro.
Then I thought to myself.
I didn't want to do this either; your partner forced me to.
"You'd better let me go out for a bit."
This guy was a head shorter than me, so I had to bend down and get close to his ear—
It's strange, Illumi doesn't like me being so close to him, but this guy just stood there steadily, letting me get close.
“Because,” I continued, “thanks to you, we just had an emergency… Ah, do you want to touch this? There should still be traces here, it hasn’t been cleaned up at all.”
"..."
He did not react for a long time.
I couldn't help but wonder:
"Don't you want to?" Then I asked again, "Then come with us and take a look."
...Finally, after a series of questions were posed, the man who disliked her started to move.
"Get out!" he said viciously.
I straightened my back indifferently and moved away from his ear.
“No,” I said, “I don’t want to go now. I think you’re quite suitable to be a sparring partner for the kids. For your sake, I’ll stay here.”
"...Are you crazy?" he asked me, his voice dark and menacing, unable to contain himself any longer.
"Isn't this what you expected?" I countered. "What's wrong? Are you dissatisfied?"
--------------------
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
