Chapter 102 Misplaced Life
When Bourbon went home with Nanami, he had already thought about how to handle his affairs after his death. He cursed himself for being careless, but it didn't seem like he could be entirely blamed; this girl was just too unpredictable.
"Calm down! First, figure out her identity and motives."
"Would you like a drink?" Nanami ushered Boben into the house, shook the wine bottle, and took out two more glasses. "You can put the rabbit on the floor for now!"
Bourbon saw the label on the bottle: "Are you Alice?"
"Exactly."
Looking back, Bourbon's first encounters with other members of the organization mostly occurred during missions. His unexpected meeting with Alice at the pet shop and the free rabbit he received is almost as surreal as Scotland's first meeting with Osiris, where he was given a lemon pie as a bonus.
“I’ve never heard of you in the organization,” Bourbon asked casually, trying to sound relaxed.
Alice calmly poured drinks for herself and the other person, saying, "Really? But I've known you for a long time. We met when you were still W7-331953. To be precise, I met you."
"She knew my identity before I even got the codename 'Bourbon'? Does that mean all these years..."
Bourbon took a small sip of wine, trying not to let his emotions control him, and looked up to ask, "Why are you avoiding me?"
"I wasn't hiding, I just felt the time wasn't right. If we meet now, I won't need to explain anything, right?"
Before Alice said those words, Bourbon had always suspected that she was impersonating the real Nanami Fukuyama. But now that he was willing to believe her, he couldn't help but feel relieved.
"Only con artists go to great lengths to deceive others, while true victims are unwilling to reopen old wounds. The ideal situation is when the other party understands, and you don't need to explain."
"Now that the identity is confirmed, what about the motive?"
"What do you want from me?" Bourbon asked.
Alice countered, "What can you give me?"
"Twenty years ago, she lost everything in her home, and all I can give back is a rabbit."
Bourbon swirled his glass, stared at the clear, bright liquid for a moment, and then suggested, "Let me cook you a meal!"
Seeing Alice's barely concealed surprise, Bourbon felt even more pleased with his quick wit. He turned the tables and explained enthusiastically, "It'll be dinnertime soon. Once I've finished cooking, we can chat all day!"
"If you get hungry, I can order takeout or something."
"If I have time, I prefer to do it myself! Do you have anything else planned for tonight?"
"Huh? No..." Alice hesitated for a moment, but finally accepted this bizarre suggestion. "The kitchen is inside, but there aren't many dishes left."
Bourbon only realized the true meaning of "not much food" when he got to the kitchen: there wasn't even enough left to feed the rabbits!
Bourbon had no choice but to return to the living room and say, "There's not enough food. I'll go buy some!" With that, he strode away, leaving Alice alone to stare at the rabbit.
Bourbon, who was out buying groceries, was in a good mood. Although he hadn't fully figured out Alice's goal, he didn't feel any real threat.
"Perhaps she just wants to see me?"
Bourbon was picking and choosing at the market, intending to ask his childhood friend, the chef, for his opinion. However, the cat dad, who was in flight mode, was still busy chasing after the kittens, so the golden retriever had to make the decision himself.
Just when Alice thought Bourbon had taken the opportunity to slip away, the blond man returned. He was carrying a lot of ingredients, the most eye-catching of which was a large bundle of celery.
Alice, holding the little rabbit, looked at Bourbon with a puzzled expression, as if asking: Is this for the rabbit or for the human?
Bourbon roughly guessed what she was thinking and argued logically, "Celery is the best!"
Alice sighed softly, feeling a bit regretful for having met him: something was wrong, something was really wrong!
The situation has completely gone astray, and no amount of huskies could bring it back on track.
"Well, uh... I'll trouble you to cook, thank you." Alice, at her wits' end, decided to let Bourbon do as he pleased.
Bourbon had always cooked meals for one person, so he was naturally eager to have the opportunity to show off his skills in the kitchen.
"Jing hasn't even arrived in Scotland yet, while I've already found Nanami, so I've won this round!"
"I'm not only going to win at solving cases, but I'm also going to win the cooking competition. Since Jing can conquer Osiris's taste buds with delicious food, I can do the same for Alice!"
"It's time to start the real show! Today I'm going to show Jing what it means to surpass your teacher!"
During Bourbon's reign in the kitchen, Alice wanted to go in and take a look several times, but she held back: the smell was wonderful, but the noise was deafening, and she wondered what the chef was up to.
When the dishes were served, Alice was even more shocked: she hadn't expected Bourbon to be a hidden master chef!
"Want to try some?" Bourbon said calmly and elegantly.
Alice curiously picked up a piece of celery first, and found it crisp and refreshing, which greatly improved her bad impression of celery: "Bourbon, I never knew you were such a good cook!"
Bourbon smiled calmly and asked, "Then what do you know about me?"
"What I know, you already know too, don't you?" Alice cunningly avoided giving a direct answer.
"I don't understand, how did you know it was me?"
"Huh? Isn't that obvious?"
"What a difficult girl to deal with!"
Bourbon inwardly groaned, having hoped to lower her guard with delicious food. But Alice remained unusually alert, her mouth tightly shut.
Although the old crocodile man once said that Bourbon looked a lot like his father, judging from the photos his father left in the South American rainforest, the father and son were far from being so obviously alike.
Moreover, the fact that Alice could chat with him in such a relaxed atmosphere means she was unaware of Bourbon's public security affiliation and his past. All Alice likely knew was that Amuro Tooru was Sakurano Tsubasa's son. She might not even have a clear understanding of the specific family relationships, only knowing that the crocodile pocket watch should have belonged to Bourbon.
So, what was it that was so obvious that Alice learned the truth? Bourbon couldn't figure it out.
"I'm sorry," Bourbon said, his eyelashes lowered.
Alice, who was enjoying her meal, frowned upon hearing this: "Why apologize? I don't hate you, it's not your fault."
"Huh? You don't hate me?" Bourbon was somewhat surprised; he had assumed she harbored resentment. Her family had been destroyed because of that mysterious pocket watch, and she hadn't had to suffer any of it.
“I don’t hate you, I just envy you, or rather… I’m jealous. Jealous that you have such a good life.” Alice stared intently at Bourbon. “Every night, lying in this hospital bed, I would think: What did we do wrong? Why me of all people? I thought about it for a long time but couldn’t figure it out. Later, I stopped thinking about it. I’m leaving this question to you because you’re the only one alive who can understand this, and in a sense, you’re also a party to it. So Bourbon, can you tell me why?”
"So you've been waiting for me all this time just for this?"
Bourbon gave a bitter smile and replied, "I guess this is fate."
"Fate? That fate is so unfair to Mom and Dad."
"Feel sorry…"
"No need, you're not the master of fate anyway."
Bourbon asked hesitantly, "Alice, how are you... uh, how's your health?"
What do you think?
Bourbon was at a loss. He felt that severe burns shouldn't have resulted in her recovery: Could it be a disguise?
Seeing this, Alice stopped cryptic: "The exposed skin has been repaired. But there are still some unseen areas. Although I could continue treatment, I've given up. It's too painful, and I hate being stared at."
"The surgery... must take a long time, right?" Skin grafting isn't something that can be done in one session.
"Nine years," Alice said calmly.
Bourbon's heart skipped a beat.
“Actually, I’m very lucky. If that gentleman hadn’t taken me in and treated my illness, I would have died long ago. Ordinary people don’t have the opportunity to enjoy the same medical conditions as me.” Alice said this with gratitude and admiration in her eyes.
Bourbon felt a sudden, inexplicable pang of heartache. This was the first person he had met in all his years in the organization who was so grateful to that man. What made him even more desperate was that the organization truly was Alice's savior.
The fact that the criminal organization played the role of the good guy in this matter was the most unbearable thing for him: Alice's life would be ruined because of it.
"Do you have any missions nearby?" Bourbon asked.
"No! I just finished a mission, and that gentleman gave me two days off."
What do you usually do?
"Huh? The intelligence experts are working again? They're not even letting me off the hook."
“I was just asking, you don’t have to answer.” Bourbon found it really difficult to get any useful information out of Alice. This seemingly gentle and innocent girl, who was actually extremely vigilant, harbored a cunning mind that was hard to fathom. So Bourbon changed the subject to a more casual one, “Do you like rabbits?”
“Yes, I really wanted one when I was little, they were so cute and fluffy. But…” Alice sighed, “Bourbon, I’ve never kept any pet alive. Do you think that’s fate?”
“You’ll definitely be able to raise him this time!” Bourbon encouraged eagerly, “because this is just a gift from me.”
"Will yours be any different?"
"Of course, I'm just luckier!"
Alice couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this: "What! I didn't know you were so superstitious?"
"This isn't superstition; I guarantee this rabbit will live a perfectly good life."
Alice couldn't tell for a moment whether Bourbon was joking or serious. She looked at the rabbit and then at Bourbon, saying, "Well, thank you for your kind words. To be honest, you're quite different from what I imagined."
"What do you think I am?" Bourbon asked curiously.
"Hmm... treacherous and cunning, sweet-talking but treacherous."
"This really fits Bourbon's persona."
"And now?"
"I think you're a really nice person. You're quite different from the others in the organization; you have a kind of childlike kindness about you."
The second half of his sentence immediately set Bourbon on edge; he had no intention of leaving Alice with that impression. So, swirling his glass, he said in a deliberately profound tone, "I think you've misunderstood. I'm not some kind-hearted good person; I just have occasional moments of conscience."
Alice's smile deepened, and she softly uttered words that terrified Bourbon: "Bourbon, you don't need to lie to me."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
