The Villain's Sister - Chapter 114

If there’s one thing I learned from repeatedly doing something you could call running away, or leaving home, it’s that deceiving people requires creativity that hits them where they least expect it.

After leaving Tristan’s place, I stayed for a day at a hotel near the harbor.

I changed my hair color to blonde with a reddish tint and wore a neat shirt and a coat with a collar I could flip up.

I stuffed only the necessities into a suitcase the kind businessmen use and boarded the ship around lunchtime the next day.

With sunglasses on and my coat collar raised, most of my face was hidden.

“Here are your ID and first-class ticket.”

I threw away the forged ID Johan gave me. I used the one I’d made separately.

“Have a pleasant trip, Ms. Jean Anderson.”

The ship I boarded was a cruise liner that traveled through every port city along this country’s coast.

My goal was to get off at Blue City in the south and settle down in a rural town there.

‘There aren’t many people in the countryside around Blue City.’

I have more than enough money.

Just the allowance Raphael had given me over time amounted to what several high-income workers would save over a lifetime.

Maybe because it was first class, the cabin was bigger and nicer than I expected.

There was also a small TV that only picked up the radio and a single channel.

“Whether Raphael escaped from prison or did whatever, it’s none of my business.”

I’m cutting myself off from everything that happens in that city.

So I won’t turn on the news inside the cabin.

***

Worried someone might recognize me, I stayed in the cabin except during mealtimes.

Alone in the room, I read books I’d been putting off or watched movies.

When I got bored, I opened a travel brochure and went through Blue City’s tourist spots one by one.

‘A winter sea. That’s amazing.’

Mist Island also borders the sea, but it’s nothing but ports and stacks of containers, no sandy beaches.

So when I get to Blue City, I’m definitely going to see the sea.

Rolling waves, squawking seagulls, and the fine sand of a white beach.

At night, I should try setting off fireworks, even if I’m alone.

Thinking about the things I’d do in Blue City made me giddy, like I was going on my first trip.

Then, at the faintest passing voice, the remnants of emotions I’d forced deep into my chest would surface, and my mood would sink in an instant.

“Please tell me you want me.”

I keep thinking about Johan.

I should’ve hugged him tight back then.

No, I should’ve at least tried to.

I didn’t know I’d miss him this much once we were apart.

I thought I’d struggle for a few days and then forget, but it only grows more painful as time passes.

I didn’t know longing could hurt this badly.

‘I should’ve just gone with him.’

Did my choice end up hurting us both?

“No. No. How could I drag him into a life like this?”

Since we’ve been entangled since a past life, it feels right to keep my distance as much as possible.

I shook my head hard and headed to the dining room.

Just as the food was about to be served, I noticed a middle-aged couple at the next table staring straight at me.

‘Did they recognize me?’

I’d kept my hat pulled down the whole time on board, and I don’t think people from other cities would know my face.

My mouth went dry with tension.

Just as I was about to push back my chair and leave, the woman spoke to me.

“We seem to run into each other a lot.”

“Do we?”

“You’re the only young lady who wears a hat every day. Young people usually don’t choose cruise trips, so it’s surprising. Are you traveling alone?”

I nodded instead of answering because I didn’t want to continue the conversation, but they didn’t seem to mind.

“We chose a cruise trip. Actually, we’ve been planning this trip for three years—”

“We took it for our 25th wedding anniversary. This man has such a packed schedule as a doctor, you see.”

“Ah… I boarded to celebrate quitting my job.”

“So that’s why you’re dressed so formally. What did you do for work?”

“Uh. A wine salesperson.”

Fortunately, it seemed like they just wanted some small talk.

“What city are you from? We’re from Paradise Hill City.”

“Black City.”

“Oh my….”

The couple exchanged glances, clearly surprised.

Paradise Hill City was an elite city, and Black City was the poorest place in the country.

With its crime rate climbing to the brink of Mist Island’s level, I must’ve looked like the kind of person they’d expect to be scrubbing toilets.

“At least it’s not Mist Island. I hear that place is a complete dump.”

“Villains from there are corrupting other cities too. The central government should just step in and wipe the city out.”

Just like how only I get to curse my own damn dog, only residents get to click their tongues at Mist Island.

“That’s right. It’s a brutally savage city.”

I stared straight at the couple as I continued, “So watch what you say. What if an angry Mist Island resident blows your heads off?”

Seeing their faces turn pale made me burst out laughing.

***

The incident happened the following afternoon.

As I was heading back to my cabin after lunch, a scream echoed through the corridor.

“Kyaaah!”

“Doctor! Someone call a doctor!”

Through the crowd that gathered, I saw the doctor I’d met yesterday.

He was unconscious, bleeding.

“D-doctor! Please call a doctor!” his wife screamed.

He’d fallen after the railing he was leaning on broke.

A short while later, the captain and the ship’s resident doctor checked the man and spoke in grave tones.

“We need to transport him to a hospital as soon as possible.”

“We’re scheduled to dock at Rezona Port in Blue City tomorrow morning.”

“That’s at 8 a.m.! Is there nowhere closer? He’s a patient with a broken neck. He needs thorough examinations as soon as possible!”

“There are no other nearby ports, and even at maximum speed, the earliest we can make it is around 6 a.m., so there’s no other option.”

Is God testing me?

I squeezed my eyes shut, wanting to turn away from the collapsed man.

The moment I ran back to my cabin and shut the door, an announcement rang throughout the ship.

― Due to a medical emergency, we will be docking at Rezona Port around 6 a.m. tomorrow. We ask for your understanding.

If your neck breaks, doesn’t paralysis set in below the neck?

‘If he gets to a hospital, he’ll recover, right?’

I know plenty about gunshot wounds and stab wounds, but I don’t know anything about this.

It hurts to turn away from a situation where I could help.

‘I risked my life to run away. Who am I to worry about someone else?’

I hurriedly pulled the blanket over my head.

I told myself to just sleep, but my mind stayed painfully clear.

If Raphael were beside me at a time like this, barking at me to ignore it, I would’ve felt uneasy for a moment and let it go.

But now, everything depends on my choice.

Even if I let this pass, I’d never see that man again.

But someday, going about my daily life, if I saw someone in a wheelchair pass by, I’d think of him.

And every time, I’d comfort myself by saying, ‘He’ll be doing fine,’ while turning away from the guilt.

“…I can’t believe I’m as much of an idiot as Tristan.”

I got up and stuffed my bag full, preparing to run again after doing unpaid labor.

***

There was only one place on the cruise with emergency or intensive care beds.

5 a.m.

Even the doctor who’d been watching over the patient had gone to sleep.

Barefoot, I slipped into the emergency room without making a sound and checked on the man.

His wife, exhausted from crying, was asleep beside the bed as if she’d fainted.

I placed one hand over his eyes and the other around his neck, channeling mana into him.

“If anyone asks, say you were asleep and don’t know anything.”

I hurried out of the emergency room and packed my things in the cabin.

Once we docked at Lorenzo Port, the ship buzzed with news that the patient had miraculously recovered.

I disembarked at Lorenzo Port.

I bought a ticket for a trip that would take at least four hours and waited at the station for the train to arrive.

“Ah….”

Reading this morning’s newspaper made my heart sink.

― Debate Over the Death Penalty Reignited.

― Mist Island Assembly Pushes Bill Allowing Death Penalty for First-Grade Organized Criminals.

With public opinion hitting rock bottom, Mist Island planned to revive the death penalty to make an example of the underground organizations.

‘What about Raphael?’

If he’d been transferred to the central government’s underground prison back then, would it have ended with a life sentence?

Or would he have been sent back and executed?

I crumpled the newspaper and shoved it into the trash.

‘Even so, I’m not going back.’

If anything, Raphael should come to me.

I picked up my luggage and boarded the train.

Without knowing that what happened on the cruise would reach Johan.