The Villain's Sister - Chapter 3

I’ve heard countless times that I look like a goddess from a famous painting or a movie actress, but this is the first time in my life someone’s called me a squid or said I’m annoying.

I was so embarrassed that my face turned red.

Tristan didn’t even glance at me as he snapped at a nearby colleague, “Hey. Who the hell bought this coffee? We may drink just about anything, but even a beggar wouldn’t touch this crap. Isn’t that too much?”

“They said the budget’s gone because of the magic guns. By the way, who’s she?”

Tristan’s colleague turned his gaze to me.

His eyes wouldn’t leave me.

‘That’s the normal reaction, so why is Tristan…’

“Don’t bother. Anyway, any signs of Red Shadow?”

“Not sure. He seems to be poking around here and there, but nothing concrete yet.”

“Any shootouts near the harbor or city outskirts?”

“Why don’t you check that yourself?”

I stared blankly at Tristan walking away, then snapped out of it and hurried after him.

Just because he called me a squid doesn’t mean I’m giving up.

Raphael is my family—I have to protect him.

“Mr. Lindbergh. Mr. Lindbergh!”

“Ugh, what? I’m busy.”

As I nearly ran after him, Tristan turned around with an annoyed face.

“At least give me a chance to say thank you. I’m alive because of you.”

“Wow, Tristan. She said you saved her life. You’d better be nice.”

Tristan’s colleague nudged him and walked ahead with a sparkle in his eye.

Tristan ran a hand through his hair, clearly annoyed. “Look, you don’t need to thank me. It’s our duty to protect citizens. So, Squid—I mean, Miss, you can just go on living your normal life. Got it?”

He suddenly switched from casual to formal speech, like he did at the bank—that meant he was drawing a line.

My job was to cross that line.

“Then at least let me treat you to a meal. Please.”

“I’m a police officer. That could be seen as a bribe or solicitation. Sorry.”

“You saved my life, and that’s considered a bribe? What country has that kind of logic?”

“Look, in Mist Island, if people treated cops to a meal every time something like that happened, we’d all go bankrupt. Got it? So stop wasting my time and go.”

This was the iron wall of all iron walls. Now I was feeling stubborn.

Tristan turned his back on me and walked away.

Seeing his broad back stirred something inside me.

I want to live. Raphael has to live too.

Tristan—no, Black Pistols—is the one who brings Raphael down.

So I have to stop that man.

More than anything, I’m seriously ticked off.

I shouted loud enough for everyone around to hear.

“…Then go on a date with me!”

The noisy surroundings went quiet.

All the police personnel nearby turned to stare.

My face burned from the embarrassment of shouting something I didn’t mean.

Tristan, uncharacteristically, looked flustered.

Creak, creak.

He stiffly turned like a rusty door.

I could already guess what he was about to say.

‘Is she crazy?’ or ‘Are you out of your mind?’—something along those lines.

Just as he opened his mouth—

“Whoa! Tristan, you dog! You did it!”

Someone clapped, and the others followed with cheers.

“Finally breaking free from being single?”

“It’s not easy for a woman to ask a man out first—just go have a meal with her!”

“Whistleee!”

There were even whistles.

The more they reacted, the worse Tristan’s expression got, but I didn’t care.

My life and Raphael’s are on the line—who cares about a little embarrassment?

I emphasized again to Tristan, “Mr. Lindbergh. Please go on just one date with me.”

At my words, Tristan glared at me, his face turning bright red.

The more his colleagues whistled and clapped, the more vicious his expression became.

Thanks to that, I felt much better.

“Shut up, all of you! Get back to work!”

Tristan, shouting furiously, dragged me to the back of the police station.

He sneered and warned me, “Take your stupid games somewhere else.”

His red face told me this wasn’t just some silly game.

When I inhaled sharply as if I were hurt, Tristan scratched his head irritably.

“Sorry, but I have no intention of dating or anything like that. Go find another guy.”

“Do you… have bad eyesight?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Or do you like men?”

“What did you say?”

“If not…” I glanced downward as if checking and asked, “Is there a problem…?”

If he were a normal, fully functioning man, there’s no way he could act like this toward me.

Tristan’s breath grew heavy, clearly shocked by my mumbled words.

I had to bite my cheek to keep from laughing.

Honestly, I’d said it to get back at him for calling me a squid, and judging by his crumpled face, I’d chosen well.

“You—”

Before he could respond, I quickly pulled out a pen and paper from my bag and scribbled down my number.

Then I shoved it into his hand.

“My name is Giselle Rodriguez. Please call me. I mean it.”

If he wanted to prove he was a man, he’d call.

…Though the chances of him trying to clear the misunderstanding weren’t high.

This might not be my only chance to ask him out, so I decided to just exchange names today.

‘I should let Maria know.’

If a strange man calls, I’ll need her to cover for me.

I left the police station, feeling the eyes of the officers who had been watching me like I was under a spell.

***

I’m doomed.

That’s what I thought as I looked at the man thrown into the alley.

I’d gotten tangled up in another crime scene.

‘I can’t even speak.’

I was so shocked my voice caught in my throat.

I wanted to run, but my legs wouldn’t move.

The man was soaked in blood—not just bloodstained or injured, but completely drenched in it.

“…P-please… help me…”

The man pleaded, voice soaked in blood.

Before he could even finish, a man in a three-piece suit stepped out from inside.

When I saw the mask on his face, my mind went blank.

Red Shadow.

Another protagonist of this world.

Red Shadow is a ruthless hero who will threaten a criminal’s family to capture them, and shows no mercy—even to citizens—if they commit a crime.

His hero name, Red Shadow, comes from how his shadow beneath the streetlamp always appears red as it reaches the pool of blood.

He’s that dangerous.

A hero so corrupted he can’t even be distinguished from a villain.

That’s why I’ve always wanted to avoid him at all costs.

If he finds out I’m Raphael’s sister, he might kill me without hesitation to get to Raphael.

‘My legs won’t move…’

I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

An elegant three-piece suit, black leather gloves, and a blood-soaked mask.

To everyone in Mist Island, Red Shadow is the embodiment of fear.

As if to prove the rumors, he shot the kneecaps of the man soaked in blood.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Aaaaagh!”

The man screamed as if he were dying, the bullets shattering his bones and ripping through muscle.

I had no choice but to watch the whole thing unfold.

“Aaaaaaah!”

The horrifying screams made my head spin.

I had to run. I had to get away.

But I couldn’t do either.

My body was paralyzed by fear, and the Red Shadow in front of me was a monster drenched in blood.

Please save me.

That was the only thought filling my mind.

“H-huuhhk! I-I’ll talk! Please just spare me, please, aaargh! Guh-huk!”

The man gasped for air and begged desperately.

Red Shadow crouched down and stared at the pale man’s face.

“T-the blue gas, I bought it from Scott. He’s a pretty well-known drug dealer in this area, please, aaaargh! Please, just let me live…”

Red Shadow pointed his gun at the man’s left knee, the one that hadn’t already been destroyed.

“Huuuh!”

Terrified, soaked in sweat, blood, and fear, the man sobbed uncontrollably.

“Scott c-comes to sell the gas once a week. The location is, aaagh, in Lucky Ginger’s territory, but it changes every time. It’s… it’s announced randomly, so even I—”

The man never finished his sentence.

Bang!

Red Shadow put a bullet through the man’s skull.

The gunshot made my eardrums buzz.

The acrid smell of gunpowder stung my nose.

My head went fuzzy, and the world felt distant, my mind drifting away from reality.

Red Shadow caught me the moment my body began to sway.

He wrapped an arm around my waist. I could feel the firm muscles through the grip.

His body was hot. His strength made every nerve tense.

“Out late, aren’t you.”

The blood-stained red mask was right in front of me.

Soon, my blood would stain that mask too.

I shut my eyes tight, bracing for the pain.

But it never came.

Red Shadow let out a small chuckle.

It was gentler and warmer than I imagined.

Slowly, I opened my eyes.

The mask speckled with blood came into view.

And somehow, I could feel the languid smile hidden beneath it.

“Ah…”

Red Shadow effortlessly lifted me in his arms.

Then he put me down one block away.

As I stood there dazed, he raised one gloved finger and pressed it firmly to my lips.

The unique texture of leather made my shoulders tense.

“Shhhh—”

Was he telling me to keep today’s events a secret? Or to forget them?

Like soothing a child, Red Shadow made a soft hush sound and vanished in a cloud of smoke.

I stared, spellbound, at the smoke he left behind.

In the distance, I heard the sound of police sirens, and only then did the tears come.

Once again, I survived today.