The Villain's Sister - Chapter 48

Johan’s mouth went dry.

Abigail cautiously continued, “Even the knee wound she got the day before the terrorist attack, from falling on the ground, disappeared completely. Cassie said her stomach hurt because of the glass, and her clothes clearly had signs of a wound. Your girlfriend had black hair and was wearing a dress, right?”

Johan neither nodded nor showed any verbal agreement.

He wasn’t in the right mind to react.

His heartbeat pounded in his ears, and a shiver raced through his nerves and pierced his whole body.

The moment warm energy had been infused into him replayed in his mind, along with his conversation with Giselle.

He had suspected Giselle Moltke might be… but he didn’t expect to confirm it so easily.

“Cassie said this: ‘The pretty lady rubbed my tummy with her hand, and then sunlight swooshed in. Then my tummy stopped hurting.’ That day, the paramedics said the lady in the dress was the one who brought Cassie.”

“……”

“You must not have registered as victims because you wanted to keep the ‘power’ a secret, but I didn’t realize it until after I had Cassie examined three times. I’m sorry. I think that’s what caused the rumors.”

A sudden jolt of electricity had turned Johan pale, his lower lip trembling.

He couldn’t even laugh. After a long frozen silence, he managed to speak with difficulty.

“As long as you keep it a secret, that’s all I ask.”

Even his voice trembled like a fool.

He didn’t realize he kept clenching and unclenching his fists.

His head felt like it would explode from overwhelming excitement.

“My sincerest thanks to both of you, especially your girlfriend. And let her know that no one would believe a five-year-old anyway, so she doesn’t have to worry.”

That was how the conversation ended.

The exchange may have been simple, but the truth it revealed was immense.

The moment he left Cassie’s home, he realized he had to become Johan again and stay close to Giselle.

***

Giselle sat, avoiding the morning sunlight filtering through the window, and slowly caught her breath.

She looked vacantly at the office workers stopping by to get coffee on their way to work, then turned her gaze outside.

Startled by a passing car’s honk, she flinched and hunched her shoulders.

Johan, watching from a distance, summed it up simply.

‘Trauma.’

She’d been through both a robbery and a terrorist attack in a short time—it was a natural reaction.

Even if she acted cheerful around friends or Tristan Lindbergh, the reality was likely far harder for her.

Though relatively fearless, she was still just an ordinary civilian.

Johan watched her take slow, deep breaths to steady her nerves and scowled.

‘Damn it.’

Seriously, this damned city. This shitty world.

He had hunted down villains until the dawn fog rolled into the city, all to honor the souls who had died unjustly, and yet this was the result.

And on top of that, she was the sister of a villain!

Not just some petty back-alley thief or mid-level gang boss—no, Death Adder’s.

“Ha.”

Johan let out a hollow laugh and unconsciously crumpled Giselle’s medical report in his hand.

According to the report, she had fallen into a coma due to abuse by her father, Andrew Moltke, and upon waking, had suffered from temporary blindness.

‘If only I’d investigated Giselle thoroughly while looking into Raphael Moltke…’

Maybe then, he would have realized she was White Hands much sooner.

Seeing her pale face made his blood boil.

“I don’t want to hurt anymore.”

His nerves felt like they would burn up from rage.

The blood that had been boiling cooled rapidly and left his body cold.

Then, when his breath quickened, it flared up again and consumed him.

Why—why on earth…?

If nothing else, Giselle Moltke should have been exempt from this city’s violence.

If God existed—if the same God who sent him White Hands truly existed—then this wasn’t right.

“Thanks for the coffee.”

After returning her coffee cup, Giselle left the café.

She didn’t stop anywhere else and headed straight home.

It was clearly a decision made with her safety in mind.

Johan had circled Raphael’s new house multiple times and confirmed that no villain organizations had followed before he allowed himself to leave.

‘You of all people should’ve been happy.’

He wanted to keep watching over Giselle, but seeing her pale, ashen face made him feel like he would go mad with hatred for the world.

Today as well, Johan vowed to curse this godforsaken city.

***

The night on Mist Island is unusually long and thick.

That fact applies equally to everyone who exists in the city.

Citizens pray that sin won’t invade their homes during the long night, while villains hope they don’t run into a hero by bad luck.

And the hero, Black Pistols, incongruously pointed a gun at the nape of a villain’s neck.

“Hey, punk. You were Sunshine’s lackey, weren’t you? Tell me everything you know—how that bastard broke out, and where he is now.”

The voice that questioned him was extremely fierce.

“I-I don’t know.”

“You’re saying that crap even though you know how much I hate Sunshine? Don’t give me that loyalty bullshit, talk while I’m still being nice.”

“I-It’s true! We didn’t expect him to break out either, so everything’s in chaos right now!”

“You trying to die or what! How the hell did he escape from the central government’s underground prison without outside help!”

Black Pistols struck the drug dealer on the head with the grip of his gun.

Phew—an exasperated sigh filled the space beneath his motorcycle helmet.

Then a low chuckle drifted out from the shadows behind him.

Whipping around like lightning, Black Pistols confirmed who it was and clicked his tongue.

“It was you.”

“Seems you’ve given up tracking down Raphael’s sister. Sunshine, Sunshine… such an incomprehensible obsession.”

“You know what he’ll do first now that he’s broken out.”

“Yeah. He’ll go for revenge. Trying to snap your neck and Death Adder’s. So the one in most danger is…”

Red Shadow swallowed the rest of his words.

Hiding his bare face beneath the mask, he recalled the woman with white hands, and Black Pistols glanced sideways at Red Shadow.

Sunshine will definitely join forces with Big Bear.

Last year, even though Lucky Ginger’s remnants were cleared out, Lucky Ginger had practically been a one-man show for Sunshine.

Sunshine was born with a genius for drug manufacturing, so Two Star will quickly expand their power with his help.

The problem is, I can’t take them on alone.

No matter how close to annihilation they are, Two Star is still Two Star. Isn’t it the oldest underground organization in the city?

“If he joins hands with Two Star, we’re screwed. Damn it!”

“That applies to you.”

“Yeah, must be nice being a wizard.”

“You really think it’s thanks to magic?”

“I’m not planning to kill anyone, so shut up.”

The reason he had gone so far as to join forces with Raphael to catch Sunshine was because he was just an ordinary human.

He wasn’t a brilliant wizard like Red Shadow, didn’t have an overwhelming number of subordinates like Big Bear, nor did he have the kind of weapon support funded by immense wealth like Raphael.

On top of that, Sunshine was just as talented at escaping as he was at making drugs.

So if he wanted to capture him without killing, teaming up with Raphael was the best option.

Big Bear was a despicable bitch who might stab you in the back at any time, and Red Shadow was the kind of guy who’d blow your head off the moment you met.

Bang!

As Red Shadow approached the bound drug dealer, Black Pistols fired a shot at his feet to stop him.