The Villain's Sister - Chapter 81

Crawling through the narrow, filthy, stinking air vent, I thought:

Breaking out of prison might be a great talent.

‘There’s no time. I have to hurry.’

Three minutes remained until the time Tristan had set to check on Raphael.

In three minutes, I had to crawl through the vent to the ceiling of the hospital room bathroom, tear open the vent, treat Raphael within ten minutes, then crawl back into the vent.

“Ugh.”

In the middle of the vent, I came face-to-face with the mummified corpse of a cat.

I stifled the scream rising in my throat with my hand.

‘Just you wait until you’re healed. I’ll stuff bugs into your mouth and make you swallow them.’

Hurrying past the mummified body, I checked the vent.

The third one on the blueprint.

The vent I had just passed was the second.

‘Here it is.’

With the screwdriver I had prepared, I removed the screws.

Maybe because I was Raphael’s sibling, I seemed to have some talent in this area too.

Thud. Thud.

A signal came from below.

I opened the cover, hung from the cupboard, and landed on the bathroom floor.

Tristan, who had stretched out his arms to catch me, clapped softly.

“Oh. Not bad.”

When I stepped out of the bathroom, I saw Raphael lying unconscious.

My chest tightened at the sight of his pale face, drained of all color.

“Raphael.”

As I stroked his hollow cheek, a rough texture met my hand.

This appearance didn’t suit Raphael at all.

I swallowed the sob that surged up and summoned my ability.

‘I should have stopped you.’

Even if it meant putting you in the central government’s underground prison, I should have gotten you away from Mist Island…

Knowing the future, yet meeting this kind of end was all because I had been foolish.

I was angry at myself.

If only I had stopped Raphael earlier, this wouldn’t have happened.

It was all my fault. My fault for not acting sooner.

“As soon as he regains consciousness, he’ll be sent to the underground prison. This guy’s trial is to be skipped altogether. And then Big Bear, just to vent all she’s suffered, will tear you apart. Got a plan?”

“Does that mean the police will protect me?”

“For that, you’ll have to reveal you’re the anonymous whistleblower. That’s how the system works. The organization can’t ignore the manual.”

The one who committed crimes was Raphael, not me.

But since Raphael’s real name had been exposed, I was also in danger.

Only a handful of people knew that Anti-Venom and Raphael were the same, so for now, they would hesitate to act out of fear that Anti-Venom might come forward.

But it wouldn’t buy much time.

Just then.

Clench.

A strong hand grabbed my wrist.

“Don’t.”

It was Raphael.

He couldn’t even fully open his eyes, yet in a phlegm-filled voice, he stopped me.

Even in this moment… sometimes I was so angry at my brother’s love that resembled that of a parent.

Couldn’t he, just once, return the love I had given him?

Resentment boiled up inside me.

“Shut up and stay still before I go to the broadcasting station and announce who I am.”

With my free hand, I summoned my ability and poured it into Raphael.

“Deva…”

Raphael’s face twisted.

I bit down hard on my lips to keep from screaming at the sight.

Tristan, watching, let out a dry laugh.

“What a touching brotherly love.”

“Raphael. The police promised to protect me. Don’t worry, just focus on getting better.”

“You trust that bastard?”

“I’d rather trust a hero.”

I felt the ability I had poured in begin to move.

Though my lips resisted, I forced them open.

“When the treatment’s finished… I’m sorry. I plan to send you back to prison.”

“Alright.”

“This time it’ll be the central government’s underground prison. Raphael… I don’t think I can go on living like this. Since it’s all because of me, I have to set it right.”

“That’s not your—!”

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

But there were still five minutes left.

Even Tristan looked slightly startled, as if he hadn’t expected this.

“Hey, Tristan. That guy’s forbidden private visits. Get out here.”

Clunk.

Someone outside tried to open the locked door.

Raphael’s complexion still wasn’t good.

But since I had poured in more ability than expected, he would recover even if left alone.

Raphael let go of my wrist, urging me to hurry and leave.

At Tristan’s jerk of the chin, I hurried into the bathroom.

Bang, bang!

Outside, Tristan’s colleague pounded on the door.

“Just a moment!”

“Open it, damn it!”

“Wait a second!”

“Shit, you’re not trying to kill him, are you? Hey! Tristan!”

Bang, bang!

Now they were kicking. Tristan gave me a boost, letting me grab the opening in the ceiling.

Just as I was clambering up, dangling and struggling, click, clack! The sound of keys turning reached me.

My heart constricted.

If I was caught now, not only me but Tristan too would be in deep trouble.

Grunting, I pulled myself up into the ceiling. Just then, something brushed my fingers.

“Ahk!”

The sensation of a rat’s tail brushing past.

Startled, I let go without meaning to.

My body fell, and Tristan caught me as I collapsed.

Click!

The key turned in the lock.

Both Tristan and I, startled, shut our mouths tight and only exchanged glances.

“Here.”

Tristan left me in the bathroom and went out.

“Even if you don’t like villains, how could you make an innocent man into a murderer? After all the years we’ve worked together, isn’t this too much?”

I focused on the angry voice snapping back.

If I tried to climb back into the ceiling again, I’d just make noise, so I stayed quiet.

“What’s the point of visiting someone who isn’t even conscious? Get out.”

“I said I’m leaving.”

“Oh, and the bathroom door is supposed to stay open. You know the rules, right? We always have to check in case someone’s hiding.”

Clunk.

At the sound of the doorknob being grabbed, I covered my mouth.

“He just threw up. The smell’s still strong, so don’t open it.”

“Get out. We have to follow regulations.”

“Then wait ten minutes!”

“What’s wrong with you? Did you sleep at all last night? You look like hell. Something’s not wrong, is it?”

While the two of them bickered outside the door, I struggled to climb up the ceiling.

Damn it, the bathroom didn’t even have a bathtub or at least a chair I could use.

“Damn it, it’s Death Adder! To hell with vomit. If we don’t follow regulations, we’ll both be dismissed!”

Rattle!

The doorknob turned.

And…

“Sigh.”

The moment I let out a breath, I was back home.

***

“You’ve come to your senses.”

Instead of answering, Johan looked at me with an unreadable gaze, then suddenly laughed by himself.

It was a surprisingly warm smile, and I stepped back without thinking.

Is he crazy?

He had never been sane, but this was too creepy.

“I’ll smile often, so get used to it.”

He spoke without context, saying only what he wanted.

A man with no social skills at all.

Johan fetched a suitcase he had stashed somewhere in the safe house and tossed it at my feet, nodding his chin.

“Pack up.”

“What?”

“The police have started searching the safe house. We have to move before they find it. And besides, Black Pistols knows your location.”

“You’re coming too?”

“If not me, who else will protect you?”

Johan’s changing attitude each day left me confused.

His words and actions were things I never thought possible from this man, strange enough to scare me.

But now… he seemed almost like a man facing death.

Noticing my expression, Johan smirked and tilted his head.

Like an adult praising a child for doing well.

“You’re suspicious. That’s good. Don’t let your guard down.”

“You’re the one who seems most dangerous.”

“Me?”

“You really don’t know?”

“Impossible. I’ve even resolved to die for you. It’s a little disappointing to hear that.”

Step.

He closed the distance between us.

His face, which should have been shrouded in gloom, now carried a sharp vitality I hadn’t seen before.

The arrogance, the cold voice, the piercing eyes—all the same as ever.

But something invisible on the surface had changed.

…Like an emotion.

“Step aside so I can pack.”

I passed him and went to my room, shoving clothes quickly into a bag.

After grabbing forged IDs and money, Johan snatched the bag from me.

Then he took my wrist and cast magic.

Thick smoke enveloped us, and with a blink, I was in an unfamiliar house.

“So now you’re not hiding that you’re a wizard?”

“We were both pretending anyway. You knew my identity, and I knew you knew.”

“What should I call you? Red Shadow? Or Johan?”

“The name I gave you was Johan.”

Whenever he spoke in this elegant, calm tone, I was reminded that he was born a noble.

Johan looked exhausted but wore a faintly kind smile. Then he carried the bag into an empty room and said, “You’ll use this room.”

The room he offered had only a bed and a wardrobe. It was so bare it looked desolate, clearly not a guest room.

“…Isn’t this your room?”

“It’s the only room in the house.”

Not another mansion, but the head of a ducal family who once owned Mist Island now lived in a tiny one-room apartment.

With a flick of Johan’s hand, the curtains drew shut.

“You must not step outside. Don’t even open the window.”

Chzzzt—

At Johan’s glance, the radio switched on. As the frequency adjusted, an ad played.

The narrator’s lively voice echoed through the quiet room along with music.

— ♪♬ Black hair, dark blue eyes, white skin, prettier than an actress~♬♩

— ♩♪Her name is Giselle Moltke. Ten billion for her corpse, fifteen billion for her capture♪♬

“Giselle. Big Bear has put a bounty on you.”