The Villain's Sister - Chapter 86

Just before leaving the house, I looked back at Johan one last time.

The usual shirt and hair slicked back with pomade suited him well.

But he couldn’t go out dressed like this.

“The last time you were exposed to the media was when you were 17, right? Your build will have changed and it’s been almost 10 years, so people might not recognize you, but it’s best to be careful.”

I pulled out a mask I had prepared from my bag.

I had carried it around to use myself, but since my face was already known, it was right to at least protect Johan.

“I don’t want it.”

“You wear a mask, but why do you hate this?”

Of course, this wasn’t a question but pressure to make him wear it.

I stood on tiptoe and hooked the mask strap over Johan’s ear.

My finger brushed his ear.

It was such a small area, yet it felt like my whole finger tingled…

Even just putting on a mask, I became aware of every little thing, from breathing to expressions.

So I quietly shifted my gaze toward the living room behind him and hooked the mask over his other ear.

“Look at me.”

When I looked at him at the low call, our eyes met.

The sharp gaze above the mask curved softly.

“This is it.”

“What?”

“You just need to look at me like you are now.”

When I told him to look before, he only stared at the floor, but now he told me to look at him.

“Even with a mask, I can tell you’re handsome. It doesn’t really mean much.”

Johan’s eyes widened.

Pretending not to notice, I reached my hand out to him in a hurry.

“Let’s go.”

His rough hand, mismatched with his appearance, clasped mine.

Smoke wrapped around us.

***

Something had happened.

The cops and the helmeted guys had their red lights flashing.

Reporters crowded the entrance.

When I slipped in through the back, even the cleaning lady and people from other departments I only knew by face stared.

‘Did they find out about me wearing a helmet every night?’

If someone leaked it, the culprit would be Sunshine.

The only people who knew Black Pistols’ identity were Sunshine and Red Shadow.

Of course, the more trustworthy one was the latter.

He was merciless to villains, but if you weren’t evil, he showed a certain respect.

‘What the hell am I supposed to live on after I retire?’

Calculating the remaining loans and monthly insurance premiums gave no answer.

Should I just deny everything?

…There’s no such thing as a salaried hero, is there?

The moment I got to work, colleagues rushed over.

“Hey, is this true?”

“What else can I do when I’m busy just making a living?”

“But you can’t collude with a villain! I trusted you.”

“What? What the hell are you talking about?”

Tristan quickly snatched the newspaper from his colleague’s hand.

The article with a clear photo made him mutter a curse.

“Where’s the team leader?”

“He went upstairs to report earlier.”

He found the teamm leader at the end of the stairs.

Tristan, unable to hide his anger, shoved the newspaper at him.

“What is this?”

“An anonymous source tipped off the Daily Issue. They came to confirm the facts, so I handled it on my end. You’re suspended without pay for three months. Things blew up higher up, so don’t come to work and just keep quiet for now.”

Handled?

This was handling it?

Boiling with anger, Tristan ruffled his hair, barely holding onto his last bit of patience.

“We need to publish a correction. And the photo… damn it. The Daily Issue should be charged as accomplices to attempted murder. Publishing the photo of someone with a bounty from Big Bear like this is a serious problem.”

“So you’re saying you didn’t approach her? From what I heard, it looked like you did to use her.”

“…We were nothing. It wasn’t a date, and it wasn’t love. Just a liking… yeah. Just friends. And it’s already over.”

Tristan crumpled the newspaper and tossed it on the floor.

He wasn’t angry about his story being revealed, but fearful of the storm the article would create.

The team leader gave Tristan a shove as a warning.

He was a veteran who had watched Tristan since the day he joined.

“Hey, Tristan. Get your head on straight. Lover? Friend? The moment you admit that, Big Bear will slit your throat first to lure that woman. You know how this world works, so why are you acting like this?”

“So we’re offering up a powerless woman as a sacrifice? We’re not villains, but damn it, we’re doing something no different from them.”

“Watch your mouth. Protecting your own neck is more important than some woman who lived off dirty money!”

“I’ll protect my own neck.”

At that moment, the team leader grabbed Tristan by the collar and shoved him against the wall. “You punk. What did you do when you went to Raphael’s hospital room? That guy started recovering after you visited! Don’t you get that you could be branded a villain and punished for this?”

The team leader’s neck veins bulged as he shouted his warning.

Tristan liked this side of him—his passion, his warmth, his humanity. But he couldn’t agree in a moment like this.

“Team leader. I don’t know about anything else, but I know this much. In this matter, it’s right that we all go down together.”

Tristan twisted the team leader’s hand off his collar.

It hadn’t even been a month since he buried his mother.

In the meantime, Sunshine still boldly peddled drugs, and the organization tried to dodge the incident by branding a powerless woman a witch.

Everything was a mess.

Just then, a colleague ran out of the office shouting, “Hey! Tristan! Hurry to the office! Giselle Moltke is here!”

***

It felt like my chest cleared as I breathed in the outside air for the first time in a while.

The clicking sound of my heels with every step sounded like music.

I liked how my face reflected in the glass looked more glamorous than usual with makeup.

[Organized Crime Division]

This time, I didn’t knock.

When I threw the door open, I ran into a blond officer passing by.

“Hello. Is Sergeant Tristan Lindbergh here?”

“He didn’t come in today. He said he wouldn’t do interviews with the press, and entry is prohibited to unauthorized persons, so please leave.”

“I’m not a reporter, I’m here on business. If Tristan isn’t here, call his superior.”

“Who are you— no, you can’t go in.”

I brushed past the blond officer and sat down in an empty seat.

Seeing the family photo on the desk confirmed it was Tristan’s place.

When the blond officer tried to pull me out, I slapped his hand away and lowered my sunglasses slightly.

I shook the newspaper with my picture printed next to my face.

“I’m Giselle Moltke.”

“If you’re Giselle Moltke…”

When he compared the paper to my face, I gave a small smile, and he was stunned.

Just saying my name was enough to silence the whole office, and I liked that.

Last time, they hadn’t shown much interest in me.

I crossed my legs, and my heel dangled.

The blond officer finally came to his senses and said, “Miss Moltke. You know you’re required to be questioned as a witness for Raphael, right?”

“Of course I know. But I’m not going to do it.”

I wiped the smile off my face and spoke in a stern voice like Raphael when he was angry.

“Bring Tristan here.”

At my words, one of the detectives left the office.

Looking around, I saw the officers watching me cautiously.

Some gazed with curiosity, but most with hostility.

Considering the size of Death Adder, this was natural.

“Do you think you have the right to say that now?”

I pressed my foot down and spun the chair around and around, twirling the ends of my hair as if I hadn’t heard.

Then the blond officer, now flushed, shouted sharply, “Hey, Giselle Moltke! As long as your brother is Raphael, you can’t avoid being investigated and detained. Do you want to be dragged into the interrogation room?”

It was the typical intimidation tactic.

Use the atmosphere to scare the target and take control.

If Tristan had police experience, I had experience as a villain’s sister.

I feared guns, but tempers like this I could endure.

‘And Raphael is scarier.’

If this officer created a fierce atmosphere, Raphael exuded pressure just by facing him, thanks to his rotten nature.

And his gaze was far harsher.

It was random, but I thought I was lucky not to resemble Raphael.

He might be considered handsome, but not pretty if he were a woman. If we looked alike, I wouldn’t have been this much of a beauty.

“Bring Tristan Lindbergh here quickly. If he doesn’t come, I don’t know what I’ll expose to the media.”

At that moment.

Bang!

The door burst open roughly, and Tristan appeared.

“You, you…!”

He must have been badly stressed by the article; his hair was a mess.

I wiggled my fingers at him in greeting.

“Hi. Long time no see.”

Walking straight up to me, Tristan checked Johan beside me and pressed his forehead.

“How’s Raphael? His crime was so severe that family visits aren’t allowed. I wanted to see his face one last time before he went to prison, but I couldn’t, and it weighs on me.”

“You crazy… Do you know where this is…”

“I came because I had business. Sit down quickly.”

“Do you know how many people in this city want your head?”

“Of course I know. Thanks to that, I live in a prison that isn’t a prison.”

Tristan ruffled his hair again while standing.

I got up from my seat and walked right up to him, lowering my voice so only he could hear.

“Do you trust your colleagues?”

“What do you mean?”

“The truth is, I’ve tipped off both the economics and crime departments. But some of them stayed quiet even when I sent evidence.”

“Is that true?”

“I asked them to stop Raphael, but somehow it turned into a weapon to manipulate the police. But don’t worry. I won’t use it against them. I plan to smash them myself.”

I lowered my sunglasses slightly and wrinkled my nose.

I must have been too lethal, because Tristan squeezed his eyes shut.