The Villain's Sister - Chapter 98

“Ugh….”

Maybe it was because the weather had gotten much colder in the past few days, but I woke up shivering in the dawn chill.

‘I think I dreamed someone was sprinkling holy water on me….’

I was too cold to care about dreams or anything else.

I pulled the blanket tighter around me, but it didn’t help much.

I figured I needed to put on more clothes, so I got up and rummaged through my bag.

‘No clothes.’

The clothes I’d brought were too thin for weather like this.

There was one thing I could wrap around myself with, but I couldn’t use it.

‘Oh well.’

I opened Johan’s wardrobe.

It was just past 4 a.m., so I couldn’t wake him up to ask. It’d be better to wear it first and explain later.

The wardrobe, like its owner, was meticulously organized.

Pushing aside expensive shirts and suits that didn’t suit the small apartment, I found a knit sweater inside.

“Oh.”

It was a little big on me, but the thick yarn looked warm.

When I pulled it on over my shirt, the faint scent that only Johan had filled the air.

Without realizing it, I brought the long sleeve covering my hands to my nose and took a deep breath.

Feeling him so vividly made me uneasy.

It was nothing special, yet my chest fluttered, and my lips pressed tightly together.

If I had to say what my type was, outwardly and personality-wise, Tristan was closer to it than Johan.

We hadn’t known each other long, and it wasn’t like he’d done anything to win me over.

But he was….

“It’s too sweet for me, but if you want it, I’ll eat it with you.”

There’d been too many things between us.

And he’d saved me several times—from Big Bear’s men, during the department store hostage situation, and more.

Maria once said that boyfriends come in two kinds.

Those who know exactly when they fell in love, and those who only realize they’ve fallen after it’s already happened.

He wasn’t my boyfriend, but Johan was definitely the latter.

‘What’s wrong with me… get it together.’

I quickly took off the sweater and tossed it back into the wardrobe.

I hoped there’d be a blanket somewhere, but unfortunately, there wasn’t.

Since Tristan’s bag was in the living room, I decided to borrow something from him instead.

Creak.

I opened the door and stepped out, groping around the floor near his bag in the corner of the living room.

“What are you doing?”

“Ahhh!”

The voice from behind startled me so badly that I screamed.

Click.

Tristan turned on the living room light. His hair was a mess as he yawned wide and approached.

“Y-you weren’t asleep?”

“I woke up because of you.”

“You weren’t this sensitive before.”

“That’s because this isn’t my house. What are you looking for?”

“Ah… do you have any thick clothes? Lend me something. I woke up because it was cold.”

“Clothes?”

He rummaged through his bag and pulled out a gray hoodie, handing it to me.

I quickly threw it on.

Come to think of it, Tristan was the only one in the living room.

“Where’s Johan?”

“He went out for a bit.”

“Where? When did he leave?”

“Not long ago. He looked like he couldn’t sleep.”

After checking my face, Tristan added casually, “He went out through the front door wearing loungewear.”

At least he wasn’t going out as Red Shadow.

“You don’t look good. I’ll heat some milk. Drink it and go back to sleep.”

Tristan searched the kitchen and pulled out a kettle while I sat at the table, waiting for him to pour the milk.

After a moment, he handed me a cup of warm milk with a bit of syrup added.

Meanwhile, he just watched me sip it quietly.

“If you’re going to another city, wouldn’t it be safer to take him with you?”

“Sometimes there are things more important than safety.”

“What could be more important than that? If you don’t like him, what about me?”

“You said you have to catch your brother.”

“Just wait a bit. I’ll catch him and then leave with you.”

This damn city, I’m getting tired of it too.

His small mutter carried a kind of exhaustion I couldn’t fully understand.

“Do you hate it?”

“Yes.”

“Do you hate me, or do you hate going together?”

“The latter.”

“That’s a relief, at least.”

When our eyes met, he rested his chin on his hand and gave a small laugh, asking what I was staring at so intently.

It was a small smile, nothing special, but Tristan seemed so grown up—mature, dependable, like a man who could take responsibility for anything. That gentle warmth made me blush.

So I quietly turned my gaze toward my mug.

“Don’t go. I’d rather you stayed here.”

“….”

“I’m a cop and a hero… though I think the word ‘hero’ sounds ridiculously stupid. Still, no matter what, it’s not right for an innocent citizen to run away.”

“….”

“I’ll protect you. I want to. So can’t you just trust me and stay here?”

“Even though I approached you on purpose, you still feel that way? Guess a hero’s a hero after all.”

“Half hero, half man.”

Startled, I looked up and met his serious face.

Tristan had a way of saying things that made hearts tremble with a kind of quiet honesty.

He said it so calmly that hearing that side of him hidden behind his usual gruff attitude made my heart pound so loud I could almost hear it.

“Your charm didn’t fail. It worked. More than enough, actually.”

“You know I approached you to use you.”

“Then I guess I like you enough that it doesn’t matter.”

“I don’t get it. If it were me….”

Suddenly, the thought hit me, that Johan had approached me for his own reasons too.

We’d both tried to use each other, and this was the result.

So Tristan wasn’t an exception either.

“Don’t try to find a reason for feelings. That’s just how it is. You don’t need a reason to love family.”

“….”

“When I see your face, I want to hang out. When we hang out, I want to eat together. Then I start missing you and come to find you. I don’t want this to end before I’ve even done those little things. Especially not with you.”

He was only five years older than me, but Tristan was an adult.

No matter what hardship came his way, he faced life head-on, knew himself better than anyone, and had the strength to accept it all.

Damn it, he looked amazing.

If I’d seen this side of him back when I was staying at his apartment, I was sure we’d know everything about each other by now.

It felt like sparks were leaping from the tips of my fingers holding the mug.

My hands, my face, my lips… everything Tristan could see felt like it was burning up.

“…I….”

“You don’t have to say anything.”

Tristan shifted slightly, his folded arms resting on the table to support his body.

His messy hair, the loose white shirt, and his gentle black-and-white eyes softened by the early dawn looked like a scene from a movie.

When our eyes met, my throat went dry, and I felt stupid for trembling so helplessly.

I took another sip of the milk, and right then, he reached out his hand.

His rough hand brushed lightly across my lips.

It was only a small touch, but I could feel the calluses on his skin.

In the quiet dawn, in the small apartment sealed off from even the sound of insects, the only sensations were the dim light and the texture of his fingers.

He wiped away the milk on my lips, and I quietly held my breath.

That was when it happened.

“…What the hell is going on here?”

Johan appeared through the fog, dressed comfortably.

His cold eyes swept over me, Tristan, and the hand brushing against my lips.

Tristan slowly withdrew his hand as if disappointed.

In an instant, Johan stepped closer, glaring at Tristan as though ready to kill him.

“Why are you awake? Couldn’t sleep?”

The faint chill of early winter clung to the man sitting beside me.

He smelled faintly of the dry dawn air and a trace of cigarettes.

I’d never seen him smoke before, so it must’ve come from the neighbors.

I pretended not to notice and drained the last of my milk in one go. Tristan answered for me.

“She woke up because it was cold. Doesn’t seem like it’s that cold yet, but maybe she’s not feeling well.”

“So that’s why you’re wearing that? There are warmer clothes—”

“I’m going to bed.”

I set down my mug and stood up.

If polite refusal didn’t work, the next step was to ignore it.

He didn’t seem like the type to take the hint, but breaking the mood would at least dull his temper.

***

When I woke up in the morning and stepped into the living room, I found piles of thick blankets and a heater I’d never seen before.

While I was washing up, Johan had replaced the blanket I’d slept under and even installed a heater beside the bed.

Tristan, meanwhile, was in the kitchen frying eggs.

“Need help?”

“All done. You still look pale.”

“I think I’m coming down with something.”

“That’s bad, that’s bad. Eat an extra sausage. Eat up and get better fast.”

Breakfast was two slices of toast, a fried egg, and a sausage.

— Two days after a married couple was reported missing, their bodies were discovered. Police suspect the crime was committed by an esper or wizard….

The television, which they’d set up yesterday, was airing the morning news.

“I’ll do the dishes.”

“You’re sick as a dying chicken. Hey, you do it.”

“I will, but I don’t like your tone.”

“So what? I don’t like yours either. Sit down.”

Both Tristan and Johan pulled out the chair beside them at the same time.

Without hesitation, I moved a chair and sat at the head of the table.

Sitting there made me feel like the head of the household.

Not that those two were my dependents or anything.

“Giselle. After breakfast, I’m planning to go out and buy you some clothes. Is there anything specific you want?”

“No.”

“Nothing else you need?”

“Not yet. Tristan, what are you going to do after you eat?”

At the continued disregard, Tristan glanced at Johan across the table, then put on his usual teasing grin.

“I’m gonna conquer the sports channels. I already set the TV timer, so find something else to watch.”

“Play with me.”

“You still don’t know how to play by yourself at your age?”

“You’re the one who said you wanted to hang out yesterday…”

“What do you want to do? Just say it.”

His quick shift in tone made me laugh first thing in the morning.

Tristan laughed too, amused by himself.

Johan, meanwhile, ate in silence, showing no reaction at all.

I couldn’t tell if he was genuinely indifferent or just hiding it.

‘It’s not like I’m trying to make anyone feel left out….’

Still, the awkward tension in my stomach wouldn’t ease, and it was hard to eat.

Then, as if on cue, breaking the quiet, a news flash came on the television.

— The wizard villain known as Black Cloak, suspected of assisting Sunshine’s prison escape, is currently holding hostages at the Contate Building and confronting police.

Both heroes turned their heads toward the screen.