Chapter 89: He's Suspicious
The night was hazy, sea and sky faintly blending together. The dark, heavy sky felt as if it wanted to swallow his heart whole.
In a small room, around a small table, a woman, two girls, and a boy sat together eating dinner.
The little sun Pandora shone softly, radiating light and warmth like a living lamp, brightening the entire room.
"Linlin, did you finish today's assignment?" Roy took the bowl of porridge Toki handed him, took a couple of sips, and looked up at Linlin across from him.
He sounded like a little parent.
"Hm?"
Linlin was happily chewing on a piece of beef when Roy's words, like a judgment from hell, made her whole body tremble.
"Slow down," Amatsuki Toki said with a gentle laugh, pushing a drink over to her like a thoughtful wife.
"It is fine, I did not choke," Linlin waved her hand. A little beef was nothing to her.
She was simply too used to being forced to study by Roy, and being scolded harshly when she slacked off. The constant copying punishments had trained a conditioned reflex into her.
"Not yet…"
"You understand what that means, right?" Roy asked.
"Mm…"
"You do not want to disappoint your big brother, do you, Linlin? Then finish your assignment before you sleep tonight."
"Okay…"
Linlin sat in the cramped little room, eating beef and listening to Brother Roy's instructions, nodding over and over like a chick pecking at grain.
If she did not finish her homework for the day, she would be forced to copy even more as punishment. Roy planned the workload carefully so that as long as Linlin did not slack off, she could always finish that day's tasks.
"This is…"
Tsuru held a spoon in her hand, taking small sips of the porridge Roy had cooked, and stared at Charlotte Linlin in disbelief.
For a moment, she was completely shaken.
She had heard all about Charlotte Linlin's exploits, how she had almost destroyed the giant village of Elbaf, and how, after setting sail, she had crushed the guards of several countries and the marines who came to stop her.
Shouldn't a natural ruler like this, a great pirate destined to shake the world, be a born villain?
That was what the veterans at the naval base always said.
Then why was Charlotte Linlin acting like a baby in front of Roy?
And… doing homework?
The young Tsuru looked from Linlin to Roy, eyes full of questions.
What exactly had that infuriating boy done to make Charlotte Linlin this obedient?
If it was just "family affection," Tsuru absolutely did not believe it.
Through the entire meal, Tsuru's eyes never left Roy. She watched him like a curious child, hoping to learn how he had "transformed" this pirate.
After dinner, Roy, Toki, and Tsuru cleaned up the dishes together.
Linlin, who had already broken several plates by accident, sat miserably by the door, not daring to touch anything else.
"Alright, that is enough for tonight. There is an empty room next door, Tsuru, you can sleep there tonight."
Roy swept the broken plates into the trash and looked over at Tsuru.
As for the Lieutenant who had escorted her, he had already been taken in by the potato uncles.
He was living somewhere else now, and enjoying excellent treatment, complete with a flock of giant birds standing guard outside his door around the clock.
There was even a thundercloud waiting for orders.
Ahem, definitely not surveillance.
"Okay, see you tomorrow."
The young Tsuru nodded and stepped out of Roy's house.
Then she suddenly stopped and glanced back through the doorway at Roy and Toki inside.
If she remembered correctly, this house only had one bedroom.
Wait.
A whole row of question marks and exclamation marks popped into Tsuru's mind at once.
Could that teasing line from before, about "taking a bath together," actually have been true?
This… this…
Tsuru felt like she had just taken ten thousand points of mental damage.
"You two are not actually sleeping together, are you?"
The young Tsuru narrowed her eyes at Toki, her tone full of anger and accusation.
"Cough, cough…"
Toki's face turned red in an instant.
Doing it was one thing.
Being called out for it so directly was another.
Toki was completely embarrassed.
"What is it?"
Roy took Toki's hand and openly let his gaze run over her body, then looked at Tsuru with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Hate me, hate me.
Inside, Roy was practically cheering for himself.
"He is still just a child, how can this be appropriate?"
The young Tsuru chose to ignore Roy completely. Instead of talking to him, she fixed her eyes on Toki.
"You are right, is this not a little too early? This cannot be good for big brother, can it?"
Linlin instantly switched into clever little devil mode. Sitting behind Tsuru, she turned herself into an ally, joining forces to build a defensive line and jointly condemn the enemy, Amatsuki Toki.
Toki's face flared an even deeper shade of red. She wanted to argue back, but then she remembered what she and Roy had actually done in private.
There really was no way to refute it.
They made too much sense.
Roy held Toki's hand and smiled brightly at the two girls, deliberately putting on the look of a shameless little scoundrel.
Toki looked at him helplessly. What could she do? All she could do was indulge him.
"How about… I give him to you both?"
Toki blinked and looked innocently at the two girls.
She already knew both of them had feelings for Roy.
"You… you… shameless!"
Tsuru panicked on the spot, her face turning as red as a tomato. She glared at Toki, then spun around and ran off.
She was still a young girl after all. She could be fierce, but when it came to this kind of thing, she was still shy. That was youth.
Linlin glanced around, then realized Tsuru had already disappeared.
She stared blankly at Roy and Toki, her big eyes full of confusion and innocence.
The Alliance had collapsed without a fight.
She quickly ran back to her room to sleep. If she kept swallowing this sourness, she would not be able to sleep at all.
Roy tugged Toki's hand, shut the door with a quick motion, and the two of them slipped back into the bedroom.
Nothing happened that night.
The next morning.
Just like always, Linlin and Tsuru arrived together at Roy's place early, ready to have breakfast.
Roy's cooking was simply too good. It made their mouths water just thinking about it.
As the saying goes, the way to win a man's heart is through his stomach.
The reverse was also true.
Roy was in the wrong. His mistake was being too good to them.
"Huh? What happened to Sister Toki's leg?"
The innocent young Tsuru looked at Toki in confusion. Toki was especially lazy today. She only came out of the bedroom right when it was time to eat, slowly limping over to the table before sitting down.
"N nothing…"
Toki hurriedly pulled her collar up to hide the little red mark on her neck.
Tsuru caught a faint glimpse of red inside her clothes.
It looked a little like a bite mark.
Like what you would get if someone sucked hard on your skin.
Her face flushed instantly. Her imagination filled in the blanks very easily.
So shameless.
But… why was Sister Toki limping?
Tsuru, still a young girl, stared at Toki in confusion, then turned to look at Linlin.
Linlin stared back at Tsuru with the same blank look. She had no idea either.
"Could it be that Roy is abusing Sister Toki?"
The young Tsuru looked at Roy with suspicion and made a very serious guess.
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