At 10:50 p.m., the lights were still on in the Vongola boss’s office.
Tsunayoshi Sawada had just finished handling the day’s urgent matters.
Leaning back in his chair, he let out a long sigh and pressed his fingertips against his temples.
After a full day of work, he hadn’t had the energy to think about anything else—only now did he realize how late it had gotten.
…What was Molly doing right now?
Someone as driven as her was probably still busy with family affairs, just like him.
Unbidden, an image formed in his mind—
A silver-haired woman in soft sleepwear, sitting on a sofa, quietly reviewing documents, pen in hand as she wrote with focused concentration.
A smile tugged at his lips.
Just thinking about her seemed to melt away all his exhaustion. Even his heartbeat quickened.
Right—Lal had mentioned she would be visiting the Phoenix Family this afternoon to train their new boss.
Back then, when the former head of the Phoenix Family had made the request, Tsuna had agreed only out of courtesy, respect, and a sense of humanitarian obligation toward an allied family.
But now—
He was profoundly grateful that his past self had made that decision.
Because only now did he realize…
That was Molly’s family. Her grandfather.
The fact that he had been able to leave a good impression on her grandfather… to accompany him through the final stretch of his life—
That was something he was deeply glad for.
Tsuna pulled out his phone and opened his private account. As expected, he saw a message from Lal Mirch.
[Lal: I’m back.]
[Lal: The Phoenix heir’s physical condition is average, but her willpower, endurance, and ambition are exceptional.]
[Lal: With that level of resolve, she might be well-suited to becoming a Mafia boss. She could even lead the Phoenix Family back to glory.]
[Lal: In any case, you’d better watch out, Tsuna.]
He quickly typed a reply:
[Tsunayoshi Sawada: Thank you, Miss Lal, for taking care of Molly. You’ve worked hard.]
[Tsunayoshi Sawada: (rabbit sending flowers GIF)]
After sending it, he locked his phone and slipped it back into his pocket—missing the question mark Lal sent in response.
Unable to suppress the excitement in his chest, Tsuna paced around his office twice before finally making up his mind.
He wanted to see Molly.
No complicated reasons.
He just… wanted to see her.
That was all.
He turned off the lights. The office fell into darkness.
Opening the window, a cool night breeze rushed in.
Driving would be too obvious—and too slow.
Tsuna entered Hyper Dying Will Mode, transforming into a streak of flame as he shot into the night sky, heading straight for the Phoenix estate.
At his speed, it took less than ten minutes to arrive.
He had done this once before, just the day prior—
And this time, he was even more practiced.
In under ten minutes, he was already standing on the balcony outside Molly’s bedroom.
The room was dark.
Through the infrared function of his contact lenses, he could see her clearly—
Asleep.
Deeply asleep.
…At just eleven?
Tsuna was a little surprised.
After all, he had personally applied medicine for her the night before—he knew better than anyone that she had fully recovered.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have trained with Lal earlier that day.
So why was she asleep so early?
…Was she that exhausted from training?
Still—
It was probably a good thing she was asleep.
If she were awake, she wouldn’t want to see him.
The thought made his chest tighten faintly.
He quietly pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Softly, he approached her bedside.
There were tiny scraps of paper scattered across the carpet—
As if something had been torn into pieces, hastily cleaned but not completely removed.
Tsuna sat down beside her bed, watching her in the pale moonlight—
And then his breath caught.
She had been crying.
Her cheeks… her pillow…
Still damp with tears.
Even in her sleep, she curled tightly into herself, clutching the blanket, her brows furrowed, her face filled with sorrow.
His heart clenched sharply.
Why was she so sad?
Had someone hurt her?
He took out a handkerchief and gently wiped away the tears that still slipped from the corners of her eyes, even in sleep.
Thinking back over their reunion, he realized—
She was always angry.
Or upset.
Or crying.
He had never seen her smile.
Then again…
That wasn’t surprising.
Even ten years ago, her smile had been something rare—
A treasure he could only glimpse after turning back a thousand times.
But—
There was one time he saw it.
Their First Meeting (From His Perspective)
If you asked fourteen-year-old Molly when they first met, she would probably frown, think hard, and say:
“Maybe the day I transferred schools, when I introduced myself?”
But for fourteen-year-old Tsuna—
Their first meeting was earlier than that.
The day before she transferred.
That morning, he noticed a moving truck outside the empty house across from his.
A new neighbor?
Curious, he glanced over—
And saw her.
A girl so beautiful it stole his breath.
She looked like she had stepped straight out of a European film, dressed in an elegant dress, holding a parasol.
Sunlight slipped past the parasol, illuminating the ends of her long silver hair—it shimmered.
She was breathtaking.
But after just two seconds—
She noticed him staring.
And shot him a cold glare.
Tsuna flinched and fled immediately, as if he had committed some terrible crime.
Later, on his way to school, he thought:
She looks like a princess…
Why would someone like that move here?
Someone like me would never have anything to do with someone like her.
He truly believed that.
So he didn’t dwell on it.
But that very day—
Fate proved him wrong.