Before opening it,
Romeo
had a small struggle in his heart.
Wasn't it kind of wrong to open a little girl's diary like this? It was someone else's privacy!
But... what if something like last time happened again?
Romeo
suddenly had an idea.
He
accidentally
scratched his hand!
With a click.
The diary fell to the ground and burst open.
"Oh no, how could I be so careless!"
Romeo
grinned and hurriedly picked up Kochou Shinobu's diary.
"We have to close it quickly!"
As he spoke, he began to close the diary page by page.
Until—
He
accidentally
turned to the place where he left off last time.
"Tuesday, weather: foggy."
"Sister, do you remember the mission I told you about a few days ago? I made a mistake and got stabbed in the arm by a human."
"And with so many powerful demons around, my heart just sank. I didn't know how I was going to survive."
"This is my fourth day in Autumn Mountain. The team is almost at its limit. Maybe I'll be seeing you soon, Sister?"
"Wednesday, weather: cloudy."
"Sister, I'm back. Tonight I found traces of three lower-rank demons at the top of Autumn Mountain. All of them were killed by the same person."
"I found out it was
Romeo
. I'm so grateful to him. If it weren't for him, I would have been in serious danger."
"
Romeo
was injured. I was so worried. It was nearly dawn by the time I rushed back to the Butterfly House."
"Sister, did you know?
Romeo
was sitting at the door waiting for me. I don't even know how long he had been sitting there."
"He saw my injury right away, then patiently bandaged it and applied medicine. I've never seen someone this gentle—except for you, Sister."
"Everyone calls him Mr. Romeo, but that brat really thinks of himself as some kind of gentleman."
"He's clearly just a mischievous little brother, but he keeps acting like an adult."
"Sister... tell me, does
Romeo
like me? Why is he so good to me?"
"Sister, I almost fell in love... but I am a worm. I have my goals, my plans. I can't be with
Romeo
."
"Because I know that Kochou Shinobu can like someone, but the Insect Pillar cannot."
"Thursday, weather: sunny."
"Sister, after I said goodbye to
Romeo
and went back to my room, I suddenly heard Xiaokui shouting."
"
Romeo
fainted!"
"I'm a doctor, and I was stunned. Sister, do you think
Romeo
fainted because he was trying to protect me?"
"Sister, I suddenly felt so guilty. I'm supposed to be a Pillar, but
Romeo
ended up taking care of me."
"I sat by his bed all day, wiping his sweat and changing his clothes. I noticed how handsome his profile is, and before I knew it, I had been there all afternoon."
"I knew
Romeo
was about to wake up, but I couldn't let him see me. Let's just leave things the way they are... I'm carrying too much."
"Friday, weather: cloudy."
"Sister,
Romeo
went to the training ground today. I specifically asked Brother Rengoku to teach him some practical skills so he won't get hurt again!"
"Also, Sister, I ran into Mr. Shinazugawa today. He seems to be trying to awaken the same marks as
Romeo
."
"I wanted to walk away, but then I heard Mr. Shinazugawa saying bad things about
Romeo
! I got so mad I just scolded him on the spot!"
"Hehe! If it weren't for the fact that he used to pursue you, I'd have hit him with the Butterfly Dance already!"
"Hehe, I really shouldn't be like this. Sister likes it when I smile. Xiaonin must be a lady!"
"Saturday, weather: rain."
"Sister, I went on a mission and found that the demons outside are searching for Mr.
Romeo
. One of them said Mr.
Romeo
never showed his face that day."
"I don't know why, but I'm sure he hid his identity on purpose. That's why I didn't report it to the Lord."
"Xiaonin is alone again today. It's raining heavily, and I feel a bit cold."
"Sister, I miss you. I miss you so much."
The last page ended.
The handwriting stopped abruptly at the word
"miss."
Romeo
read the girl's complex emotions hidden between the lines.
There was Kochou Shinobu's joy, sorrow, anger, and her unique thoughts as an eighteen-year-old girl.
He had no idea Shinobu was this lively on the inside.
Romeo
let out a long breath.
Thankfully, Kochou Shinobu was fine—otherwise the Butterfly House would have lost another doctor.
He lowered his head, reflecting on the diary's content.
As expected, Shinobu had realized that it was
him
on Autumn Mountain.
But she didn't report it.
That had to be against the team rules, right?
Romeo
hadn't thought she would go this far to protect him.
There was another thing.
Romeo
flipped back to a certain page.
He reread the words:
"Sister, I almost fell in love..."
He repeated it softly—three times.
Was this a sign that Shinobu liked him?
Romeo
subconsciously smiled.
Maybe that's why she had been acting cold that night.
Was it because of
Douma
?
Romeo
narrowed his eyes.
He remembered that Shinobu had made extensive preparations to kill Douma.
Including injecting herself with
wisteria poison
every day, just in case it might help in the future.
Normally, the amount of poison infused into her Nichirin blade at one time was about
70 grams
—enough to kill any demon below the Upper Moons.
But against an Upper Moon, it wasn't guaranteed.
So she added a trump card:
Her own body.
Every day, she injected a large amount of wisteria poison into herself.
Romeo
did a rough mental calculation.
At this point, the amount of poison in her body was
seventy times
the lethal dose.
Every inch of this girl's skin was wrapped in silent, purple hatred.
Even a single
drop
of her blood—
Could kill any demon, other than the Demon King and the Twelve Kizuki.
That's why
Romeo
always smelled wisteria around her.
He gripped the diary a little tighter.
Now that he had come to the Butterfly House—
He
would never
let this tragedy happen again.
After living there for so long,
Romeo
had come to see everyone in the Butterfly House as family.
So...
Douma, you deserve to die.
Romeo
silently swore to hunt him down and use him for research in the future.
Just as
Romeo
was deep in thought—
Suddenly, footsteps echoed at the basement door.
Someone was coming!
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