"I remember Buffalo was once nearly beaten to death for making fun of Lord Pica."
"So the authority of the officers must never be challenged. If you get killed for it, you've only got yourself to blame. Come to think of it, if the Young Master hadn't spoken up, Lord Diamante would've beaten you to death already."
"You dared to provoke one of the family's top officers as a Trainee Member—and even managed to survive! You're amazing, Abel!"
By the end, the little girl was looking at him with admiration.
But Abel only found it ironic.
"Blood Family Rules. That really does suit Mingo's personality!"
So this was what they called family?
How interesting!
No wonder they were all part of the Donquixote Family. They loved going around talking about "family" all the time.
Abel sneered inwardly. This was yet another reason for him to become an officer as soon as possible.
Otherwise, he had no way to ensure his own life wouldn't be in danger.
Rather than hope Diamante wasn't the sort to hold a grudge, he'd be better off relying on himself.
"Got it. I'll remember that. Thanks for telling me. It would've been awful if I accidentally offended another officer."
"N-no need to thank me. It was the Young Master's order."
The little girl blushed again.
Seeing that, Abel's mood improved a little. "By the way, how long was I unconscious? Where's Luo, the guy who came with me—the one wearing a hat?"
Baby-5 tilted her head and thought carefully. "You were unconscious for about a day. That guy you mentioned was pretty unlucky. Lord Corra came back this morning, and he threw him out."
"Lord Corra?"
"He's one of the top officers, just like Lord Diamante. His codename is Red Heart. But Lord Corra really hates children. The Young Master took in over a hundred children back then, but after Lord Corra put them through so much, almost all of them ran away. Only Buffalo and I managed to stay."
Abel immediately remembered who she meant: the second Red Heart, Corazon—Donquixote Rosinante, Doflamingo's younger brother.
He was also a Marine Headquarters lieutenant commander, a spy Sengoku had sent to infiltrate the Donquixote Family, and a user of the Silence-Silence Fruit.
A good man who shouldn't have been here.
In the original story, he was the one who truly saved Luo, inside and out. In the end, Mingo killed him while he was protecting Luo. It was truly tragic.
Now Abel finally understood why he hadn't seen Luo.
To keep those children from being led astray by Doflamingo, Rosinante had been forced to drive them all away in that "cruel" way.
And he'd actually succeeded.
Of the more than a hundred children, only Baby-5, abandoned by her mother, and the not-so-bright Buffalo had stayed.
But now Luo and Abel had shown up, forcing him to take up the old routine again.
Poor Luo, with no idea what was going on, would probably keep getting "targeted" for quite a while.
Thinking about it, Abel was actually a little relieved he'd been injured. Otherwise, Luo probably wouldn't have been the only unlucky one thrown out.
Now that he knew Luo was safe, he could relax and stay here to recover.
What?
Why not go "save" Luo?
Of course there was no need!
And, truthfully, there was no way he could "save" him.
He might just end up getting thrown out too.
So, to be on the safe side, he decided to wait until he'd fully recovered before meeting that "brat exterminator."
"Baby-5, I'm a little hungry. Could you bring me something to eat? Meat would be even better."
"N-no problem! I'll go right now!"
Even though Baby-5 was the one being asked for help, she didn't mind at all. In fact, she seemed incredibly excited.
Abel almost felt bad about it, but he wasn't about to turn down a good thing.
No matter how much there was, free food always tasted great!
A little while later, Baby-5 hurried in carrying a huge plate of mouthwatering roast meat.
Then Abel pushed his luck even further. "I can't feed myself right now. Could you feed me?"
"Of course! I'm so happy you need me~"
Baby-5 was so delighted that her eyes even grew misty. She immediately sat beside him, picked up a fork, and gently fed him.
The fact that she'd suffered such outrageous emotional trauma showed just how awful Baby-5's past had been.
Abel felt deeply sorry for her.
So sorry that he immediately ate three more large pieces of roast meat!
One word: delicious!
While Abel was happily enjoying the food and being fed by his little maid, Luo was locked in a struggle with his current "lifelong enemy."
With a bang, Luo was thrown out of the upstairs window again and landed hard in a heap of garbage.
How many times had this happened now?
Luo had lost count. All he knew was that the slightly airheaded bastard had thrown him out the window without a word the moment he saw him, and every time Luo sneaked back in, the same thing happened.
Luo, his face bruised and swollen, climbed to his feet once again, his expression full of resentment. Doflamingo had already agreed to let him join, so how had things turned out like this? Damn it!
Although Baby-5 and Buffalo had already told him the reason, he still thought it was absurd.
He wanted to drive all the children away just because he hated kids?
If they refused to leave, they'd end up like him, getting beaten up again and again until they couldn't take it anymore.
"I won't give up."
Luo gritted his teeth and struggled back toward the building.
Meanwhile, on the second floor.
Almost all the members of the Donquixote Family had gathered to eat, tucking into a lavish feast.
There was plenty of food, with everything from steak to red wine.
"Whohohohoho~ Corazon, you still hate kids as much as ever. How many times have you thrown that one out now? Maybe it's time to give up."
A punkish woman with a triangular pair of glasses, strikingly pointed features, curly hair, and lip gloss laughed as she teased him.
The man she was addressing said nothing, simply focusing on the food in his bowl.
Everyone was already used to his quiet, absentminded ways.
"Jora, those two new kids aren't going to give up so easily. I bet Corazon will be the first to give in. Fufufufufu~"
Doflamingo answered in Corazon's place.
"It seems the Young Master has high hopes for them," Jora said, a little surprised.
Little did she know that hearing Mingo say that only made Corazon even more determined to drive them away.
Doflamingo smiled without explaining. "By the way, where's Baby-5?"
"Baby-5 came by a little while ago. She said she was taking food to the guy in the infirmary, and she hasn't come back since."
Buffalo sounded a little jealous. Very jealous, in fact.
I was here first.
P.S. I'll only post one chapter a day for now. I've strained my arm, and the outside of my right forearm hurts like crazy. I'm afraid to go to the hospital in case I catch COVID again, so please bear with me. I'll go back to posting twice a day as soon as I've had a couple of days to recover.
Before you continue