The Necklace My Brother Gave Me

"Ring 23, winner, Coleman!"

The crisp sound of the gong echoed throughout the arena, followed by cheers of excitement and thrill from the crowd below.

Coleman, however, felt nothing; he only found it rather boring.

Tsk, not a single one of these people is worth fighting.

Yet, Coleman did not neglect the proper etiquette in the slightest.

The corners of his mouth turned up, his eyes curving just the right amount.

He shook hands with his terrified opponent and offered a faint smile to the female referee.

With a slight bow and a nod, he stepped off the ring, one pace at a time.

The distance of each step seemed measured, precise to the millimeter.

The female referee, who had been staring in a daze, couldn't quite snap out of it until the head referee called her, prompting her to hurriedly announce the next match.

Good heavens, how can such a beautiful child exist?

He's just like a doll.

And his manners are absolutely impeccable!

With the image of Coleman's slight bow repeating in her mind, she couldn't help but swoon once more.

Oh, God, it's insane—how can he be this beautiful? If this child grows up, he'll surely captivate thousands of girls.

Off the stage, Coleman, who had already left, was bored out of his mind. He exchanged his winnings for the key to his room on the next floor and collected his prize money along the way.

The prize money was only enough for a bottle of soda.

Coleman didn't mind; for him, money was never in short supply.

Even now, with his card frozen by his father due to his running away from home.

But was that really a problem?

Mother had given him plenty of pocket money!

Besides, funds were still being deposited into this card.

Without even thinking, Coleman knew that the letters he sent to Mother had done the trick.

Essentially, as the youngest in the family, Coleman could be considered the wealthiest person in the Zoldyck household, aside from Mother.

After all, Father's money was held by Mother, Grandfather didn't usually carry cash, and Illumi's card had been frozen as well.

Therefore, the only person capable of spending large sums of money in a short time was Coleman.

Coleman: Can't help it, who else is Mother's favorite child?

And because Coleman had kept in touch with Kikyo via letters even after leaving the castle, it had, to a certain extent, alleviated her possessiveness toward him.

Coleman had always been adept at satisfying the desires of such people.

Don't these people just want to know your whereabouts? Want to control you?

Then give it to them; not only give it, but do so generously and readily.

You have to create the impression that it's not that they want it, but that you are insisting on giving it to them.

Even if they don't ask for your love, you should give it anyway.

Once you give enough, they naturally won't force you anymore.

Because your actions will give them the illusion that you cannot live without them.

To a certain extent, they will believe they are the ones in control of the relationship.

But in reality?

Who could say for sure.

Coleman smiled faintly and opened his drink.

This method worked on Mother, and naturally, it worked on his brother too.

After all, the two of them were cut from the same cloth.

He loosened his shirt collar, revealing a black choker.

It was very tight, almost to the point of making it difficult for Coleman to breathe.

Hooking his finger under the elastic accessory, he raised an eyebrow.

His brother's taste was not bad at all.

A black leather choker with silver lettering.

The silver was accented with red lines.

It was beautiful.

Coleman liked it very much.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable, he had no choice but to use his fingers to adjust the position of his choker.

A faint red mark appeared against his fair neck.

The contrast between the red and white was stark.

Frowning, Coleman hadn't expected his skin to be so delicate.

By now, he had crossed the long corridor of Heavens Arena and arrived at the elevator.

Ding.

The elevator doors slid open.

The scent of blood rushed out to meet him.

This made Coleman frown again.

Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a tall, masked man.

For some unknown reason, the man's left hand had been cleanly severed, replaced now by an iron hook.

The exposed skin was crisscrossed with all manner of scars.

He was clearly not someone to be trifled with.

But that wasn't what concerned Coleman.

He had seen this man before.

It was three nights ago, the very evening Coleman had first checked into Heavens Arena.

If he wasn't mistaken, this man had recognized that he and his brother were members of the Zoldyck Family.

Furthermore, he had intended to kill them both.

Casting a subtle glance at the surrounding space, Coleman curled his lips into a faint smile.

As for now, it remained to be seen who would be killing whom.

Wouldn't you agree, Pirate Assassin, Gintsman?