She woke from another nightmare.
A Luo screamed in fright. This time, Feitan had ripped off all ten of her fingernails in her dream!
Only after waking did A Luo realize she had fallen asleep slumped beside Feitan's bed.
As for why she had had that nightmare...
The girl glanced at her fingers. Her sleeping position had cut off their circulation, leaving all ten of them a dark purplish color.
That prickling pain, like needles stabbing her, matched the sensation of Feitan torturing her in the dream perfectly... No wonder the pain in her fingers had felt so real!
A Luo patted her little heart, which had nearly leaped into her throat, and looked at Feitan, still asleep in bed.
No, I really can't just sit here waiting to die.
A Luo mulled it over again and again. What did Feitan like, anyway?
Hmm... I think the original story mentioned he was good at interrogation and liked video games.
Besides that, he seems pretty fond of my cooking.
Since Feitan was now paralyzed and bedridden, unable to play games, it seemed that good food was the only thing left that might improve his mood.
Maybe I could work on that? Really get on his good side.
That way, once Feitan recovered, he might not kill her without a word and dispose of her body!
With those considerations in mind, the next morning, Feitan opened his eyes to a table laden with a lavish feast A Luo had specially prepared for him.
A Luo had even accounted for how difficult it was for him to eat.
Throughout the meal, A Luo stood beside him with chopsticks in hand. A mere glance from Feitan was enough for Lola to pick up whatever he wanted and bring it to his mouth.
Her service could not have been more thoughtful or attentive.
After Feitan finished eating, even his drink was no longer just plain water with a straw stuck in it.
Lola had prepared more than a dozen different drinks for Feitan, including tea, cola, beer, coffee, milk, juice, and more.
She had even brought over a game console to keep him from getting bored, turning herself into a robot that followed his every command so he could play games by giving her verbal instructions!
Beyond that, all day long, whenever Feitan gave an order, Lola did everything in her power to fulfill his requests.
Yet, for some reason...
At first, Feitan had been quite happy eating and drinking, and things had been fine when they first started gaming, too.
But during the latter half of the day, his expression suddenly grew darker and darker.
Seeing this, Lola reflected on her own shortcomings. Assuming her service was not attentive enough, she became even more eager to please.
After a few days of this, Feitan had become a scowling, fire-breathing dragon. Whenever he saw her, he pinned A Luo with a murderous glare, as if viciously threatening to make her pay once he recovered!
A Luo was utterly bewildered.
What kind of temperament does Feitan even have? Why does it feel like my attempts to butter him up have only made things worse?
The more she tried to please him, the more irritable he became.
Seeing that her sentence in Feitan's eyes was about to escalate from immediate execution to death by a thousand cuts...
Chrollo finally could not bear to watch any longer.
He stepped in to stop A Luo from continuing to act like an idiot!
The boss produced an unidentified fruit from somewhere and fed it to Feitan.
Apparently, that fruit could speed up the body's metabolism.
Then, while Feitan was still digesting the fruit and recovering, the boss left Pakunoda to soothe his temper and took A Luo away.
A Luo frowned, completely unable to make sense of it.
"Why did Feitan keep getting angrier when I was taking such good care of him with all that food and drink?"
The corner of Chrollo's mouth twitched, and he looked back at A Luo.
"He enjoyed the first meal, didn't he?"
A Luo nodded.
Seeing that A Luo still had not figured out the problem, Chrollo helplessly pressed a hand to his forehead.
"You fed Feitan all that food and drink. After eating so much, didn't he have to use the bathroom several times?"
A Luo nodded again.
Chrollo smiled.
"Still don't get it? Think about it. Didn't Feitan eventually refuse to eat any more of the feasts you made him?"
A Luo: "..."
Chrollo shook his head with a smile, visibly struggling to contain his amusement.
"A Luo, aren't you good at figuring things out? You even know the abilities and personalities of people you've never met inside out... Yet I never imagined you'd be stupid enough to keep feeding Feitan nonstop. Even after he started scowling and refusing to eat, you kept making more delicacies every day to tempt him."
"You little cook who thinks she's so clever, how do you suppose Feitan sees you?"
A Luo finally understood. She clutched her head, furious with herself for doing something so stupid.
Why had Feitan been angry, and why had he wanted to silence her? Hadn't it all been because of those embarrassing bodily functions?
She had relentlessly fed him, then failed to read his expression and kept tempting him with food. In Feitan's eyes, she must have looked as though she was deliberately trying to make a laughingstock of him.
He was petty enough at the best of times. Now, seeing her take advantage of his inability to move to toy with him like this... With Feitan's vindictive nature, it would have been strange if he hadn't wanted to cut her into a thousand pieces!
Ten minutes later, something suddenly occurred to A Luo.
"Boss, what did you give Feitan to eat?"
Chrollo said, "A fruit I found on the person who stabbed Feitan in the Dark Alley that day!"
A Luo: "?"
Chrollo said, "With such a dangerous poison, logically, the person using it would usually carry an antidote just in case."
A Luo gave Chrollo an accusing look.
"Then why didn't you bring it out sooner?"
Chrollo said, "Feitan wasn't going to die anyway! It gave me a chance to study the fruit!"
Thinking of all those embarrassing moments with Feitan over the past few days, A Luo seethed.
But just as she raised her head to vent her displeasure, a look from Chrollo scared her into backing down.
"A Luo, was there something else you wanted to say?"
Under the boss's threatening gaze, A Luo felt as though all her internal organs might burst from holding it in. At last, she forced out a flattering smile and swallowed her anger.
"I wanted to say you're so clever, boss! None of us thought to search that person for an antidote..."
Chrollo chuckled.
"What are you talking about, A Luo? Machi and Pakunoda both knew. Machi was the one who took the fruit from the person who poisoned him."
A Luo: "..."
So the truth was even crueler than I imagined?
Who would've thought Machi was that kind of person!
At the same time, A Luo could not help inwardly deriding Feitan. Just look at how unpopular you are in the Phantom Troupe, you bastard. Is there anyone worse off than you?
Out of four people, three didn't even want you to get better.
And you dragged me into getting messed with right along with you.
By that reasoning, Feitan's suffering had nothing to do with her at all. Whichever way she looked at it, he was simply such an awful person that even his companions would seize any chance to mess with him!
Before you continue