Oswald cursed all the way back to the Mansion. The mud stains on his suit were already half dry, and his tie lay draped over his shoulder like a strip of pickled cabbage.
Complaints poured from his mouth like water from an open faucet:
"I said we shouldn't have made that little brat my bodyguard! After today's fiasco, who knows what the media will write about me tomorrow!"
Ririko followed behind him and said slowly:
"The Elliott family had been trying to get that plot of land for ages, which means it's connected to the Court of Owls too. They sent someone to attack you. There was nothing wrong with Talia firing that shot."
Oswald was about to argue when Ririko gave him a look of distaste.
Her gaze landed on his coat, covered in mud and bits of grass. "Go wash up first."
Oswald pouted, thinking that the sooner he washed up, the sooner he could cuddle with Ririko. He stripped off his coat as he walked and ducked into the bathroom beside the bedroom.
Before closing the door, he poked half his damp head through the gap, his voice tinged with anxiety:
"Keep an eye out for me. Don't let that crazy girl barge in."
Ririko waved him off. "I know, I know. Hurry up and take your bath."
Seeing that Talia had managed to frighten even Penguin this badly, she went to Talia's room once the bathroom door closed.
The door was ajar. She gently pushed it open a little and saw Talia standing beside the bed with her back to the doorway. She had already tossed her coat over the back of a chair and hung her loosened tie on the headboard.
She wore a white shirt, the contours of her shoulder blades clearly visible beneath