Read Online PandoraHearts ~Caucus Race~, Vol. 1 by Shinobu Wakamiya - Free Book Online

party? He didn’t remember it. Still, if she had, the fact that he’d forgotten it was rude in and of itself. On top of that, Gilbert had already made up his mind to turn her down.
    This is depressing…
    Gilbert didn’t understand women.
    That said, he was fairly sure that any woman would be hurt if she requested permission to formally socialize and was turned down.
    He did know that much. And tomorrow, he’d be doing exactly that.
    Even as he slipped into a gloomy mood with a fair measure of guilt mixed in, Gilbert roused himself.
    I’ll do it. I can do that much on my own now…!
    He’d already run several mental simulations since leaving Oz and Break at Pandora. After making such a dramatic declaration, he
had
to do it, no matter what. He told himself that letting those two get involved would make the situation much, much worse, so it was easier to tackle it himself. Gilbert seemed quite busy: depressed, head hanging, a black suit in hand, then muttering to himself, then looking up and rousing himself to action. Through it all, Vincent watched him lovingly.
    “Later, Vince.”
    Having calmed down, Gilbert was on his way out of the dressing room. Vincent yawned and lazily fluttered a hand at him.
    “Oh, that’s right. Gil…”
    Vincent spoke to Gilbert’s back. Gilbert didn’t turn.
    “What?”
    “Take care you don’t get eaten…”
    “???”
    “—All women are venemous spiders, you know.”
    “‘All’ is going too far.”
    With that reproving retort, Gilbert left the dressing room. As he walked down the corridor, his face cold and expressionless, questions swirled through his head.
    Why had his little brother said a thing like that? That all women were “venemous spiders.” …That they all had venom.
    No doubt some women were like that, Gilbert thought, but there were also women who weren’t. He knew one. A woman made entirely of kindness, cheer, and grace.
    A woman who was worlds apart from “venom.”
    Ada-sama—
    As he silently called her name, his heart grew warm. That wasn’t venom. On the contrary, it was medicine.
    That aside, because he was walking while absorbed in thought…
    Gilbert, who knew the Nightray manor like the back of his hand, got lost.
    “—Your precious Ada-sama is no exception, Gil.”
    Back in the dressing room, dozing, engulfed in drowsiness, Vincent murmured to himself.
    “…But don’t worry. I’ll get rid of any flies that come buzzing around you…”
    Just as he’d always done.
    A smile of dark joy crept over Vincent’s face.
…But
, he thought. From what Echo’s report had told him, this particularfly seemed a bit different from the flies that had come before it. In that case, it might be interesting to watch the situation play out, at least for a little while.
    As he thought, Vincent fell asleep.
    …And, finally…
    Echo, who’d entered the dressing room in search of her master, gazed at his peaceful, sleeping, smiling face. In a very, very small voice, she muttered:
    “……He looks evil when he sleeps.”
5
    “I’m sorry. I’m afraid I’m not very good with formalities.”
    That was the first thing Dahlia said to Gilbert when they met the following day, at noon, in the park they’d designated as their meeting place.
    In person, Dahlia’s quiet air was even more pronounced than her photograph had suggested.
    When she stood, she seemed like a slender, shade-blooming flower that could be plucked easily by hand.
    To Gilbert, she seemed to stand quietly, self-effacingly, unfurling delicate petals in secret.
    When he thought back, comparing them, most of the women who’d made earlier requests to socialize had actively approached Gilbert. Even if they hadn’t, they’d eyed him appreciatively with bold, sticky stares. Both types had made Gilbert utterly miserable.
    Dahlia wasn’t like either.
    After she apologized, she didn’t seem to have anything to say. She looked down, turning her gaze from Gilbert, and fell silent.
    In its own way, this