PandoraHearts ~Caucus Race~, Vol. 1 Read Free Page A

pattern on the apron Oz had been wearing.
    You know, that apron really did look good on him. He’s an aristocrat, and yet he’s able to wear commoner clothes with style. That’s my master for you—
    Lost in thought as he was, Gilbert failed to notice it.
    For a while now, having registered that he wasn’t paying attention to her, Sharon had been calling his name.
    “Hellooooo? Gilbert-kun?”
    When Break came up beside him and spoke—loudly—right in his ear, Gilbert came to himself with a jolt.
    He looked over. Break was pointing at something.
    When Gilbert glanced in that direction…
    “Tee-hee-hee-hee-hee.”
Thoom-thoom-thoom-thoom…
    There was Sharon, wearing a flawlessly elegant smile. The pressure she gave off as she beamed made Gilbert quail instantly.
    “You seem to have wandered into an entertaining daydream, ‘Raven.’”
    A shudder chilled his spine. It was all Gilbert could do to squeeze out a “…Nuh, no.” Sharon’s bright smile seemed to corner him—“I’ve been speaking of matters of some importance, you know. What were you thinking about?”—and his answer came as a gasp.
    “Ch-chicks,” he said, honestly.
    “—Chicks?” Sharon and Break cocked their heads in simultaneous confusion.
    “Alice-kun has a cold, eh?”
    “And Oz-sama is nursing her…which is why he was unable to attend.”
    After Gilbert filled them in, Break and Sharon wore oddexpressions, as if everything made sense and, at the same time, made no sense at all.
    Apparently neither of them had ever heard of a Chain catching cold before, either. From their reactions, Gilbert thought, asking if they knew how to handle the situation wasn’t likely to yield any noteworthy responses.
    Break, who was standing beside Sharon, raised a jaunty index finger.
    “Meaning that, with his master taken from him, faithful hound Gil-kun is feeling
lonely
.”
    “My!”
    Sharon put a hand to her mouth and giggled.
    “That’s not it! I’m not particularly…”
    Gilbert argued, blushing, but his words and expression only fueled Break’s and Sharon’s smiles.
    Gilbert could never match these two in this sort of exchange, and the least damaging strategy in this situation would have been to beat a hasty retreat. Of course, if Gilbert had been able to read the room and make a decision like that one, he wouldn’t have been Gilbert.
    “…I just… Oz insisted on taking care of the stupid rabbit himself, and I thought it was weird… Not only did he cook for her, he did the ‘Say aaaah’ thing—”
    Break and Sharon: “(Grin, grin)”
    —
I shouldn’t have said that!
Gil realized, but it was much, much too late.
    “O-
ho
. ‘Aaaah,’ you say?” said Break.
    “‘Aaaah,’ wasn’t it?” said Sharon.
    “‘Aaaah’—” Break and Sharon chorused.
    “Wh-wh-wh-what are you two driving at?!”
    Gilbert lashed out in self-defense. Sharon gave a smile as bright and beautiful as sunshine.
    “No, no. Nothing at all—
snrk
! Tee-hee.”
    “Heh-heh, you mustn’t laugh, my lady… Heh-heh-heh!”
    “Wh-wh-why you—!”
    “—That’s enough for now. We’ve got his attention,” Break said, without blinking.
    “Yes.” Sharon nodded, her face serious.
    “This may be cause for concern. A disease that affects Chains… Perhaps it’s a curse of some sort.”
    They completely ignored my reaction
, Gilbert thought morosely.
    Come to think of it, both Sharon and Break were contracted to Chains. If there was a possibility that this disease or phenomenon could affect their own Chains, then it certainly was their business.
    Gilbert himself was in the very same position, but he hadn’t thought things through that far.
    These two were perfectly synchronized with each other, and he wasn’t able to follow the pace of their conversation. He was at their mercy from beginning to end.
    “Hmm.” Break gave a small sigh. “What does Oz-kun say?”
    “…He’s enthusiastic.”
    “Beg pardon?”
    “He’s enthusiastically taking