Chapter 54
So most likely, Charlotte also imagined the First Princess in such a way.
Meanwhile, Keith—the kidnapper who had abducted Nina—wasn’t flustered in the slightest. Instead, he snorted proudly.
“Our baby is the cutest.”
“But what exactly are you doing here with Nina? Sunbathing?”
When Diete changed the subject with a question, Keith snapped back irritably.
“What’s sunbathing?”
“…Forget it. Anyway, why are you hanging around here like runaway teens? Don’t tell me that brat Ravi is throwing another decadent party?”
“It’s not that, but ugh, I’m so pissed off because of that guy…!”
Surprisingly, Keith and Diete seemed to get along quite well.
While the two men eagerly exchanged complaints about Ravian, Nina was busy greeting Charlotte.
“Hi. My uncle told me about you. You’re Nina, right? How old are you?”
“Six years old.”
“Then you’re younger than me?”
Whether Diete had already briefed her or simply because she was still young, Charlotte, the noble young lady, didn’t pry into Nina’s surname or family background.
“That’s great! I’ve always wanted a little sister since I’m an only child. I do have some younger cousins, but they’re too small to talk to properly.”
As she chattered away, Charlotte’s hair shimmered in the sunlight.
Nina unconsciously stared, entranced by Charlotte’s hair.
It was a similar red to Ravian’s.
The difference was that Charlotte’s hair was straight and smooth.
“But Nina, aren’t you cold? Why are you outside in your pajamas?”
Charlotte asked innocently, and Nina felt her face flush.
Maybe it was because she was aware Charlotte was a peer, but when she compared herself in her pajamas to Charlotte’s elegant brown satin dress, she felt endlessly embarrassed.
“It just happened that way. But Charlotte, where are you going?”
“My uncle said he’d finally take me shopping, so I tagged along. Oh, I know! Nina, do you want to come shopping with us? Have you ever been to a mall?”
“I haven’t been yet, but actually, I was planning to go buy clothes too.”
“Really? Perfect! Uncle, let’s go quickly! Nina wants to go shopping too!”
Excited, Charlotte clapped her hands and called Diete.
Diete, who had been gossiping about Ravian with Keith, dramatically flared his coat hem and shouted:
“What?! Then let’s hurry! At last, the day has come to spend my secret savings!”
“Just put that away!”
Keith cut in sharply, making Diete bristle instantly.
“Why?! I want to buy Nina a gift too!”
“A baby doesn’t need bribes from the Captain of the Guard.”
“B-B-bribe?! How dare you slander me so crudely?! Such is the inferiority complex of the lowborn…”
“Who spends their secret stash on gifts? And lower your voice, you’re embarrassing! Geez.”
Even Charlotte scolded him, leaving Diete sulking with drooping shoulders.
Nina found herself smiling.
Despite their age difference, uncle and niece seemed more like close friends. She envied them and thought it was lovely.
Maybe this was what it truly meant to grow up in a harmonious family.
* * *
So the four of them ended up heading to the mall together.
The building, which looked like an old-fashioned palace from the outside, was like something out of a fairy tale inside.
The arcade beneath the arched ceiling was lined with shops that seemed to contain everything in the world. The place bustled with people everywhere, yet strangely, it didn’t feel chaotic or noisy.
“Fufufu, excellent. Today, I shall conquer this place!”
Even here, however, Diete’s extraordinary fashion sense drew curious stares.
While Charlotte and Keith desperately pretended not to know him, Nina darted her wide eyes around in awe.
But it wasn’t just because she was dazzled.
As wondrous as it was, it also struck her as exactly the sort of place Hameln would prefer.
In a place like this, it wouldn’t be strange for children to go missing.
Of course, security teams were bound to be on high alert in such locations. But it would still be difficult to keep an eye on every child who wandered off while their guardians were distracted.
And if a well-dressed adult simply led a child away, pretending they were their own—who would easily suspect?
Or, like the Anubis members had done at the hotel, if the kidnappers disguised themselves as security guards and pretended to “rescue” a lost child…
Was this how they chose their prey?
Nina swallowed hard.
Up until now, no one had been able to figure out how Hameln had managed to abduct so many noble children so easily. Not even the investigators had an answer.
But the solution was right here, so close at hand.
It was only speculation, but it felt far more plausible than any half-baked theory she’d heard before.
He wouldn’t be here, right?
It was impossible Hameln would show up all the way in Rohas. Still, a sudden chill of fear made Nina instinctively clutch Keith’s hand.
Keith beamed proudly.
“Haha, were you scared, my baby? Don’t worry. With Uncle Kitchen Knife here, no one would dare try anything—”
“Protecting children is the duty of the Captain of the Guard! Begone, vile thug!”
“You’re dead, you damn cop wannabe!”
“You insolent brat! Do you want me to slap cuffs on you?!”
The heir of the powerful Frank family, who also commanded the Guard in both Rohas and the capital, bickering in the middle of a mall with an Anubis executive…
It was corruption and collusion on full display, yet in Rohas, such things were part of daily life.
“Ugh, so embarrassing.”
At last, Charlotte stepped in, grabbed Nina’s hand, and led the way forward.
Thus Keith and Diete were reduced to following along behind like sulking chickens.
“Nina, what kind of clothes do you like? These days, I love White Doll the most.”
Nina had heard of White Doll.
It was one of the brands often advertised in trendy kids’ magazines.
“I like it too.”
“Then let’s go there first! They just opened a store on the third floor.”
Charlotte tugged Nina along excitedly, and as Nina’s pajama hem swished, something inside her pocket rattled.
“Hm? What’s that?”
Charlotte asked, and Nina remembered the candies she had stuffed into her pajama pocket earlier.
“They’re candies from the animal café. Want one?”
“Wow, so pretty! Yes, I want the blue cat. What about you, Nina?”
“I’ll take the red puppy.”
Not wanting to be the only one not eating, Nina quickly picked one for herself too.
Then she handed one each to Keith and Diete walking behind.
“Here, you can have some candy too.”
“For me…?”
Keith took the candy with a deeply moved expression, but Diete simply smiled faintly and shook his head.
“Just your thought is enough for me, Nina.”
“Got cavities or something?”
“You vulgar thug! Do you take me for some lowborn like yourself?!”
“Then why are you refusing candy from our baby?!”
Because Keith had mentioned cavities, Nina flinched, but she forced herself to look calm.
So the four of them happily carried their candies as they reached the third floor, where children’s clothing stores were lined up.
“I think it was around here…”
While Charlotte and Nina looked around ahead, Keith and Diete whispered quietly.
“Do you know anything about girls’ clothes?”
“No.”
“You’re the Captain of the Guard and don’t know even that?”
“Do you?”
“No.”
“Then let’s just keep quiet. If we get involved, it’ll only end badly.”
“Yeah, I think so too.”
Both men—equally clueless not only about girls’ clothes but also women’s fashion in general—calmly sucked their candies and followed the two girls.
“But Nina, you don’t look very happy today.”
“What do you know about our baby? Don’t act all high and mighty.”
“No, I mean, she just seems different from when I saw her last time…”
“Huh?”
