Chapter 56
It was so small, he couldn’t even tell if it had really come out properly.
Ravian had already heard from Katya’s report that Nina had been acting strangely over the past few days.
She seemed to have no appetite, and apparently, she brushed her teeth several times a day.
Katya seemed to think it was just because of the issue of going to the Imperial Capital, but Ravian had a nagging suspicion.
To be precise, he recalled the image of someone he had long pushed to the back of his memory.
It was Anna.
Unlike her younger sister, Anna’s growth had been noticeably slow. She didn’t even start losing her baby teeth until she was well into her teens.
And it had been Ravian who had taken her first baby tooth.
Just like now.
“Hey kid, let me see your hand. Let’s check if it really came out.”
“N-nooo, don’t wanna!”
Of course, unlike Nina now, Anna hadn’t been embarrassed to the point of squirming like this.
On the contrary, she had clung to him, whining that the empty spot hurt.
“Why not? I just want to look.”
Nina shook her head violently and backed away.
The unfamiliar reaction made Ravian tilt his head.
“Does she… not know about teething?”
He couldn’t understand why Nina was reacting this way.
Never mind the fact that this was the first time she’d ever refused his touch—it was behavior unfitting for her age and status.
Young royals were always taught about teething as soon as they were old enough to understand.
For example, that losing baby teeth wasn’t painful or shameful, but simply a natural part of growing up…
“Fine, whatever.”
Ravian suddenly stood up, and Nina flinched, her eyes widening.
The unexpected mood shift made Diete and Kis glance nervously at each other.
“Boss, what’s wrong? Where are you going?”
“Get lost.”
“Huh? Hey, come on, why are you like this again?! What are we supposed to do if you storm off like this?!”
“…What else am I supposed to do when she won’t say anything?!”
His outburst froze the whole place.
Charlotte and Katya both flinched, while Nina went pale.
Kis looked completely lost, while Diete hurried to step in.
“Hey, she’s just a kid. Kids freak out when their teeth suddenly fall out, that’s all!”
Ravian harshly shook off Diete’s hand gripping his arm.
“And?”
“W-what do you mean ‘and’? You…”
“So you expect me to figure out all that on my own? Or maybe I should just beg her to tell me what’s going on inside her head?”
His words were sharp, his tone heated—not just irritation, but something deeper.
If Nina’s reaction had been strange to Ravian, then Ravian’s current behavior was completely alien to Diete.
The Ravian he knew wasn’t the type to lose his temper like this over someone else.
“Wait… is this guy seriously sulking over a little kid right now…?”
“Look, fine, I’ll admit it—I don’t know anything about Nina. I don’t know why you’re keeping her, and I don’t know what happened between you two, but she’s been upset this whole time. Totally different from when she was with you before. So if you just blow up and walk away, how do you think that poor little lady’s gonna feel?”
“…”
Ravian only glared at him silently.
And then—
“Um…”
A small voice rose from below. Ravian turned his head.
Nina had approached without anyone noticing and now stood there.
“Um, mister…”
She fidgeted, glancing up at him with eyes like rippling blue lakes.
“I’m sorry, mister.”
“…”
“It was my fault, so… please don’t go.”
Her voice was small and defeated.
Ravian pressed his fingers to his eyes and muttered gruffly, swallowing a sigh.
“Go. Just… go over there.”
Diete and Kis both gaped at him in outrage.
That bastard…!
“Go over there. Didn’t you hear me?”
His cold words made Nina flinch and lower her head.
Her chest ached unbearably.
She knew if she cried here, he’d only be more disgusted, but she couldn’t stop the sting in her eyes.
“He must be mad because I was selfish. And I even went and played around with Charlotte like some thoughtless hostage…”
Tears spilled from her blue eyes.
The sight was so pitiful that Diete immediately crouched down, wiping her cheeks.
“Hey, Nina, don’t cry, okay? It’s not your fault. It’s that childish old man’s fault for throwing a tantrum—ugh!”
Before he could finish, Ravian suddenly kicked at him.
It wasn’t a full kick, but enough to knock Diete off balance. He landed hard on his rear.
“You lunatic, what the hell was—”
He stopped mid-shout.
“Who said you could touch her?”
Ravian’s burning eyes glared like a demon’s, enough to make even hell’s watchdog retreat.
“What the—then you do it yourself, you childish psycho! You made her cry, and now you’re freaking out at me?! You devil! You creep!”
“Yeah, that’s right! You’re not even human, boss! Disgusting! When Merci gets here, you’re dead meat!”
Ravian ignored their furious ranting and instead turned Nina toward him.
Seeing her blinking wet eyes, he couldn’t help a sigh.
He hadn’t meant to make her cry like this.
“Why are you crying? You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Hic… I’m sorry…”
Ravian knew full well he was the one acting selfishly.
Thinking too much about Nina made his head ache, but that was his problem—not hers.
And yet he had lashed out at her childishly.
Maybe he had thought it would be fine.
Because Nina was always…
Always far more forgiving than he deserved.
Even now, with tears streaming down her face, she still looked at him the same way.
Ravian pulled out the handkerchief with her baby tooth wrapped inside and used the clean side to wipe her cheek.
“…It’s my fault. So stop crying.”
At his unexpected words, not just Nina but everyone else stared as if they’d misheard.
He glanced at her wide, tearful eyes and muttered gruffly,
“And why were you trailing after those idiots anyway?”
“…I wasn’t trailing after them.”
“Yes you were.”
“But you were just standing there too—”
Before she could finish protesting, her cheek was suddenly pulled.
“Ahh…!”
“Just because I was standing there, you run off with someone else? Weren’t you the one who said you’d protect me? Then you should’ve come right back!”
“Oww, oww, that hurts…!”
When she finally shouted through her struggle, Ravian let go and chuckled.
His usual mischievous grin was back, and relief washed over her.
Rubbing her sore cheek, Nina glared at him through teary eyes.
“You’re mean, mister.”
“Took you this long to notice? Anyway, what should we do about this?”
“Huh…?”
When Ravian opened the handkerchief again, Nina flinched as she remembered her lost tooth.
“Just throw it away…!”
“Really?”
She nodded quickly, covering her mouth with both hands. Ravian’s brow twitched.
“There you go again. Why do you keep acting like this?”
“B-because it’s embarrassing!”
“What’s embarrassing about losing a baby tooth? Everyone does.”
“But it makes me look stupid and ugly…!”
Her voice cracked out before she could stop it, her face burning red.
Ravian gave her a dumbfounded look.
“Who told you that?”
It was hard to answer, but if she stayed silent, things might turn sour again. So Nina mumbled,
“My mother said so.”
