Chapter 59
“Does it really look good on me?”
“Yeah, it looks amazing on you. Right?”
When Katya sought agreement, Dite and Kis—who had been bickering as usual—nodded their heads eagerly.
“Of course! It’s perfect, absolutely stunning!”
“You look incredible, you could get married right now!”
Whack!
Their nonsense was cut short when Rabian smacked both of them hard across the back of their heads.
“Argh! Why’d you hit me, you brute?!”
“Ow! What do you think you’re doing in front of the kid?!”
“That’s my line. Come on, kid, enough with the mirror—let’s go.”
“Mm? Okay!”
Nina, who had been lingering in front of the mirror, skipped over and gazed up at Rabian with wide, sparkling eyes.
Her unexplained stare made Rabian flinch.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Hm? No reason.”
Nina shyly dropped her eyes and wriggled the toe of her brand-new shoes.
Rabian’s expression became… complicated.
“You really like them that much…?”
“Yeah, I like them even more because you bought them for me.”
“…Impressive.”
It was such a fresh, never-before-heard remark—even from a date—that Rabian couldn’t help but be impressed.
Of course, Dite, clearly displeased with how the mood was going, butted in between them at that very moment.
“Nina, aren’t you hungry? Let’s go eat something together! This magnificent Captain of the Guard will treat you to the finest foie gras and ortolan!”
“What’s that…?”
The unfamiliar names made Nina tilt her head.
“Well, that’s…”
About to explain proudly, Dite froze and looked at Rabian instead.
Rabian smirked triumphantly.
“Go on, explain it if you can.”
Naturally, the horrifying ordeal of Dite actually describing foie gras and ortolan never came to pass.
Instead, the group found themselves—quite naturally(?)—at a casual family restaurant on the first floor of a shopping mall.
Three adults sat in a row on one side of a six-person table, while three young girls sat neatly opposite them.
The stark contrast in appearance made both diners inside and passersby outside double-take, but the group themselves paid it no mind.
As soon as Rabian took the window seat, he opened the menu.
“What do you want to eat?”
“Steak platter for me!”
“I’ll have escargot, Normandy-style!”
“Not you idiots, I mean the kid. What do you want to eat?”
Sipping on the complimentary bright-red juice, Nina quickly answered.
“I’ll have the same as you.”
“Hm. Don’t regret it—pick something else.”
“I won’t regret it.”
Confident in her choice, Nina made Rabian chuckle.
“Fine. Just remember, I warned you.”
Once the waiter came, took their orders, and left, a short silence followed.
While Charlotte flipped through a magazine left at the side of the table, Nina—watching curiously—suddenly asked:
“Uncle, what’s a red magazine?”
“…Cough!”
“Pfft—cough, cough, ack!”
Rabian, Dite, and Kis all reacted like they had swallowed something wrong, leaving Nina blinking in confusion.
“Nina, who told you about that?” Katya asked, struggling to keep a straight face.
“When I went to the library with Messi earlier, some of the other uncles were sneaking some away.”
“Aha, so that’s what happened.”
“Cough, cough—hey, how the hell do you train your men?!”
Dite scolded Rabian triumphantly, making him sigh and rub his temples.
“Those damn bastards, I swear…”
“No, boss, you don’t need to get involved—I’ll handle this myself.”
Kis grabbed a butter knife and tried to storm out, but Dite barely held him back.
“That’s theft! I’ll have no choice but to arrest you!”
Meanwhile, Katya leaned close to whisper in Nina’s ear.
“It means magazines with dirty stuff in them.”
“Oh…”
“What? Tell me too!” Charlotte begged beside her, so Nina dutifully leaned over and whispered the same thing.
“Magazines with dirty stuff.”
Charlotte blinked innocently.
“What’s dirty stuff…? Uncle, what’s dirty stuff?”
Nina froze, realizing too late.
Rabian’s face twisted, while Dite cleared his throat furiously.
“Ahem! Good kids don’t need to know about that.”
“Why not? But Nina knows.”
“Nina doesn’t really know what it means.”
“How do you know that? Nina, what is dirty stuff?”
“Ask your mom and dad.” Katya replied wickedly.
Charlotte’s eyes went wide. Her lips trembled, and tears welled in her amethyst eyes.
“Hey! How could you say that to someone else’s daughter, you brat?! Honestly, you little punk only knows how to be nasty!”
Kis, flustered, snapped at Katya, who shot back defiantly:
“What did I do?! Fine, you want me to explain it right here?!”
“You think knowing that is something to brag about?!”
“Ugh, enough already! You’re ruining my appetite!”
Rabian finally snapped, and silence fell over the table.
Kis and Katya turned their heads away from each other, while Charlotte dabbed at her eyes with a napkin.
Nina, caught in the middle, glanced around nervously.
She regretted asking the question. If she’d known “red magazine” meant something indecent, she would never have asked here.
‘I’m such an idiot!’
Having grown up surrounded by all kinds of nonsense since she was very small, Nina had always had a blurred sense of what was “normal” or not.
But judging by the current mood, she was certain she’d made another mistake—just like the time with the Sally juice.
‘Why am I like this…?’
She glanced carefully at Rabian, but his chin rested on his hand as he stared out the window. It was impossible to tell if he was angry or just indifferent.
Resigned, Nina turned toward Charlotte.
“Um… are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Charlotte smiled faintly as she rubbed her eyes.
Nina glanced at Katya, who was still sulking, and added softly:
“Katya didn’t mean it in a bad way.”
“I know. I’m just kind of dumb sometimes, so people often get frustrated with me.”
“That’s not what I meant—”
But just then, the food arrived, cutting off her words.
Charlotte got salad and mushroom soup, Katya a sandwich with chips, while Kis ended up with the same steak platter as Dite.
The restaurant didn’t serve Normandy escargot, after all.
“Why are you copying me? What, were you so envious of my noble taste?”
“You little—!”
While Dite and Kis bickered, Nina absentmindedly took a spoonful of her dish. It was called paella, though she didn’t know exactly what was in it.
She popped a bright red spoonful into her mouth—and almost spat it out immediately.
“Ugh…”
Her tongue burned, her face flushed hot, and tears sprang to her eyes.
“What’s wrong?! Poison?!”
“Eek!”
Kis, brandishing his steak knife, sprang up so suddenly that Charlotte began coughing in fright.
As Dite hurried to pat Charlotte’s back, Nina fanned her mouth desperately with her little hands.
Rabian, chin still resting on his hand, suddenly chuckled.
“Well? Regretting it already?”
“U-Uncle, my mouth feels weird! Did something go wrong because my tooth fell out…?”
“It’s not your teeth—it’s just spicy. Do you want to order something else?”
“N-no, I can eat it.”
After downing a full glass of water, she felt a bit better, so Nina stubbornly took another bite of the paella.
The result was disastrous.
“Gyaaah, it’s burning!”
“Cough, cough…!”
“You vile bastard! How could you play a trick like this on a kid?!”
Dite, still rubbing Charlotte’s back as she coughed, glared furiously at Rabian.
