Chapter 94
“Th-That was just for fun! I’m not going to marry anyone anyway!”
“Is that so.”
“I’m serious!”
“Yeah, yeah. You’ll change your mind once you go to your debutante ball, won’t you?”
Ravian, who had been smirking quietly, suddenly froze mid-motion while fluffing the pillow.
It was because the image of Nina he had seen at the palace flashed in his mind.
The image of a fearless adolescent girl, right around the time of her debutante ball.
When he put the pillow down and turned his gaze, he saw the tiny, real-life Nina before him.
Her eyes, pouting slightly as she looked at him, were just as radiant as always.
It was as if the surprising side she had hinted at in the living room earlier had been a complete lie.
‘…So that was it.’
At that moment, Ravian finally understood the source of the sense of strangeness he had always felt from Nina in his daydreams.
He had vaguely described it as an unusual, unchildlike aura, but now he understood why there was absolutely none of the worldly, adult sophistication.
The essence of it was the omnipotent feeling one often sees in adolescents.
Boundlessly lively and full of dreams, yet endlessly cruel and skeptical.
Terrified beyond measure, yet willing to consider death a friend if the purpose demanded it.
A fierce, fantastic omnipotence typical of that age, capable of captivating even those around them.
And the Nina who had just shown even a hint of that just now was a remarkable combination—an unstoppable omnipotence wrapped in the sweet appearance of a six-year-old child.
“Uncle?”
A young voice called out.
“…Go lie down. You’ve been reading nothing but spooky fairy tales, haven’t you? You can’t sleep alone because of that.”
“You read them too? Spooky?”
“Just lie down. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
Come to think of it, tomorrow was their date.
Nina obediently lay down as instructed.
As Ravian tucked her in, she stared at him with wide-open eyes, fascinated by his actions.
“Close your eyes and sleep.”
“I want to watch you leave first…”
“I’m not going anywhere until you fall asleep, so hurry and sleep.”
“Really?”
“….”
As Ravian’s eyebrows twitched, Nina quickly shut her eyes.
Soon, the lamp by the bed went out.
‘I wish it could be like this every day…’
Worried he might leave midway, Nina kept her ears perked while her eyes remained closed.
Before long, she drifted off to sleep.
Soft, rhythmic breathing filled the room.
Ravian perched on the chair by the bed, quietly observing her sleeping face.
It looked like a pure, happy child who had never known any pain.
All that had happened in the royal capital seemed almost like a mere daydream.
Yet it was reality, and the cruel daydream existed separately.
‘Spoiled brat.’
Mersy had called the daydream version of Nina a spoiled brat.
Ironically, Ravian knew one of the women closest to Nina who had once been just such a spoiled child—Diana.
But now, there was no one left in the world to indulge her whims.
Anna was dead, Ravian had left, and Leopold was never the type to properly indulge such things.
Whining only exists in a relationship of equals.
So what Diana did to Nina was not indulgence—it was unilateral destruction.
Diana had tried, in a cunning way, to break her own daughter.
To clip the wings of a child whose feathers hadn’t even fully grown and stuff her into a narrow, suffocating nest.
Ravian raised his hand to press on his throbbing forehead.
The image of Nina on the video screen came to mind, helplessly empty-eyed.
It was Diana who had projected her deceased sister onto the empty child, attempting to compensate for her own lack.
More than anger toward Leopold or anyone else, his anger toward Diana was the greatest.
Despite his raging anger, he had not acted impulsively, just as he had burned her letters.
He knew then, as now, exactly what Diana wanted most.
Ravian was the ultimate form of the reward Diana sought.
And he had no intention of ever becoming that for her.
But for Nina…
“…I can be anything.”
He muttered quietly as he gazed at the sleeping child.
The only truth was Nina’s laughter.
The thing Leopold had lost and Ravian had stumbled upon.
A smile so bright and radiant, like a dream, despite everything that had happened.
If he could keep that smile, he could become whatever Nina needed him to be.
Just as he had once been for Anna—perhaps even more resolutely now.
Unlike back then, when all he knew was how to give, now he could…
“What do I want right now…?”
As he whispered, he realized the answer had been clear from the start.
The question should have been different.
What did he want right now?
That was the most fundamental and decisive question.
In the still-dark early morning, Nina woke once again.
She didn’t know why this was happening today.
Was it because she was too excited? Or was it because the dream she’d briefly had earlier lingered?
She wasn’t exactly tired.
Wondering how much longer until morning, she turned toward the window.
And she saw Ravian.
He was sitting in the chair between the bed and the window, arms crossed, staring outside.
His profile, faintly illuminated by the moonlight, looked both contemplative and tired.
‘Has he been here all this time? I’ve been asleep for quite a while…’
Nina swallowed dryly.
Watching his troubled profile stirred a sudden pang of sympathy.
He must be exhausted from just returning from the royal capital, and whatever was troubling him, she wished she could help.
Perhaps he noticed her watching, because Ravian turned his head.
Their eyes met.
He blinked in slight surprise, then gave his characteristic small, smirking smile.
“What’s wrong?”
What else could it be? Nina thought, opening her mouth.
“Uncle.”
Unexpectedly, her voice quivered.
“You know, they say sleeping is the best when you have a headache.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yeah. So come here and lie down too.”
Nina suddenly sat up and grabbed Ravian’s arm.
Ravian’s face, rarely seen, showed a look of embarrassment.
“You want me to lie down with you?”
“Yes, the bed’s big anyway.”
“Hey, hey, wait, you might crush me and I could die!”
Her voice carried genuine fear.
Yet Nina ignored it, tugging his arm.
“Stop imagining nonsense. Why are you suddenly acting like ‘Kiss Uncle’?”
The mention of ‘kiss’ shocked Ravian into compliance, and he let himself be dragged onto the bed.
“Wait a minute…”
“It’s fine.”
Nina forced him toward the center of the bed and quickly rested her head on his arm.
“This way, I won’t get crushed, and you can sleep comfortably too.”
“….”
Her pale blue eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
Ravian, previously frozen in a comical expression, moved his other arm to cover her with the blanket.
“Good. Let’s see if this really works.”
Such a suspicious little girl.
Even so, Nina closed her eyes with a proud expression.
Her small crown of hair slipped into his embrace.
“Good night, Uncle.”
“…Good night, little one.”
The next morning.
Katya, who had spent the night in one of the penthouse bedrooms on the second floor, encountered Smoky on her way downstairs.
“Huh? What are you doing coming down?”
“Uncle Ravian told me to sleep upstairs last night. But what on earth was he doing all night?”
Smoky looked sad, lowering his head to fidget with his swollen right hand.
“Don’t even ask. I nearly died writing my reflection… Wait, so Nina slept alone last night?”
“I’m not sure. I’m about to check now…”
“What do you mean she slept alone?!”
