The Princess’s Glamorous Kidnapping – Chapter 36
The desperate cry in her head kept denying it, but when she checked the date, it really was today’s paper.
Nina’s hands trembled as she opened the newspaper and read the huge front-page headline.
[Hameln’s Postcard: Missing Fingernails and a Left-Behind Letter]
“Nina, what’s wrong?”
“You idiot— Huh? What happened?”
“You’re annoyingly similar to… wait, baby, what’s wrong?!”
Not only Merci, but Smoky and Kiss—who had just returned to their seats—looked at her in puzzlement.
But Nina didn’t reply.
She wasn’t in any state to.
“What is this?”
Merci stepped closer, took the newspaper from Nina’s hands, and stared at it with a hard expression.
Kiss and Smoky, peering over with confused faces, also began to stiffen.
“This lunatic… If he was going to send her back, he should’ve done it quietly. Who does something like this to a kid…?”
“Look at how these guys chose the headline… Hey, the kid looks shaken up. What do we do? Hey, little Merci’s brother, you shouldn’t look either!”
The voices buzzing around her felt like they were reverberating inside her ears. Nina swallowed hard.
Her blood turned cold, and only one question echoed in her mind.
Why?
Why already? Why so soon?
Why now, of all times?
She must have had that dream for a reason.
The one from right before her mother handed her over to Hameln.
—I told you I’d come back for you.
A vivid sensation, like her throat being squeezed, washed over Nina.
* * *
It’s okay, Mister.
Nina said.
She was looking up at him with a smile.
It seemed childishly innocent, yet oddly cold.
With that strange smile, Nina raised one small hand.
A hand like a tiny leaf, fragile like a butterfly yet without a blemish—she spread it open once in front of his eyes, then gently set it down on the table.
And she said:
It’s okay, so go ahead. I want you to do it.
Lavian had no idea what she meant.
Even as he failed to understand, his instincts screamed in protest, desperately rejecting the idea.
“Hurry. It’s an imperial order.”
Nina’s voice was playful as she urged him.
No, absolutely not. Never. Who gave you the right to—
The playfulness faded from her face.
If you don’t do it—
Her eyes, fixed on him, looked sad.
Sad, and desperate—almost obsessive. Something inside those blue eyes glittered with that feeling.
—then I’ll… have no choice.
No. I’ll never let you…
“Lavi, Lavi? Hey.”
The slender voice pulled him back, and Lavian slowly yet sharply came to his senses.
A hand was brushing away the hair on his forehead.
It was Jenny’s.
“Wow, you must’ve been really tired. You actually fell asleep like that.”
“You add something to it?”
Lavian groaned, frowning.
Unbelievable—falling asleep after drinking coffee.
And to think he’d be pestered by her even in his dreams.
Was it even a dream?
He couldn’t say for certain.
He’d been seeing things for days whenever he had a moment to himself, to the point he could barely tell what was real anymore.
Where am I again?
As he cracked open his eyes, the interior came into view.
The café was dim and cozy, the curtains still drawn since it was before opening hours.
Jenny looked down at him lying with his head on her thigh and gave him a mischievous smile.
“Even the great Lavian can’t handle childcare, huh?”
“That’s not it, so shut up, will you…?”
“Really? Word is you’ve been going around with some kid. That girl I saw with you at the bar last time, right?”
“Why don’t you mind your own business? Tsk, the curse of being popular.”
He shot back in a mocking tone and sat up.
Even after that short nap, the fatigue hadn’t lifted—if anything, his head ached more.
As he reached over the table for his cigarettes, his hand brushed against a pile of papers.
“What the hell is this?”
“Morning paper, duh.”
“You read the paper?”
“It was the only thing here. I was killing time while you were asleep, but it just ruined my mood—killed my appetite…”
“Something killed your appetite more than your drinking habits?”
Jenny glared at him while he lit his cigarette with a smirk.
She had taken off her heavy coat, now only wearing a light blouse and petticoat.
“So what are you going to do for the festival this time?”
“What festival…? Oh, right, I told you earlier I’m going to the capital.”
“You said the water there’s even worse than here, so why keep going?”
“To find out just how bad it is, obviously.”
“Anyway, you said you’d be back quickly this time.”
Had he said that?
Still feeling dazed, Lavian puffed his cigarette as Jenny clung to his back.
“Don’t touch my shoulder.”
“Hey, I didn’t even touch it. You’re so annoyingly sensitive.”
“Takes one to know one.”
“I’m still better than you. Anyway, what about the rest of the festival after you come back from the capital?”
“I dunno. I’m not in the mood to think about that crap.”
His tone was casual, but he meant it.
Through the haze of violet smoke, the morning paper tossed carelessly on the table caught his eye.
Something about Hameln…
Come to think of it, she mentioned Hameln on the first day.
He hated how often his thoughts drifted to Nina, even here. But it was something he couldn’t help—like a force of nature.
Is this what they call parental burnout or something?
To make matters worse, Jenny was proving useless in distracting him.
“So where’s that kid’s mom?”
Why did this woman also feel the need to bring up Nina?
Lavian suddenly found himself pondering a theory—parental burnout might be contagious.
“Ask Merci.”
“She’s really Merci’s little sister? Be honest, who’s her mom? Is she alive?”
His red eyebrows twitched.
Jenny’s transparent probing was starting to grate on his nerves.
It had been better when she teased him outright about being tied down; this cautious, testing approach was painfully dull.
Lavian already knew plenty of people had been rattled by the “kid incident” yesterday.
Rumors about illegitimate children had always circulated whenever boredom struck, so there was nothing new to hide from.
In fact, stirring the pot with more ridiculous speculation might actually make it easier to keep Nina’s true identity hidden.
But that didn’t mean his views on relationships had changed.
“Tch, no fun.”
Jenny instantly realized she’d slipped.
She knew exactly what made Lavian lose interest in someone, and yet she’d let her real thoughts show.
“Hey, why so serious? I was just messing with you. I was curious, that’s all. Word is you and a kid—two things you can’t stand—were eating cotton candy together, so I wondered.”
Quick to change the mood, Jenny stroked his back and kept talking.
“And I thought maybe I could help. Want me to introduce someone who’d be good at babysitting?”
“Are you crazy? Like I’d take your recommendation.”
“Wow, bite someone for trying to help, why don’t you?”
“I don’t need your help. I’m not dumping her on someone else.”
