Chapter 12
This café, with its stunning ocean view, was one of the businesses run by the Anubis organization.
Its pleasant atmosphere and decent coffee made it a spot even the executives visited from time to time.
‘What the hell am I doing right now?’
Swallowing a rising sigh, Rabian pushed open the café door.
Ting-a-ling.
At the sound of the bell, Nina whipped her golden head around.
“Uncle!”
Her bright blue eyes lit up like lanterns.
It was as if she had been desperately waiting for him.
Rabian grumbled for no reason.
“Why haven’t you eaten that yet?”
“I was waiting to eat it with you.”
Nina answered without hesitation. Despite looking pale and weak from being sick for two days, she seemed oddly excited.
‘Now what kind of scheme is this?’
Suppressing the habitual urge to make a snide remark, Rabian gestured to a staff member.
“Clear this and bring a fresh one. With the full set.”
“Huh? Why clear it…”
“Why? Because it’s gone completely cold. Unless… do you not like this stuff?”
Nina shook her head vigorously.
Of course she didn’t dislike it. She’d eat it any day—if she had the chance.
Besides, all she’d had during her illness was honey water and consommé, so she was very hungry.
Even so, she had waited just for Rabian to come. Fighting the urge to dig in immediately, she held herself back.
“Here’s your brunch set.”
A staff member in a neat blue uniform approached carrying a large tray.
As the table was set with soft, sweet-smelling soufflé, colorful macaron cupcakes, and cocoa topped with snowy white marshmallows, Nina’s eyes widened in awe.
Rabian misunderstood the look on her face.
“Surprised there’s no lobster?”
“Huh?”
“…Forget it. Just eat.”
Rabian bit the end of an unlit cigarette and began chewing it slowly.
There was no need to bring along a kid who had just recovered from a fever on a negotiation trip about raising the tithes at the Transparent Temple.
Though there were several reasons he brought her here, the biggest was finding out—after the fact—what kind of meal the idiotic executives had served her on the first day.
‘I’ve never felt so humiliated in my life.’
Rabian, who firmly believed that the boss’s mistake was the subordinates’ responsibility—and vice versa—was now feeling enough self-loathing to make tears spring to his eyes.
He wouldn’t blame the kid if she looked down on them.
“Aren’t you eating, Uncle?”
“Nope. Just watching my baby eat makes me full.”
Rabian, saying something he didn’t mean at all, tossed the mangled cigarette onto the floor.
He was seriously starting to think about quitting smoking.
His head felt fuzzy—whether from nicotine withdrawal or because he’d been bewitched by this fox, he couldn’t say.
He should’ve asked the High Priest of the Transparent Temple for a talisman or something earlier.
Rabian stared gloomily out the glass wall.
The weather was fantastic.
The sea was calm, the sky clear, and across from the dock, the shopping streets bustled with crowds.
It was the perfect day for a date with that beautiful aspiring actress he’d recently met, maybe hang around till sunset and stop by a bar…
But the woman sitting across from him wasn’t a seductive actress or a noble lady loosening her hair for dramatic effect.
“Hwaa…”
At the soft exclamation, Rabian turned to face the six-year-old lady across from him.
“This is so delicious…”
Her round blue eyes sparkled like glass marbles, looking just like a kitten tasting whipped cream for the first time.
‘Now that’s what a child should look like.’
As Rabian watched with a rare fondness, Nina carefully lifted the cocoa cup with her tiny hands, no bigger than leaves.
Then, another delighted exclamation burst out.
“Wow, this is really yummy!”
“Is that so.”
“It’s really good. You should try it, Uncle!”
Startled as Nina suddenly thrust the cup toward him, Rabian flinched.
“Hey—don’t hand me something you’ve slobbered all over… Ahem, I mean, I don’t like sweets. You go ahead and enjoy it.”
“Why don’t you like them?”
“Because… I’ll gain weight. Slim fit’s the trend nowadays, y’know?”
Nina’s jaw dropped at his offhand comment.
Her blue eyes suddenly took on a serious tone.
“You… you worry about that kind of stuff?”
“Being popular doesn’t come easy, kiddo.”
Nina silently put down the cup and folded her hands neatly in her lap.
She stared solemnly at the feast in front of her.
The sparkle from just moments ago had vanished without a trace.
“What’s wrong now? Something fall in your cup?”
Puzzled, Rabian picked up the cocoa to check, but no matter how much he looked, there wasn’t a single bug.
Just in case, he was about to ask a staff member to bring a new cup when Nina hastily stopped him.
“It’s not that.”
“Then what?”
Nina hesitated for a moment, looking very unlike her usual bold self.
“Hey, what is it? Are you sulking again?”
“When did I ever say I was sulking?!”
“See? You are sulking. Is it because I didn’t drink when you told me to?”
“No! Do you think I’m a kid or something?!”
Ironically, her immediate outburst was the most childlike thing she’d done.
Just as Rabian was about to tease her,
“I just… don’t want to get fat!”
Rabian nearly fell out of his chair in front of the innocent staff.
So this is what they mean when they say you can’t even drink cold water in front of a kid…
The revelation hit him hard, making his head buzz and hands tremble.
“What’s this tiny thing even talking about…”
“But you said the same thing just now!”
“Are you and I the same? Look at this brat acting like she’s on my level.”
“It’s not like that. It’s just… Mother said eating sweets makes you fat—”
“Diana said that? Why? Is she on a diet? She used to say she’d bite her tongue and die before gaining weight.”
Rabian casually spoke about the Empress, but Nina couldn’t bring herself to scold him for it.
“She told you that?”
“It was a long time ago. Anyway, what does her dieting have to do with you?”
“Not her—me. She said I shouldn’t get fat.”
Nina mumbled awkwardly, lowering her head in a sullen manner.
Rabian now looked like he was seriously doubting his own ears.
“Hey, kid.”
“Mm?”
“Is your mom… sick or something? Like senile? Or just going blind?”
“……”
Even the elusive Transparent Dragon wouldn’t dare gossip about someone’s mom, but Rabian was honestly concerned.
“…I don’t really know if she’s sick or not.”
A child not even knowing her own mother’s condition—that wasn’t normal either.
Could there be a more dysfunctional pairing of kidnapper and hostage?
But it wasn’t Nina’s fault that she rarely saw her family, let alone knew their wellbeing.
“Your little sister didn’t seem worried about anything, though.”
Rabian muttered, recalling the emperor’s family and the second princess during his last visit to the palace.
Specifically, her grotesque “gingerbread house” monstrosity.
“She’s younger than me. Even if she’s chubby, she’s still cute.”
Nina mumbled in a defeated voice.
She had long felt the difference between herself and Estella—that she had no real place among her family.
She had simply tried to deny it.
At least until she saw the future…
‘Mother doesn’t love me. Neither does Father.’
So she’d stopped trying to earn it.
Because now, Nina didn’t love them either.
As she braced her heart with that resolve, a bitter smile—unbefitting of a child—crept across her lips.
Rabian, watching that face silently, felt his gaze grow cold.
If this was all for the sake of overprotection, wasn’t it going way too far?
It really was outrageous.
