Chapter 60
“Why would you feed something like that to a kid?!”
“Oh, come on, what did I do? I told you not to, remember?”
Even though Kis was openly rebelling, smacking the back of his boss as if he were nothing, Rabian just laughed, finding it all far too amusing, and signaled the staff.
He meant for them to bring out the kids’ meal set and some milk he had ordered in advance.
After gulping down the milk, Nina still looked dazed. Rabian pressed a napkin to her face.
“Here, blow your nose. Hmph.”
While Nina obediently blew her nose, the atmosphere at the table oddly grew heavy.
“See? That’s what you get for being stubborn.”
“It’s… it’s too hot…”
“Enough. You need some fresh air. Move.”
Kis yielded his seat without protest.
When Rabian took Nina outside, silence fell over those left behind.
Of course, it didn’t last long.
“I knew it. I knew that bastard would pull something like this.”
Kis and Katya both stared blankly at Ditte.
“…What are you talking about?”
“You fools! Isn’t it obvious? That wicked man’s plan is to sneak off with sweet little Nina all to himself!”
“…Let’s just eat.”
Outside, Nina sat on a bench by the restaurant, trying to catch her breath.
The dry, cool air cleared away some of the burning sensation still coursing through her.
Rabian chewed the unlit end of a cigarette, smiling irritatingly.
“Feeling better now?”
“…Why are you fine, mister? Didn’t you find it spicy?”
“Mm, nope. I’m an adult, so things like that don’t bother me.”
His smug tone made Nina shoot him a frosty glare.
“Even if you’re an adult, that kind of thing still isn’t good for you.”
She was talking about the cigarette.
“So what? It’s my body.”
“Still… don’t smoke too much.”
Rabian squinted slightly.
Who was the reason he hadn’t even lit the cigarette in the first place? And now she was nagging him?
As the man who’d been disowned by the great Emperor himself, Rabian could never stand being lectured by anyone.
Even his doting grandfather, who had loved him dearly, often ended up clutching his chest, muttering, “That boy will be the death of me…”
If even parents and grandparents had given up on him, why would he ever listen to anyone else?
Friends, lovers—especially women pretending to care, putting on airs of worry—only ever made him laugh.
“I don’t care. I decide how to live my life.”
Nina fired back in the same playful tone:
“It’s an imperial command.”
“…See? A tyrant in the making.”
Clicking his tongue, Rabian tossed the cigarette into a trash bin.
If it had been anyone else mouthing off to him like that, they would have been crying before long. Nina had no idea.
Yet instead of being annoyed, Rabian felt strangely unsettled.
It was as though… he’d had this conversation before.
“Quickly now. I said it’s an imperial command.”
A bittersweet, mischievous voice rang clear in his head.
And along with it, a smile—tender and cruel all at once.
Like a forgotten memory fragment abruptly resurfacing, a dreadful vision overlapped perfectly with Nina’s small figure before him.
Rabian froze on the spot.
Smiling like that, you had said…
“I… to you…”
Meanwhile, Nina completely misread his expression.
“I was just joking. I just… didn’t want you doing unhealthy stuff, mister—”
“…Don’t you start that.”
“Huh?”
As Nina stared at him in confusion, Rabian fought to shake off the stubborn memories clinging to him and forced the words out.
“You, don’t go doing reckless things. You’re still just a kid.”
“I didn’t do anything…”
“Really? Skipping meals is bad for you. Brushing your teeth for hours? Of course that’s bad. And when you were sick, guzzling that silly Sally Juice on your own? That was even worse.”
“…”
Nina froze, dumbstruck.
Never mind how he knew all the silly things she’d done the past few days because she thought she had cavities—but she hadn’t expected him to bring up the Sally Juice incident at all.
She thought he had forgotten it.
She thought he’d brushed it off as a child’s ignorant mistake.
But why then…?
Rabian lowered his head, ran a rough hand through his red hair, then muttered almost like a sigh:
“Whatever it is, don’t think about it all alone. Don’t decide things all by yourself.”
Nina swallowed dryly.
Was that just his way of telling her not to be troublesome?
If so, then that was fine…
“Okay.”
“You’ve got something you’ve been wanting to ask me, don’t you?”
“…Yeah.”
“Then ask.”
Nina hesitated for just a moment, then asked honestly:
“Mister, when are you going to the capital? And… when will you be back?”
As he’d expected. Rabian gave a wry smile.
Expected or not, it was still surprising.
No matter how unhappy a child might be with their family, they would normally be wondering by now how their parents were doing without them.
At the very least, she should be worrying about how distraught they must be, with her gone all of a sudden.
But Nina didn’t seem to care at all.
Not pretending not to care—she truly, completely didn’t.
“I won’t be long.”
“How long is not long?”
“About two weeks.”
He had business in Hameln to investigate, plus other matters involving Nina. It would normally take several weeks, but he planned to push through and come back quickly.
There were more than enough people to watch over Nina while he was gone, but even so, he didn’t feel at ease.
He couldn’t even explain why.
Nina, of course, looked doubtful of his definition of “not long.”
“That’s your idea of soon?”
“Going all the way to the capital and back, two weeks is soon. I’m not going there to play around. I’ll finish as fast as I can, okay?”
“…”
“What’s wrong?”
Nina dropped her head miserably.
She understood in her head, but the thought of being apart for two whole weeks made her chest ache.
Rabian studied her small form for a while, then added lightly:
“Why so down? It’s not like I can take a kid along with me.”
“…”
“I’ll bring back a present.”
Nina said nothing.
Presents didn’t matter.
She knew it was impossible for her to go with him.
She knew Messie and Katya would be there, so she wouldn’t be lonely.
And yet… she already felt lonely.
More so than on her birthday, when she had sat alone in the First Princess’ Palace, waiting endlessly for her father to come.
Then Rabian knelt down in front of her feet.
“Hey, kid. Look at me.”
“…”
“Kid.”
Nina slowly raised her eyes, and their gazes locked.
Above the deep green of the forest stretched a clear blue sky.
Meeting her eyes, Rabian spoke steadily.
“Seems the others blabbed a bit, but I was planning to tell you myself today anyway.”
His voice sounded almost like an explanation. Nina blinked.
Was that true? Still, something in her chest loosened, a tightly bound knot unraveling.
“You know why I’m going, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“I’ll be back before the Carnival ends.”
“Really…?”
“Really. But before I go, I want you to promise me one thing.”
She couldn’t guess what it was.
To wait patiently?
To listen to the others?
But then his words were nothing like what she expected.
“Promise me… that you’ll believe in me.”
