Chapter 70
“Nessie, hey… why did all the Lycas disappear?”
“Well… maybe they couldn’t adapt to the world. They were crossbreeds humans forced into existence in the first place, so there must’ve been plenty of problems with them.”
Nessie’s voice was calm.
Even so, Nina couldn’t hide the unease rising within her.
She thought it might be too much of a leap, but what if…?
At that moment—
“Well, look at this. A bunch of country bumpkins parading in.”
From within the crowd, a mocking voice rang out.
Lisa and Günter instantly moved, surrounding the children protectively, while the three top executives suddenly stepped forward with serious expressions.
“What’s this? Just some wildcats? Want me to squeeze some juice out of you for old time’s sake?”
At Keith’s taunt, Ferry’s face flushed red and purple with fury.
The second-in-command of the Lynxes began raging, looking ready to tear Keith to pieces on the spot.
“Stupid brat! How many times have I told you to study?! Lynxes are officially recognized as feline predators by the Empire since its founding! Their fur is usually gray-brown, body length about 45–55cm, tail about 25–32cm, and—”
He began spouting out the encyclopedia definition of lynxes without taking a breath, leaving the three girls gaping at him in stunned silence.
Nessie sighed, holding her head.
“Should’ve just gone with ‘cat’ instead…”
“Hah, got it now?! Put that properly in your thick skull!”
“Yeah, got it. Bramble.”
“Arghhh!”
Foaming at the mouth, Ferry lunged at Keith, but someone tapped his shoulder.
“Cut it out. You’re embarrassing yourself in front of the kids.”
“But boss…! They keep—”
“I see a girl over there. Keep it up and you’ll get your face smashed in by Lavi again, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Sm—smashed?! That time I was caught off guard! That arrogant brat who struts around just because of his bloodline is nothing more than a punch to me!”
“Really? If that’s true, then I must be just a punch to you too?”
Ferry instantly fell silent.
Cheshire, as if expecting this, patted his shoulder once before stepping closer to Anubis’s group.
“Hey, our Ferry was out of line. He’s just overly loyal, hope you’ll understand.”
If the opposing boss himself went this far, then proper gang etiquette demanded they respond in kind.
Keith and Smoky gave respectful nods, but Mira snorted, blowing off such courtesies like they were trash.
“Nice excuse for an apology. Grinning like an idiot—what kind of apology is that?”
“Sorry. I just have one of those faces. But wow, Mira, you’re getting prettier by the day.”
“Wh–what the hell do you think you’re pulling?!”
“You started with the evaluation first.”
Cheshire replied smoothly, then suddenly turned his gaze toward the children.
“Hm? Confusing…”
“Uuhhh…”
A small whimper escaped.
It was Charlotte.
Even Katya and Nina, who were a bit more accustomed to rough-looking thugs, were as terrified and frozen as Charlotte.
This wasn’t just a scary-looking guy—it was something else entirely.
So scary…!
He was nearly two meters tall, with slicked-back sky-blue hair, pale lemon eyes like a reptile’s, piercings around his mouth that made it look as though his lips had been split, and the final touch—a lollipop hanging from his mouth.
He looked exactly like a psycho killer from a horror film, smiling while slaughtering people.
But the man responsible for their terror seemed utterly clueless about why the girls were so frightened.
“Ahh, I see now. It must be her.”
Muttering to himself, Cheshire stepped closer to Günter.
“Mind moving aside? I’ve been wanting to meet this one for a while.”
Günter stood firm in front of Nina, unmoving.
Then Keith let out a roar, like a mother bear ready to protect her cub.
“What business do you have with our baby?!”
“Our baby…? Wait. Don’t tell me Nina’s your kid, Keith?”
“That’s right!”
Keith’s shameless declaration froze everyone in stunned silence.
Mira ended it by smacking Keith on the head mercilessly.
“Think about it. Do you really think that idiot even knows how babies are made?”
“Fair point.”
With Smoky’s half-explanation, Cheshire let go of his misunderstanding at once.
“So anyway, what about our Nina?”
“So her name is Nina, huh. I met Lavi a while back—he wouldn’t shut up bragging about her. I like kids, so I got curious. Wanted to see just how cute she really was.”
“…The boss said that?”
“Yeah.”
“…”
“Is that a problem?”
Smoky still looked doubtful, but nevertheless gave Günter a glance to move aside.
Günter still didn’t budge.
That set Smoky off.
“You insolent brat! Know your place!”
“He’s just standing there because Nina’s scared, you fool. Don’t you know better at your age?”
For once, Nessie took Günter’s side, silencing Smoky with that cutting remark.
At that moment, Nina peeked out from behind Günter’s leg and looked up at Cheshire.
“…Is it true?”
“Hm?”
“Did Uncle Lavi really… talk about me?”
“Of course! I even asked him to bring you along to play with my son. And would you believe it, he flipped the table over!”
Strictly speaking, it had been a parfait dish, not a table, but neither Ferry nor Nessie bothered to correct him.
Nina hesitated a moment, then glanced up at Günter, giving him a small look that said it was okay.
Cheshire’s looks were scary, but if he was close to Rabian, then he probably wasn’t bad.
When Günter finally stepped aside, Cheshire crouched down to Nina’s level.
It was a natural, practiced gesture—like someone used to dealing with kids.
Nina nervously met his gaze.
Up close, he wasn’t nearly as scary as before.
He didn’t look like Rabian, but the aura he gave off was strangely similar: unrefined ferocity, the kind of cruel wildness of a predator.
And yet this man, cloaked in such a savage air, softened his eyes kindly as he spoke to her.
“Now I see why he acted that way. You really are every bit as adorable as the rumors say, little miss.”
Nina felt embarrassed, hugging her doll tighter as she asked,
“Do you have a son, mister?”
“Yeah. Not as cute as you, but still a pretty cute kid.”
“Where is he? Didn’t he come with you?”
“He did. He’s right over there. Want to ask him for a candy?”
Cheshire grinned and pointed toward a nearby stall.
It was one selling handmade festival-limited candies.
Nina frowned slightly at the sight of the burly man sitting behind the counter.
“How old are you… mister?”
“Me? Let’s see… thirty-two.”
“Then how old were you when you had your son?”
Nina asked with such deadly seriousness that even Ferry stifled laughter.
Everyone else snickered, and Cheshire finally realized his mistake, scratching his head.
“Ah, that kid’s just one of my men.”
“Oh…”
“Den, give our cute guest here a candy, will you? She’s a friend, don’t worry.”
Cheshire called out to the stallkeeper while leading Nina closer.
Then he winked down at her.
“He’s really shy, you see.”
A moment later, someone lifted their head from behind the counter.
“…Hi.”
The sweet, melodic voice made Nina blink in disbelief.
A pale, almost white face, lips so red they stood out starkly, jet-black hair tied back, and long silver eyes slanting downward—
If she hadn’t been told beforehand, she would’ve thought he was a girl. The boy’s features were that beautiful.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Nina.”
