Chapter 84
“What the…?”
Why am I suddenly crying?
It’s not like anything sad happened. I barely even remember what I dreamed about…
“I’m sorry!”
Katia suddenly clasped her hands and shouted toward Nina, who looked confused.
“Huh?”
“I’m really sorry! I didn’t mean to hide it on purpose—Baldy said he’d throw a fit if I told you, so I just…”
“Katia, what were you trying not to hide?”
When Nina asked seriously, Katia flinched, glanced around nervously, then mumbled back.
“The visit notice.”
The visit notice that had apparently arrived the previous evening was from Cheshire.
As expected of a crime boss, Cheshire had sent a very polite formal notice. Its contents were:
[To. Princess of Anubis.
Tomorrow at 2 PM. Please remember our Parfait Rendezvous.]
And Keith’s reaction upon reading it was exactly as Smoky had predicted.
“That kudzu-root demon king thinks he can pull that crap on us?!”
Rip! Rip!
The elegant blue postcard, covered in graceful handwriting, was instantly reduced to glitter-sized dust by Keith’s hands.
Nina stared at him in shock.
“Why did you just shred a postcard that was sent to ME, huh?”
“W-Wha? I didn’t shred it.”
“Then what did you do?”
“I-It was a ✨festive confetti parade✨. It’s a western carnival tradition to tear up letters like that when greeting someone! Hahaha!”
Messi and Katia stared at Keith with the deadest expressions imaginable.
Rather than argue further, Nina glanced at the wall clock and turned away.
“Anyway, I’d better go get ready.”
The three of them silently watched Nina trot off toward her room.
Then Keith slumped to the floor, face crumbling.
“…What do we do? Our baby’s having an affair…”
“How is that an affair?”
“Of course it is! How could she leave us and secretly schedule a parfait date alone with that kudzu-root demon king?! What kind of line did that bastard feed her?! This is all the boss’s fault!”
Keith’s reasoning made absolutely no sense.
Still, Katia scratched her head anxiously and turned to Messi.
“Shouldn’t we stop her? That guy’s got a pretty bad reputation.”
“Not as bad as Lavian’s.”
“Well… yeah, but…”
“Besides, if Cheshire’s alone, it’s fine. He’s not the type to cause trouble here. …Unless that crybaby brat came with him.”
Messi added dryly. Katia’s eyes sparkled.
“Oho?”
“What.”
“You are bothered, aren’t you?”
“What are you talking about?”
Messi blinked like she had spoken nonsense.
Katia grinned wickedly.
“That boy Den. You’re bothered ’cause Nina seems to like him, huh?”
“How would you know whether Nina likes him or not?”
“See?! See?! You are—pff—”
“Hey, you brats—!”
Keith suddenly grabbed them both in a double headlock from behind. Katia burst out laughing before choking.
“Ugh, what are you doing?!”
“You smell like old man sweat!”
They immediately shoved him off, but Keith puffed up proudly.
“This won’t do! Our precious baby has run off with a mere kudzu-root boytoy—are we supposed to sit still?! HUH?!”
“Wow, sudden initiative. So what do you plan to do?” Messi asked dryly.
Keith planted his fists on his hips and declared solemnly:
“We—shall perform a covert mission.”
“…You mean tail them.”
* * *
When a six-year-old princess, currently being held hostage in a gang hideout, goes on a “date(?)” with the rival gang boss… what level of preparation is appropriate?
She thought she didn’t need to care… Yet for some reason, she kept changing clothes, one after another, until it was nearly time.
“Aaagh!”
“Nina? What are you looking for?”
“My headband—! Oh, thanks!”
Barely finishing her grooming, Nina hurried out of the penthouse.
Günther and the fake security team escorted her down to the lobby.
Cheshire was already waiting inside the lounge, quietly sipping coffee.
It looked exactly like a scene straight out of a theater poster titled The Hotel of the Serial Killer.
What made it worse—the coffee Cheshire was drinking wasn’t a sophisticated espresso like Lavian would have, but an iced latte loaded with sugar and ice.
Sure, Lohas was warmer than the East… but it was still chilly season.
Everyone else needed coats, yet Cheshire sat there crunching ice like a psychopath.
‘He’s not planning to chew me like that… right?’
Even an average adult would’ve bolted at the sight, let alone a child. Nina was slightly scared, but she boldly called out:
“Hey, mister!”
Several heads—including the fake guards—turned toward her.
Feeling awkward, she tried again.
“Mister Cheshire!”
He paused mid-ice-crunch and turned toward her.
Still terrifying.
‘Maybe he’s angry I’m late, so he’s taking it out on the ice…’
Assuming that, she let go of Günther’s hand and jogged toward Cheshire.
Günther’s eyes trembled like an earthquake.
“Sorry for being late! Did you wait long?”
Cheshire tilted his head, looking puzzled.
“Nah, I just got here too.”
“But still—”
“More importantly, you look even cuter up close. Why are you so pretty today?”
With his gentle smile and fond gaze, Nina’s cheeks flushed.
She’d heard people call her cute before, but everyone here was so loud and playful—it felt completely different when Cheshire said it.
“You look really cool today too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah!”
“As cool as Lavian?”
“Uhmmm…”
Nina made a serious thinking face.
Cheshire snorted, amused, then addressed the disguised Anubis guards.
“Thanks. I’ll return her safely, so go on. People are staring.”
“See you later, guys!” Nina waved.
Günther and the fake security glared daggers at Cheshire but had no choice except to leave.
Cheshire looked down at Nina, eyes gleaming mischievously.
“Actually, Den wanted to come too.”
“Oh…”
“But when I said no, he sulked.”
Nina had trouble imagining Den sulking.
She asked carefully:
“Can I play with Den again next time?”
“We’d love that. Shall we go? It’s not our usual turf, but I found a decent parfait place nearby.”
“So… we’re going outside the hotel?”
“There’s nowhere in here that serves proper parfait. It’s close though, don’t worry.”
Cheshire was dead serious… about parfait.
Holding his hand as they headed out of the lobby, Nina suddenly froze.
“…Huh?!”
“What’s wrong? Did you forget something?”
Still gripping his fingers, she stared at their linked hands in disbelief, then asked:
“Mister, how tall are you?”
“Me? Lemme see… Last I measured, 197 cm?”
Nina’s jaw dropped.
He was tall!
Probably around Lavian’s height—or maybe even a bit taller. Which meant…
“Mister! I think I grew taller!”
Sure, she wore shoes with a bit of heel today, but still—if she could reach Cheshire’s hand that easily…
“I got taller!!”
