ITGS 03

Chapter 03

Turning her head naturally, she froze her expression even more rigidly as she saw a stranger standing quite close.

A straight forehead. A sculpted, straight nose. Dark eyebrows as if painted and deep-set eyes. A refined mouth with a faint smile. A tall frame, and strong, veined arms visible beneath his half-rolled shirt sleeves.

Anyone could be struck speechless by such an appearance, regardless of personal taste. And now her eyes met his.

The sheer visual impact made a lump of emotion buried deep in Ordelfia’s chest flutter.

“Uncle! Uncle! Look, it’s not just me!”

The child ran toward the man and clung to him, and he effortlessly lifted the small body with one arm.

Ordelfia, who had subconsciously noticed the thick, blue veins bulging on his arm, felt her chest suddenly stir and frowned as she lowered her head.

It was the first time she had felt her emotions stir at someone’s overwhelmingly handsome appearance. Even her mask-like, unbreakable expression had shown a tiny crack.

When her gaze finally fell on his polished, top-quality shoes rather than his face, her creased expression returned to its usual blankness.

“Uncle! Uncle!”

The child, clearly delighted to be with the man, clutched him tightly and kept calling out.

The man, aware that the child’s wriggling might cause him to slip from under his arm, did not adjust his hold.

After watching Ordelfia bow her head briefly, he quickly lost interest in her and turned his attention to the smiling child.

“Did you have fun?”

Though he seemed unconcerned about the child’s trembling small frame, his question was smooth and gentle.

Yet his voice was very low, almost resonating from deep within, and it gave Ordelfia goosebumps.

“No, not yet! I haven’t been to the secret place you told me about! That lady wouldn’t let me go alone!”

“Hmm?”

The child, emboldened by having an ally, pointed at Ordelfia and tattled.

Only then did the man turn his gaze back to her.

“Is this child’s uncle?”

Ordelfia, determined to ensure the child’s safety before leaving, asked, but the man did not answer.

Instead, his horizontally elongated eyes lingered on her unusually, studying her very slowly, very deliberately.

His gaze was so intense it felt almost like she was being dissected. Even her normally impenetrable expression showed a faint crack.

Already self-conscious about being slightly bigger-headed and uncomfortable with casual or accidental contact with others, Ordelfia found the situation even more awkward given his unusual reaction.

Still, the tiny fissure in her expression had vanished entirely, returning to perfect neutrality.

After what felt like an interminable moment of silence, Ordelfia finally spoke.

“What are you… doing right now—”

Before she could finish, a sharp, urgent high-pitched voice pierced her ears.

“Junior!”

Her eyes, previously locked on the man she had faced off with, automatically shifted to the voice.

“Ah, Arthur Junior!”

The woman who had spotted the child hurried forward. Her hair was messy, her face sweaty and shiny, and her voice cracked. Clearly, a parent frantically searching for a child who had vanished in a blink.

“Mom!”

Sure enough, the child raised both hands and ran toward her mother.

The mother collapsed into a crouch and hugged Arthur Junior tightly.

“Haa… haa… haa…”

Relieved to have finally found her child, the mother’s previously dark expression slowly regained color as she caught her breath.

“Mom, I can’t breathe.”

Junior whined, and she glared sharply.

“Where on earth have you been! Didn’t I tell you not to run off!”

“But—”

“But what? Don’t you dare say ‘but’! You’ll be in trouble when we get home.”

Junior pouted, but his mother was unmoved.

“I told you from the start to be careful, didn’t I?”

After a while of scolding, Junior’s round eyes brimmed with tears.

The mother brushed back his bangs, sighing in a complex mix of worry, anger, and relief.

“I was worried. Now let’s go to your father.”

“Eee…”

Sensing that his mother’s anger had mostly subsided, Junior shook his head and fidgeted, then suddenly looked at Ordelfia.

Following the child’s gaze, the mother’s and Ordelfia’s eyes met.

“Oh, um… oh my…”

Arthur Junior’s mother, realizing Ordelfia’s presence, stared wide-eyed at her, noticing her childlike resemblance.

Ordelfia gave a polite, unobtrusive bow and spoke.

“Hello. Are you the child’s mother?”

It was less a question than an opening for conversation.

“Yes. I’m Arthur Junior’s mother, from the Crank family. But may I ask who you are?”

Though a bit disheveled from hiding from the monster that appeared with the fire alarm, her neat appearance indicated she was calm, and she did not feel threatened by Ordelfia despite having been with her lost child.

“I met Arthur Junior Crank by chance. We just happened to cross paths.”

Ordelfia avoided mentioning the bizarre events she had experienced. She might not be believed, and even if she were, she had no desire to relive the unpleasant and terrifying experience.

Instead, she focused on the current situation—the child’s safety.

“I was just about to head to the reception desk, since I heard you were with the child.”

Ordelfia paused briefly, then closed her mouth. She didn’t need to introduce herself as the new owner of the hotel. She had only just stepped into the lobby, and making a show of authority would not look good.

Had anything happened to Junior, she would have clarified her position, but since the child was safely back in his parents’ care…

“Ah, thank you for staying with Junior.”

Mrs. Crank lowered her head, expressing gratitude while gently patting the child’s unharmed, chubby cheek.

Seeing the sincerity in her gesture, Ordelfia shook her head.

“No, I didn’t do much. It was actually the child’s uncle who calmed him down…”

She trailed off, noticing a change in the woman’s expression.

After a brief silence, Mrs. Crank awkwardly smiled.

“Uncle? Oh, did you come with someone? The child likes people and often gives friendly titles to those he meets for the first time. I hope I’m not being rude.”

“No, he’s not my companion. The child called him ‘uncle.’”

Junior, catching Ordelfia’s gaze, blinked and then turned his face into his mother’s skirt as if uninterested.

Ordelfia felt slightly embarrassed by Junior’s reaction, but she did not show it. She had long been used to suppressing her emotions.

Mrs. Crank muttered somewhat reluctantly, “Junior doesn’t have an uncle.”

“Not that he didn’t come with him—he simply doesn’t have one.”

“…I see.”

An uncomfortable silence far more tense than before stretched between them.

“Mom, I want to see Dad.”

Junior’s pleading voice broke the suffocating quiet. Mrs. Crank quickly grabbed his hand and bowed slightly.

“Thank you. We’ll go ahead.”

Unlike before, her eyes toward Ordelfia were filled with doubt and unease.

“Ah… yes.”