Chapter 31
“It’s my decision! What do you care if I go or not?!”
Katya’s sharp shout rang out loudly.
Ravian, who had been rubbing his forehead, clicked his tongue and opened his mouth.
“This whole district is mine. And that little brat is mine too.”
Katya, who had been desperately hiding the jewel in her hand, faltered and looked at Nina.
Nina glared fiercely at the gang member holding Katya by the shoulder.
“Let her go. You’re hurting her.”
The gang member glanced awkwardly between Nina and Ravian.
Ravian now growled directly at Nina.
“What are you doing here?”
“Huh?”
“I asked why you’re here.”
Feeling the tense atmosphere, Nina gulped dryly.
She hadn’t ruled out the possibility of being caught, but seeing Ravian so clearly angry threw her off.
‘Does he think I was trying to run away?’
Not even a speck of that had crossed her mind, but she couldn’t reveal the truth right now.
How on earth was she supposed to explain everything?
And clumsy lies would only make things worse.
Better to…
‘Yeah, it’s not like I have anything to feel guilty about. I wasn’t really trying to run.’
Having made up her mind, Nina crossed her arms and shouted confidently.
“I came here to see you!”
Silence fell for a moment.
Everyone, including the gang members and Katya, stared blankly at Nina, while Messy quickly covered her mouth with a hand to stifle a laugh.
Ravian, who had been silently staring down at Nina with her arms defiantly crossed, finally spoke after a long pause.
“Why?”
“Huh…? Because—because you broke your promise!”
“What promise?”
Ravian looked beyond dumbfounded at this point.
On the other hand, Nina grew even more fired up.
“You said you’d never leave me alone again! Liar.”
Come to think of it, even in her dream, Ravian had been a liar.
Feeling a sudden sting behind her nose, Nina glared at Ravian with a mixture of resentment.
A long silence followed, only broken by Messy’s awkward cough.
Ravian forced himself to ignore the dazed stares of his subordinates.
‘What the hell is this situation?’
His absinthe-colored eyes trembled in confusion.
He was no stranger to getting blamed by women, but being called a liar by a six-year-old kid? That was a new headache.
From Nina’s perspective, being left alone with a stranger might well have felt like being abandoned.
But it hadn’t been his fault.
‘Trusting that bastard in the first place was my mistake.’
Suppressing the urge to smash the culprit’s shameless face, Ravian cleared his throat.
Nina was still looking up at him triumphantly.
Her blue eyes shimmered with a complex emotion.
It wasn’t simple resentment or disappointment—it was something sad, tender, and painfully bittersweet.
Hard to define, but definitely not something you’d expect from a six-year-old.
There was a strange maturity in her gaze that made her seem unfamiliar all of a sudden.
For a split second, her appearance overlapped with the one he had seen in that strange vision or hallucination.
Ravian reflexively rubbed his eyes roughly.
And Nina misunderstood that action.
“Mister? What’s wrong? Are you crying?”
“…Yeah, yeah. I’m crying because I’m scared. Happy now?”
“Why are you scared?”
“A kid got mad at me and brought along a gang of her own. What is this, a child gang or something? Kids these days are terrifying.”
Not exactly the kind of words you’d expect from the boss of the continent’s worst gang.
Nina replied seriously.
“But I’m not even mad.”
“That’s what makes it scarier.”
“I mean it.”
“Yeah, yeah. Now get up. You shouldn’t be sitting on the cold ground like this.”
Nina was suddenly lifted into the air.
Grumbling, she wrapped her little arms around Ravian’s neck and gently rested her head on his shoulder.
Hearing the thump-thump of his heartbeat, the vibrant pulse of life, she felt an unexpected wave of relief.
She was thankful once again that he was safe and unharmed.
Katya, who had been watching silently with the gang members, suddenly spoke up.
“Can I go now?”
“Wait a sec, when did you two make up?”
Ravian glanced over at Katya as if he had just remembered.
“At the playground earlier. Katya helped us. Messy and I were building a sandcastle, and then this weird…”
Nina suddenly trailed off and glanced toward Katya.
Katya was desperately sending her a look that screamed “No, don’t!”
“Weird what?”
“Weird… guy came and begged to join us. But Katya came and chased him off.”
Ravian scowled at Nina’s obviously made-up story.
“What kind of freak… Hey, what’s wrong with the neighborhood these days? Aren’t you guys doing your jobs properly?”
“S-sorry, sir. Must be that crazy people crawl out with the new year.”
Coming from a gang that caused most of the chaos in the city, that was a bit ironic.
Nina felt sorry for the scolded gang members and slightly uncomfortable.
Katya, who looked equally displeased, spoke again.
“All good now? I’m leaving.”
“Katya—”
Nina didn’t even get a chance to stop her.
Katya turned on her heel and disappeared into the crowd at a surprisingly fast pace.
Is it really okay to let her go like that?
While Nina felt an inexplicable regret, Messy just clicked her tongue softly.
“She still took care of her in the end…”
“Well, it’s past bedtime anyway. You two head back now.”
At Ravian’s words, Nina blinked her big eyes.
“What about you?”
“I’ve still got work to do. I came out just to find you two. Ugh, what a hassle in the middle of the night.”
“…”
Nina closed her mouth, disheartened.
She doubted if it really was about work, but asking would be meaningless.
A short while later, Nina and Messy climbed into a private carriage Ravian had called—not a shared tram or a cap-wagon.
While Ravian helped Nina get seated, Messy jumped in by herself with ease.
“Go straight home. No detours.”
“You’re coming later, right?”
Ravian silently stared at Nina’s worried face, then turned his gaze and replied.
“If you behave. Now go.”
With that, the carriage door closed.
* * *
The place Nina and Messy returned to wasn’t the usual hideout or Ravian’s favorite townhouse.
It was the luxury hotel where Nina had once enjoyed a spa course.
To be precise—the penthouse floor of that hotel.
“Wow…”
As soon as they arrived, Nina looked around wide-eyed in awe.
The atmosphere was completely different from the townhouse, exuding its own unique charm.
The entire place was adorned with white marble and glass, with a ceiling so high you couldn’t see where it ended. All the walls were thick panes of glass.
Messy looked amused at how astonished Nina was.
“Looks like you like it.”
“I’ve never seen anything like this. Messy, have you been here before?”
“Yeah. The hotel belongs to Anubis, after all.”
“Oh, I see… So we’ll be staying here from now on?”
“Probably for a while. Come on, I’ll show you your room.”
The thick carpet laid over the marble floor was so soft it felt like their feet were sinking in.
As they strolled side by side, admiring the dazzling city nightscape beyond the glass walls, they soon reached a massive living room.
“Hm…?”
They both paused and stared blankly at the enormous leather couch placed right in the center of the extravagant living room.
