ITBF 03

Chapter 03

Mina’s voice and volume were so incredible that they sent chills throughout the entire body.

When Mina finished singing, the handful of guests applauded. Before she knew it, Talassa had joined them in applauding as well.

“Peto, does your daughter always sing that well? I haven’t seen that many performances, but she’s incredibly good.”

“Hahaha, I’ve heard her sing often since she was young. Since she’s my daughter, I naturally thought her voice sounded good to me, but I didn’t realize other people’s ears would feel the same way.”

Peto merely laughed heartily.

Mina returned to her seat with an embarrassed expression, while Radiius still had that completely unhinged look in his eyes.

The rest of the meal proceeded without much change.

There was Radiius, staring at Mina with a screw loose somewhere in his head.

There was Mina, avoiding that gaze while desperately trying to talk to Talassa and ease the atmosphere.

There was Peto, laughing awkwardly because he had no idea what to do with the atmosphere that had completely gone down the drain.

And there was Talassa, forcing a smile onto her face while silently resolving to kill her son the moment dinner was over.

As soon as the meal ended, Talassa exchanged farewells with Peto and his daughter. On the surface, it looked like a perfectly polite goodbye.

“I’d like to stop by Mr. Martinez’s restaurant from time to time.”

Radiius spoke as though he were perfectly normal.

“Come anytime.”

Peto answered casually.

“Will I be able to see Mina occasionally as well?”

Radiius’s true intentions immediately revealed themselves again.

“Ah, yes.”

Mina answered calmly.

“Would it be all right if I sent fan letters addressed to Mina to Mr. Martinez’s restaurant?”

Radiius’s voice was cautious.

“Ah, yes. Thank you for cherishing me.”

Mina tried until the very end to maintain a proper boundary.

“No, anyone who doesn’t love Mina would be the strange one.”

But that went completely over Radiius’s head.

Talassa elbowed Radiius in the side.

‘Stop it, you lunatic.’

Talassa gritted her teeth and endured her son’s insanity with every ounce of her strength, but the moment she parted ways with Peto, she exploded.

“What is wrong with you? Why are you acting like that?”

Talassa shouted.

“You were the one who loudly declared that you’d check whether the man I was seeing was decent, and now, is there even a trace of Peto left in your brain?”

“Peto? Who’s that?”

Talassa kicked Radiius in the leg.

“The man I’m thinking of dating! The man we just met!”

“Oh, right. We were supposed to meet Mother’s new lover.”

“What?”

“No, I just… I never expected to see Mina at a gathering like this.”

Radiius wrapped both hands around Talassa’s shoulders as he spoke.

“You saw her too, Mother, right? Isn’t she incredibly beautiful and kind? And she’s exceptionally talented. You can tell just by watching her for a moment, but Mina really has a wonderful personality too. She’s such an upright person. She’s really…”

“Shut up.”

Talassa could no longer contain her rising anger.

“Pardon?”

“I said shut up!”

Talassa screamed at Radiius.

“You crazy bastard!”

“Why are you doing this, Mother?”

“Because you’re crazy!”

Talassa swung her handbag at Radiius. She knew perfectly well that there was no way the large Radiius would fall just from being hit with a handbag.

“Who are you? Who are you supposed to be, going on and on with all this stupid nonsense? Huh?”

“I’m your son, Mother. Please stop hitting me.”

“Ugh! What is wrong with you?”

As Talassa fumed, Radiius carefully spoke.

“I’m sorry, Mother. I didn’t know Mina would be there. But thanks to you, I’ve realized something that makes me feel relieved. Your new lover seems like a good man. He’s Mina’s father, after all.”

“Huh? I’m not sure I should be listening to my son’s story about him flirting with his mother’s lover’s daughter.”

“Goodness, Mother. Do you think I was too forward with Mina? Honestly, I don’t usually get opportunities to meet her alone like that, so I thought that if I didn’t take the chance today, I might never get an opportunity to properly talk to her.”

“Alone? What do you mean, alone? Peto and I were right there! We were supposed to be the main characters of the gathering! If you hadn’t ruined the atmosphere!”

Still unable to calm down, Talassa stomped her foot repeatedly.

Ever since she had begun limping, she rarely wore dress shoes, but because she considered today a special occasion, she had put them on. Now even her feet were uncomfortable.

“Mother.”

“What! What now!”

Radiius cautiously began massaging Talassa’s shoulders.

“Thank you. For arranging this gathering. I truly, sincerely appreciate it.”

“Phew…”

He was her son, but aside from the color of his hair, he really didn’t resemble her at all.

Still, he was undeniably handsome.

Whenever he acted cute like that, she couldn’t help but soften despite sighing in exasperation.

“I’ll handle my own relationships from now on, so don’t ever say you’re coming along again.”

“Huh? Then how am I supposed to meet Wilhelmina?”

“What?”

“First of all, where did you say Mina’s father works? You met him there, so you know, right? I said I’d visit, but I forgot to ask for the address earlier.”

“What?”

Her son really seemed insane.

“You said you’ve been a fan of Mina for a long time. What have you been doing if you don’t even know something like that?”

“It would look too much like I was investigating her.”

“What?”

“I’m just one of Mina’s many fans. Though, actually, I’m still supporting her financially. I’m doing it secretly, though, so Mina doesn’t know.”

Talassa was speechless.

“Because my appearance, wealth, and family background are all too impressive, Mina or the people around her might misunderstand my sincere support. So I support her anonymously.”

“No, what kind of lunatic… Ha!”

“If I openly supported her, Mina might fall for me. And, well, I am handsome.”

“What? Phew… Well, you’re handsome, that’s true. Not because you’re my son, but because you’re the son of the man I chose based solely on his looks.”

“Exactly.”

“But your face might not be her type. What makes you think she’d automatically fall for you just because you meet her? From what I saw today, you’re the one who fell for her, while Mina was merely uncomfortable.”

“That does seem to be the case.”

Radiius nodded, looking slightly dejected at Talassa’s words.

Talassa suddenly wondered how this conversation had somehow turned into something so strange.

“No, you idiot! We’re not supposed to be discussing your love life! Why are you so interested in my boyfriend’s daughter? Stop being interested in her! Are you insane?”

“I’ve been her fan for a long time. Of course I’m interested in her.”

“Huh? Is that really just simple fan admiration? You were completely beside yourself. I’ve seen you date women several times, but I’ve never seen you go this crazy over a woman before. Who are you trying to fool?”

“Mina is different from the women I’ve dated before. In the past, they confessed to me, and I simply accepted their confessions and started dating them.”

“Oh, yes. Sure you did.”

After all, her son was quite handsome.

“First of all, Mina has never confessed to me.”

“She probably doesn’t even know you exist. What confession are you talking about?”

“I also… Well, thanks to Mother, I got to have a one-on-one conversation with her today, and I was really happy about it.”

“Of course you were.”

“If Mother and Mina’s father continue their relationship, Mina and I could become siblings, right? Wow. Now that I think about it, that’s even better.”

“Huh? Do you even remember the name of the man I introduced to you today? I mean Mina’s father.”

“Ah, I don’t really remember…”

‘This bastard. He really only hears whatever he wants to hear.’

Talassa restrained herself from hitting him again and spoke.

“Peto! Since he’s Mina’s father, memorize his name! Peto. Peto Martinez!”

“Oh, right. Peto Martinez. Mother, are you going to marry him? I think that’s fine. If the two of you get married, we’ll live together, right? Would Mina move into that house too? Where are you going to live? A townhouse in the capital? I’ve gotten tired of the mansion I’m staying in these days, so I’ve been wanting to move back into a townhouse anyway.”

“You crazy idiot, we’re only just starting to date! And I’m not marrying Peto!”

“I want to talk to Mina some more. I think it would be nice if we became something like family too.”

“Why don’t you just confess to her and ask her to date you? What are you even doing?”