ITBF 17

Chapter 17

Radius let the words slip out before he knew it. As Peto handed her the bouquet, Talassa glanced at Radius sidelong.

“You meddle in things I never asked you to……”

“Have a good time, you two. And look forward to it. Today it’s a regular musical, but in the second half of the year, you’ll get to enjoy Mina’s beautiful and magnificent performance.”

Radius winked at his mother as he spoke.

“You’re always going on about Mina, Mina. What’s gotten into you?”

At Talassa’s exasperated look, Radius gave an odd answer.

“Mina doesn’t have a performance right now. She’s preparing for her next production.”

“Is that so? Last time I heard, Mina sang quite well.”

“Right? She’s amazing! For now, think of today’s musical as an appetizer and enjoy it.”

“You’re making such a fuss about how much you like Mina—what are you going to do if I actually marry Peto?”

At Talassa’s crooked smile, Radius beamed and said:

“That would be great! If you two get married, Mina becomes my little sister!”

“What?”

Talassa’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I really hope things work out well between you two. I’ll be perfectly prepared to welcome the most adorable and wonderful little sister in the world.”

“Huh?”

“Ah, Mother. There’s no time for this. You have a restaurant reservation, so you need to go now. Come on, let’s get moving.”

Radius ushered Talassa, who seemed to want to say something, onto the carriage with Peto and sent them off.

*’She’s happy, so why pretend otherwise……’*

He didn’t forget to wave gracefully. Talassa gave him a strange look, but he didn’t think much of it.

Next, Radius made plans to officially meet Mina.

He would send Mina a letter through the theater owner, suggesting they talk privately as the children of the couple about Talassa and Peto.

*’Is that too obvious? If so, I can just ask for her thoughts on our parents’ relationship. It’s important to get to know each other through conversation and align our expectations. After all, we’ll soon be family!’*

No one seemed able to stop the elated Radius.

But then, something unexpected happened.

Mina contacted Radius first.

Radius was so surprised by Mina’s letter that he simply stared blankly at the envelope for a while.

‘Wow! I heard she got lots of letters from the fans she met last time, but she never replied to any of them? That’s why she held the fan meeting, I heard? Am I the first person to receive a letter from Mina? Excluding that fan meeting invitation last time!’

Moreover, Mina’s letter expressed a desire to meet him alone.

Radius assumed that Mina was also serious about their parents’ marriage, and thought she probably wanted to discuss the future that would unfold if Talassa and Peto married.

‘Both of them are older, so they could get married sooner rather than later. Wow, this is great. I thought I might be thinking too fast, but maybe Mina feels the same way?’

Radius was excited.

To avoid being too nervous to speak at his ‘official’ meeting with Mina, he planned ahead and listed all the questions Mina might ask. Then he prepared expected answers and read them over and over again.

‘Honestly, even I think I was a bit out of it last time. It was a meeting to introduce Mother’s new lover, but I just kept asking Mina questions and rambling nonsense. This time I need to pull myself together and have a proper conversation……’

He resolved.

And when they met, no sooner had they exchanged greetings than Mina pushed an envelope across the table.

“This is……”

Radius hadn’t expected Mina to do this, so he was flustered.

‘Could this be another letter?’

Radius blushed slightly as he accepted the envelope.

“May I open it now?”

“My father asked me to deliver it to you, young master Lorbaquer.”

“Ah.”

At those words, Radius realized what was inside the envelope.

“I heard that you paid for the entirety of my father’s date expenses with Lady Talassa Lorbaquer.”

From this point on, Radius sensed that today’s conversation with Mina would not go as he had expected.

“I understand what you intended, young master Lorbaquer. I appreciate that you’ve been attentive, hoping that the two of them would grow closer. But everything has its proper limit.”

“Ah.”

“Martinez may be lacking in countless ways compared to Lorbaquer, but we are not so poor that we need to charge the other family’s child for a date’s expenses.”

Radius was surprised and flustered.

But thinking that Mina was misunderstanding him, he quickly spoke.

“I think there’s a misunderstanding. I had no other intention. I simply wanted to provide nice things for Mr. Martinez, Mother’s new lover.”

“Recommending a good tailor or date spot would have been sufficient.”

In fact, Mina was right.

‘I know the price of high-end suits is a bit steep for ordinary people, but did he put all of it in here?’

He hadn’t looked inside the envelope, but it occurred to him that Peto Martinez might have even included the cost of the restaurant meal and the musical tickets.

‘This also shows that he has at least basic courtesy toward Mother. As Mother’s new lover, it’s a rather admirable attitude.’

“Since my father was worried that you might be startled if he returned the money to you in person, young master, I asked to meet you instead.”

Mina explained why she had called Radius.

“……I apologize. I didn’t think Mr. Martinez would feel burdened.”

“Honestly, a child’s involvement in a parent’s relationship is a delicate matter, so I think you just need to be mindful of that in the future. It’s not something I need an apology for.”

“Ah, no. I went too far. I’ll apologize to Mr. Martinez separately.”

“No, really. I don’t want you to go that far. Just don’t do it again. I’ll convey your apology to my father.”

“……Yes. Thank you.”

Radius’s spirits sank. He felt he had only earned Mina’s displeasure for nothing.

‘Anyway, even if I did nothing, Mother and Mr. Martinez seemed like they would work out. I overdid it.’

Looking at Radius’s dejected face, Mina quietly asked:

“You really seem to sincerely hope that the two of them work out, young master.”

At Mina’s words, Radius looked up at her in surprise.

“Yes. That’s right. Because Mr. Martinez is truly a good person.”

“They haven’t known each other long, they’re just starting to date, and there’s a big gap in their backgrounds—even aside from that, wasn’t there anything that concerned you?”

At Mina’s careful question, Radius began to ramble, as if to justify his earlier mistake.

“Even though they’re just starting to date, there’s no one quite like Mr. Martinez. My mother has always had everything, so she said she’d meet handsome men with good looks, but mostly they were people after her money or power.”

Sadly, among them was Radius’s own biological father, Kevin Ventura.

“To be honest, I hadn’t thought deeply about Mother’s relationships before. But do you know that Mother nearly died right before she started seeing Mr. Martinez?”

“I know that Lady Talassa was seriously injured during a pirate suppression operation.”

“Yes. The incident was big enough that Mother was discharged because of that injury. At the time, I was terrified that Mother might actually die. I felt like if I lost her, I would be left all alone.”

Suddenly, Radius realized he was rambling nervously in front of Mina.

*’Shut up. Radius Lorbaquer!’*

But despite his awareness, his lips wouldn’t stop.

“Mother recovered dramatically, but from then on, I started thinking about her death and about myself left behind. Since statistically Mother will pass away first, I felt I couldn’t bear the loneliness and grief alone, so I even thought about marriage.”

*’You crazy bastard. How far are you going to go with this? Is Mina your friend? No, even a friend wouldn’t say this! Shut up! Shut up!’*