Chapter 36
Fortunately, Chris set Rubiana’s boyfriend down before he started foaming at the mouth. Rubiana muttered in disappointment. Her previously stiff expression had noticeably relaxed.
Meanwhile, I had finished preparing the main cocktails.
“Alright, everyone. Could you move to the bar?”
I clapped my hands as I spoke, and Chris brought the children over.
‘Today’s cocktail is simple but requires a lot of work.’
First, it involved various ingredients.
‘First, oranges.’
Squeeze.
“Wow!”
As I freshly squeezed the oranges, the children cheered while waving their arms.
‘It’s fun to have an enthusiastic audience.’
Next up was pineapple.
“Are you going to squeeze that by hand too?”
“The skin is too thick, you could hurt your hand doing it manually.”
“Hmph. I’m plenty strong enough to do it though?”
Rubiana’s boyfriend boasted, clearly wanting to impress his girlfriend.
“Is that so? That’s impressive, but let’s leave the hard work to the juicer today.”
I smiled and cut the pineapple into large chunks to feed into the juicer.
“Whoa!”
The children cheered enthusiastically as the machine pressed out the pineapple juice.
Indeed, these little guests gave refreshingly lively reactions that tired adults rarely show.
I poured the freshly squeezed juices into a blender filled with ice.
‘Just a touch of grenadine syrup.’
After adding the final syrup, I hit the blend button and the machine whirred to life, pulverizing the ice.
The children sang along to the buzzing sound.
I joined in cheerily as well, but then—
“Unnie, you messed up the lyrics!”
“And the rhythm was off too!”
“What do you mean, ‘Unnie’? Haven’t you been to a bar before? You should call her ‘boss.'”
“Ha, haha.”
Their continuous corrections made me a bit embarrassed.
‘Keep your composure, keep your composure.’
I lifted my lips into a smile, thinking about the completed payment.
Just then, the fully blended mixture was ready to be poured into glasses.
Drinking it straight would leave a refreshingly tangy fruit juice flavor.
It would surely taste delicious, but look a bit plain visually.
Indeed, the previously excited children had fallen silent without much reaction.
‘Let’s see how long those bored faces last.’
I confidently took out a bubble gun.
Normally, I would garnish with pineapple and cherries.
‘But today, let’s add bubbles!’
As I activated the bubble gun, a milky mist spread out like breath. The children simultaneously leaned in closer.
‘Letting a bit of the bubble solution drip…’
I aimed the wand at the glass and pulled the handle—poof! A large bubble formed.
The giant bubble perched atop the glass immediately captured the children’s attention.
“Huh?”
“Unnie, what’s that?”
“Whoa! A balloon appeared!”
“I want to see it!”
As Rebecca excitedly tried to climb onto the bar counter, Chris held her back.
“Now, this next cocktail is the ‘Fruit Punch’ with added bubbles. The star of today, Lady Rubiana, will go first.”
The moment I set the glass down, Rubiana popped the bubble with her finger.
Wisps of vapor dispersed, carrying a faint aroma.
Simultaneously, Rubiana’s face lit up brightly.
‘I’ve engaged both sight and smell.’
And now it was time for her taste buds to enjoy.
“Add one more bubble.”
Hmm, not quite there yet.
Following Rubiana’s request, I floated another new bubble atop her glass.
This time, Rubiana stuck out her tongue and popped the bubble, then caught the dispersing mist with her mouth.
“Phew.”
As she exhaled the captured vapor, the children giggled. A playful expression had surfaced on Rubiana’s face too.
“Ruby just looked like she was smoking a cigarette.”
“What’s a cigarette?”
“It’s that thing Dad is always puffing smoke from!”
The children chattered animatedly about having seen it before. I smiled warmly as I distributed the bubbly cocktails among them.
“Ruby. Your dad is the best. I had so much fun at your birthday party today.”
“Me too! Let’s come again next time, okay?”
Before I knew it, the birthday party was winding down. The children gathered around Rubiana, each voicing how much they enjoyed themselves.
‘Alright, time for the final gift box with the regent inside.’
At my signal, Chris went to retrieve the gift box hidden in the kitchen.
But then,
“No.”
“Huh?”
“My dad isn’t the best. He’s awful. Completely incompetent!”
Rubiana spoke firmly with folded arms.
Chris looked to me. I lightly shook my head. The regent’s appearance now would ruin the mood. For now, I decided to observe the situation.
“Why? Your dad gives you everything. Your dress is so pretty. It’s a one-of-a-kind dress made from fairy wings!”
“He even bought you your own dessert shop recently.”
“That’s right. Everyone is jealous of Ruby…”
Despite the children’s words, Rubiana remained unmoved.
“Dad is always too busy working. He never takes me sailing like Rebecca’s dad, or makes pancakes together like Miblick’s dad. He just throws money at me—is that what caring for me means?”
A stirring came from inside the gift box.
The regent had heard Rubiana’s outcry.
‘Ah…’
A long silence fell over the bar.
What a predicament. Everything had been going so well, only for the perfect birthday party ending to turn to shambles.
‘No, not yet.’
The party wasn’t over yet. There was still time to turn this around.
Recalling the tale of the “The Iron-Blooded Regent,” I spoke up.
“You’re right, the regent is constantly occupied with work. But do you know why he’s so busy, Lady Rubiana?”
“That’s because…”
Rubiana, who had been raising her voice irritably, averted her gaze and bowed her head slightly.
“You must know how dangerous it is outside the city, Lady Rubiana.”
In the “The Iron-Blooded Regent” dimension, each city is protected by a massive barrier.
Beyond the cities, the environment is uninhabitable.
‘Roaming monsters and even the air itself is poisonous, wasn’t it?’
Rubiana’s mother, once a formidable knight, died fighting those monsters.
So, before being a doting father, the Regent was a workaholic.
“The Regent strives so hard to create a peaceful world for you, Lady Rubiana. That’s why…”
“I know. I know that much.”
Rubiana mumbled softly, as if speaking to herself. Then she clenched her fists, lifted her head and met my gaze.
“But does Father have to do it all alone? Of course not. All adults work!”
Was this a rebound after trying to act mature? Rubiana’s voice grew louder.
“My friends’ fathers also work, but they still go on family outings! What’s so important about gifts you can just buy with money?”
Rubiana angrily kicked the gift box.
Listening to her, I felt a strange sense of unease.
‘Wait a minute. Their stories don’t match?’
“I can’t do that. She even called him her ‘boyfriend’! Now she’s spending more time with that punk than with me…”
The Regent was troubled that Rubiana spent more time with her boyfriend, while Rubiana was upset her father didn’t spend time with her.
‘There seems to be a misunderstanding between them.’
Couldn’t this be resolved through conversation?
“Why don’t you share those hurt feelings with the Regent?”
“Why should I say anything?”
“No, please try. The Regent likely wishes he could spend more time with you as well…”
When I insisted again, Rubiana glared at me with an unsatisfied look.
“No! I’m not going home today. I don’t want to see Father’s face. He didn’t even come to my birthday party in the end.”
Seeing her defiant behavior, I could understand the Regent’s lament about his daughter going through her rebellious phase.
Then the box began violently shaking. The children’s gazes locked onto the large box.
“Huh? It’s the Regent!”
“Ruby’s dad!”
Rubiana’s eyes went wide as her father emerged from inside.
“Huh? Why is Father here…?”
“It’s our Ruby’s birthday, how could I possibly miss it? Happy birthday. Come here.”
The regent knelt before Rubiana with arms outstretched, beckoning her for a hug.
“…No!”
Rubiana turned and ran up to the second floor. The Regent let out a soft sigh, watching his daughter’s retreating back.
It seemed my attempts to resolve this had failed.
But then, where did I go wrong?
‘You could have handled things better.’
I looked at the Regent with a hint of resentment.
🥂
Thank you for reading! ♡
