It was terrifying; I felt like I was going to suffocate. Right at that moment, a sharp female voice suddenly cut through the silence. I froze, turning toward the entrance of the restaurant. A young woman was angrily planting her hands on her hips, arguing loudly with the restaurant staff, her posture no different from a marketplace auntie picking a fight.
I glanced over and instantly recognized her face. It was Liona, the girl who treated me like a love rival at school. What on earth… had she come here to eat and gotten stopped at the door?
"Someone you know?" Captian asked. He'd noticed I had looked at the girl several times.
I didn't intend to hide it. "Kind of. She's in my class."
"Not on good terms?" he asked.
I didn't know how to answer properly, so I just nodded.
Captian said nothing more.
Outside, the noise kept rising. Liona had come with her parents for dinner at this Western restaurant, only to be told that some wealthy patron had reserved the entire place, making their trip pointless. Of course Liona refused to accept that. In Alchimie City, the Robbery family had status and influence; now suddenly some unknown rich person and a bunch of waiters dared block them? How were they supposed to keep face if word got out?
Liona was furious. Her once-beautiful face was now twisted with rage.
"I'm offering three times the price to reserve this entire restaurant. Tell everyone else to get out, now. Otherwise I'll make sure none of you survive in Alchimie City!"
Her parents stood behind her, neither of them bothering to stop her. The Robbery family had always been arrogant, and their daughter spoiled since birth was naturally as rude and unreasonable as they were.
The waiters sneered with open contempt. "Sorry, but today the restaurant is already reserved by a distinguished guest. People like you can't afford to provoke him."
It was laughable. The person who had reserved the whole place was Captian Anderson. Compared to him, the Robbery family was nothing. Captian could crush them with a single finger.
"A distinguished guest?" Liona scoffed. "More distinguished than the Robbery family? I'd like to see who you're talking about."
She shoved the waiter aside and barged in.
Liona wrinkled her brows and spoke with arrogant disdain. "Don't tell me it's some clown jumping around."
"A clown, hm?"
A cold, authoritative male voice echoed through the restaurant terrifying and tinged with cruelty.
Liona froze instantly, rooted to the ground. Just hearing that voice made her feel as though she'd fallen straight into the eighteenth level of hell.
Her father turned pale, trembling violently. When he looked toward the source of the voice, he recognized the dark, oppressive figure, and his face drained completely of blood.
If he wasn't mistaken… that man had to be CEO Anderson.
Mr. Robbery was seconds away from fainting.
The mother, who'd never encountered real power before, had no idea why her husband had suddenly collapsed inside, but seeing his face, even she began to panic.
"CEO Anderson!"
The two waiters bowed instantly the moment Captian stepped out, lowering themselves like loyal dogs before their master.
Hearing that name, Mr. Robbery nearly stopped breathing. He almost collapsed.
It really was CEO Anderson.
They were finished utterly finished.
Mrs. Robbery and Liona finally realized the gravity of the situation. Their legs went weak; both nearly fell to the ground.
Captian stood there, his black coat billowing lightly, his handsome face shadowed in frost. With his gaze lowered, he looked down at Liona from above.
"You said… I'm a clown jumping around?"
"A..." Liona squeaked before falling backward onto the floor. His single sentence, his single glance, was enough to crush a person.
She felt as though an invisible hand was squeezing her throat, cutting off her breath. She could only twitch weakly, as if clinging to the last threads of life.
"No courage to admit what you said?" Captian's eyes flickered darkly as he strode toward her.
Liona's lips trembled; her face was white as paper, drenched in cold sweat.
He stared at her, his expression still icy. Normally, he wouldn't waste his time with the disrespectful words of a little girl. But now… he felt compelled to act, even wanting to strangle her outright.
Maybe because she had bullied me.
Maybe because she dared to make life difficult for his little bride.
And for that, he would absolutely get justice on my behalf.
"CEO Anderson, she's just a child," Mr. Robbery stammered, finally snapping out of his daze. Under overwhelming pressure, he stepped forward and begged.
Mrs. Robbery, unable to withstand the fear, burst into tears. Liona looked half-dead already.
Captian's icy gaze sliced toward them. "She's already in university. She's not a child."
Mr. Robbery stiffened, unable to argue. Yes, she was an adult responsible for her own words and actions. But she was his only daughter; how could he just let her die?
And CEO Anderson was infamous for being cold-blooded.
"CEO Anderson, please spare her. She didn't mean it. If she'd known you were here, she never would have said such things." Mr. Robbery's voice shook as he pleaded. To him, Captian was like a demon from the underworld. "I'll teach her properly when we get home. I promise she'll never appear in front of you again."
Captian let out a cold, mirthless laugh. Everyone always looked the same in front of him groveling, flattering, trembling.
Only my little bride ever looked different.
"Get lost," Captian said, flicking a cold glance at them. He had no interest in people who could only kneel and beg. People like them dirty his hands.
Mr. Robbery stared up at him, stunned, tears still clinging to his eyelashes. That look from Captian full of disdain, as though gazing at useless, filthy trash was more terrifying than a death sentence.
Trash wasn't even worth touching.
Seeing a sliver of hope, Mr. Robbery dragged both his wife and daughter away as fast as possible.
Captian stood there with his hands in his pockets, his figure looming in the dim corridor like something out of a nightmare. No one dared look directly at him.
"From now on," he said coldly, "remove the Robbery family from this restaurant's guest list. If they ever come again, throw them out."