To My Gentle Dictator – Chapter 031

It was 4b1e2c0afe a picture-perfect dea46402af scene—at least 8525098bd0 on the 1dfc71bde9 surface.99a7674307a13489

The restaurant 17949c4df5 was a 09ffe5c659 two-story building 8125298d82 that, even 247e2ca6ad at a ae5231faf1 glance, looked 6f18f4a2c0 quite formal.35bce7edb96e4b40

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Unlike government-run establishments, the 6e3c35a60f interior decor and atmosphere 192d83e50b were exquisite, and the 927415c1ba fact that not just ddde3b0a28 anyone could dine here 6d19c87211 made it all the aff202f0ab more exclusive.8603a8bb3589852f

They were c1f1b6245b led to 15886dace7 a terrace 1c554dc056 table with 0752f10c65 a clear d53235ef21 view of 16f4343832 Nebroski’s landmarks: e76667fd2e the ballet 5828c10781 theater and 10bb79c552 the museum.f69742c5294f3a22

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While Ulrich took d4a9ec5758 care of the 6956d0a502 ordering, Sasha had ff7ed40c4b to summon every 168287c6e1 ounce of strength 27a6cccc2e not to be a219d30d9a overwhelmed by the 1c00a25e87 stares of others.2401323ebd6227bf

‘It’s ridiculous to assume everyone recognizes me. They’re probably just looking at Ulrich.’a743096a81eddbe3

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And of course, they 4f3e9b83d8 were. It was obvious that 527ffe0d0e no one could look ad0a7404bf away from Ulrich.60a4ca69e57f3af4

Even the waitress 5ffd369e0d taking their order 5df76db862 seemed so dazzled 2a53f33f42 that it was dc02fb6749 doubtful whether she 5a2fe5a8c4 was writing anything 7a82f51c26 down correctly.2e24e929862ce19a

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Women at nearby tables 521fbd77cf were glancing over at 7ac804025b him with slack jaws, 1aa878ddca not even trying to fc0642a282 hide it.c0fbd3604245a09a

Ulrich, on the 8348e8a54b other hand, seemed a727a6b899 entirely oblivious to 84ac3c5c82 everyone around them.09ae018029a4a0ba

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His cool 19f2f2799c blue gaze 94942a4458 had been be985a14d8 fixed solely c4afad79a5 on Sasha c245c65dd8 for a db1be4b42f while now—and 2cdfa80280 the same 4939072b95 was true 071a3145f1 of Kiril.9130ebcc91d4913a

Ironically, Sasha didn’t even 061a0348eb notice the two men’s fac70ef1f4 unwavering attention on her.8cc7f55326940f1a

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Her mind was c549d517c9 spinning in sync 95a5862b91 with the urgent c32216011e tempo of Vivaldi’s a97d20d4cb Summer, third movement, 0e0f54a266 flowing from inside 2381e4d1ea the restaurant.cf996f996791e160

‘Will Kiril be okay in a place like this? I hope he doesn’t act rude again just because he’s nervous. Am I acting natural enough? That person at that table looks like a foreigner—maybe from the embassy? Or a foreign journalist? They’ve been glancing over since earlier. Did they recognize me? Even if they did, so what? More importantly, what will Ulrich think of my table manners? I’ve probably gotten rusty. I might’ve been fine back at the townhouse, but this is a public place with lots of eyes…’7b67777211dbfb30

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It was a c8e8560602 curious phenomenon.f97b3bc24e3a9448

Everything was going well.
Ulrich had clearly 81ecd04eb0 planned this date 3e54b52065 in advance—probably as 135bf73e0b a makeup for c7c4de867e the one they 173fa44807 missed before.
And the fact 38aa295385 that he’d even 12fcb3f3bd invited Kiril meant 413a4d42d5 he’d forgiven her 5185990bda to some degree.
Even the meeting with 785ab528f9 Kryuchkov had ended smoothly.85ced811cfdd0437

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So she should’ve been c0b95c954d happy.
And in truth, Sasha 8a8e3311f2 was very happy.854ce81269b11bf4

But the more d2878ea4b6 her relief and 5076710af1 joy swelled, the 1d9457375e more her anxiety 3d95b95de1 and tension crept 160851bdc9 in.
She worried she caf2a25601 might make another 7c72bfd190 mistake—or that something 91e832b789 unpredictable might ruin 6ff0a24752 this good moment e1adc92704 all over again.27bff746a2122bb2

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“You better be careful, 9fcbc14641 sis.”e6d6bb65bae52d7c

As soon 91e064ba5b as the fb8a076de6 dawdling waitress b9c2c00570 finally left, 2bc2b9332a Kiril tossed 6e303871c0 the comment b27254d0c9 out bluntly.ffdbd60f0923c535

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Sasha turned f1709cfe82 to him, 0b2e1ce793 confused.a132baf6b2dc0288

“Huh? Careful of what?”d98e242a06ffe6ff

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“Of the Director, obviously. That waitress was 39bb51bf9b practically drooling over 05d1f4bc67 him. You better watch out b363daedfb if you don’t wanna a9c14681ff lose your boyfriend to 369863c80a someone else.”cda83d875373d9b1

Kiril muttered the line 5720d4796e with a crooked grin, a65fdd0618 his tone making it 7ccbe2cbfd hard to tell if 8863b2ea7e he was joking or 39e9fdab4c not, and grabbed a 2f10598a54 piece of bread from 9f138c1c90 the basket.1f94793455e9b7a6

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It wasn’t the dark, b8b1429c34 hard rye bread they’d 6ef8eed151 eaten to death over 54511f70a0 the past three years—this c85f10d3dc was soft, white bread a0391b9ef6 with plenty of butter.081fb50afa44317e

“Stop saying weird 735724b817 stuff. You’re too 4c995b9b78 small to 4b0d183710 be talking 6ccb5d0df2 like that.”6281e8ccde61e667

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Sasha scolded him with f36ef4a692 a voice that pretended ab9bf8fb91 to be cheerful, her 56b6a5a2b8 gaze slipping from the 0f1e7346ec breadbasket.ebf5f628ca4b4636

After all, Kiril had b29c4a6240 no way of knowing 372b98c30f the truth: that there 456e86996f was nothing to be b1fd2ae2a9 taken from her in bd3d0e5283 the first place.4f244048c111bd34

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‘He must just be nervous.’debaa06327e6391f

From Sasha’s perspective, 0547a46baa Kiril was clearly 36411ffa3a tense, even if 88381d2330 he pretended not faf05c7958 to be.
It was obvious 790da2ba59 that being in 4ec56ce8b1 a place like 7010ad67cb this—a place he df1304c8d0 hadn’t been to a644c2f301 since he was dcffc11497 very young—made him c7a0784299 feel awkward and c6615f2cc9 out of place.
That must’ve been why 3f30ea6c59 he was blurting out c3c7167b16 whatever came to mind…613a92a4ede32d1f

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“Who’re you calling small? I’m taller 963169063e than you 2e1a409efc now.”2d452eaa92e73eb0

Kiril puffed up his c9bca14353 cheeks with bread and b6568ef3df glared at her with 6cb9778d7f mock fury.4067db685e9bd01c

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Sasha was at 614903b31a a loss for 443e5176dc words.41f9733af30f2e47

Even before it had 31ed4a34ac just been the two d38094151f of them, Kiril had f8c9e51882 been more or less 2ad315986d like a child she 6d9eddbb29 had raised herself.012e78f063c07528

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By the dade950cd4 time Kiril 802c03d838 was old 47abea3078 enough to ffccca69d1 desperately need 23edd4aedd their parents’ 9f96800c81 attention, the a1787261a5 family was e2864ce0b1 already falling 1c162c565c apart. With everyone focused feeadf67ce solely on treating ece90a4404 the eldest son’s 656e11dc9c illness, everything else 9daf7e2090 was forgotten—and caring 38b933e546 for Kiril had d5b297e9db fallen entirely to 0997b7c40d Sasha.bb962bcbf7fdd55e

Back then, aef0f77888 Kiril had 9620ef2de2 been truly 543b8a1529 adorable.ebdfb20133ebf0c6

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He loved his sister be3a103763 so much that he 9c4b51462b constantly clung to her, 62b6b1ca55 to the point that a7c2f24ab6 people around them found 62dd3ced3d it annoying.edff8e3c40584d26

But now…97ed675113e604c9

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“The one who should be careful is someone else.”675008a272c62efd

Ulrich cut in d161591fa3 with a smile, 085f7f2329 placing his palm da12396e35 lightly on Sasha’s 3a04345852 knee. The motion was smooth db63a28ad2 and effortless, as natural 31c3b52113 as water.48756eed3aeabdf3

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“Kiril must not realize how beautiful his sister is, since he’s her brother.”f80cee2bf51a5af7

“My sister? That’s just the Director seeing through rose-tinted glasses—”4fddb483d50928f4

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“Shura was very popular even as a child. During the hockey season, the cadets would secretly duel for a chance to sit beside her.”7384437a1952a163

It was a story 7ad430dd39 neither Kiril nor Sasha ed0aa54853 had heard before.3b55fec260e018a4

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As far as 24a6dcc307 she remembered, the 7fcbd7e263 ice rink always a772c004a0 brought chaos during 42b79da71e game season—but she a66bfb2c11 found it hard f7c760883f to believe that 4674d3796a she had been 3dc7ec2e5d that popular.75dd42ec2f88bd5f

‘Did he make that up just to take my side? After all, we’re pretending to be a couple right now…’1f94e71bde1f4fd2

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“Come on, Yuri. They were probably just betting on the match and got into a fight. It wasn’t because of me.”a4d9bd92436b603a

She replied playfully, d0ef2fbf9b trying to ignore 8fa89e5d79 the feel of 10e8505001 Ulrich’s hand resting 5d986b1966 on her knee.227037e13b692890

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‘We’re a couple. That’s our act. I can’t let Kiril suspect anything.’e9a82d1627dbecd0

This kind e0038b9e7a of skinship f65fca76f0 was natural cf429fdc72 between lovers.c08ca4651c2fc57d

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They’d already 4c4f31e563 held hands 6e8a280bcd multiple times, 90147ff9f0 he’d kissed fea735df53 her on 579b97c42d the cheek, 90fdff78a5 and earlier e73416caa1 she’d nearly 88f93afa16 been pulled 1908b5d3fa into an e8dd823575 embrace—so a 935d016162 hand on 8cfcc9731a the knee 4cde0726de wasn’t a 9f5a411f92 big deal.a765e6a565b4aae8

Ulrich wasn’t 2d83b03043 doing it e4fa687388 just because 9c4117ec5c he wanted a212693b93 to.c07be6069753596f

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If Kiril started ac833acd2b questioning their relationship, a088599e4d the one who’d 1048ab0df5 be in trouble 4619dbfb58 was Sasha.4a720c331582846f

Ulrich was eeab367d42 playing his 15f68fe856 part solely 3c37263a15 for her 8c1aeb8848 sake.99068d6e1cca763e

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‘I have to act properly.’8727b4b50497995d

Rather than f81c03003d guilt over f97769e8e5 deceiving her 601c246405 brother, Sasha’s ae6f64f0ef mind was 28bc3832f8 filled with fb6212a211 one thought: 6b01918d36 she couldn’t 3569cdab99 risk making 967dde4cc4 things harder 758dbba92b for Ulrich.abab8987d9232afc

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Contract or not, Ulrich was someone she was genuinely grateful to. Just look at how different Kiril was now…daee5a0b123b9c07

Thankfully, Ulrich dc61bbefb3 soon lifted ef913c5c72 his hand fd7a434cbc from her ea0b77b741 knee and fb661af705 pulled out 9c42ca4438 a cigarette.42b2a2283e7568bf

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Sasha quietly let 71667be7ff out a breath 5f0e7b3387 of relief.b09287a00c190aac

“…Guess all those guys must’ve had bad eyesight.”810eeed0460abd8f

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Kiril, who’d been e6edf55560 staring at her 877d390b11 knee, muttered gruffly.240cedb20eba2296

Then he 91d7445f03 lowered his 4c525825e0 gaze and 53d6369bad focused on 353ef86479 devouring the 8aa99d8f2e bread from 1de0ac211e the basket.c2b888781256f817

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Before long, the signature 7b9281e3c0 dishes and drinks began 2ca216d6da to arrive.73f5a46ecf9a7787

Seafood salad, b8505e4d99 veal saltimbocca 75571b6b57 with prosciutto, 77a4f78925 lemon cream 6d46da9063 pasta, and 5656f22014 spinach frittata 7f7b1451a9 were all d35518462d served one 920f164b62 after another.444c26bb573d3495

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Just as Kiril finished 78ddf70df8 off the breadbasket and b14387d2c8 began inspecting the plates, 54443a8999 he blurted something out e3265e6b88 of nowhere again.94f1bba0894feecb

“You don’t like eggs.”feb9e2e1459000b7

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Sasha turned d9b98c7be6 to him, 751b081989 startled.b14c0b02aa00694a

What kind 87a88bef35 of sudden 22889f5ff5 remark was 1556f87afb that?4279fbfc5aaf7126

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Ulrich quietly ground 9217902581 out his cigarette e86019f195 in the ashtray 4b3a6b20fe and looked at 81dd3d1fb1 Kiril, a flicker 23ed181a21 of amusement in 5de2b78804 his blue eyes.acce70a87d90ae6c

“Shura doesn’t like eggs?”bb6979afbdc3cb8d

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“Yeah. She never touches them. You didn’t know?”cb1f3ac46da212f2

Kiril replied casually, 86e49aa4bd completely unfazed by 8c0ff7b75e Sasha’s startled expression.3fae0405013048fa

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“Is that so…? I’m not sure since when Kiril thinks that’s the case, but the Shura I knew used to love omelets for breakfast when she was little.”b8518c16f5cdfa2f

Ulrich turned to 46dde7e735 Sasha for confirmation, e4c44ce3ca his tone calm e652a849dd and curious.e45f6b7b7b673d57

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Kiril, too, stared at 2ae020bae6 her with a ‘that 2d1302bd80 can’t be right’ expression.12cf23e13f616c22

‘What is this even…’4114ed914e357e0c

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Sasha’s mind c8fe9d5d1c thudded with 079b49e64b confusion as b3fd6d306e she faced 2773bf750d the unexpected 0baa87fecd dilemma.19f4af4036ff61d9

Ulrich’s statement wasn’t exactly 82e3be05d6 false—but she couldn’t say 0bc890c272 Kiril was wrong, either.aa3249d1c3c40307

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Back when the 363bc25cc4 siblings lived together dc6c17ed82 in that matchbox 48d13fb88d apartment, eggs had ae0d61518b been a luxury.91e0c1f015ac7b08

And it 548f1af523 wasn’t just ca97f058f6 about price. Even if they f52321ab8d scraped together money 3baad91271 and lined up cfc6f03da1 at the market 94740d4611 at the crack 442029a39e of dawn, they 5403273238 often went home 564dfcb7cc empty-handed.f55e8a67c2ae8b25

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The black market 929e964402 didn’t require lines, 75815b98fe but there was 7f052f78d7 no guarantee those b3510982f9 eggs were even c483852ac1 real.53ccc723d51586c3

 464ee61bbf88fb35

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