The restaurant servers all turned nervous as they heard the tension-filled words.
The patrons who dined here mostly had some social status and wealth; at worst, they were internet celebrities with some online influence. Because of this, the servers dared not offend these customers.
In contrast, Cécile and her group looked more like nouveau riche?
At least the two who were awkward and constrained didn’t seem wealthy—they looked like the pampered daughters inviting their commoner friends to experience the high life.
Still, they did order quite a bit of food…
Clara, unable to endure the occasional glances drifting over, couldn’t help but urge, “President Cécile, maybe we should keep our voices down?”
“Huh? Why bother about them? Isn’t chatting during a meal normal? If you really don’t want noise, why not eat in a private room?”
The answer was obvious: private rooms charged extra fees and had “higher” minimum spending requirements. Cécile’s rhetorical question only hit a nerve with some people, sparking another wave of displeasure…
Clara was troubled by the president’s behavior, but Fran seemed used to it and quietly enjoyed the world-class cuisine before them.
It seemed Fran already knew President Cécile before joining Dream Witch?
As for Cécile, she truly didn’t care much about etiquette. Even in such a high-end restaurant, she was too lazy to use basic cutlery, grabbing the T-bone steak with her bare hands and biting right in.
Since neither of them minded, Clara’s fussing was useless. She shifted her attention to the food in front of her to help ignore the piercing stares.
“Mmm? So delicious!”
Was it the environment and price influencing her?
Because she was picky about taste, Clara rarely enjoyed surprises from food, but this sour yogurt fish fillet perfectly suited her light palate.
At that moment, Lucia suddenly stood up.
“Sorry, I need to go to the restroom.”
Although she was back at work, Lucia’s injuries hadn’t fully healed, and she needed to avoid strenuous movement. Considering she might have trouble going alone, Clara hesitated about accompanying her.
Still, Lucia was her own sister, and even if Lucia didn’t mind, Clara would still be concerned about going into the women’s restroom with her.
Though she could now enter and exit women’s restrooms without psychological burden, being with her sister made her mindful of her role as “big brother.”
“Oh, then I’ll go with you?”
Just as Clara was hesitating, Cécile also stood up.
She wiped her hands and linked arms with Lucia, heading toward the restaurant’s restroom like a sister caring for a physically inconvenienced elder sister.
Clara breathed a sigh of relief.
But did Cécile coincidentally also need to use the restroom, or had she noticed Clara’s hesitation?
Not only that, once Cécile left, the hostile stares around them lessened significantly. It seemed all the hatred was drawn away by that young president.
For Fran and Clara remaining behind, the other guests showed little dissatisfaction.
“Sigh, why does President Cécile have to speak like that?” Clara asked.
Fran, who had been fiddling with her phone, replied, “Oh, that’s just her personality. She likes to make others angry while being untouchable.
“But she means no harm to you and Lucia. Just take it as childish mischief, even though she’s hardly a child.
“Of course, if you really get mad, she might even apologize? If her teasing becomes unbearable, just snap at her directly. Don’t worry about it~”
“Fran, you know President Cécile quite well, don’t you?”
“Yeah, she’s an old acquaintance of my father. After my father passed, she was my guardian for a while, taking care of me until I got my doctorate…
“Huh? How old is the president this year?”
Fran smiled but didn’t answer, only saying, “Clara dear, asking a lady’s age is pretty rude, you know? You don’t want people spreading around that you’re a 35-year-old uncle, do you?”
Clara nodded and picked at the leftover cod fillet.
However, Lucia and Cécile’s absence was becoming suspiciously long.
“They’re so slow. Could it be that the president ran off without paying?”
“Don’t worry, if Cécile runs, I’ll cover the bill…” Fran said, then muttered, “But yeah, it’s really taking too long. I’ll call.”
Even for a restroom break, this delay made one wonder if they’d fallen into a pit hand in hand.
Fran took out her phone and dialed Cécile’s number, but it showed as switched off.
“Something’s wrong. What about Lucia?”
Just as Clara was about to call her sister, she saw Lucia jogging back alone from the restroom direction.
“Senpai Clara, Miss Fran…” Her face was filled with panic and anxiety as she said, “Something happened. P-President Cécile was kidnapped by two men.”
It’s happening.
“Ah?”
Clara tensed instantly. That brat’s sharp mouth probably got her noticed—maybe it was one of the guests here who did it?
Fran, however, remained calm and asked, “Lucia, don’t panic. Tell us exactly what happened. What did you encounter in the restroom?”
“When we went to the restroom together, Miss Cécile waited outside my stall… Then I heard two footsteps enter, and they were men’s voices… They got into an argument with Miss Cécile… I was about to get up, but they moved too fast. When I left the stall, they had already taken Miss Cécile away.”
“Looks like a planned kidnapping, but we don’t know who the culprits are~”
Fran calmly took a bite of her lobster ball and continued, “Well, looks like I’m buying dinner tonight. You two finish eating and head back to the dorm first~”
“Huh? Wait! Are we just going back like that?”
Clara couldn’t understand. Shouldn’t they go rescue President Cécile right now?
Lucia agreed, “We can try to get the restaurant and building’s surveillance footage.”
“The kidnappers were obviously prepared. You probably won’t find anything on the footage. Besides, surveillance from these skyscrapers isn’t easy to access… Don’t worry, President Cécile can handle this herself.”
Fran was completely unflustered.
But then she pulled out her vibrating phone.
“Looks like our AI lady has something to say~”
Fran placed the phone flat on the table. On the floating hologram appeared Nyx, the black-skinned, white-haired unicorn girl, expressionless as she suggested:
“Actually, Nyx has a way to track President Cécile’s location.”
“Oh? How?” Fran asked.
“Nyx has been monitoring everyone’s phones, including President Cécile’s.”
“Wait! That’s illegal! You malicious software!”
Cecilia’s name keeps changing.