Midnight Prince: Empire of Sin

At present, Adam could be seen sitting in a crowd while having a silly dolphin hat on his head and holding a big plushy in his hands. Everyone was cheering and the girl next to him was acting like she was witnessing a new world but as for him, he could only show a wry smile.

'Huh… This is…'

Adam had been wondering just what kind of weird or silly suggestions, for where they should go for their outing, would come out of the little girl's mouth, however, what she had said in the end had been surprisingly tame. At least, that's what he thought…

"I want to visit an aquarium."

This was all she asked of him, her eyes shining like a little kid about to see Santa Claus as she uttered those words. Adam had been taken so aback that he was speechless.

No sooner had she spoken those words, however, she immediately looked at him with worry in her eyes – the previous look of anticipation dulling as a result – as if anticipating his reaction and fearing he would not accept what she asked for;

"You… No, forget it. It has been a long time since I went to the Aquariums myself so why not?"

His inquisitive mind wished to ask her why she was making such a big deal out of such a local place but he decided that, for once, he didn't need to ask too many questions and should simply enjoy the present moment with the little troublemaker.

This was how, a few minutes later, he found himself sitting in the stands with the sister of his kinda, sorta girlfriend as they watched one of the most mainstream events that one could come across while visiting an aquarium— the dolphin show.

If he had to be honest, he found it slightly dull albeit still intriguing. He had never really been a fan of such shows and events as it had been a waste of time and money for him— someone who needed each and every penny he could muster to sustain his family and save his mother…

But—

"Hehehe… Woohoo~!"

Looking at Fedora who whooed and cheered alongside the crowd, he could only smile softly with fondness in his eyes.

'Well… I guess it isn't too bad.'

The show was in fact quite well done and after forcing himself to relax a little, Adam found that the shows held inside the aquarium could be pretty entertaining. One just had to have the mindset for it, that's all.

Though he still wondered to himself why Fedora decided that they should sit at the very back rather than in the front, he did not deem it necessary to ask her that question. He just sat back and enjoyed the ride with her.

.

.

.

"Haha, it was so fun!"

Fedora hummed while holding an ice cream in her hand. Towards the end of the show, they asked people who wished to come closer and touch the dolphins.

Fedora seemed really interested but in the end, she simply pulled him and they walked away from the event grounds.

Now licking her ice cream quietly, they entered the true Heart of the Aquarium and Adam looked at his surroundings with mild interest in his eyes.

If he so wished he could literally enter the very depths of the ocean itself and see things no humans could have ever hoped to see.

Compared to the wonders he was capable of witnessing, the giant aquarium was underwhelming at best and plain disappointing at worst. But it was still a marvel of the modern world. One that was cherished by the normal side of the world.

Meanwhile, he noticed that Fedora, while looking at all the fishes, and other aquatic creatures moving around, never approached the glass. Not even once.

Simply staying slightly afar and looking at them with wonder and joy in her eyes.

However, her gaze also seemed to hold envy in them as she watched the kids moving around with their parents and having fun. Her eyes would also sometimes linger on their hands, wrapped around each other tightly, before shaking her head and focusing on the lively fishes once more.

'This is starting to become a conditional reflex.'

It seemed like he couldn't spend time with someone now without trying to inspect their psyche.

At the same time, even without having asked a question, he was starting to understand what was happening and why Fedora had asked him to take her to the Aquariums.

"Is it your first time in an aquarium?"

"Hum? Oh… Well, not exactly. Should I say that it's my second time?"

She grimaced a little but shook her head in the end,

"Say, now that I think about it, how far have you gone with my sister?"

It was obviously a way to change the topic but Adam didn't mind her behavior.

He simply smirked in response, "Why, are you curious?"

Fedora scratched her head with awkward movements before speaking, "You know, sis is really popular in Russia or even in this place, right? Like, very, very popular."

She gobbled her ice cream before opening her hands wide as if trying to illustrate just how popular Natasha was with that movement alone.

"You don't seem to understand exactly what she meant in our culture but ask 100 young wolves, and honestly even old wolves, if they wanna have her and 80 out of 100 will definitely say yes."

"What about the 20?"

She looked at him as if asking if it was really important for him to know about that.

"Well, the remaining twenty are either people not blinded by status or already in relationships."

It was cute how she still answered his nonsensical question.

"I see where you are going with those words of tours. You are wondering why she left so many people and chose me out of all of them."

"Hah… Well… Sorry."

Adam was not offended. In fact, he even chuckled, watching her flush as she seemed to finally realize how insensitive her question had been.

By now, he was starting to understand Fedora even a little. He was starting to figure out how her mind worked.

She was not a bad girl. She was simply a little too honest. Someone who had yet to be beaten black and blue by the reality of the world and managed to keep a relatively pure and somewhat childish mindset even after being part of the supernatural and being a member of a prominent clan in the supernatural scene.

This was honestly a beautiful thing. Something worth keeping and growing— if she was an ordinary girl, that is.

'I guess her family sheltered and pampered her a bit too much.'

Should he say the fact that she wasn't an arrogant young lady was already good enough…? Though technically she kinda of already was an arrogant young lady in some sense.

"Anyway, don't worry. I am not offended. If you wonder why Natasha is smitten with me then… Because I am just too handsome."

"Wooah… Aren't you being a little too narcissistic there?"

"But, is it narcissism when I am only stating the truth?"

The way Adam raised an eyebrow as if she was challenging her to say he was wrong really made her wish to punch him.