Her starter was Dublin Bay prawns served with warm mayonnaise and buckwheat pancakes. Though they were called pancakes, they resembled delicate, crisp orange discs—thin, airy, and perfectly cooked to look like miniature clamshells dotted with tiny holes. These lay atop the plump, butterflied prawns, which had been sliced open to reveal their tender flesh.
A generous spoonful of mayonnaise, subtly infused with custard and other light ingredients, was placed over each prawn, adding richness without being overwhelming. Around the pristine white plate were tiny droplets of red and green flavored syrup, artfully arranged as garnish.
The dish looked stunning, though the portion was small—only two prawns, each just enough for a single bite. Still, as they were dining in an upscale restaurant, Hera kept her manners in check. She reached for her fork and knife, carefully slicing into the prawn before lifting it to her mouth. The flavor was smooth and creamy, perfectly balanced, and she couldn’t help but hum softly in delight.
As always, before taking her first bite, she snapped a picture of the beautifully plated dish. Hera loved sharing her culinary experiences with her followers on social dia. Once the entire al was done, she planned to post a full review—both to update her fans and to recomnd the restaurant to anyone visiting Paris who wanted a taste of this refined dining experience.
After her starter, the next dishes arrived one after another, each more delightful than the last. Hera felt like she couldn’t get enough—every bite was divine, and the flavors danced so beautifully on her tongue that she couldn’t help but hum softly with joy. Unconsciously, she tilted her head to the side like a content child, completely absorbed in the mont.
What she didn’t notice, however, was that two people had begun recording her from the side—Athena and Minerva. After capturing the short clip, Athena promptly uploaded it to her social dia wall and tagged Hera with a teasing caption: "Food really is the cure to everything. Look at this girl—supposed to be stressing over competitions and other matter, but here she is, happily humming and eating like a big kid." The tone was playful and affectionate, like a doting mother hen showing off her favorite monts of her child’s life. Except, of course, Hera was far too grown to be called a child.
Once Athena posted the video, she tucked away her phone with a grin and returned to her al. anwhile, Minerva—as usual—sent the video to her brother and received another quick paynt in return. She smirked to herself and thought smugly, ’I really hit a gold mine. Let dig up a few more treasures, hehe.’ With that, she slipped her phone away and focused on enjoying her own plate.
anwhile, though he really didn’t want to admit it, Rafael had clearly picked up so of Dave’s habits. It didn’t take long before he found himself bragging about his latest additions to his personal library to the rest of the group, feeling just a little superior to them.
He had been away from Hera for days and missed her terribly—so much so that he needed to vent that restless energy sohow. And if that ant dragging soone else into his misery by flaunting his books, then so be it. Misery, after all, loved company.
...
[Six Musketeers Group Chat]
[Rafael: (video_clip_attached)]
[Rafael: ╰(° ㅂ °)╯]
[Dave: Ah!!!! I knew it!!! You sent your sister to spy on my sweetheart, didn’t you?!]
[Dave: I knew sothing was off—my sweetheart was never that close to your sister for her to randomly invite her along. So this was your plan all along, huh?]
[Dave: Your sister even tried to ruin my sweetheart once! Are you trying to nd their relationship now so it won’t be awkward for you and your precious family in the future? You cunning dog.]
[Dave: Such a sly fox! This is unforgivable!]
[Rafael: ...Not like I asked for your forgiveness.]
[Dave: It’s fine. I forgive you anyway. Now, slave, send your other slave to gather more footage. This lord might reward you.
[Rafael: Lord, my ass. You look broker than I do. If anyone here’s a slave, it’s you—peasant.]
[Dave: The hell?!]
[Dave: (︶‿︶)凸]
[Dave: I hope you stub your toe on the table leg and crush your pinky. May it swell and turn ugly, you mafia-looking siscon!]
[Rafael: Who the hell are you calling a siscon?!]
[Dave: See? Not only are you a siscon, you’re also stupid and brainless...]
[Dave: You should be grateful my sweetheart has such charm—she sohow managed to pull your sister out of her princess syndro and turn her into a functioning human being. Otherwise, that sister of yours would’ve dragged your whole family down the drain. But then again, you’re the biggest culprit here, pampering her like a fool. Classic siscon behavior.]
[Luke: Alright, alright. Calm down, you two. It’s getting personal. @Dave, if you want sothing, just ask. No need to throw a tantrum because you’re jealous.]
[Xavier: Manchild.]
[Dave: Σ( ▼□▼ﾒ )]
[Dave: Σ(-`Д´-ﾉ;)ﾉ]
[Dave: @Xavier 凸(ಠ益ಠ)凸)]
[Xavier: ( ¬_¬ )]
[Zhane: Honestly, it’s a good thing Minerva’s getting along with Hera. Now she has soone to shop with or hang out with for a girls’ night. She won’t feel suffocated being surrounded by a bunch of guys all the ti like a caged canary.]
[Dave: As much as I want to throttle this thug @Rafael, I gotta admit—it’s thanks to my sweetheart that his spoiled, arrogant sister finally saw the light. She stopped chasing after that loser who relied on won to survive.]
[Dave: ໒( ⇀ ‸ ↼ )७]
[Dave: Anyway, what happened to that human trash? @Rafael?]
[Dave: He didn’t go off rotting sowhere else or spreading misery like a walking plague, did he?]
[Rafael: Nah. I cracked that bastard’s skull and paid off his vampire family to keep their mouths shut. Since they worship money like it’s royalty, they happily took the cash and left him bone-dry. Dude had nothing to his na even after getting discharged. If I’m not mistaken, it was even @Zhane who personally signed his discharge while watching him drag his sorry body out of the ward, right?]
[Rafael: ( ◜◡‾ )]
[Zhane: I was just doing my job...]
[Dave: Ha! I thought the sourness in the air was just being jealous—but nope, turns out it’s coming from our ever-stoic Dr. Zhane. The one who’s supposed to be the most mature and professional, always preaching about separating personal feelings from work... and yet, used his position as attending physician to quietly torture that jerk. You should’ve jabbed him with a few extra needles, doc. For justice. For our girl.]
[Dave: (｀∀´)]
[Zhane: Already done.]
[Zhane: ┣▇▇▇═─(×_×)⌒☆]
[Zhane: Missed his veins ten tis "by accident" and turned his arm into a pin cushion before I reluctantly got it right.]
[Dave: Kekeke! I can just imagine the nurses side-eyeing you like, "Did Dr. Everett just forget how to be a genius?" You’re usually so precise, it must’ve looked totally sus. They had to know you were deliberately stabbing that asshole. Hahaha!]
[Luke: But why did you beat that guy up? He might try to blackmail you later.]
[Rafael: The bastard was begging for it. I just did him the favor. 😏]
[Rafael: ┐( ˘_˘)┌]
[Rafael: Anyway, any new leads on those missing won tied to my sister’s case? Look, I might spoil her, but even I know she’s not the type to orchestrate sothing that vile. She’s petty and foolish sotis, yeah—but that’s exactly what makes her easy to manipulate. I’m starting to think soone used her na to pull strings behind the scenes.]
[Dave: Maybe soone out there just wanted a taste of what it feels like to play god with soone’s life...?]
[Dave: (￣～￣;)]
[Luke: We’re already stepping into territory wars, which gave the chance to take action. I’ve sent so of my guys undercover into another mafia faction. They’re digging—shouldn’t be long before we get a na.]
[Rafael: Good. I’ll leave that part to you.]
[Xavier: By the way, how’s Leo doing?]
[Zhane: The guy’s ribs were nearly shattered from the explosion. The damage made surgery extrely difficult—even I wasn’t confident we could pull it off. But it was Leo’s sheer will to survive that carried us through and made the impossible possible.]
[Zhane: That said, his body took a serious hit, especially his head. I’m concerned there might be so cognitive issues when he wakes up. I haven’t told Hera yet—I don’t want to distract or worry her while she’s preparing for the competition.]
[Luke: You made the right call. If Hera found out about Leo’s true condition now, it might break her focus. She could even miss the competition. And if Leo wakes up and realizes how bad things were, he might bla himself.]
[Zhane: Yeah, that’s what I thought too. So for now, I’m personally monitoring his condition. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been any real improvent yet. He’s still in critical care and needs close observation before we can say he’s out of danger.]
[Xavier: Do any of you have any idea who targeted Leo? @Luke @Rafael @Dave]
[Dave: ||lll´Д｀)))]
[Dave: No solid leads yet. But I’m guessing it ca from the underworld. Either soone put a price on his head, he got caught up in a mafia turf war without realizing it, or he unknowingly stepped on the wrong toes.]
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