Chapter 140

“Spasibo,” I responded, when I dared to smile a little. “It’s an honor, Mr. Valinchenko. I am very happy to be here.”

“And very nervous, too,” Illya observed, with some irony.

“Otets (Father)…” Ivan’s growling scolding was heard.

“Don’t worry, I just highlighted a fact, Ivan. If she knows everything and understands what it means to be here, to be part of this meeting, then she has no reason to be nervous. We’re not going to eat her.”

Sasha stepped back from her grandfather a little, frowning. It almost seemed like she was threatening him.

“No, dedushka! You can’t eat my mom! Only my dad can eat her!”

It was surely impossible to describe the variety of colors that passed over my face, or the rigidity that took over my body. Ivan just pursed his lips, hiding a smile, Mirko looked away, and Mikhail and his fiancée glanced at each other briefly, thinking who knows what. Ekaterina herself raised her eyebrows in surprise; perhaps sh