Bon Appétit

TL/N: Sujebi is hand-pulled dough soup, or Korean-style pasta soup, is a Korean traditional soup consisting of dough flakes roughly torn by hand, with various vegetables.

It was raining outside.

Pitter-patter

Looking at the late spring rain, listening to the sound of falling raindrops made Luana want to eat something. Luana jumped up from her seat and took out a pot and poured water. After that, she prepared some anchovies, put it in the pot, and brought it to a boil in a short time.

She carefully scooped out the foam that rose up, seasoned the soup with salt, added some potatoes, and hand-pulled the kneaded flour, then she brought it to a boil. She wanted to make the dough proofed, but it was not possible. The sound of the spring rain was growing.

“If you eat well and then die, it’s fine.”

Luana hummed as she watched the thin dough rise and turn into a transparent milky color. It seemed to be cooked. But it would have been tastier if she added more vegetables. She stared into the soup in regret.

Bang!

At that moment, the kitchen door opened and a middle-aged woman rushed in.

“Princess, something is wrong!”

“Oh, nanny! Are you going to eat too?”

Luana took out another bowl, filled it with sujebi and placed it on the table.

“Now is not the time to eat! The Imperial Army has invaded the inside of the Royal Palace! We must run away now!”

The nanny exclaimed in a hurry.

“No, I know that.”

Luana scooped a spoonful of the still hot Sujebi and blew on it before putting it into her mouth. The sujebi, which had slightly absorbed the broth, made the texture soft, and just right for her taste. The hot anchovy broth with softened dough went down her throat. As she expected, the taste was delicious! She thought it would be better if there was some ripe kimchi here.

Watching Luana scooping up the second spoon, the nanny put on a look like she was about to faint.

“Why are you so relaxed?!”

There was no use running away. Ttis kingdom will be destroyed anyway and all the royals will die, just as the story. All royal family members will die, except one. No matter how far away you run, they will catch each one of us and to a more gruesome death.

‘If I die again, I want to die as painlessly as possible.’

Luana pursed her lips and scooped out the third spoon.

Although she didn’t remember the novel title, it was a famous romance fantasy novel. Luana was reading the novel before she died.

In the story, there was Ingrid, a beautiful princess widely known for her beauty. She was the heroine of this story. And in the Empire, there was a war-crazed Emperor who dreamed of conquering the continent. He was the male lead.

At first, he invited Ingrid to be his concubine. But Ingrid did not accept the proposal. Yeah, the Emperor was a little too crazy for her to accept. As soon as he ascended to the throne, what he did was destroy weaker countries and conquer them.

The Emperor, furious out of a single refusal, sent a Duke and his army to the kingdom to seize Ingrid’s kingdom and forcibly drag her away. And Luana was born as one of the non-existent princesses in the story. Growing up to some extent, she was so desperate to find out that this place was out of the novel.

But in the end she got over it! She decided to just give up and die. She didn’t want to put much effort and time because she had lived very fiercely in my previous life. She just wanted to live in moderation, eat what she wanted to eat, and stay.

‘By the way, the Emperor is really cheap!’

But that cheap guy is the most powerful person in this world, there’s nothing she can do about it. Luana’s life was like a lantern before the wind.

“What should I do? I’m destined to die this way.”

“What?”

She died once already, and in this second life, she just wanted to die peacefully.

“Nothing. But are you really not going to eat, nanny?”

“Do you still have the urge to eat in this situation?”

“Yes.”

Luana nodded her head and heartily ate the sujebi again. A bowl soon came empty.

“I should eat some more.”

The still steaming sujebi was generously scooped out with a ladle and poured into a bowl. The nanny, who was watching the figure, sat down across from her tiredly.

“Just give me one bowl.”

“Okay.”

The nanny was also given a bowl with a generous scoop.

“It’s delicious.”

“Of course. Who do you think made it?”

“I thought you were a little strange for a princess whenever you made a dish that I didn’t know where the recipe came from.”

‘What? Did you think so? But not anymore, right?’

“After much thought, I really think you are quite strange.”

The nanny shook her head and ate the sujebi. They ate while listening to the sound of raindrops coming from outside, so no side dishes were needed. The two quickly emptied the bowl. They felt better now that they were filled.

Great, now, even if she dies today, there will be no regrets. Luana patted her round, swollen stomach. Then the door to the kitchen swung open.

“Here they are!”

A soldier holding a blood-soaked spear shouted, and a knight in armor approached.

“Where is the princess?”

The knight shouted to the two with a fierce expression. Luana and the nanny exchanged glances for a moment and put the empty Sujebi bowls in front of them.

‘Should we tell them the princess is here?’

‘Yes, I am the princess. But why are they looking for a princess?’

‘I don’t know.’

Luana slowly raised her hand. The knight’s gaze, who was speaking threateningly, reached the raised hand.

“Excuse me.”

“Where is the princess?! If you don’t tell me, I can’t guarantee your life.”

“But, I am the princess?”

The knight who was talking loudly stopped talking. Luana and the knight’s eyes met.

“You are so loyal! Is it to escape the princess and let the maid take the role of the princess? But remember! Your master cannot protect you!”

“But it’s right, I am the princess.”

“Tell me where the princess is right now!”

“Knight, I understand your unwillingness to believe.”

Nanny, are you the enemy? How can you understand that? Luana pursed her lips.

“This is the princess.”

There was a moment of silence in the kitchen.

“The sixth princess, Luana?”

“That’s right.”

“Yes.”

‘Really? She can’t be the princess, right?’ The knight’s eyes scanned Luana with suspicion. She wore an old dress that has been worn several times. The corset was not tightened properly, so the stomach was bulging out due to the sujebi she just ate. Her grayish-beige hair was unique, but it was frizzy because it wasn’t properly groomed. Looking closely, she has good skin and she was quite cute, but there are many maids who look like that. So he couldn’t believe it.

This is because the princesses of the Alluin Kingdom were all famous for their beauty.

“I don’t come from a noble family.”

Luana revealed the truth to the still confused knight. She got her appearance from her mother. Her mother was a maid doing laundry, then accidentally spent a night with the king and gave birth to Luana, but she was not beautiful. But if you look closely, she was pretty cute!

“Search for the princess, see if she may be hiding!”

The knight ordered the soldiers, but no matter how hard they searched, all they could find was rottened and dirty possessions. It’s an abandoned palace in the first place, so they shouldn’t expect too much.

“Done.”

“We have to take the princess with us, Sir Lugard.”

At the words of the soldier, a knight called Lugard stared at Luana.

“Are you really the princess?”

“That’s right.”

“Yes, she is the princess.” the nanny said.

“Drag her!”

As soon as Lugard’s words fell, the soldiers came and pulled Luana out.

“Oh, I can walk on my own!”

Luana appealed actively, but the soldiers grabbed her and quickly ran towards the square. She thought it must be urgent. They should’ve believed it sooner. Luana gave a blank expression as she watched Lugard and the nanny running after them.

‘Nanny, I didn’t know you could run so fast.’

Many people were already kneeling in the square in front of the royal city. Among them were Luana’s half-sisters.

“Sit over there.”

“Oh, yes. Excuse me, excuse me.”

Luana made her way through the crowd and sat in the seat where Luguard pointed. As she sat down, the other princesses next to her opened their eyes wide.

“Who are you to sit here?”

“It’s me, sister.”

Who is ‘me’? Ingrid, who seemed the kindest and calm, looked confused. For information, she was the heroine of this fuss. She is a beauty that the emperor would like.

“This is the seat for the royal family. If you make a mistake, you might die, so sit somewhere else.”

No matter what, she was going to die if she sat somewhere else anyway. Besides, Luana was also a member of the royal family.

“I am also a member of the royal family.”

When she told the truth, Ingrid looked embarrassed.

“Ah! Come to think of it, I heard that there was a child living in that abandoned palace.”

Fortunately, the sharp-looking second child remembered Luana’s existence. As soon as her words fell, those ridicule and sympathetic gaze fell to her, but she didn’t care. They’re all going to die anyway.

Death was fair!

The rain had stopped and the sun had come out. The floor was wet, but a pleasant wind blew. As the warm sunlight reached my stomach, my head went down.

If the fifth princess sitting next to her had not poked her in the waist, she might have really fallen asleep. And she was sure, she would’ve been the first to get her neck cut off. She wondered why it suddenly got quiet, and there was a man walking in front of her.

The man with black-raven hair, wearing dark-colored clothes, looked like a grim reaper. Except for Luana. That’s the color of chocolate. A sweet and bitter chocolate divided into six pieces. Luana looked at him without realizing it and opened her mouth.

She could make most of anything on her own, but chocolate was hard to make. What can she do if she has cacao beans? Because of that, her obsession with chocolate only grew.

The closer the man approached, the heavier the silence fell. Some were trembling with the coming death. Luana was no different. Even though she was prepared, she was afraid of dying. At times like this, she needed to calm her mind. Luana bowed her head and wiggled her sleeve.

“Have you caught them all?”

“Yes!”

The knight replied to the man’s words. Apparently, he held the highest position here. Then he must have been the Duke Legion, the General of the Imperial Army.