“Yikes.”
The first thing I smelled was sweet chocolate.
I rubbed my throbbing forehead and looked up to see him.
He had just come back and was dressed to go out for the night.
“……Duke?”
Have he decided to quit smoking? I don’t smell cigarettes on him.
“Why are you running away?”
Menelik asked, puzzled.
“I don’t want to eat anymore.”
It was a conclusive answer, but Menelik understood when she saw Merra running toward her with a plate.
Menelik’s golden-green eyes lit up with amusement.
“If you don’t want to eat that, you can eat something else.”
“I don’t want to eat anything right now, I feel sick.”
“Hmm.”
“Miss Cheria, you must eat some……!”
Merra saw Menelik and stopped suddenly.
Before Merra could say anything, Menelik lifted me up with one arm.
“I have her.”
I felt so bad for her, but I couldn’t bring myself to look up.
He took me to the office that I thought was Winter’s.
I looked around for Winter.
“Where is she?”
Menelik tilted her head and set me down on the couch.
Then he called my name, his voice thick with emotion, as if a very strange and unwelcome event had occurred.
“……Cheria, wait.”
“What?”
“Why is Winter your mother and I’m the Duke?”
Was I offending him by calling Winter my mother?
Menelik raised an eyebrow.
I quickly corrected the title.
“And where is a duchess…….”
“Aha. You’re calling her by the wrong name.”
“…….”
I figured it was better than calling Menelik “Father.”
Winter didn’t like it when I called her mother either.
I rolled my eyes and Menelik made a face.
He smirked and ruffled my hair casually.
“If you don’t want to eat, don’t eat.”
Menelik sat down next to me.
I mumbled as I watched him take the candy out of his arms and eat it.
“But I’m sorry, but she’s just worried about me.”
“She’d be more worried if you threw up.”
“That’s true, but…….”
I ran out of things to say.
Eating enough to throw up would only make it worse.
I can’t believe I’m going to be able to enjoy the mountain seafood that I only saw at Countess Mayol.
In my previous life, I would have cleared my plate, but Cheria’s stomach was already screaming at me for overeating.
I curled up in a ball of self-pity.
“I’m so sorry to the chef, he must have worked so hard to make this, and what if he thinks I didn’t eat it because I didn’t like it? What about the other maids who brought me food? I know they care about me, and I’m even more sorry to have disappointed them, and if they think I’m ungrateful and want to kick me out, I’ll be in a lot of trouble……!”
Suddenly, Menelik’s cold hand touched my forehead.
“Your fever hasn’t broken yet.”
“I’m not babbling because I’m feverish.”
Whether I squinted or not, Menelik chewed and swallowed his egg candy.
“I was just thinking of getting you a present before we left the capital, but your story just reminded me of something good.”
“Is that something good in my eyes?”
Cheria asked, not knowing if she had ever received a good gift before being possessed.
Menelik smiled lazily and replied.
“Of course.”
“You’re really giving it to me, aren’t you?”
“Not if you’re so suspicious already.”
But if you trust the people of the Countess of Mayol, you’re in trouble.
I pouted my lips.
“……Alright, I’ll believe the Duke, and I’ll go tell him I’m sorry!”
I apologize for worrying her, but I also have to manage public opinion.
Menelik narrowed his eyes.
“Not the Duke.”
“What?”
Menelik said, avoiding my gaze.
“That. You know, the one that starts with ‘ah.’ The one you call someone like me without regard to status.”
I scratched my head.
A casual way to call someone like Menelik without identifying them?
“Ah…….”
“Yeah, ah.”
“Mister……?”
My lips spat out what I thought was the correct answer.
Mmmm, maybe not the answer he wanted.
Menelik’s face crumpled.
“……You’re babbling. I’ll take you home.”
Just like before, Menelik picked me up.
I reflexively threw my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.
Soon I realized there was no way he was going to let go of me, and I shrugged and relaxed.
Menelik looked down at me, still not quite used to being carried.
“Has anyone ever dropped you at the White Castle before?”
“Well, not really, but…….”
There were plenty of humans to go around.
Still, Menelik’s lightheartedness made me feel calmer, and I was able to formulate a plan.
“I’ve been thinking,” I said, “and I think I’ll just have a fruit drink to cheer me up, because if I take the pills on an empty stomach, my mother and Yelena will be even more worried than they already are.”
“So why is Winter your mom and I’m your…….”
Menelik, who had suddenly become a low pressure, muttered something in a low voice.
But his voice was too low to be heard.
he was probably just talking to himself, so I looked away.
Menelik was very tall, so being hugged by him elevated my view.
While I was busy admiring the incoming scenery, which was somewhat different from walking around on my own, Menelik, who was hurt and alone, muttered to himself.
“You didn’t realize, but I’m three years younger than Winter.”
“Is that so? I had no idea.”
I knew the truth, but I responded sincerely.
Then Menelik coughed and cleared his throat.
“Yeah. So…….”
Just then, I saw Kivrin outside the window.
“Ah, it’s him!”
I leaned out the window.
Menelik pulled me down.
“I’m going to go to him.”
“Aren’t you even afraid of Kivrin?”
“I’m not afraid.”
He gave me a curious look at my quick answer.
If he’s so cute and handsome, why should I be scared?
I was looking forward to growing up.
Winter and Menelik were both blessed with a beauty that turned everyone around them into squid.
Their child, Kivrin, was going to grow up to be a great man.
Even in the novels, Kivrin’s face as he grew up was often described with as much care as the author’s favored lord.
There was no doubt that he was handsome to a fault, though there were many other bloody adjectives attached to him.
Menelik smirked.
“I see. Go.”
I stole a quick glance at Menelik’s back as he turned.
What was he going to say, emphasizing the fact that he was three years younger than Winter?
Did she want me to call him father?
“Be careful not to fall.”
Menelik added.
Still with the same puzzled expression.
Hmmm, maybe I should still read the mood.
I concluded lightly and stormed down the stairs.
I was in better shape than I had been earlier, thanks to my medication and nap.
“……kivrin?”
He seemed to be heading toward the garden.
I turned at the front gate and walked past the fountain.
Still no sign of Kivrin.
He’d slept with me and disappeared on his own.
I rolled my eyes.
Had Kivrin evacuated ahead of time, knowing Merra would come back with food?
He said himself he had a good ear.
I have a weak stomach and can’t eat much, but Kivrin seemed to have other secrets.
He never told me what he ate in the snake den before I made something resembling food.
Could it be possible?
I admired my powers of deduction.
I walked through the flowers to the end of the path and still couldn’t spot Kivrin.
I lifted up on my heels and looked ahead.
Beyond the flower beds was a maze of densely planted fruit trees and vine roses with dense foliage and narrow gaps.
The Duke’s gardens were too large, even for his size.
Still, I had come this far, and it would be a shame to give up.
I took a few steps forward.
“I…… have to go now, Mo, I won’t see you for a while.”
Kivrin!
I turned my head toward the source of the muffled words.
But who was he talking to?
“Uh, yeah, I know you changed……. I’m proud of you, so go get yourself something to eat, you don’t have to bring it to me.”
I couldn’t hear the voice on the other end.
What should I do, turn back?
As I hesitated, my foot stepped on a dry leaf.
It made a loud rustling sound.
Kivrin said he had good ears…….
Ugh, already wrong.
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