“Miss, I’ll throw it away!”
Regina quickly closed the box lid.
“Thank you. I’d like to bury it, but we don’t know what might have been done to the corpse, so please dispose of it properly.”
Iris might have placed a curse on it.
Though forbidden magic, one can never be too careful.
‘Now that she’s dropped even the pretense of being good and mindful of others’ eyes, she’ll probably act out more in the future.’
The problem is that it’s impossible to predict where and how she’ll act out.
‘She acted like she would use Chase. Why isn’t she returning to Bedrokka?’
Elise had asked David for a favor regarding Iris, but there had been no news about it.
Iris wouldn’t keep hiding forever, so she would eventually contact Chase.
She had asked Deboa to keep an eye on the Worton family.
–[Since Iris disappeared, Viscount Worton has been out of his mind. The madam has collapsed. The house is like a funeral home.]
Thanks to that, she heard some pleasing news. Though it wasn’t the news she was waiting for.
“We should burn it,”
Ruo received the gift box from Regina.
“We should also investigate how the gift got in, Ruo.”
“Yes, I agree with you, Miss.”
Beautifully wrapped gifts have already gone through one inspection.
Sometimes they skip inspection for one or two gifts or when gifts are delivered personally, but for cases like this where a large number of gifts are delivered to the royal family from multiple sources, they always go through inspection.
This is because there are often cases where the opposition sends dangerous items out of resentment, or unpleasant gifts are sent out of jealousy or various emotions.
Like Iris did.
Naturally, Iris’s gift should have been filtered out during that inspection process.
But it was delivered to Elise. What could this mean?
‘Is there a spy inside? Or did Iris enter the Tetris palace?’
Either way, she needs to be more vigilant and observant of her surroundings.
Elise gazed out the window. It felt as if Iris’s gaze could be felt from somewhere.
****
‘By now, she must have been shocked to receive my gift.’
Iris, with her hood half-raised, looked towards Elise’s palace.
‘You arrogant thing. Enjoy the present fully. It will all end soon anyway.’
Iris’s bright face gradually turned vicious. Smiling, Iris put her hood back on and blended into the crowd.
Iris hid herself in the shadows of the Tetris palace.
****
An official proposal from the Continental Allied Forces came to the Tetris royal family.
It was decided that Bedrokka, Tetris, and Magnus would be the central powers, with a few smaller nations lending their strength.
David was selected as Bedrokka’s representative, Ilaria as Magnus’s, and Karan as Tetris’s. And Ember, the sage of the Ivory Tower, participated as an advisor.
The first meeting was to be held in Ragnarok’s territory, called the Abandoned Land. It was a land sandwiched between the three countries, a place Elise had passed through when coming to Tetris.
While it couldn’t be called safe, it was a convenient location for all three countries to move to.
In fact, there was a story behind why that land was chosen for the first meeting.
“The first meeting in Tetris? That’s impossible! Whether you look at national prestige or power, the first meeting should be held in Bedrokka.”
“Nonsense! Who conquered four gates? It was Tetris. The country that will lead the allied forces to victory is also Tetris. The first meeting must be held in Tetris.”
Lange and Tyllo conveyed their opinions to each country, wrapped in elegant writing.
The first meeting was postponed day after day as they tried to decide on a location. Unable to bear it any longer, the King of Magnus summarized the situation.
“Let’s meet in the Abandoned Land. It’s close to all countries, and we can see how much power Ragnaros has regained. Wouldn’t it also be an opportunity to lightly coordinate if danger approaches? In the process, we could naturally determine the leader of the allied forces.”
While Magnus spoke as if suggesting it for peace, in truth, he had set this up hoping Ilaria would become the leader.
The King of Magnus believed in Ilaria’s abilities.
“Your Highness, are you all prepared?”
Once the place and date were set, Karan became busy.
Even though Elise secretly took care of some of the Crown Prince’s duties, he was still busy.
“Have you come?”
Though he was so busy he skipped lunch, Karan put down his documents as soon as he saw Elise entering his office.
“I’m not busy.”
And he told an obvious lie. Elise smiled faintly.
“What’s that in your hand?”
Karan received the tray Elise was carrying. While it was light as a feather to Karan, it seemed quite heavy for Elise.
“You should have a maid do this.”
“I wanted to bring it myself. It’s a snack. I heard you couldn’t have lunch. No matter how busy and important your work is, don’t skip meals.”
When he opened the round lid, there were sandwiches, juice, and a salad packed with meat.
Until just now he hadn’t felt hungry, but seeing the food made him realize his hunger.
However, Karan couldn’t distinguish whether this was hunger for food or hunger for something else.
Whatever it was, Karan intended to satisfy his hunger.
“Will you eat with me?”
“But I’ve already had lunch.”
“It’s lonely eating alone.”
Karan lowered his eyes, acting spoiled.
It was an act clearly visible to Elise. But Elise, who had given her heart to him, pretended not to know and played along.
“I’ll sit across from you.”
Karan thought to himself that he’d prefer if she sat on his lap.
Karan was about to call a maid to prepare for the meal, but Elise stopped him.
She didn’t like calling a maid for simple tasks, and she wanted to enjoy more time alone with Karan.
Elise realized anew that she was quite greedy.
“I’ll do it.”
“No, Elise. Just sit quietly in the chair.”
Though it was a simple task of moving food from the tray to the table, Karan didn’t want to make her do even that.
If it were up to him, he would have taken back even the Crown Prince’s duties that Elise was helping with, but Haltbin was the problem.
‘That guy blabbed and made Elise work hard.’
Haltbin, who had stayed up for two nights drowning in work, had complained, and Elise had heard it and volunteered to help.
Thanks to that, Haltbin got his nights back, and Karan lost his.
The passionate nights of holding Elise and sending her off.
‘Damn Haltbin.’
“Your Highness, is it not to your liking?”
Karan’s expression had wrinkled while thinking of Haltbin. Elise quickly examined him.
“No, Elise. It’s delicious. Did the chef pay special attention because you asked?”
“No. I made it myself.”
Karan froze for a moment. He was so still for a while that Elise wondered if time had stopped.
A thousand thoughts rushed through Elise’s mind.
Is it not tasty? But he just said it was delicious.
Does he not believe I made it? I washed my hands thoroughly before making it.
Is there something Karan shouldn’t eat in it? Maybe in the sandwich sauce.
What should I do? Should I tell him not to eat it?
Maybe I shouldn’t have made it. Indeed, problems arise when people do things they’re not used to.
Elise quietly reached out and pulled the plate of sandwiches in front of Karan towards herself.
She intended to ask the chef to make it again.
“Why are you taking it away? It’s mine!”
Seeing the sandwich plate slowly moving away from him like an ant carrying food, Karan suddenly came to his senses.
He grasped the plate with both hands. It was a desperate grip, like a drowning person grabbing a lifeline.
“Let go quickly, Elise.”
At his rather stern tone, Elise released her hands.
“It seemed like it wasn’t to your taste.”
When Elise spoke as if making an excuse, Karan exclaimed as if dumbfounded.
“I just said it was delicious. This is the most delicious food I’ve had in my life.”
“Really?”
“It’s more delicious than any food I’ve eaten at Bedrokka’s banquets.”
That can’t be true.
Although Elise left Bedrokka disliking it, she missed the country’s food. After all, Bedrokka was renowned as a country of gastronomy.
“Do you know Chef Piard Jangban? I heard he’s a chef famous in many countries. He briefly visited Tetris once. Perhaps short on travel expenses, he worked as His Majesty’s chef for a while, but even the food I ate then wasn’t as good as this.”
Piard Jangban!
Elise knew him too. Many people’s lifelong wish was to taste his food.
How could a mere sandwich compare to such a master’s cooking? It’s absolutely impossible.
“And…”
“That’s enough, Your Highness. Don’t tease me.”
“Tease? Who?”
Karan was bewildered. He was speaking sincerely, so why did Elise always say he was teasing?
Is the only way to convey his sincerity to this woman to turn himself inside out?
‘That’s impossible though. Hmm, would it be possible with magic?’
While Karan was lost in idle thoughts.
“Try some salad too.”
Intending to stop Karan from talking, Elise forked some salad and held it to his mouth.
Her intention worked perfectly. Karan blankly opened his mouth and ate the salad.
But he couldn’t taste or smell anything.
Elise was feeding him.
There was no need to turn himself inside out anymore.
His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out of his chest. This was no exaggeration. Karan’s heart was beating wildly, as if it would tear through his skin.
Karan was worried enough about himself to actually be concerned about his own well-being, something he usually never did.
“Would you like another one?” Elise asked, her face bright red.
To think she would voluntarily feed someone else, such an intimate act.
While finding it amusing that she was naturally doing something she would have detested if someone had asked her to do it, she couldn’t stop her hand, finding Karan adorable as he ate the food she offered.
Karan nodded and accepted a few more bites of salad and meat.
After about ten diligent servings of food, Karan grasped Elise’s hand and lowered it.
He couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Elise, I want to eat something else.”
“Oh? Something else? Just tell me. I’ll go prepare it right away.”
As Elise was about to stand up and leave, Karan pulled her wrist.
Elise’s bottom landed on Karan’s lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tight.
“What I want to eat…”
His hand moved discreetly.
“…is something only you can give me.”
When had it become so hot?
Karan’s breath on her ear made Elise burn up in an instant.
