CH-07
“The back of my head is still tingling.”
His brow furrowed as if he had a headache, a sign that his patience was wearing thin.
“That’s because …… he hasn’t eaten yet! Breakfast is the best medicine, right?”
It wasn’t a lie.
I started to set the table, trying to control my pounding heart.
Emma helped me move the plates.
Soon, we had a nice breakfast table of rice, drumstick soup in a teapot, babago kimchi, and stir-fried anchovies.
“Please eat.”
With that, I cautiously stepped back.
“Ooh, new food again!”
Louis excitedly picked up his fork and spoon.
“I’ll eat!”
“……I’ll eat.”
Evan, on the other hand, picked up his chopsticks first. It was a graceful, straight chopstick.
I knew that the fruit of my efforts to move the beans to the other side with chopsticks for a week was worth it, but I pretended not to know.
It was a familiar morning for the kids, but not for Kashar.
“What’s ……?”
His eyes sharpened at the same teapot that woke him up.
“It’s food from my hometown…… No, it’s food from my hometown, honey.”
Before I could say anything else, Louis eyed me suspiciously.
I hastily corrected my tone.
Kashar, now that he’d gotten the better of my tone, lifted one of his chopsticks and glared at the end of it.
“I’m scared!
How could a handsome man be so scary?
I felt like he was going to stab me with the chopsticks if I let him.
I snatched the weaponized chopsticks away from him and offered him a spoon in his empty hand.
“Try the soup before it gets cold. It’s a soup made from dried fish…… or something like that.”
Cool haejangguk, made with carefully flaked pufferfish, please try it!
At my suggestion, Kashar tried the yellowish soup.
The yellow broth was harmonious with the tender dried fish, soft-boiled egg, and green scallions.
“I’ll see how great of a morning it is.”
Having already given my life, I had nothing to lose, so I invited him with a smile.
Eventually, he scooped up a spoonful of bean curd soup.
“Eat something delicious and let it go.”
It was an incredibly tense moment.
If I had one thing in my favor, it was that I knew he liked fish and seafood.
“There was a scene in the movie where he was eating seafood.
Soon, a spoon of yellow broth was in his mouth.
His eyes widened as the spoon slowly slid out and the broth slid down his throat.
“Hmph, doesn’t it fit in your mouth?
I swallowed, holding my breath for Kashar’s reaction.
But rather than looking at me, he took another bite of the soup.
Kashar opened his mouth after an elegant hand movement that made the ginseng-patterned spoon look luxurious.
“……Not bad.”
He mumbled in surprise.
“Really? How much?!”
Was it good enough to save my life?!
It seemed like I hit the spot with my taste.
When I asked, unable to contain my delight, he smiled at me with that polite smile of his.
“Almost enough to cure the headache you gave me.”
“……Ah, hahaha. I guess bean curd soup is good for a hangover.”
“I didn’t drink.”
“Well, you passed out and woke up, so it’s not like…… nothing. Try it this way!”
I blurted out. I hastily snatched his cutlery from him, soaked the rice with soup, and held it up to my mouth.
“……What are you doing?”
“Ego, ah- do it!”
Carbohydrates are essential for a good mood.
I took advantage of Kashar’s open mouth and fed him a meal.
“Ouch, Eileen. Feed me too!”
I heard Louis’s voice next to me, but for once, I had to pretend not to notice.
“This one, too.”
I snuggled up next to Kashar, placing side dishes on his cutlery.
Feels like I’ve become a royal concubine.
In the end, Kashar ended up finishing all the food prepared for the feast pushed towards him.
He fumbled with his empty bowl and asked.
“……How long have we known each other?”
Kashar had decided to go along with my act.
I could see Louis’ ears perk up as he ate in silence.
I knew that if he saw me faking it, he’d raise his teapot and make a scene.
I couldn’t help it, so I continued.
“It hasn’t been a year……, it’s been three!”
Why did the story suddenly take this turn?
It had been a long time since I’d felt like I was about to catch someone.
Why did I feel like something was wrong?
Kashar took my stiffened hand and spoke.
“Eileen. I want to be more serious with you.”
Kashar was whispering my name, the name he’d picked up from the princes.
The heat of his hand and the slowness of his gaze almost mesmerized me.
“Have you gone mad from a blow to the head?
I’d prayed for him to have amnesia, not to turn out this way.
“Yeah. It’s just so sudden. Like you knocked me down.”
“Oh, that’s…….”
I couldn’t answer properly because of my sin.
But it was easy for others to misunderstand. Emma’s eyes were like those of a morning soap opera fan.
“I got kicked and Kashar hung on me…… that nonsense.
I silently pleaded with Emma that it wasn’t, but she wasn’t listening.
Kashar stood up, his backside looking as pitiful as if he’d been dumped by his mistress.
“Are you leaving?!”
But I didn’t see him.
I knew it. A blow to the head can drive a person crazy for a while. But the fact that he was leaving right away seemed to bring him back to his senses.
“I’d trade my meal for my sins.
I wished he would just go away.
“Yes.”
Kashar nodded slowly. I felt like I was going to cry with joy.
“If you let me go, it’s goodbye.
He’s eaten well, and his anger seems to have subsided.
Things had gone better than I thought.
“Be careful!”
Still, it was nice to see a handsome man or a subman.
It was time for me to pull my hair out with all my heart.
Kashar approached me on his long legs and took my hand. His hot lips brushed the back of my hand.
So close, so close.
He whispered so only I could hear.
“You’ve fed me well, so I’ll return the favor.”
“What?”
“Wait patiently, it won’t be fun if you run away.”
His sweet voice echoed in my ear.
***]
n the carriage back to Reuben Castle.
Opposite Kashar was riding with a man with grey hair tied up. He was Mikhail Evans, Deputy.
Mikhail’s gray eyes examined his owner. Kashar had been looking out of the window for a while.
He stuck to his expressionless face and burst into laughter from time to time. He looked like a handsome maniac.
“Are you finally crazy?”
He was just pressing it with poison, and he was a maniac in the first place, so he wouldn’t be weird no matter when he went crazy.
He could hardly be called human, given his innate physical abilities and resilience.
From the first war where Kashar was thrust into the role of crown prince, Mikhail stood by his side as both his lieutenant and magician.
“The Vladis War.
Vladis, a medium-sized nation, began to antagonize Lihart by allying with the Alliance at some point.
Eventually, a war broke out, involving the land of Kumsaragi.
Kashar was the first to be pushed into war.
It was a war to the death, but he survived.
Or rather.
“I felt sorry for Vladis.
At 15, Kashar awakens to his imperial powers on the battlefield.
Everything he held became a weapon, and he could rip the throat out of an enemy general with a single blade of blood.
Scholars who have long studied his powers have defined his abilities as beyond compare.
But history has never seen anything quite so monstrous.
The war ended in a one-sided slaughter.
Vladis fell in just three skirmishes, its king was beheaded, and the entire country united with Richard.
It was for this reason that Kashar was given the dukedom of Vladis.
It was impossible to read his master’s mind, then as now, but as a lieutenant, there are some things you need to know.
What was the matter with the former Empress Viviana’s anniversary?
Mikhail was about to say something when he realized he had to be careful.
“Did something happen…….”
“Honey, it’s raining.”
Hmmm.
Mikhail narrowed his eyes at Kashar’s offhanded comment.
You can’t be talking about me, he thought.
Mikhail shuddered at the bizarre thought.
“I saw an interesting girl.”
The word ‘woman’ visibly relieved Mikhail.
Despite the lieutenant’s reaction, Kashar had other ideas.
Long brown hair and light green eyes.
The plain-looking maid flashed before Kashar’s eyes.
He was on his way out of the tower after spending time there as ordered. A scent caught his attention.
“Delicious.
A savory, special scent wafted from the back door.
He couldn’t believe it. He hadn’t smelled anything like it in a long time.
He turned toward the door.
As he reached the source of the scent, something dull hit him in the head.
I was instantly stunned.
It was bad enough that he’d been hit in the back of the head, but the maid had poured him another drink and tried to dump him to cover up the incident.
“Crazy woman.
It was literal.
I was ready to kill her until she pretended to be my lover.
But no.
Just before pulling out the knife, the smell I smelled before I fainted tickled the tip of my nose.
The perfect smell that captivated him.
In the end, I kept my seat in anticipation just in case.
And soon the breakfast was served.
Among the foods I’ve never seen before, something like yellow soup caught my eye.
‘That’s the smell.’
It was more fragrant than he was in charge of.
Kashar eventually picked up a spoon.
As soon as the soup touched the tongue, it spread deep and tasted savory and salty.
At first, I was surprised because it was delicious. But the moment I passed it down my throat, my body reacted instantly.
‘The pain is disappearing.’
Instead of preventing mania, the alibi fruit causes immense pain.
The burning pain in my gut was disappearing, a sign that the mania was fading.
The more I swallowed the yellow broth, the less painful it became.
Suddenly, my body became lightheaded and I felt like I could forgive anything.
“Did I say …… beok-ot-guk?
The smooth, cool, and deep flavor reminded me of the sea.
The warmth of the soup, along with its savory flavor, was soothing.
“Maybe I can recover.
Taste and smell. And even the touch, which was slowly fading away.
The aluvi berries, though they prevent mania, are poison.
They know this, but they take the berries because they have no other choice.
But if you can antidote the poison, it’s a different story.
“Mikhail, are there any imperials living near the tower?”
“Ah, yes. I understand that the abandoned princes reside in the Cold Palace.”
Mikhail rolled his eyes as he replied. It dawned on him that that was where the trouble must have come from.
There must be bodies, he concluded, and he’d better send someone to deal with them.
But Kashar’s words were not at all what he expected.
“Find out about the nanny there.”
“I hope you don’t mind me asking what the reason is.”
“I owe her a favor. I want to return the favor.”
Kashar’s eyes narrowed.
His expression resembled the grin of a warrior about to draw his sword and slaughter his enemy.
“I’ll have it ready.”
It seemed better not to ask more.
Mikhail took the order.
***]
“Eileen, it’s begun!”
“…… again today?”
I dry-cleaned my face at Emma’s call.
Ever since the day after Kashar’s departure, a rain of gifts had been pouring into the cold palace where no one was looking.
