Episode 21
It was hard to figure out exactly what made Amoide sick, so many things had to be taken into account.
That meant I had been caring for and feeding an animal that could hurt Amoide.
Oh my. Oh, my gosh.
“Yes, you’re right. Even things that don’t seem like much can hurt my husband. I’m aware of that.”
I tried to talk in a relaxed way, but I laughed too much.
“Well, that cat won’t get away with it… So that’s why it smelled like fish. It had already stolen several expensive fish.”
At some point, Noir had both the smell of the meat I fed it and a strange fishy smell.
I was curious about where it got the fish, but it turned out that it had been stealing them the whole time.
“What are you going to do with it if you catch it?”
“Well, I haven’t gone that far in my thoughts yet.”
After he said that, Jean looked at a pot in the corner that was boiling very fast.
A scary word popped into my head for a second.
‘No… cat soup?!’
When the scary thought popped into my head, I shivered and said, “No, Jean. No way, no how!”
“What?”
Jean looked at me like he wanted to know what I was talking about.
“Cats might look slow, but they are actually very fast and wild. It will be hard to catch. If you hurt your precious hands by mistake…”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. I can catch a live wild pig.”
Jean said as he looked at the knife on the cutting board.
“…”
“Don’t you believe me?”
The look on Jean’s face changed right away. He looked like he was about to catch a wild pig.
“I believe you.”
Even if he had caught a bear instead of a wild pig, its size and strength would have made sense.
I have to believe him, though. I should, of course.
“But it seems like you’ve seen that cat before, Duchess?”
“No.”
I replied quickly.
I couldn’t admit that I had just been playing with the cat’s belly.
And Amoide didn’t dislike the cat all that much either. There were no coughing or itchiness signs!
I tried to stop myself from screaming inside and keep a cool face.
“Of course I believe you, Jean.”
When I saw how serious Jean looked, I felt very uncomfortable.
“I’m also looking forward to the meal you’ll make to make me feel better.”
“Of course I’ll bring the best dish,” he said.
“Can you tell me what it is ahead of time?”
I just hoped that cat soup didn’t make the list.
“First of all, let me…”
“No, no, no cat soup! It’s not at all good as a meal to help me feel better!”
I stopped Jean from talking and yelled.
“That… is that a cat?”
“Well… that, and cooking a cat…”
I couldn’t even bring myself to say it, so I shut my mouth again.
“Anyway, you can’t do that!”
But I couldn’t keep thinking that way. I felt like I was inside the boiling pot when I looked at it.
“Using random ingredients in a meal meant to heal could cause side effects we don’t know about!”
It’s not true that a cat’s body is flexible and good for your joints.
“The cat soup is the only…”
“What’s that?”
He wrinkled his face when he heard a word he didn’t know. Then, he opened his eyes wide as if he had just realized something.
“Cat… oh. You don’t mean to cook a cat, do you?”
Jean laughed out loud.
“Do you think I would cook up a cat and serve it to my master?”
Jean laughed as he said this, and his teeth shone brightly.
“Is that right?”
“I just want to yell at it a little so it doesn’t come back. Haha.”
He laughed so loudly that it could be heard in the kitchen.
In that wind, Rona and I hugged each other again, which scared us both.
When people stopped laughing, I asked Jean for a few more things.
“From now on, please make Amoide’s food for two people. For me as well.”
Jean wrote down my orders carefully.
“Amoide should eat the same things I do. Jean, please bring me the same ingredients and recipe. I’ll eat it too… Oh.”
I had a sudden thought, and then I added to it.
“Of course, we’ll all eat together in Amoide’s room.”
“Together… Do you mean?”
Jean was surprised and opened his mouth.
“Don’t married people normally eat together? We’ve been too separated, ‘us’.”
Jean’s eyes got bigger when I stressed the word.
“So, the rumors that the maids were talking about earlier…”
Jean was talking casually when he suddenly realized something and put his hand to his mouth.
I turned my head away and laughed quietly to make it look like I didn’t see it.
The word got around so fast. It must have happened quickly.
Rona must have said a lot of things that helped the story spread so quickly.
“But, sir, the food you eat might not taste as good to most people because it has less salt and fat in it.”
“It would be, of course. But I think a married couple should share a meal even if it doesn’t taste good. I feel so bad that I’m just now thinking about this.”
I smiled at him with a guilty feeling.
“My lady…”
As expected, Jean’s rough face showed that she was feeling very sad.
“I may not have any power, but I’m still the lady of this house.”
I took a quick look at Jean’s face and then brought up the next subject.
Also, Jean, don’t you think the kitchen is too old? And it’s not in a good place either.”
I used a hand fan to cool my face.
The smoke was so thick in the kitchen that it was hard to breathe.
“Of course, working in a place like this in front of the fire will make a person rough.”
I remembered that Rona was afraid of the head chef, so she clung to my back as we went down the stairs.
“A person’s environment shapes who they are.”
Just like the noble who used to own this house. But that’s how most of the homes of the rich I’ve been to looked. The houses themselves were shiny, but the kitchens were hidden away as if they were embarrassing.
He talked about it like it was nothing, but I felt weird about it.
The food made in the kitchen was always tasty, and it was carefully put on plates and dishes before being brought to the table.
As soon as the lid is taken off, steam comes up and a delicious smell fills the room. All of this work is leading up to that moment.
On the other hand, the workplace.
“No matter how clean a place is, it is impossible to keep the smells of all the different foods from mixing.”
“But if there was a cook there, the smell would be even worse. The heat is going to get worse, and Jean won’t be able to handle it.”
It was shocking that this big kitchen didn’t have enough ventilation.
“I’ll try to move it somewhere else.”
“…What?”
This time, he really seemed shocked.
“I mean a place with as much space and light as possible,” I said.
“…”
Rona and Jean looked at each other at the same time this time. Can that happen? Both of their faces showed the same question.
“Well, I’ll go now. From tomorrow on, Jean, I’ll count on you.”
When I waved my hand at him, Jean made a deep bow and looked very sad.
As I smiled and waved my hand at him, I left with Rona.
“You were so cool earlier, my lady!”
What did I do?”
When I asked Rona a question, she stopped in her tracks, crossed her arms, and gave me a snooty look.
Then she started to say back what I had said.
“Hey, Jean. Who am I?
“…”
“I’ll try to move it somewhere else.”
“…”
“I am still the lady of this house, even though I have no power.”
“Stop doing it.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood up.
“Stop, I told you!”
I yelled and put my hands over my ears.
Rona’s act went on, but all I did was make the sound again. “Aaah.”
“Anyway, you were so cool, my lady! It always breaks my heart to see you dripping wet…” (like a wet chick, a loser)
“Wet?”
When I thought about a tiny chick that was soaked in water, I felt sad.Yes, I did that. I looked like that.
“So, what do I look like right now?”
“A soaring hawk?”
Rona put his hands on his hips and did something silly, which made me laugh.
“It’s not cool; it’s just a way to get by.”
I didn’t let myself finish the sentence.
“What, to get by?” Rona asked me, her eyes shining.
I put up my hand so she wouldn’t say something pointless.
Why not just give her all the information? About my old life and the world I see in books. Just say it all, just like that.
“Why do you look so happy?” I asked her.
“Because you’ve grown and changed so much, my lady.”
“…Do I look different?”
I suddenly felt my energy drain away.
Today felt like a long day.
I was too proud to ask Camilla for permission to take care of my husband’s health, but because I did, I got permission for a certain amount of time.
Then I went for a walk with Amoide, and he told me, “Don’t waste your time in the future.”
The way his eyes were lit, the way his arms were wrapped around my waist, and the way the space between our faces suddenly shrunk.
“….”
I put up my hand to cover my face. They felt warm in a strange way.
No, wasn’t it just how I felt? Was there too much sun? Was that why his face looked a little bit different?
As I thought about what could happen, I could feel the roughness of the tape on my cheek.
My hand, which was on my cheek, was tightly wrapped in the bandage.
“Perhaps this hand is to blame.”
I used it quite well by accident.
I felt bad about it, but I’ll just use it a little bit more.
Even though he grumbled at me, he couldn’t say no to my offer because of how strong his hurt hand was. So let’s use it a little more.
