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Chapter 31
While gazing at them, Min-ha turned to look at where she would be sitting. She then found a chair opposite Seth and Noah. Somehow, it seemed to be her seat.
Fortunately, she didn’t know whether being with Seth Persen was a little emotionally uncomfortable, or because of the clothes she was wearing now. Since she was wearing high shoes that matched the dress, her feet were tired, so Min-ha wanted to sit a little further away and take her shoes off.
With that thought, she strode towards the seat.
“Brother, is sister-in-law’s seat over there? Ah, it’s too far! Here, here! Sit here!”
However, it was Noah who stopped her actions. The child sat on a high-backed chair with a very excited face and waved his feet, beckoning her.
Then, as he set Noah down in the chair, Seth stood by him for a moment before looking at her with a piercing gaze.
Min-ha glanced at his gaze and said to Noah with a slightly perplexed expression on her face.
“…Noah, but there’s no chair there?”
“Please sit with me!”
“…Ah.”
Nevertheless, her words were rejected at once by the child, who patted the space next to him.
Min-ha made an embarrassed face at Noah as he asked her to go his way, knocking on a chair that two people couldn’t sit on even if she pretended to. Meanwhile, Seth, who was looking at her alternately with the little boy.
Seeing that, she hurriedly turned her head and gave him an appealing gaze.
‘From a while ago, you, too… No, you already know that I’m uncomfortable, right? Please, help me!’
Although Seth avoided her gaze and turned to the knight standing in front of the main hall door and said.
“Bring that chair over here.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
Saying so, he pointed right next to Noah and instructed him to put the chair on the side. Min-ha almost made a loud noise without realizing it and stared at him, though Seth just stood there silently watching the chair being moved by the knights.
‘…No, what’s wrong with him today? Wasn’t he uncomfortable with me…? I’m trying to avoid you, so why is he doing this right now?’
With a puzzled face, she glanced at the chair that was moved to Noah’s side in an instant.
“Sister-in-law! Come over here!”
The little boy beckoned to her with an excited voice.
‘…Now that the situation is like this, there is nothing we can do about it.’
Giving up, Min-ha sighed inwardly and walked over to the chair next to Noah and pulled the chair out with her hand.
“Wait a minute.”
“Yes?”
But, it was Seth Persen, who was still standing next to Noah, that stopped her from sitting on the chair.
No, what is he talking about now…
‘Is he telling me to come at the most and not to sit down?’
Thinking so, Min-ha frowned slightly, hoping that he was being grumpy again.
However, contrary to her expectations, Seth grabbed the chair lightly with an indifferent face and pulled the chair back with his hands so that she could sit down. Then, he turned to look at her and winked slightly.
It meant to tell her to sit down, so that was why he took out a chair for her.
Min-ha opened her mouth in a confused voice rather than surprised at his appearance.
“…Do you want me to sit down?”
“Why? Don’t you like this?”
“…Oh, no! It’s not like that… Oh, what a strange day today since you’re doing something that doesn’t fit you.”
“Doesn’t fit me? Then, are you intending to turn me into a man who won’t even move the lady’s chair for her?”
“No. Of course not…”
“Besides, it was always my job to move your chair when we dined together. It wasn’t very often that I did this because you avoided eating with me.”
“…Ah.”
After saying those words, Seth returned to his seat and sat down.
Min-ha was still staring at him with a puzzled look. Before she knew it, she approached as she sat down on her chair with the help of the maid, who cleaned the hem of her dress.
When all three of them sat down at the seats in the main hall, the maids all bowed and showed their courtesy to them at the same time.
Then, Mrs. Pompa, the highest-ranking maid, came up to the three of them and said.
“Then, can I help you with the meals now, Your Excellency, Madam, and Young Master Noah?”
“….”
“Yes!”
“…Oh, yes.”
Following Noah, who vigorously answered Mrs. Pompa’s question, Min-ha also answered unknowingly. At that, the maids moved in unison and prepared the food to be eaten.
A well-prepared variety of food. In particular, Min-ha was amazed at how she cut the whole roasted deer into easy-to-eat pieces. She felt as if she had come to a restaurant specializing in high-end cuisine that costs several million won for a set of course dishes.
In an instant, the food that filled the long table so that the opposite side could be seen far away was cut into easy-to-eat portions. As everything was placed in front of the three of them, the servants all moved away from the table at once.
It was Mrs. Pompa who led them. As she stood alone by the long table, she opened her mouth again.
“If you have any inconvenience while eating, please shake the bell next to you.”
“We will do that.”
When Seth replied, Mrs. Pompa smiled slightly and took three to four steps away from the table. She seemed to keep that distance to be able to answer whenever she would be called.
Even though Mrs. Pompa had said that moment ago, eating wasn’t uncomfortable at all.
Min-ha bowed her head slightly to Mrs. Pompa, expressing her gratitude, and turned her gaze to the table. How big her belly would be eating everything on the table?
‘…Wow, that’s amazing.’
She tried to gently touch the little bell, though she quickly released her hand when she saw Mrs. Pompa’s gaze touching her fingertips.
Although Min-ha didn’t need her help, she didn’t want to bother her by touching the bell because she was just curious.
Eventually, Min-ha turned her body and looked back at Noah, who was holding a fork and knife, and Seth, who looked like he was gazing at her and Noah.
As her eyes met with Seth, and he nodded slightly.
“Well, eat whatever you please.”
“…Oh, yes.”
“Noah. You, too.”
“Yes, brother!”
Noah responded with excitement to Seth’s words, and with the children’s fork he was holding, he cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and put it in his mouth.
And, as he chewed on what was in his mouth and rolled up noodles placed in front of him with a clumsy fork, Min-ha made a sound without realizing it.
‘Oh, ah… So cute!’
Even though sometimes Noah acted and spoke like an adult, he was still only five years old. She thought he was so cute that she shriveled her hands unknowingly. As the child rolled up the long noodle clumsily with a fork and put it in his mouth, the sauce was stuck on his lips.
Then, she unwrapped the napkin that had been on the table and brought it to Noah’s lips, wiping the sauce off.
“Oh, my. You got the sauce on your face, Noah! Let’s wipe our faces with this!”
“Yes!”
“And, here! eat this. Ah—”
“Ah—”
When Min-ha brought the dried spaghetti to Noah’s lips, the child opened his mouth as if familiar with it and ate it.
She gazed at Noah, who was chewing his food tightly as his cheeks puffed up cheeks like dumplings, with eyes that seemed to drip with honey at any moment.
A mother once said that seeing her child eating well couldn’t be any prettier, and that statement was just right. Min-ha, who was looking at the child with a smile on her face, turned her head to see the stinging gaze on her side.
At that moment, she made eye contact with Seth, who was staring at her and Noah while drinking the wine, setting down his knife and fork. Because of that, she coughed for nothing.
“What are you staring at? Aren’t you eating?”
“…Do you always eat with Noah like that?”
“Ah, well… Yes? Why shouldn’t that be the case?”
“…No. It’s not like that.”
‘I don’t think that’s true.’
At his answer, Min-ha narrowed her brows slightly at Seth’s gaze, who couldn’t take his eyes off Noah and herself.
‘Ah.’
Maybe, it was because of that…?
Min-ha thought so and spoke to Seth with a persuasive expression on her face.
“Is it because you’re concerned with me feeding him food? Are you afraid it’s going to be a bad habit? …Come on. You know how polite Noah is and how good he is on his own. I do that sometimes, but what about it?”
“I like when my sister-in-law feeds me!”
“Really? Then, I’ll feed you more. Instead, it would only be when you’re eating dinner with me, okay? When eating alone, can Noah eat well on his own?”
“Yes. Sister-in-law, I want to eat the meat over there!”
“All right, wait a minute.”
Noah responded quickly to Min-ha’s request, and he once again pointed to my plate and asked her to feed him. Naturally, Min-ha, who couldn’t refuse the cute request, was delighted to see him quickly accepting her request.
She asked as she was cutting the meat with a fork and gave it to Noah. Immediately, the child opened his cute, tiny mouth.
“You like what I give you, right?”
“Yes, I like it! it’s delicious!”
Min-ha was pleased with Noah’s answer, and only then did she take the baked apple that was also on the plate to her mouth. She wasn’t used to eating roasted fruits, though she liked the baked apple.
Actually, she wanted to eat meat and carbs, though the dress was so tight that she would vomit if she ate too much. In the end, she thought that she should eat less today.
With that in mind, Min-ha, who had cut the meat in front of her even more and brought it to her mouth, met Seth’s stare as he was looking at her while holding his wine glass again.
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