CH 5

Luana felt nervous as she saw the Duke open his mouth.

“Before the Emperor sent me here, he promised me one thing.”

“W-what’s that?”

“He said after I destroyed this kingdom, if there is one thing I want, I can take it and do whatever I want.”

“I-I see. Even though the kingdom is small, there may be some fine treasures here, so it’s great!”

‘Hey, don’t underestimate me! There’ll be no one like me in this kind of situation.’ Luana was confident to give any information he needed about any royal treasures that the Duke wanted.

“Yes, at first, I didn’t want anything.”

“Nothing?”

“But now, I think I know what I want.”

The Duke who said those words stared at Luana. She looked around then pointed to herself, sweating profusely.

“W-what you meant is not me, right?”

The Duke is still staring at Luana.

“I’m not an item.”

“It’s not much different.”

“I-It’s a very huge difference.”

“So, you hate the idea?”

The Duke reached into the hilt of his sword. If she were to say no, he would cut off her neck. Luana was afraid of his sudden kill intent aura.

“No! Not at all! I like it! It’s great!”

‘What ton of bullshit.’ shouted Luana in her heart.

“Um, by the way.”

“What?”

“Is there anyone else you want besides me? Maybe a beautiful princess with blonde hair and blue eyes!”

She talked about Ingrid, which she thought was the most beautiful princess among the princesses. Even the Duke fell for her in the original story. It was sad to see he couldn’t do anything because he was loyal to the Emperor.

“Not really?”

“Or maybe a gorgeous princess with red hair?”

“No. I had no such thoughts.”

“No, think about it again. There must be someone who made your heart pounding just by seeing her!”

‘So take that person with you!’ Luana stared at the Duke, full of hope. Someone has to trust their heart to a cold man like him rather than take someone because of his appetite!

Duke gave her a troubled look and answered.

“Hmm, there is one person who made my heart pound. Looking at her made me want to torture her.”

Then he looked straight at Luana.

‘Why are you looking at me?’

‘I’m going crazy.’ The Duke was rumored to be quite a sadist. She felt a bad premonition.

She was nervous and looked up at the Duke without realizing it; his eyes were bright. He had long eyelashes, bright red eyes, a pointed nose, and even his lips were red. Legion was a beautiful man.

‘If you fix that temper of yours that had become worse due to your curse, you would be popular with young ladies.’

Luana raised her hand. However, before her fingers could even touch the fair, smooth-looking skin, she hit the back of her head against the wall.

Bang!

The Duke looked confused at the sudden sound. But Luana didn’t even have time to care about it. It was because the back of her head hurt so badly that she wrapped her head with her hands and rolled around in agony.

“Aaahhh!”

She hit her head to get herself together, but she guessed it was too much. As she rolled around trying to get rid of the pain, she could feel the pathetic gazes of Lugard and the Duke.

“I can’t understand what she is doing.”

“It looks like she is crazy. Why don’t you reconsider?”

The sound of clicking tongues from above made her angry. ‘Who’s crazy? You are the one who is crazy!’ However, the absolute underdog, Luana, only thought about it but didn’t speak her mind because she didn’t want to face a tragic end.

After the pain had subsided, she got up from her seat and dusted her dress. But because she was at the King’s office, her dress was clean, and there was hardly any dust on it.

If she had been rolling around in the abandoned palace, she would have had to change clothes. Luana cleared the desk proudly and put the finished dishes on the tray, then Lugard opened the door. Although he was looking at Luana like she was a madwoman, his manners as a knight were excellent.

At that moment, a booming sound echoed inside the office.

Grumble!

Although she was an abandoned princess, she regularly ate three meals a day without missing a meal. She looked around, hoping that others might not have heard it, but her hope had fallen. Both the Duke and Lugard were already looking at Luana.

“W-why?! If one’s hungry, one stomach might make some noise!”

“Yes, it can.”

Somehow, the Duke defended Luana. ‘Why is that madman defending me?’ Luana looked at him suspiciously.

‘Oh, is it because he said he did not enjoy eating because he had no sense of taste, so there must have been times when he starved and his stomach grumbled? Is that why he is agreeing with me?’

“Yes, it can happen.”

Lugard, who had looked at him with a strange gaze at first, nodded at the Duke’s words. ‘He is strong to the weak and weak to the strong!’ muttered Luana and pushed the tray. It had not been a day yet, but it seemed like a lot of time had passed.

***

Luana returned to the kitchen, put the dishes in the wooden barrel, and took out a new pot.

“What are you doing?”

When Lugard looked at her with a suspicious look, she said confidently.

“I’m going to eat too!”

“I see.”

Surprisingly, he was convinced. Luana first put the rice in a pot and poured water. If she soaked the rice first, the rice would be more delicious, but she was too hungry to do that.

‘Ah, I’m glad I was born in a country with rice.’ Luana nodded, took out the vegetables, and chopped them into small pieces. Orange carrots, yellow potatoes, and white onions are chopped ​​and fried in a pan with oil. Then she sprinkled some salt.

After she had made all the preparation, the rice was ready. She gently scooped the rice and put it in her mouth, and chewed it; the unique taste lingered in her mouth.

“Ummm!”

Luana was excited and covered one of her cheeks with her hand, then poured the prepared vegetables into the rice and mixed it. After it mixed well, she cooled it down and then shaped it into a ball.

“Be delicious! Be delicious!”

Please be excitingly delicious. It would be better if it turned out to be tastier!

“Are you chanting a spell? Does it taste better if you keep saying that?” asked Lugard with a curious look.

‘What is he saying? This idiot.’

“Of course. Chanting it before eating works well.”

Naturally, Luana lied to him.

“Does Sir Knight want to try making it too?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Come on, try to make it. A man who can cook is popular among women!”

What Luana told Lugard was the truth. Maybe not in this present life, but it was in her previous life. Luana told Lugard to wash his hands and then placed a rice bowl in his hand. He shaped the rice balls in a very awkward manner.

“The spells! Say the spells!”

“Do I have to do it? I feel uncomfortable thinking it’s a witch’s spell.”

“Of course! If you don’t, the food won’t taste good! After all, all magic begins with faith. If you think strongly that it will be delicious, that idea will permeate and the food will be even more delicious! This is the magic of life! Even humans, not witches, can spell it if they have a strong will. So it is a prejudice to think it belongs to a witch!”

All of those words that came to her mind were bullshit. However, the knight, who massacred the kingdom’s soldiers, seemed more naive than she thought. Lugard followed Luana’s words in a small voice.

“Be delicious.”

Although obscured by the Duke’s beauty, Lugard was also a handsome man with reddish-brown hair. It was cute to see a handsome man muttering while making rice balls. He was so cute that I could eat rice without side dishes.

Luana stood there and took a bite out of the shaped rice ball.

Although it is seasoned with salt, the sweet taste from the stir-fried vegetables and sweet vegetables and savory rice created a harmonious combination of tastes. Luana happily took another bite. The seasoning was perfect, and every time she ate it, she burst into exclamations without realizing it.

‘Hunger is the best sauce.’*

TL/N: All food tastes the best when one is hungry.

As soon as she finished eating one rice ball, Lugard asked with a curious look.

“Aren’t you eating too much?”

“Huh?”

‘What bullshit are you talking about?’ asked Luana while she took the second rice ball.

“Normal young lady would eat much less, don’t they?” asked Lugard.

“No. All those young ladies go back home and eat a lot.”

“I don’t think so.”

“I think so. When I go to an event or something, I eat as much as a rat’s tail* and come home and hold the rice cooker.”

TL/N: Korean slang to express less in quantity.

“Why hold the rice cooker?”

“I know, right? Why hold the rice cooker?”

Luana gave a rough answer and ate the second rice ball. The rice is sweet! She chewed it a few times and passed it down her throat. While stamping her feet and taking the third rice ball, Lugard also finished the rice ball.

“But this is a bit strange.”

“It’s because you gave it too much strength. But give it a try. It’s going to be delicious.”

With Luana’s confidence, Lugard took a bite of the rice ball awkwardly. It was an act of believing in himself, who was resistant to poison because he didn’t believe in Luana. As he slowly chewed the rice mixed with the stir-fried vegetables, the flavor spread in his mouth.

He claimed to have eaten most of the food, and it was the first time he had tasted this kind of food.

“It has an interesting taste.”

“What?”

“It’s kind of hard to describe the taste. But it feels cozy.”

‘Why do you feel cozy from rice balls? You looked at me like I’m a madwoman, but in fact, maybe you’re the one who is crazy?’ While Luana was contemplating, Lugard finished one rice ball.

“Can I make some more?”

“There is nothing that you can’t do.”

Lugard made two more large rice balls and wrapped them in well-dried leaves. It looked like he was going to eat it later. Luana swallowed the fourth rice ball in the meantime and rolled the leftovers into a ball. She was thinking of bringing it to her nanny. But it might be challenging to give the rice ball to her. It was because the members of the royal family and the servants were locked up separately.