CH 24

‘Why?’ Way was confused.

Luana cooked for the duke, and he enjoyed her dish. But what does she mean by ‘nothing’? But she doesn’t seem to lie.

Way turned to look at Luana, who was still looking at the jar on the table. The duke’s office could be seen in the distance, and the window hadn’t been closed recently.

‘Is there really no relationship?’

While thinking about that, Luana jumped up from her seat.

“Alright, then I’ll have to go get the meal ready!”

“What are you going to prepare today?”

“Spaghetti with big meatballs.”

It seemed that she was thinking of making meatballs by kneading a large amount of meat she had prepared.

“I’ll help you.”

“It’s fine.”

She never borrowed anyone else’s hand when preparing a meal for the duke. And that was one of the reasons why others doubted the relationship between Luana and the duke. It’s much less work if she gets help, so is there a reason to say no? For example, the reason why she wants to cook by herself.

“Then is it okay to watch by your side?”

“That’s fine, but isn’t aren’t the chef is good at making spaghetti?”

“You may call me Way. And please stop using honorifics.”

“Why?”

“It’s burdensome.”

The other party was royalty. Way, who was a commoner, had to be burdened.

“It’s alright. After all, the kingdom has been destroyed, so I am no longer a princess or anything.”

“Still, I feel uncomfortable.”

Luana pouted her lips at the remark.

“I’m not uncomfortable, so just do it.”

Then she fluttered toward the kitchen. Luana was very active. Way smiled faintly and belatedly noticed and fixed his lips. It felt like someone was watching him from somewhere. But when he turned around, there was no one to be seen.

Suddenly, he looked at the window of the duke’s office far away.

‘Is it just my feeling?’

There was no way the duke was watching them. He was still in the office with work piled up. Way shook his head and followed Luana.

Way wanted to watch Luana cooking from the side; he didn’t know if there was anything he could learn, so he hurried a little more to arrive at the kitchen before she started cooking.

***

After looking out the window of the office for a moment, the duke asked the butler.

“By the way, how old was the chef?”

“I’m sure he is still in his 20s. He was called a genius for his outstanding skills even though he was young.”

“Yes, he did.”

Because he was a genius, he offered a lot of money and brought him to the mansion. The duke also remembered that.

The duke, who removed himself from the window, headed back to the desk. There was a wrinkle on his forehead as he picked up the pen.

“Are you tired? How about taking a break?”

“I’m not that tired.”

The duke answered and quickly began to move his hands again. For some reason, a part of his heart became stuffy. But he didn’t know the meaning of this feeling because it was a feeling that he had never felt before.

‘I don’t know what this feeling is….’

It might have been easier for him to guess his emotions if there were no entanglements. However, there were many things intertwined between the two, and the biggest part was cooking. That’s why he couldn’t know about his feelings. So for a while, he felt like he had to watch Luana more. After all, she had nowhere else to go. The duke will have plenty of time to observe.

The duke thought so and turned over the papers.

***

In the meantime, time passed, and the day to enter the palace came. The duke was also officially the leader of the Leviathan Knights. It was only natural to go to the palace and work.

It was a matter of course.

Somehow, he didn’t feel like it. When he leaves the mansion, Luana remains here alone. Of course, a knight was attached, but he was not reassured because she was running around so much. Even so, he was reluctant to take her to the palace because he knew what the emperor was aiming for.

The Emperor has had everything he ever wanted. Even if it’s a princess from another kingdom, he became interested in Luana. Their story could be over. He would not take her openly because it was an award given to his subjects, but he would not know if Luana’s changed her mind. The emperor will take her with any excuse.

For that reason, the duke wanted to enter the palace alone. Because he needed Luana desperately now, he didn’t want to return to his terrible old life.

“From tomorrow, I will enter the palace. So, stay calm at the mansion.”

“I’ve always been calm, though?”

Luana, who brought the meal, answered calmly.

“You are?”

He asked back as if he was amazed, but she only answered with a smile. It was no use pretending not to be, as he was being reported daily what happened in the mansion.

Recently, Luana was curious about the fruit at the top of the garden tree and almost fell while picking it. It was embarrassing, but luckily there was a knight who was passed by and helped her. Or she could have been in big trouble.

Then Luana suddenly changes the topic.

“Can I go to the market instead? I heard there’s a big market every five days on the street.”

“The servant can get you all the ingredients, aren’t they?”

“There might be some ingredients that I don’t know!”

“I’ll tell them to buy every ingredients.”

“It’s another fun thing to go to the market and choose ithe ingredients by myself, right?”

Luana continued to insist with her stubborn look.

“I’ll go with Way.”

And he didn’t like the way she said Way’s name and presented it as a trump card. It’s not safe to go with the chef at all. At least, he thought he would be relieved in many ways if she went with a knight-level person.

“Okay.”

Luana’s expression bloomed at the duke’s words. But he tilted his head to the following words.

“If you really want to go, I’ll go with you on my day off.”

“Aren’t you busy?”

“I can spare about a day.”

‘No matter how hard it is, the duke doesn’t have to follow me to the market, though?’ Luana questioned but did not point it out. It was a chance to go to the market and look around at the ingredients! It doesn’t matter to go with who! Luana was satisfied just by going out.

“Alright!”

The Duke also agreed. A sense of satisfaction in him came up from the depths of his chest.

***

And the next day has come.

The duke entered the imperial palace. He returned to the Imperial Palace after a long time, but nothing had changed. So was the work routine. He organized documents related to the Knights and trained the Knights. Time passed quickly when he was training together with them.

It was lunchtime. Unlike other knighthoods, the Leviathan Knights’ chef was among the most skilled in the Empire. It was because the Duke brought the chef himself and assigned them here. Because of that, the food was especially delicious, so other knights were even jealous.

If there was one problem, the delicious dish was still tasteless to the duke. It tasted like medicine, and sometimes it tasted like trash. It was the same today.

For his lunch, the chef served delicious steak, potato salad, and lunch with some fruits.

“Is it delicious?”

“The Leviathan Knights are the best in terms of food and strength!”

The knights happily continued their meal, but the duke didn’t. He just frowned at the meal in front of him.

It was more difficult to eat food because he only ate delicious food lately. He tried some of the steaks, but it felt like chewing a bark with no taste. So was the potato salad.

“I have to eat.’

Even though Legion knows he has to eat, he refuses inside. Eating was difficult even though he knew it was hard to do proper training if he was starving. In the end, the duke left most of the food served to him.

When he bit the food, the rich juice filled his mouth. The savory taste of meat, the slightly bitter and sweet taste of vegetables, and the sauce combined with it brought out the taste of the food to the fullest. It was hard to hold a fork anymore when he thought of it.

‘I shouldn’t get too used to the witch’s food either.’

Knowing that his body refused to eat other people’s food after a long time. The witch was harmful. The witch’s food bound him. But knowing that, the duke had no choice but to fall into it.

**

Wipe wipe-

Luana, cleaning her precious jar, suddenly looked up at the sky. The sun was up, and it was around noon. ‘Is the duke eating properly?’ The sudden thought made me worried.

He was barely gaining weight, but if he didn’t eat lunch, he would have started losing weight again.

‘That’s not good! We’ve came so far!’

She cooked and fed the duke breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even at midnight. Luana couldn’t let her hard work go in vain.

‘Is there any way?’

A lunch box popped up in her head.

‘Should I make a lunch box and send it to him every lunch? Sandwich or easy-to-eat foods. It will take a bit more work to prepare in the morning, but I don’t think it’s a bad idea.’

“That’s it!”

Luana will have to ask the butler for the lunch box. She finished wiping the remaining jar and headed to the kitchen at the annex. She felt like she had to come up with a nutritious lunch box.

TL’s Note: Hi! Sorry for the late update. As I just finished my studies, I have much more time to do the translation. Enjoy the 10-day daily updates start by today. Thank you for waiting! <3