CH 3

After a while.

“Really… Can I eat it?” Calib muttered a little as he looked at the table I had prepared for him.

I said, squeezing a spoon into Calib’s hand. “Of course. You can eat it all.”

Although it’s full of potatoes, such as steamed potatoes, potato soup, potato potage, stir-fried potatoes, and potato pancakes, it will still be a meal.

I couldn’t help it. I should’ve known that there isn’t anything other than potatoes in every inch of this place.

[Such nonsense, no! What kind of teacher is this nonsensical rude person! Don’t listen to it, don’t believe it.]

[But she was selected as a talent after several interviews by the Grand Duke of Indigentia…]

[Here is not the Grand Duke’s Castle. It’s my house. That’s why, you just sit.]

[That wouldn’t be the case…]

[No, it’s okay. That’s okay. And I’ll make you an awesome dinner! No one in the dojo prepares meals better than me!]

It was so shabby that I was ashamed to say so proudly.

Calib was still staring at the table with a blank expression on his face.

I got a little nervous, so I asked cautiously. “Do you hate potatoes?”

“That’s not right. I was taught not to be picky with food, and potatoes are my favorite. But…”

At the fragrant smell of soft potatoes and the mouth-watering smell of oil, Calib looked at me, gulped. “How did you do it?”

“Huh? What?”

“It didn’t look like you had used any magic… How did you cook so many dishes in such a short amount of time?”

Admiration and respect were glimpsed in Calib’s eyes.

I felt embarrassed and scratched my cheek. It is true to say that no one in the dojo was as good at preparing meals as me.

“Yeah, whatever. As I live, surely I became skillful at it. Hurry and eat.”

“Skillful… I’ll eat well.” Calib, who said so, had a confused face as to whether he could still eat it.

Calib said that he would skip dinner until the end, and I convinced him by saying that he wouldn’t grow taller if he didn’t eat. I think I’ve said ten times that if he’s tall, he’ll look good in clothes and if he’s short, no matter how thin he is, he’ll look shabby.

Also the fact that now is the time for him to grow tall.

When I spoke for the eleventh time, Calib declared he gave up.

And now Calib rattled the spoon, then ate a spoonful of potato soup.

“…Mm.”

The red eyes that were gently relaxed seemed quite satisfied.

“The pepper taste is a little strong, but it’s okay.”

Potato soup is originally pepper, though.

“Try something else. I’m really good at potato pancakes, and when it rains, everyone wants me to make this.”

It’s a bit disappointing that there isn’t any soy sauce, but since the potatoes are fresh, they’ll be fine.

I cut the potato pancakes with a fork and brought it to Calib’s mouth.

“Y-yeah. I’ll eat it by myself.”

“Ey, who cares. Hurry, eat.”

As I tapped his tiny lips to open his mouth, Calib opened his mouth quietly, blushing a little.

The smell of oil is no joke, you can’t get rid of it if you don’t eat it, right?

Plus its crispy edges.

I smiled and shoved the potato pancakes into Calib’s mouth.

Crunch, crunch. Calib’s mouth twitched.

“How is it?”

“…It tastes peculiar. But when it rains, I think I’ll remember this taste.” Calib answered, carefully pointed to his mouth which was covered with oil.

Then he ate the potato pancakes elegantly with a fork and knife as he liked them.

“Eat a lot.”

“Mm, mm.”

Is it because he ate a spoonful at once?

Being very hungry, Calib drank the potato soup like water, put his fork down, and grabbed the steamed potato with his bare hands.

“Ah, it’s hot!”

“Oh my, be careful.”

I quickly picked up the potato that Calib had missed and blew a gust of wind on his red-stained palms. “Eat slowly. The food doesn’t go anywhere. If it’s not enough, I’ll make it again. You know I can make them in no time, right?”

“Yes..”

He then bowed his head and wiped the potato crumbs off his lips, as if to be seen as a Grand Young Lord. 

I cooled the steamed potato by blowing it up and split them into bite-size pieces in front of Calib. “I am indebted to you.”

“It will be like this for a while, huh?” I said nothing more and ate the potato soup.

It tasted good, but it was too potatoey. Besides, the fact that the table was all full of potatoes also bothered me.

Well, let’s go hunting in the forest tomorrow.

Will I get meat or fish… I guess I’ll have to get something other than potatoes first.

If I had known this would happen, I would’ve looked into the types of wild vegetables at the market near the Taekwondo gym.

***

The next day, Calib woke up with a drowsy expression.

The boy, who had been staring blankly at the unfamiliar ceiling, instantly opened his red eyes.

“Ugh!” Calib jumped out of his seat as if he got up from a match. “Now, what time is it?”

It was a perfect midday outside the window with the peaceful chirping birdsong.

“This is why I overslept…!”

It was the first time something like this had happened. Calib was actually suffering from severe insomnia. Although he was undoubtedly, somehow he grew up in an orphanage until the age of four.

If the Grand Duchess hadn’t come despite the opposition of their vassals, Calib would’ve grown up unaware that he was the Grand Young Lord.

‘But my parents were attacked and killed on the way back to the Grand Duke’s Castle with me.’

After all, it all happened at night.

Was it because of the shock of seeing his parents murdered in front of his eyes? Even now, at the age of seven, Calib hasn’t slept comfortably for a single day.

‘And I fell asleep like I passed out…’

He knew that he took a bath in the water Ellia had warmed up, but he couldn’t remember anything afterwards. He didn’t even wake up at night and he slept so soundly until he overslept.

“I was always tired, yet now I feel so refreshed. But…”

Calib bit his nails with an anxious look.

If the schedule was even a little late, he felt impatient because the etiquette teacher scolded him, despite the fact that he’s at Ellia’s place, not the Grand Duke’s Castle.

“By the way, wait… Where did Ellia go?”

He got her full name yesterday, so he knew her name and age by now.

Calib traced the empty seat next to him.

“It’s cold. It doesn’t look like it has just rained, though…”

Suddenly, he felt terrified.

“Perhaps she left me… No, no. It can’t be. This is Ellia’s house.”

‘If she had left me, she could’ve abandoned me, but she couldn’t have left her house.’ Even as Calib thought so, he couldn’t shake his uneasy feeling.

‘Wait, wait.’ It was when he got down from the bed in order to go find Ellia by himself.

“Huh? Are you awake?” The door that had been firmly shut opened and Ellia entered. “You slept so soundly that I couldn’t say anything to you in the morning. Did you sleep well?”

The pink jewel eyes that were gently smiling were lovely.

As it went down, the pinkish-long silver feet were slightly swollen into one.

“Where… Did you go?”

“I went to get something to eat. I’ll make you a stew with meat for lunch today!” Ellia smiled brightly and tucked the cloak on her back.

Even though it was obviously a simple look, Calib suddenly thought that Ellia was dazzling.

Come to think of it, Ellia is very fascinating. Just looking at her, she was too beautiful, and she didn’t look like a human at all.

Besides, killing a wolf with one kick, carrying him through the woods, and even treating him skillfully?

‘Other than that, she’s also very good at cooking… She’s kind.’

Calib overslept, even forgetting his heart which was anxious before, and blankly stared only at Ellia.

‘What is her identity? Why the hell was she living alone in a forest like this?’

Calib was very curious about Ellia, who took care of the meat and fishes she had caught without blinking an eye.

Perhaps she felt Calib’s staring gaze. She turned around with a question mark floating on her head. “What is it?”

He only licked his lips slightly, asking if he had anything else to do.

‘I want to say that I’m curious about Ellia. But now is not the time. I haven’t even told her about myself.’

So Calib carefully brought up another thing.

“From tomorrow on, if I wake up late, please wake me up.”

“Why?”

“Because I mustn’t wake up late.”

At Calib’s calm words, Ellia rolled her eyes like she was thinking about something else. She shook her head and said, “Isn’t it okay? There isn’t any special schedule.”

“That…”

“And what’s wrong with a kid taking a nap?”

“I am the Grand Young Lord. Not a kid.”

After he spoke with a little mournful voice, Ellia burst out a bright laughter. Then she washed her hands in clean water, approached Calib, and messed with his hair. Possibly it was like a habit, and instantly, a glint that said, oops! flashed across her face.

Ellia hesitated for a moment, then she smirked while saying, “This isn’t even the Grand Duke’s Castle. Until you return there, you’re just Calib.”

“Just, Calib…?”

“Yeah. Just Calib. And ‘Just Calib’ is still young.”

“That’s why I’m not young…”

“Hey, who cares? If you want to sleep, just sleep. If you want to eat, just eat. And if you want to play, just play. Even if you do, no one here will say anything about it.” Ellia responded so and smiled brightly.

Of course, her words were nonsense. Calib was a Grand Young Lord wherever he went. So he should always act with dignity. He learned it every day since he was 4 years old.

If he showed even a tiny bit of flaw, his calf would be bruised by the bitter rod. Even now, when he thinks of the terrifying look in his old teacher’s eyes with her punishment, his stomach still aches.

‘If I do as Ellia said, I will be scolded for a while when I return to the Grand Duke’s Castle. But… But why did those carefree words feel so good? It felt as if a corner of my hard frozen heart was being melted and my fingertips were getting warm.’

So Calib smiled bashfully without thinking too deeply about it.