CH 27

In the morning, I woke up and rolled out of my soft bed. I received a warm wet towel and wiped my face. Meanwhile, the maids came in and prepared breakfast for me and Thanasios. We sat around a circular table with a diameter slightly smaller than my height. Today’s menu included three types of vegetable potage, barley cheese risotto, and for Thanasios, pan-fried white fish with lemon butter sauce. Surprisingly, Thanasios ate a lot—or maybe I just ate too little. But watching him devour twice the amount of food in front of me, I couldn’t help but be impressed that adult men really do eat a lot.

I put on a loose tunic nightgown that covered my head like a sheet and a large cardigan and sat down on a chair just as Thanasios arrived.

“Good morning, Eleni.”

“Good morning, Thanasios-sama.”

“You’re not as scared as before.”

“Huh?”

“Before, you looked at my clothes and wondered if you had to have breakfast in formal attire too.”

“Oh, that…yes, I did think that.”

Thanasios is teasing me. After all, Thanasios is always wearing his usual high-collared white shirt with gold decorations and a mantle with tassels. He wakes up much earlier than me, finishes his political duties, and comes to my room for breakfast. So, I was worried that I had to wake up early and choose a dress.

However, Thanasios just smiled and told me to wear whatever I like and spend my time as I please. He said he would give me instructions when necessary.

“I used to wake up at sunrise, but since I came here, the bed is so comfortable that I oversleep.”

“I see. That’s a good thing.”

“Is it a good thing?”

“Yes. Humans can’t sleep well without feeling safe. If you can sleep well without worries, that’s more than enough. Actually, if you oversleep more, I can watch you sleep, but it’s not easy to do that.”

“Um, I don’t think it’s appropriate for others to see me sleeping.”

“What are you talking about? As your husband, who else has the right to see you sleeping?”

I couldn’t help but blush. When Thanasios was referred to as my husband, I still felt embarrassed and my ears turned red. It took me a while to calm down.

I tried to distract myself by focusing on the chewy texture of the barley risotto. However, Thanasios was being mean.

“Do you hate it? Or are you secretly inviting me to come and watch?”

“No! No, please don’t watch.”

“Okay, okay. If you don’t want me to watch, I won’t. You can relax.”

Thanasios’ handsome face looked really cheerful, even when he was handling a piece of the moules with his fork. I wondered if teasing me was really that funny to him, or if Thanasios was also hiding his shyness.

Eventually, after breakfast was over, a glass teacup filled with herbal tea was placed in front of me, and a cup of coffee was placed in front of Thanasios. I had never tasted coffee before. I avoided it because it smelled burnt and bitter, but Thanasios drank it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I asked hesitantly.

“Is coffee, um, a delicious drink?”

“It’s not so much delicious as it is a stimulating indulgence. It’s perfect for waking up, but oh, it’s still too early for you. You need to grow more first.”

“Y-Yes.”

“Well, let’s see…first, you need to be able to eat sugar like a normal person.”

Thanasios strictly forbade me from drinking coffee.

Yes, even now, I can’t consume a lot of sugar at once. Perhaps because I haven’t been consuming it much until now, my body can’t handle it right away. I later found out that the pancakes Thanasios made for me were made with honey diluted with water. I’m still restricted by the doctor because consuming a lot of sugar at once can have serious effects on my body.

Because of this, it’s not easy to become like a normal person right away. Thanasios is always there for me, but I feel guilty about it and I just want to become a full-fledged person as soon as possible.

However, Thanasios always speaks kindly to me when I feel that way.

“Eleni, after you take a bath, would you like to go for a walk? We can’t go out into the city, and the Royal Castle isn’t that fun either, so let’s go to the Arche of Apeiron sanctuary for a change of pace. The weather is always good there, and it’s safe above all else.”

Isn’t that proposal an act of not fearing divine punishment? I don’t think the deepest part of the Styx Temple is a place to take a casual stroll.

However, a voice echoed in my head.