CH 35

Silence echoed as the two were left in the dining room.

“Since it was prepared for you, please eat,” Kalix spoke after a long silence and waited still for Amber to lift her utensil first.

As Amber sat there unmoving, Kalix let out a sigh and spoke again. “You skipped breakfast too, did you not?”

As he said, Amber was starving. Not only did she skip breakfast, she didn’t have a proper meal the previous day.

Finally, Amber lifted the glass in front of her and had a sip of wine. She sliced the artichoke in front of her and dipped the mushroom in the sauce that spilled out before taking a bite. The warm, savory taste of the sauce and sweet scent of the mushroom permeated her mouth. The chef’s skill was superb and Amber regained her appetite with a single bite.

For a short moment, Amber forgot that Kalix was still in front of her and focused on her meal.

Kalix didn’t touch his food while Amber ate and only had the wine from his glass. As he took another sip, he thoroughly studied Amber with narrowed eyes.

With her stomach somewhat filled, Amber immediately felt his uncomfortable gaze.

“Why are you staring so intently at me?”

He was like that even before they took their seats, staring at her like he was determined to make her feel uncomfortable.

“Well…” Kalix’s eyes swam at a loss at Amber’s question. “It’s… nothing.”

It was a boring answer. Amber stared at Kalix with suspicion in her eyes before setting her utensils down.

“Have you finished eating already?” Kalix asked in surprise.

“I’ve eaten quite a lot, after all,” Amber answered.

Kalix stared at her with disbelief as he stared at the remaining halves of the artichoke and pie. “Perhaps it’s not to your tas…”

“That is not so. I’ve actually eaten quite more than I usually do,” Amber shook her head. She lifted her wine glass and hid her face while pretending to take a sip.

Amber was deep in thought in the short moment she tilted the glass to her lips and back. ‘I didn’t want to say it, but I suppose I must.’

As Amber didn’t know why Kalix had such an extravagant feast specifically prepared for her, she didn’t want to say ‘that’ just yet. Still, she couldn’t just pretend to not know.

Amber detested Kalix, but she didn’t want to live life as an inconsiderate person. “Thank you. I understand that Your Excellency specifically put in care for me to enjoy this feast.”

Kalix lifted his head in surprise. With a composed tone of voice, Amber spoke her honest impression of the meal. “It was truly a magnificent meal.”

Kalix’s face was suddenly flush in red. This time, it couldn’t be passed off as Amber’s imagination. His face was completely red, it was impossible to miss.

“Excuse me, Your Excellency? Are you alright? It seems that the alcohol was too strong for an empty stomach.” Amber worried over his health. She couldn’t even dream that Kalix could ever feel embarrassed.

“I am fine,” Kalix answered in a cold tone and lifted his glass up to finish the wine in one go.

“Wait, if you drink like that you’ll feel even more intoxicated…” Amber mumbled, but Kalix continued to tilt the wine into his mouth. Surprisingly, the more he drank, the less reddened his face became.

‘What a fascinating person.’ Amber waited for Kalix to completely empty the wine bottle without a word. As Kalix finally returned to normalcy, he let out a long sigh.

Amber cut the jelly that was prepared for dessert and moved it to her plate and cautiously savored its taste. As she hadn’t had any sweets for years before her death, the jelly was even tastier and sweeter than she remembered.

Swallowing it down, Amber smiled faintly in satisfaction at the taste. Kalix, still holding the empty wineglass in his hand, stared at Amber’s smile mesmerized.