CH 9

Author: lipzoldyck

Although at first glance, the sound of his voice was overbearing, when she listened closely, he was worried about Liriette.

Thus, Liriette looked at the Duke blankly and said.

“But I won’t eat meat.”

I told you, it’s nonsense to say that if you don’t follow the doctrine, you will be punished by the goddess. Before the duke said so, Liriette continued.

“Because the medicine I applied to the Duke’s eyes was made with the power of the goddess.”

“…?!”

The sudden confession raised one of the Duke’s eyebrows.

“I can’t tell you exactly how it was made. Anyway, while I’m making that medicine, I don’t want to be hated by the goddess in the slightest.”

Liriette believed in the goddess, but her heart wasn’t as strong as the priests who dedicated their lives to the goddess.

The same was true with the divine power.

She didn’t value the special power within her that much.

On the contrary, there were times when she thought that she would rather have the power gone, since this power caused her unwanted pain.

‘Nevertheless, for me to follow a strict doctrine…’

It was because of the decisions she made in her previous life.

In his previous life, the Duke came to Liriette and thanked her for healing his eyes.

His greeting didn’t end with just saying thank you. He offered to give Liriette anything in return for fixing his eyes.

Liriet said in a trembling voice.

[Please get me out of here.]

Even as she spoke, Liriette didn’t think that her wish would come true.

Around that time, the High Priest used Liriette’s ability to hold immense power and wealth in his hands. Extracting Liriette from such High Priest was a difficult and tricky task even for the Duke of Windsorais.

There was no way the Duke would respond to such a thing.

Contrary to Liriette’s expectations, however, the Duke readily nodded.

[I understand.]

A blunt word became hope and salvation for Liriette who was in hell.

She made up her mind.

That if the Duke was in pain anywhere, she would definitely heal it.

Recalling a story that could never be told to the Duke, Liriette spoke in a clear voice.

“What if the goddess hates me and I can’t fix the Duke’s eyes?”

“…”

“Then it’ll be troublesome. I really want to fix the Duke’s eyes.”

The Duke was at a loss for words for a moment.

He could feel the earnestness and determination to fix his eyes in Liriette’s voice.

‘A child who just knew my face once. Why is a child who doesn’t even live in the North dominated by Windsorais working so hard for me?’

Liriette continued speaking towards the Duke who was a little confused.

“So, when the Duke’s eyes are completely healed, can you treat me to another meal? At that time, I will eat without skipping meat.”

She added words as if she was making a shy confession.

“Actually, I really want to try it.”

The Duke only answered after a while.

“We shall do that.”

The expressionless Duke’s ears were slightly red.

***

The treatment was started.

Liriette first removed the bandages from the Duke’s eyes.

The corners of his eyes were still rotting, but the scars were definitely less than yesterday.

‘That’s a relief.’

Liriette was delighted and took off her gloves from her hands. Her finger, which had been cut with a knife yesterday, had been cleaned with ointment.

But she has no time to rejoice.

Because she has to hurt again.

Liriette inhaled and held a little knife in her hand.

‘I can do anything to endure the pain. But the moment I get blood on my hands, it’s so scary.’

Liriette trembled and cut the tip of her finger with a small knife. At the tips of her finger, she began to see bright red drops of blood.

She smeared it over the Duke’s decaying eyes.

The Duke actually had to notice what the little girl in front of him was up to, no matter how blind he was.

He had the keen senses of a beast.

However, the Duke deliberately dulled his senses and thought nothing of it. Because he wanted to protect the secret that Liriette so longed to hide.

Thus, all the Duke could tell was that the medicine Liriette was applying had a very warm and sweet scent.

Today, the effect of the medicine was great.

The Duke felt the wound in his eyes heal at once. The pain that had remained weak was completely gone.

Liriette pressed her finger firmly with a handkerchief to stop the bleeding, then put it inside her glove and said.

“A lot of the poison in the Duke’s eyes has disappeared. You should be able to recover with just a few more days of treatment.”

Her voice was that of a child, yet her words sounded like a skilled doctor.

Since the treatment was over, Liriette had to leave the room. But the Duke caught her.

“Eat before you go.”

“…?”

Liriette tilted her head, wondering what he was saying.

After a while, seeing what Simon had brought into the room, she covered her mouth.

‘That…!’

There was a square cake on a round plate.

A fresh cream cake as pretty as a drawing, topped with a bright red strawberry.

Simon said with his foxy eyes.

“The North is a place where hearty meat is a virtue rather than sweet sugar, so there is no dessert culture. That’s why we put a lot of meat on Miss Liriette’s table instead of dessert.”

To be more honest, the people in the castle, including the Duke and Simon, wanted to feed Liriette meat rather than sugar cakes.

She was so small and skinny that she was about to collapse at any moment.

But they decided to give up that greed.

Anything is fine, so let’s give her something delicious to eat rather than grass.

It was a strawberry cake that was made like that.

Simon said.

“It has been a long time since the castle’s chef made a cake. It’s been a few years since he did, so I can’t guarantee that it will taste good.”

“It looks delicious. Very, very, very much.”

Seeing Liriette’s uncharacteristically excited appearance, Simon laughed softly.

“Then please try it.”

He held out a fork to Liriette. However, Liriette couldn’t hold the fork readily.

The only things forbidden to eat in the doctrine of the temple were creatures that bleed. But even so, that didn’t mean she couldn’t eat anything other than meat to her heart’s content.

The High Priest said that irritating and extravagant substances such as sugar, salt, and pepper gradually corrupt the human body, and he made her eat them minimally.

So Liriette, both in her past life and in this life, was careful not to overeat them.

‘I know that cake is a food with a lot of sugar. If I eat it and the divine power disappears…’

Seriously thinking, Liriette opened her eyes wide.

As a piece of cake with whipped cream, bread, and strawberry came into her slightly open mouth.

When she came to her senses, the Duke was holding a fork.

‘Did the Duke just put the cake in my mouth?’

Without a chance to be surprised by that, Liriette let out a small scream inside her.

‘Whoa!’

The cake that filled her mouth was so sweet. Just like putting a whole cloud of sugar in her mouth.

The Duke said, looking at Liriette, who was munching with a face that looked like she was going to cry with emotion.

“There is only one thing a child has to think about when eating cake. What if your teeth rot, like that.”

“…”

“So don’t worry about anything else and just eat.”

His icy voice was so determined that the anxiety in Liriette’s mind flew away like a lie.

Liriette opened her mouth as if she was under a spell. The Duke put the cake into her little mouth.

Tears welled up on Liriette’s wide eyes as she munched on the cake. She laughed bashfully, her tears dripping.

“This is my first time eating something so delicious. Thank you, Duke.”

The corner of the Duke’s lips went up at the thrilled voice.

***

Liriette treated the Duke every morning. When the treatment was over, Simon brought the cake.

A different cake came out each time.

Chocolate cake coated with dark chocolate.

Soft and refreshing raspberry mousse cake.

Cheesecake that melts in your mouth with just one bite.

It was the result of the chef and kitchen maids brainstorming what kind of cake Liriette would like.

It was worth the trouble.

Every time Liriette ate a cake, she burst into tears.

She wiped the tears with her fresh red face.

‘It’s so embarrassing to cry over the deliciousness of the cake.’

Liriette thought that she looked too stupid. Yet Simon, who watched her from her side, bent his eyes as much as he could.

‘So cute.’

So did the chef and the kitchen maids who heard Liriette’s reaction from Simon.

“Miss Liriette shed tears like dew after eating the cake we made!”

The chef and kitchen maids twitched their thick muscles and cheered.

However, the moment Liriette ate the cake, the Duke sitting closest to her could not react.

Because his eyes weren’t fully healed, he couldn’t see properly.

‘What kind of face is that kid eating cake with?’