Chapter 19.1

I was very pleased with how I had charmed Gilbert-sama with my demonic charm that exuded the dainty yet bewitching sexuality and the primness of a girl drowning in love.

I regret that I imitated Cynthia-San for a moment. I am Lydith. I am a beautiful girl loved by even Cami-sama, so there is no need to imitate anyone else.

I had taken a very long break at the lake, so I decided it was time to get back to work, and I jumped down from Gilbert’s lap.

“Hey, where are you going, Lydith?”

Gilbert seems to have been charmed by my loveliness and stopped being stubborn, and no longer calls me a stupid woman.

I slang my bag, which was about to slip off back on my shoulder.

“I am now Lydith, the head chef.”

“I’m sorry I made you the cleaning lady. I thought you’d cry and wail. So enough of that, as our first guest in a thousand years, I’m going to treat you accordingly…”

“I know how you feel, Gilbert-sama, when you want to keep me, your beloved, by your side and gaze at me mousily at all hours of the day and night and pour out two hundred years’ worth of pent-up desire. I have no reason to reject you, so you can do so at any time. But now that I have become a cleaning lady and know the state of Gilbert’s castle, I have my own agenda. I can’t just sit by your side idle.”

“This place is a bit of a mess, but that’s okay. You already heard it from Astaroth, but you’re right, the castle has been out of control for the last hundred years or so. Cronaea went berserk and everyone disappeared. I didn’t want to be in the position of prince, so I didn’t do anything about it.”

“Gilbert-sama’s troubles are more or less the same that anyone who stands on top must have at least once. I think that being a king is a matter of disposition from birth. I may be a cleaning lady, but I am a proud Lydith Annemaria. Positions are just decorations. People judge others by their dispositions. The important thing is not to lose sight of who you are.”

I don’t think I’ve ever been troubled by my position like Gilbert-sama.

I was blessed from the time I was born, and I knew that there were others who were not as fortunate as I was.

Therefore, I have lived my life thinking that I need to use my power for the benefit of everyone. That is the duty of those who stand on top.

A few years ago, I would have been angry with Gilbert-sama for being so lenient.

But now, I didn’t feel like scolding him like that. Gilbert-sama is not a bad person. He has his own reasons and problems.

Besides, I think it’s somewhat sweet and endearing that he reveals his feelings in this way.

“But… it’s also true that you need to make yourself up for the sake of that decoration. Gilbert, you should be king. If it is uncomfortable for you, I will be there to support you.”

I thought about it again for a moment, then smiled as I told him.

“If that position is hard for you, then since I don’t find it uncomfortable, I can stand on top instead.

Gilbert-sama should stay by my side as a good husband. I will take care of everything else, so there is no problem. A husband who doesn’t interfere in my internal affairs and is just there as a king.

That’s wonderful.

This is the ideal couple.

Gilbert looked away, his cheeks slightly tinted, as if he could not look directly at me, who was like a smiling goddess with the shining lake in the background.

He is embarrassed, angry, it’s very easy to understand his change of emotions.

“Lydith. You didn’t  hold a grudge against me for dropping you in the basement, and you didn’t even try to run away or beg for your life when Cronaea was trying to kill you. The… fucking snake beat me to it, but I wasn’t going to let you die, You are proud, selfish and… too reckless.”

“Death comes equally to every human being. If I cannot live as I want because I am scared of death,

then it means that I will not be me. For example, if Gilbert had killed me right here and now, I would have smiled and accepted my end.”

He wants to tell me that he is worried about me.

I know that he wants to keep me in the birdcage, a beautiful flower that seems to break easily.

In my last life, I died so easily, and human life is fleeting.

Even so, I want to be who I am. For example, even if my existence is an eyesore that someone wants to erase, I don’t mind. I am fine with that.

It’s ridiculous to be afraid of death, because you don’t get to choose when it comes.

I suppose I wouldn’t have to go through unnecessary pain if I just stayed in my room, but I don’t want that. That’s all I’m saying.

“Don’t be silly, stupid woman. I… I wouldn’t kill you. Why are you so careless about your own life?”

“No, Gilbert-sama. I value myself the most. But I have only decided that one day, when I’m certain that I’m going to die, I’ll accept it gracefully. It is common for monarchies to be revolutionized by their citizens, and that is not necessarily going to happen to me. Still, it is my duty as a woman privileged by birth to live with pride in my position.”

“Oh… damn… what the hell are you…!”

Gilbert-sama looked up at the dim sky, holding his forehead as if his head hurt.

I know he is worried about me, but I have my own work to do and I need him to stay out of my way.

It is unacceptable for me to be unable to even cook on my first day as head chef.

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