Chapter 24
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The head chef was silent, as if he had lost his voice.
But soon, he read unwavering conviction in Odelia's blue eyes.
'Does she really have something to believe in?'
As Odelia showed her willingness to take full responsibility, he hesitated for a moment, then finally opened his mouth with a determined look, as if he had made up his mind.
"...I understand. I will prepare it as you say, Princess."
The head chef ordered the kitchen assistants.
"Prepare blackberries, raspberries, and barley."
Smoked meat was one thing, but ingredients like barley and raspberries were not usually stocked, so they seemed to be rushing to procure them from outside.
Odelia quietly left the kitchen so as not to be a hindrance.
As an outsider, that was all she could do for now.
Now, only one thing remained.
Would he even take a spoonful of that porridge?
All she could do was watch.
Knock, knock.
A short knock echoed.
"I told you I didn't want it."
Ludville said indifferently, as if he already knew who it was.
He didn't even try to hide his annoyance.
"...Your Highness."
The one who opened the door and entered was, as expected, the head chef.
He carefully entered, holding a silver tray in both hands, and stopped at the threshold, rebuffed at the door.
Ludville didn't even look up, still focusing on the documents, and waved his hand dismissively.
"Take it away."
As soon as those words were spoken, Edwin, the Grand Duke's aide,'s eyes flashed sharply.
"Surely you haven't skipped breakfast again? You should eat now, why are you chasing the head chef away like a bug!"
His gaze fell on the bottle of alcohol and half-empty glass on the desk.
Another day of alcohol instead of food.
There's a limit to how much you can neglect your health!
Just as Edwin's nagging, which had been building up to his throat, was about to explode.
The head chef hesitated for a moment, then cautiously opened his mouth.
"If you refuse to eat again, the Princess asked me to offer you this."
The mention of an unexpected person caused both of their expressions to change simultaneously.
The aide's eyes widened, and Ludville frowned slightly and looked up.
"...Princess Cardel?"
His low voice came out as if he were talking to himself.
The young lady who was given a chance to have fun for fifteen days, but has been holed up in the annex?
Ludville scoffed with a nonchalant face.
He thought she had gotten scared and hidden away, but in the meantime, she caught a thief...
She seemed to be diligently poking around here and there, but he couldn't figure out what she was doing.
"Yes, it seems... she is worried about you, Your Highness."
The head chef rarely added his own opinion.
At first, he was also taken aback.
When the Princess suddenly appeared in the kitchen and gave instructions about the menu, he couldn't understand it at all.
But there was definitely confidence in her words that she would take responsibility.
Whatever her intentions were, that was a separate matter.
Frankly, the head chef didn't care if the Princess was a spy or whatever.
As long as His Highness the Grand Duke finished his meal.
'Huh.'
Ludville was dumbfounded when the head chef subtly sided with Odelia.
Did he have no pride?
A newcomer who had just set foot in the Ducal Palace was interfering with the kitchen work, and he accepted it willingly?
'The butler also seemed to be in a strange state, so he's already tamed the head chef.'
It was ridiculous.
He only gave her fifteen days, but why was she caring about others?
He wondered if she was trying to win over those around him, claiming that she approached him because she wanted power...
'But she's not stupid enough not to know that I hold the power of decision.'
Like other women, shouldn't she be following him around every day and bothering him to get a chance?
'Shouldn't she bring this herself and act like she prepared it for His Highness?'
Ludville glared at the meal covered with a silver lid, as if he didn't like it.
Silently, for a long time.
He finally gestured with his chin and said.
"...Leave it and go."
The head chef quietly bowed his head and left, and silence returned to the room.
Only the bowl of Barley Porridge left on the table silently stood its ground.
He opened the lid.
Steam rose and a savory aroma slowly spread throughout the room.
Clear Barley Porridge.
A few neatly sliced pieces of smoked meat were placed on top of the moist barley grains.
Dark red raspberries and blackberries decorated the edges, and a stream of honey flowed over them, adding a subtle sheen.
"...This is, dog... ahem."
Edwin, who had been quietly watching from behind, coughed.
The words he had left unsaid were clear.
He almost said, "Isn't this dog porridge?"
It was a very humble meal to serve to the Grand Duke.
It was closer to a peasant's breakfast than a noble's meal.
In the first place, it didn't make sense that the Princess of the Cardel Duke's family would come up with such a menu herself.
Clearly, there was a malicious intent...
"Ahem, Your Highness. Have you done something terribly wrong to the Princess?"
"..."
"I wonder if you've earned her deep resentment..."
Even at those words, Ludville didn't react.
It was because a familiar yet unpleasant sense of déjà vu was confusing his mind.
After staring down at it in silence for a long time, he quietly picked up a spoon.
As he took the first spoonful and put it in his mouth, the deep flavor of the salty smoked meat first moistened his tongue.
Then, the savory barley grains spread softly, gently filling his mouth.
Before he could settle into that harmony, the subtle acidity of the raspberries and blackberries raised their heads.
The refreshing burst of the fruit created a cheerful crack in the overall flow of the taste, and through that gap, the subtle sweetness of the honey that flowed in at the end quietly settled on the tip of his tongue.
The salty, savory, sour, and sweet tastes mixed together without any sense of incongruity, flowing like water without anything standing out.
'Why is this...'
Why is this delicious?
Ludville frowned and took another spoonful.
Barley Porridge was a common food during his days as a slave.
But this combination was a first.
Familiar yet strange, strange yet strangely appealing.
He had no memory of eating something like this in his life, but strangely, he didn't feel any resistance at all.
A strange food that reminded him of a non-existent hometown, evoking longing.
Ludville quietly picked up the spoon again.
Another spoonful. And another.
A softly spreading texture.
The warm heat flowing down his throat.
And then he suddenly stopped moving.
Like someone who had been starving for a very long time and was putting food in their mouth for the first time, his body reacted first.
It wasn't hunger.
It was a feeling of fragments of lost emotions writhing, not knowing where to go.
