Bon Appétit

It wasn’t a complicated dish, but it took sincerity and perseverance. Luana carefully chops the vegetables, and it’s done! As the hot steam rose, well-cooked meat and vegetables were seen. The meat melts in her mouth when she takes a piece of meat and bites into it. It wasn’t just meat. It was the same for the vegetables. The ripe, crisp potatoes crumble in the mouth, leaving a savory taste.

“Delicious!”

As she habitually covered her swollen cheeks with her hands and exclaimed, Henry, at the entrance, turned around.

“What’s so delicious?”

He approached and looked into the pot.

“Did you boil the meat?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm. Is it delicious? I prefer to grill it. It doesn’t taste good when boiled.”

“Mine is different. I bet you!”

“Really?”

“Would you like to taste it?”

Henry looked hesitant at Luana’s words.

“Hmm.”

He was curious as he saw Luana shoving the food into her mouth, but he had an experience. Therefore, Henry shook his head with a glum look on his face.

“No, I’ll hold it in.”

“Oh my. It’s so tasty.”

Luana looked at Henry with a pitiful look and began to put the Pot-au-feu into a large pot.

“The meat is delicious, so I put it a lot~ Same goes for the vegetables~.”

After filling the pot and putting the lid on, everything is ready. A chef might add something to this, but Luana thought it was enough.

‘It is that good!’

There was no need for anything else. Was it because she was too excited? Luana did not think of her situation until after placing the pot on the tray.

‘Oh my!’

Last night Luana tried to attack the Duke. She then ran away, and she had never seen his face again. Not only that, the King was executed at dawn. She doesn’t know why, but she thought the drug he handed me may have been the problem. It was true that she wanted to be reborn and live a bright life, but that didn’t stop her from turning her head.

‘And I don’t want to die!’

There were times, she thought, that she could live a rough life and then die. But it was different now. Now she is freed from the bondage of her finances and can make soybean lumps! She couldn’t come and die now!

‘My soybean lumps! I can’t leave my precious child!’

‘So what should I do?’ Luana racked her brain.

‘If I’m out of your sight, you’ll do something. Won’t your anger subside if you don’t see me for a while?’

And in the meantime, Luana serves the most delicious meal possible. She is taming the Duke with food! Then even the most cold-hearted Duke will not be able to cut her throat easily.

Luana nodded.

“Sir Knight.”

She called Henry while clasping her hands together.

“What?”

“Can you bring the meal to the Duke instead?”

“It’s not impossible, but why?”

“Just because.”

‘How can I explain this?’ Luana hesitated and squeezed her apron, and she looked embarrassed because of what happened last night.

“Oh, I see. But there’s no benefit for me?”

“I’ll give you food!”

“Hmm.”

Legion punished Henry for her dish before, so he hesitated for a moment.

“The food is really delicious!”

Indeed, it looked delicious when Henry saw Luana eating. He didn’t like boiled meat very much, but seeing how delicious it was made him want to try it.

‘But I don’t want to be punished.’

Luana clasped her hands together and looked at Henry with sparkling eyes. Her expression reminded him of a small dog with gray fur he raised in his hometown. That may have been the case, and Henry accepted Luana’s request.

“All right. I’ll bring it to the Duke.”

Luana put her hands on her chest. Now she can complete her precious soybean lumps. Henry moved slowly and pushed the tray. Luana followed behind him. She was anxious to be alone in the kitchen, and she was curious about the Duke’s real-time reaction.

“Why are you pushing the tray?”

Lugard, who encountered him in the middle of the way, asked with a questioning look, but Henry replied calmly,

“I can’t leave this heavy thing to the lady.”

Lugard’s expression rotted at those words. It was because the Henry he knew wasn’t like that.

“What lady? I’d say you’ll get something from doing this.”

Henry smirked at the remark. After all, they had been close friends for a long time, so it was easy to find out what was going on.

“What if you get punished again?”

“Won’t it be okay this time?”

“No way! No matter how much you’ve received from someone with royal blood, now you’re the Duke’s knight. Keep to the standard.”

“She’s part of the royal family, but she’s very far away.”

“Still.”

“I’ll share it with you.”

Henry offered! Lugard was in agony.

“Don’t get in trouble and bring it to the Duke.”

“Don’t worry.”

The tray started to move slowly again.

“Food is here.”

As Henry approached the door and spoke, another knight opened the door. Behind him, Luana waved her hand to see Henry off. He went inside and immediately pushed the tray towards the Duke.

As usual, a maid in charge of tasting if the food contains poison or not should taste it first before the Duke. But he skipped the whole process because his body was immune to poisons after all.

‘As expected of an amazing person.’

Even so, acting like this in an enemy country was bold.

“What’s today’s meal?”

The Duke, who was looking at the documents, asked without looking.

“It’s Pot-au-feu.”

“Pot-au-feu?”

The Duke found Henry while raising his head to the name of the dish he had never heard before.

“Where’s the princess, and why are you the one who brought the dish?”

“The princess asked me to bring it to Your Grace.” said Henry frankly.

It was impossible to fool the Duke anyway. He kept his mouth shut that he would be paid with a meal.

“What is she doing now?”

“She is waiting outside.”

“Hmm.”

The corners of the Duke’s mouth curled up, which meant there was something he didn’t like.

‘Did she come for no reason?’

Henry shrugged his body unconsciously.

“All right.”

The Duke, who put down the documents, got up from his seat and headed to the table that he used as a dining table. When Henry carefully put the bowl down and opened the lid, hot steam rose.

“It’s boiled.”

The meat is boiled. Usually, nobles would grill the meat and add various precious spices, but Luana didn’t. The abandoned princess served multiple dishes that they didn’t know where the recipes even came from. Each of the dishes has a unique taste.

And this dish was also unique.

Legion could only smell the air, but his appetite, which had been hitting the floor, started to rise again. When he saw a large piece of meat, his mouth watered. He cut the meat along the grain with his fork and put it in his mouth; the rich juice of the meat burst out. The unbelievable taste of boiled meat occupied his mouth.

When he chewed the meat, he could taste the unique savory taste of beef. Then he tried the vegetables. The ripe potatoes and sweet carrots were both delicious.

The Duke began to the food quickly without making a sound. He chewed the food, and it went over his throat and into his stomach. He felt that his body, which had been maintained with a small amount of food, became more robust.

In that sense, the Duke finished his meal. A feeling of satisfaction engulfed his whole body. He slowly put down his fork. He could feel his nervous nerves, which had been standing on the brink before eating, calmly subside.

‘She has been washing beans all morning.’

Luana hadn’t seen him since last night, but the Duke knew everything about her. It was because there was a raven attached to her in addition to the knight.

It said it didn’t know what she was doing with beans, but she passionately washed many beans. After committing such a thing last night, she calmly prepared the dishes. The Duke recalled the hand that had touched his chest.

Usually, a princess would be proud of their smooth and fair hands with no trace of labor. But Luana’s hands were different. As she was an abandoned princess, her hands were not fair and pretty because she had been doing various things. But it wasn’t bad.

Her hands weren’t pretty, but it was hands that had been doing a lot of work. She worked hard even though she didn’t like it.

‘She’s quite brave, too.’

So far, women who approach the Duke have a pretense. Those women seek his title, property, and power. No other person approached him sincerely because people were afraid of the curse placed upon him.

‘But is it because she’s a witch?’

Luana did not hesitate to approach the Duke. She had an attitude that she didn’t care about curses. That’s kind of special to him. The murderous intent that soared at dawn when he had the King and his wife killed subsided. Strangely, his mind calmed down.

“It’s because she’s a witch.”

If so, she has the skill that needed to be wary about. But she was also the one who made delicious dishes.

‘Can I throw her away just because I’m wary? I don’t want to lose the joy of the taste I’ve finally regained after a long day of curses.’

The Duke smiled wryly without realizing it.

***

Trapped in a deep dungeon, Ingrid bit her lip. It was because of some news that the guard told her quietly.

‘My parents are dead!’

The King and his wife were murdered at dawn, and their bodies were hung at the city’s gate. During the death of her precious parents, she was locked up and unable to do anything.

Grit

Ingrid gritted her teeth. A thin line of blood ran down her lips, which she bit with force. Everything that she cherished was destroyed by the hands of the Empire.

Ingrid’s blue eyes got teary, and tears fell.

“I can’t forgive you. I’ll never forgive you.”

She will somehow get revenge and will return all this suffering to the Empire. The princess that was once called an angel struggled in agony and vowed revenge.

The story’s beginning was rising like that, as Luana never expected.