Bon Appétit

While thinking so, Legion got up on the bed. But instead of lying down, he leaned back against the pillow on his back and hugged his scabbard. He was so cruel because he was determined to pull his sword anytime.

‘What kind of food can make you gain weight easily? I thought it would be good to make beef bone soup by boiling oxtail, or to boil some meat until it was tender. If I feed him three meals a day and make some dessert, he will gain some weight. Then Legion’s swordsmanship skills may improve further.’ Even if one is good at what they are doing, one should not ignore their body.

‘Are you going to attack me if I acted crazy?’

He was one of the best swordsmen in the Empire. ‘If I went over the line, he might be able to break my fingers apart.’ muttered Luana while she sat down on the sofa. She leaned down and dozed off, but the Duke’s eyes were never closed.

On the other hand, Luana was sleepy, and saliva dripped down her lips.

“U-uh… are you not sleeping?”

Still, she couldn’t fall asleep in front of a dangerous person, so she asked lightly, and the Duke raised his head.

“I usually don’t sleep long at night, nor can I sleep deeply.”

“Is that a curse, too?”

Perhaps because she was half asleep, the question came out quickly without fear.

“Yes.”

“The witch’s curse?”

This time, there was no answer, but she was sure it was a witch’s curse.

“Excuse me, Duke. If I’m not a witch,”

“Didn’t you say you are a witch?”

‘Should I say I was lying?’ Seeing his fierce expression, she couldn’t say anything.

“Casting curses is not my field.”

She instantly woke up. Luana gave an excuse while laughing awkwardly. Since then, there has been no further conversation.

‘Thank God.’ Luana stroked her chest and closed her eyes. Luana was very tired then she fell asleep.

* * *

“U-um.”

She frowned at the sunlight that was shining through the window. ‘Where is the light coming from?’

She likes to wake up late in the morning, so she usually covers all the windows. Luana hugged a vast bundle of blankets right in front of her. The blanket was rigid and stiffer than usual, but she was too sleepy to care.

She smiled as she enjoyed her sleep. She was happy to hear the birds chirping outside. ‘How long has it been that I was able to sleep and hear the birds chirping?’ Luana suddenly remembered the situation before she slept and stopped what she was doing.

She slept on the sofa by herself. There was no such thing as a blanket, and the couch wasn’t this wide. However, there was enough room to lift her legs, covered in blankets. ‘No way? No, It can’t be.’ Luana continued to sleep and stroked the massive bundle of blankets with her hands.

She felt something hard at the end of her stroking. As she flinched, something caught the tip of her fingers. She drew it round a circle with her fingers. Luana retrieved her hand and covered her eyes with her hands, pretending to struggle. She did it just in case to cover up her trembling eyes.

‘I must be crazy, this is crazy!’

She just wanted to roll down and run away and run as far away as possible to a safe place without the Duke.

‘Ughhh….’

Luana held out for a long time without getting up.

‘God, Buddha, Zeus!’

She called all the names of the Gods she knew, but no help came.

“You’re awake.”

As she was struggling, she heard a low voice. It was the voice of the Duke that could be easily identified anywhere. ‘No, I didn’t wake up!’

“Hmm…umm…”

‘I’m sleeping now. I’m sleeping.’ She pretended to be asleep, but it was useless. The Duke was an excellent knight, and it was easy to distinguish between those who slept and those who didn’t. It meant that He had already caught Luana’s acting.

Luana got up with tears in her eyes and immediately fell flat on her stomach.

“It’s a mistake! It was really a mistake! I’m sorry!”

The Duke stared at Luana. ‘Is it just me? He has a better complexion than yesterday.’ He was initially a person who was quite handsome, but he seemed to be more alive today.

“Hmm.”

The Duke fiddled with his scabbard.

“I-I’m sorry! Please spare me!” cried Luana.

“I know what you did.”

“T-that!”

She groped the chest of a man without permission. She has no excuse. ‘But still, killing me because of what I did would be too much!’ Luana clasped hands together and begged with teary eyes.

“I didn’t mean to!”

“Last night,”

The Duke rubbed his chin and spoke.

“You calmly climbed into my bed and lay down.”

‘My body, why did you do that?’

Her body doesn’t seem to have such a thing as a survival instinct.

“And then you did it all night long.”

‘I’ve lived a pure life all this time, and I can’t believe I’ve done such a thing!’ Luana was angry at herself. ‘Moreover, why at times like this?’

“B-by that, w-what do you mean?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know?”

The Duke’s eyes stared at her fiercely.

“Oh, I know. Yes, I know.”

But Luana also had something to say. No matter how imperfect the Duke’s physical condition is, Luana can’t defeat him. He could have kicked Luana out of bed if he had made up his mind.

“Why didn’t you kick me out of bed?”

“Because I’m a knight. How can I kick a lady?”

‘You’re lying! You are someone who would chop a lady and display her body in front of the castle gate!’ She knew what would happen, so Luana had to suffer. ‘How can I deal with such a scary person?’

“H-how can I survive?!”

“Should I be the one who thinks about it?”

“No, I’ll think about it!”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m hungry now.”

“I’ll run to the kitchen right now!”

Luana jumped up, opened the door, and ran out. It seemed like a knight was following from behind, but she ran as hard as she could without caring. And as soon the kitchen door opened, she went in and hid behind a large wooden barrel. She needed a moment to calm herself down.

“What’s going on?”

‘I can’t believe I groped a man’s body! What’s going on here?’ Luana, who realized what she did was insane, jumped up.

‘Let’s cook first.’

Luana found her peace in cooking as she took out a pile of meat and put it on the cutting board. After a while, she concentrated and started cooking. She didn’t have anything in mind, so she just made the dish she wanted.

First, she took out some bread and tore it into small pieces, then she poured it with milk and tore it once more. Then, she minced some onions, parsley, ground beef, pork, and cheese then she seasoned it with tomato sauce, salt, garlic, and pepper.

She felt her stress was relieved because she could use expensive spices, which she usually wouldn’t be able to use to her heart’s content.

She carefully mixed all the ingredients lightly and then carefully shaped the meat with a mold. She put it in the oven and baked it until it was well done. In the meantime, she made a potato salad. She mashed the potatoes, added chopped boiled eggs and vegetables to make mayonnaise, and sprinkled some pepper.

The action continued like a flowing stream, and the knight who came to monitor Luana uttered an exclamation without realizing it.

“It’s time to take out the meat.”

She drizzled some sauce on the meat and baked it a little more. By the time she finished cooking, the sun had already risen higher.

“Phew.”

She placed the baked meatloaf on the tray, put the potato salad in a large bowl, and put the white bread on the plate. The plating was lacking because she was just a home cook, but the dish still looked tasty enough.

But, Luana was not satisfied. She had finished cooking, but she needed to push the tray and meet Legion! Luana thought it would be better to make another dish to stall the time. After juicing her brain, she got an idea. ‘Yes! Let’s make soup!’ The kitchen door suddenly opened as she tried to take some onions and butter to prepare the soup. 

“Are you done?”

It was the knight who was guarding the Duke’s door yesterday. Come to think of it, she hasn’t seen Lugard since yesterday. Luana tilted her head and answered the knight,

“There’s still one dish I need to make.”

“Oh, no.”

The knight who came to check the condition looked troubled.

“His Grace has begun to sharpen his sword.”

Luana stopped at the word. ‘After I think about it once more, the soup seems unnecessary.’

“Actually, I’m done!”

“Didn’t you say you are going to make one more dish?”

“You must’ve heard it wrong!”

‘I’m not a professional cook anyway, so I just need to cook enough to fill his stomach.’

Luana forcefully curved the corners of her mouth and smiled; she wiped her hands and pushed the tray. As she headed to the bedroom, she felt like she was being dragged into hell. She saw the Duke, waiting in his pants and shirt, and looked at Luana. At first glance, the red eyes seemed to curve.

‘I must be mistaken!’ Luana shook her head.

Unlike the office, there was a small dining table in the bedroom for simple meals. Luana prepared the dish one by one on the table calmly. Although the meat was quite heavy for breakfast, the Duke didn’t complain. 

Luana pressed the well-done meat with a knife. The juice leaked as she pressed the soft and tender meat against the knife. She sliced it carefully, placed it on a plate in front of the Duke, and served it with a potato salad.

Luana stood and waited, but the Duke stared at Luana. As she nervously waited for the Duke to start eating, he opened his mouth and spoke.

“Sit across from me.”

‘If you tell me to sit down, I’ll sit down.’ Luana carefully pulled out the chair and sat opposite the Duke.