“……Why.”
He muttered quietly, pressing a hand to his forehead.
“Why on earth would she make something like this……?”
His reason could not accept it at all, yet his instincts seemed to be telling him that it was familiar and safe, creating a strange feeling inside him.
As a former slave, he had no such thing as a hometown.
So why did he feel homesick?
In the end, he did not push the bowl away.
As if drawn to it by something, he kept eating.
All the way to the last spoonful.
Only when the spoon touched the bottom of the bowl did he finally stop.
“…….”
A quiet silence settled over the study.
Ludville stared down at the empty bowl for a moment.
Even after finishing the entire bowl, the lingering taste remained in his mouth.
And that warm something had gone beyond filling his stomach. Somehow, it was reaching into his heart as well.
Unpleasantly so.
“……She didn’t put some kind of drug in this, did she?”
It was possible that he simply liked the taste.
But for it to affect his mood as well? No matter how he thought about it, that was strange.
“The young lady gave the instructions, but I heard the head chef prepared it himself?”
“…….”
Perhaps she had bribed the head chef……
Even Ludville seemed to realize how far-fetched that sounded, because he said nothing more.
Edwin, who had been watching him from the side, cautiously spoke.
“I’ll tell them to prepare another bowl of the same thing.”
Ludville gave no answer, but his sharp-eyed aide did not wait for one and hurried out of the room.
After the door closed, Ludville remained seated in silence for a long while.
Then he frowned deeply.
‘Is she insane?’
His stomach felt unsettled.
Not because of his stomach, but because of his mood.
It had to be because of that strange food the young lady had given him.
With an unpleasant expression, he put down his spoon.
*****
From that day on, Odely sent him food every day.
She started with porridge to settle his stomach, but little by little, his meals became more nutritious and varied.
She sent everything from meals to desserts and tea.
Soup made with flounder broth and herbs, roasted chicken stuffed with figs and dried apricots, rosemary lemon pound cake, scones topped with honey and cream cheese, chamomile and ginger tea……
The head chef said he prepared everything himself, but it was obvious who had come up with such unusual menus.
‘It’s just an ordinary scone.’
So why did it awaken an appetite he had thought was meaningless for so long?
Even when he was hungry, he had never wanted to eat.
Even if he forced himself to chew and swallow just to stay alive, the food often felt dry and heavy, like sand stuck in his throat.
But why was everything the young lady sent him so good?
Ludville looked down suspiciously at the still-warm scone.
“……What exactly did you put in this?”
The head chef answered.
“The butter is from Morning Bell Dairy Farm, the honey is from Honeyrian Boutique, and lastly, the cream cheese is from Heimbeer Cream House.”
“She told you to use all of those specific ingredients?”
“Yes. Impressive, isn’t it? If she has the recipe memorized that perfectly, it means she must have made it more than once or twice.”
The flavors were unfamiliar, yet easy to eat.
And strangely enough, they suited his taste perfectly.
Every time, Ludville hesitated for a moment in front of the table.
But in the end, after emptying the plate completely, a strange sense of peace followed the fullness in his stomach.
The emptiness and anger that had endlessly overwhelmed him each day would settle, at least for that brief moment.
It was as if that short meal temporarily covered something hollow inside him.
‘Damn it.’
He could no longer deny that he was becoming accustomed to the food she sent.
‘Is she trying to increase her influence over me this way? Clever…….’
Wasn’t winning him over through his appetite a little unfair?
Ludville somehow felt as though Odely had gotten the better of him.
Edwin, who had been quietly watching from the side, asked curiously.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Your Grace enjoy a meal this much.”
“I ate well before too. I wasn’t particularly picky.”
Ludville answered that for the moment.
It wasn’t a lie.
Only three months ago, he had been large and physically active, and he had been the type to eat almost anything.
He had never been picky about food, and aside from when he was busy, he usually ate at regular times.
Edwin shook his head.
“You certainly ate well before, but back then, you ate as if all you cared about was filling your stomach. But now…….”
He trailed off for a moment, studied Ludville’s expression, then added while suppressing a smile.
“……Aren’t you secretly looking forward to your next meal?”
Ludville wanted to argue for some reason, but unusually, he found himself unable to speak.
He couldn’t deny it.
Edwin glanced at the scone and asked,
“Is it really that good?”
There was genuine curiosity in his voice.
Ludville seemed to think about something for a moment before handing one of the scones to Edwin.
“Try it.”
“Really? Is that all right?”
Edwin did not refuse.
He happily accepted the scone with gratitude.
He had actually been curious himself.
He wanted to know what these foods his lord accepted so casually tasted like, and why he kept eating them until the very last bite.
If they had been good enough to bring back the appetite of someone who once survived on nothing but alcohol, just how delicious could they be?
Then he took a bite.
But……
“Hmm……. It’s good?”
It really was good.
A soft, warm scone, freshly baked……
“……It is good, but is it really that amazing?”
It wasn’t nearly as incredible as he had expected, so Edwin could only tilt his head in confusion.
To be honest, the dishes the head chef normally prepared with expensive ingredients had a more refined and sophisticated taste.
“So I’m the only one who finds it that good.”
“No, no! I’m not saying it tastes bad at all!”
Edwin hurriedly waved his hands.
But Ludville had not handed him the scone just to nitpick.
He simply wanted confirmation.
He wanted to know whether he was really the only one who felt this way.
“So you’re saying it isn’t a taste everyone would enjoy.”
“……I suppose not?”
“Then that means the young lady matched my taste exactly.”
How could every dish she sent taste good to him, without a single exception?
‘Did she analyze me?’
The thought stopped there.
‘Based on what?’
What had she seen that allowed her to figure out his preferences so precisely?
It was something even the head chef, and even the person herself, had never known.
He couldn’t even begin to guess.
It would have made more sense if she had openly stepped forward and taken credit for it.
If she had tried to use this as leverage, telling him that he would no longer be able to eat properly without her, he could at least have understood her intentions.
‘But she gave away every recipe.’
The head chef was preparing the food himself.
When asked, he could list every ingredient, the exact amount, and how each dish was prepared without hesitation.
He was a skilled chef, so with a little time, he would probably be able to prepare food that suited Ludville’s taste even without the Lady of House Cardel.
That was why he understood it even less.
The Lady of House Cardel was acting as though all she wanted was for him to eat his fill.
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