Chapter 98
Barely escaping the threat of death, Shilo knelt on the ground, unable to stop his whole body from trembling. Even after being captured by Grace and thrown into the underground prison, even after enduring merciless beatings, he had never once truly thought he might die.
That was how absolute his trust in Batur was. No matter how stifling the stench of the dungeon was, no matter how suffocatingly painful the beatings were, he had always expected some kind of word or rescue from Batur.
Yet even when the gallows loomed before his very eyes, there had been no sign of Batur coming to save him. In the end, he had no choice but to find a way to survive on his own.
“I cannot die like this.”
Shilo had no intention of meeting such a futile death. Whatever it took, he would survive and make it back home.
At first, when he had been thrown into the dungeon, he had only wanted to escape as quickly as possible. But after being dragged to the gallows and then returned to the dungeon, he found strange comfort in the mere fact that the walls around him were solid and enclosing.
While he was racking his brain on how to get out of here alive, he heard the sound of footsteps echoing across the damp floor. Instinctively, Shilo knew whose they were, and quickly straightened his posture.
His battered knees ached and stung, but such pain was nothing compared to what was at stake. Gritting his teeth against the burning pain, he forced himself to kneel.
Moments later, a wavering light flickered down the dark passage, and as he expected, the lord of Grace appeared.
The lord was dressed in peculiar clothing. At first, Shilo had thought perhaps it was because she lacked money. But he now knew better—the Lord of Grace was a thorough pragmatist. And that made her all the more terrifying.
“You claim to know where the contract is?”
Her youthful voice echoed low in the dungeon.
The damp, stagnant air of the dungeon was enough to soak one’s body with moisture even without moving. When the chill breeze swept through the open window, not even wrapping himself fully in a blanket was enough to stop his teeth from chattering.
“Yes, Lord Batur—no, I mean, I know where Batur keeps the contracts he drafts with clients. If you go there, you’ll find proof of who he made the sleeping powder deal with.”
Shilo spoke with all the fervor he could muster, desperate to convince her of the truth in his words.
“And where is that?”
Her calm voice asked again. Despite the magnitude of what he had just revealed, there was not a hint of excitement or impatience in her tone. That calmness only deepened Shilo’s anxiety. He had to prove that what he held was worth enough to spare his life.
But if he revealed the location outright, he risked giving away the trump card and being killed immediately afterward. He was not so reckless as to hand over his only bargaining chip.
“I—I can guide you there. It isn’t a place one can find just from a description.”
Shilo looked at her through the iron bars and spoke.
“Red Bear.”
“Yes, my lord?”
At her sudden call for the knight commander, Shilo flinched. The lord’s expression was cold as ice. In that instant, Shilo realized they had provoked someone they never should have touched. Even Batur himself might not have known the true extent of Grace’s lord.
“This man says he must personally guide us. What do you think? Are your men too stupid to follow directions?”
“Not at all.”
Shilo sensed something going wrong, but there was nothing he could do. He could only stare blankly as the two conversed.
“You heard, didn’t you?”
The lord’s gaze returned to him.
She lowered herself, crouching down until her eyes were level with his. The damp floor ruined her clothes, but she paid it no mind. Shilo saw the seething fury burning in those brown eyes, and it made his blood run cold.
He had heard rumors she had defeated Cullen, but seeing her frail body, he had dismissed them as lies. Yet looking into her eyes now, he felt that no matter the opponent, she would snap their neck without hesitation.
Shilo forgot to breathe as he listened.
“If the knights can’t understand your explanation, that will mean you failed to explain properly. So you’d better make sure they understand perfectly and find that contract. If your pathetic directions cause even the slightest delay, I’ll rip out that useless tongue of yours. Do you understand me, Shilo?”
Her voice was gentle and sweet. Yet it was far more terrifying than yelling or cursing.
With a dazed look, Shilo slowly nodded. The plan he had formed—to pretend to guide them and slip away at the right time—shattered instantly. If he didn’t give the exact location of the real contract, this time he truly might die. Tricks would never work on Grace’s lord.
“Y-yes. I’ll explain clearly and thoroughly so the knights can find the contract without fail.”
“Good. That’s how it should be.”
Satisfied, she rose quietly to her feet. The mere distance of her gaze was enough for Shilo to gasp for breath, as if he had just been hauled up from deep water.
Why on earth had Batur crossed such a person? For money? Batur was not the sort to take any job indiscriminately. There seemed no way forward. If the knights found the contract, Batur’s men would kill him. But if he misled them, he’d hang here in the dungeon. Either way, there was little hope of survival. Shilo shut his eyes tightly, overwhelmed by despair.
Just then, the lord, about to leave, paused and asked in an offhand tone:
“Oh, and by the way, your daughter—she’s quite pretty and sweet. Lily, was it?”
Her voice was casual and gentle, like asking a neighbor about their child. But for Shilo, it plunged everything into darkness.
“Th-that—! My Lily is innocent! She knows nothing of this!”
“Of course. She wouldn’t know. That’s why she can smile so brightly.”
“My lord, I beg you! I’ll accept any punishment, anything at all—just spare Lily!”
Shilo pressed his forehead to the ground, begging piteously.
“Well. I suppose that depends on how useful your tongue turns out to be.”
She smiled faintly and departed.
“Uhhh… huuu… huuuuhhh.”
Left behind, Shilo collapsed onto the ground and wept bitterly.
“Lord! Lord!”
Leaving the dungeon with a heavy heart, on her way back to her office, Donghee was suddenly stopped by someone calling her urgently.
“Cooker?”
It was Cooker, the head chef, running toward her like a child, clutching something. Instinctively, Donghee knew he had succeeded in the task she had given him.
“My lord!”
Panting heavily, Cooker grinned broadly as he reached her.
“You did it, didn’t you?”
At her words, he beamed and held out a small container, no larger than a soap case, sealed tightly with a lid.
With a flutter of anticipation, Donghee took the container. Just the thought of what might be inside lifted her mood from gloom to delight.
“Open it, please! I finally succeeded!”
His face was full of pride. Donghee, curious what delicacy could make him this confident, opened the lid.
“…What is this?”
She had been expecting something like dried persimmons, since he had said it was made from “wild persimmon fruit.” But inside were pieces no larger than a go stone.
“After many failures, I finally got it right!”
“Are wild persimmon fruits originally this small?”
“No, normally they’re about the size of a fist. But after repeating the process you taught me, they shrank to this size.”
The container released a sweet, familiar fragrance. Donghee, skeptical, picked up a piece with her fingers. She had expected a jelly-like softness, but to her surprise, it was firm.
“Tried it yourself?”
At her question, Cooker nodded vigorously, eyes brimming with emotion. He looked as though he might burst into tears.
From its appearance, the taste was hard to guess.
Donghee popped it into her mouth and chewed slowly. Though it had seemed hard at first, it softened in her mouth and became delightfully chewy.
“You’re telling me this really came from wild persimmon fruit? That this flavor comes from that?”
“Yes! Isn’t it amazing? It’s so delicious I lost count of how many I ate while making it. All the other chefs praised it endlessly, too! But how did you even think of this, my lord? To turn those awful wild persimmons into something so delicious!”
“It’s unbelievable.”
Donghee savored the familiar taste, shaking her head in wonder. She had never imagined she would taste this again here.
“Since you created it, please give it a proper name!”
Tears glistened in Cooker’s eyes as he spoke. Donghee popped another piece into her mouth, then answered with certainty:
“Mai-jjo.”
“Mai…jjo?”
He had expected an elegant name, but instead she blurted out something odd, leaving him puzzled. Yet her expression was one of absolute conviction.
“Yes, Cooker. This is called Mai-jjo. No other name is necessary.”
And thus was born a dessert destined to shake the entire continent with explosive popularity.
