Chapter 15
“If There Are No Teeth, Then Use the Gums”
“Um… I’ll go to the kitchen for a moment.”
At Vivian’s words, Marian jumped and waved her hands.
“It’s dangerous for you to go to the first floor right now, Miss. If you need anything, just tell me. I’ll go instead.”
“It’ll only take a moment…”
“No. Absolutely not.”
Her face, under the crooked white lace cap, was soaked with sweat.
Why is she so nervous?
Vivian looked over the prepared ingredients.
‘At least everything is here.’
The only thing missing was the ready-made sauce.
It wasn’t absolutely necessary, but it would help recreate the same taste as before.
Still, the situation was different now.
She had enough time, and most ingredients were ready.
Good.
She just had to make something similar.
What’s the point of having skill otherwise?
Vivian nodded quietly.
“Then I’ll just make it with what we have. First, we need to marinate the meat. Can you prepare that?”
“Yes, Miss.”
Vivian quickly checked everything she needed.
“Do you have any wine here? White wine would be best.”
“Wine? Something that expensive wouldn’t be here.”
Wine was necessary to remove the smell of meat and add flavor.
Normally, cooking wine would be used—but there was none here.
At least wine could work as a substitute, but even that wasn’t available.
“If there’s no cooking wine, at least we need wine…”
As Vivian trailed off, Ivin, who had been listening, suddenly stepped forward.
“Chef! Um… there is some.”
Her eyes sparkled as she looked toward the back of the room.
Everyone followed her gaze.
“There’s wine over there, Miss. Someone must have brought what Mr. Lindemann left behind.”
On one side of the narrow dining room wall was a doorway, about the height of a person.
It seemed to lead to a storage room.
“What are you waiting for? Go get the wine.”
At Marian’s sharp voice, Ivin, who had been excited, lowered her head.
For some reason, Marian was especially strict with her.
Maybe because she was from Kihis?
Watching Ivin shrink back, Vivian spoke.
“Thank you so much, Ivin. You saved me.”
“N-No, Miss.”
“I’ll get the wine. You help with something else. Can you peel these fruits?”
“Yes, Miss.”
Marian turned away with a displeased expression as she watched them.
While Ivin peeled fruit, Vivian picked up a small bowl and headed into the storage room.
She stepped through the narrow entrance.
And there—
“…This is crazy.”
She found the familiar cold storage room again.
***
Noon, in the dining hall.
Under a crystal chandelier, a long table stretched across the room.
Vivian and Leon sat at the table, while maids moved around them.
Today’s menu was the beef and mushroom stew Vivian had made.
“Go ahead and eat.”
Leon picked up his spoon and leaned forward slightly.
His expression was as indifferent as always.
To him, eating itself was not interesting.
He never reacted like ordinary people—no admiration, no appetite.
“!”
But the moment he took a spoonful—
His expression changed completely.
He looked frozen, as if in shock.
Clang—
The spoon fell from his hand.
“Th-This… why… how is this possible…”
His eyes lost focus. His hands trembled.
It was as if he had become a different person.
Vivian, sitting across from him, was startled.
“What’s wrong?”
“How can this be?”
“Does it taste strange?”
Leon replied blankly,
“Why… does it taste good?”
He quickly covered his mouth with his hand.
‘What… he’s reacting like that because it tastes good?’
It sounded like praise, but his tone was strange.
As if it wasn’t supposed to taste good.
Leon kept muttering and then suddenly called out,
“Bring the chef immediately.”
At his sharp voice, a maid rushed out.
Soon, Marian entered the dining hall.
Vivian was confused.
What’s wrong with him?
“Did you call for me, Your Grace?”
Leon asked her immediately,
“What did you do to this food?”
“What… do you mean? It’s just a foreign dish, Your Grace.”
Marian glanced briefly at Vivian.
Leon stared at her intensely.
“Make this same dish again. Right in front of me. If needed, I’ll go to the kitchen myself.”
“Y-You will go to the kitchen, Your Grace?”
Nobles in the Empire never entered kitchens.
And Leon was someone who followed rules strictly.
Yet he insisted.
“Lead the way.”
Soon, they moved to the kitchen.
Leon and Marian stood facing each other as cooking began again.
Vivian stood at a distance, watching anxiously.
She felt like she should do something, but couldn’t move.
‘Why is he acting like this?’
The pressure in the room was suffocating.
She couldn’t read his expression.
And she had no idea what would happen next.
When you don’t know, it’s best to stay still.
That’s what she decided—
But then she saw Marian.
She looked like she was about to cry while preparing vegetables.
How unfair must she feel?
She must be thinking too—
Should she tell the truth or stay silent?
If it’s going to happen anyway… it’s better I say it.
Vivian stepped forward.
“I made it.”
“What?”
“The dish from today. I made it.”
“…What?”
Leon’s gaze dropped to her dress.
There were faint stains on the light blue fabric.
His face tightened again.
“You made this?”
Vivian nodded slowly.
Leon’s eyes shook.
“Tell me how. What did you put in it?”
Vivian tilted her head.
There was nothing special—just ingredients from storage.
“Well… nothing special. I used what was in the storage. Why are you asking?”
“You only used what was in the mansion? The usual ingredients?”
Leon’s face suddenly turned pale.
Just as Vivian was about to speak—
Leon suddenly grabbed a large kitchen knife.
“Y-Your Grace?”
The sharp blade pointed at Vivian.
“Tell me the truth. What are you?”
***
“Second Prince, come and sit.”
My mother was a concubine of the Emperor.
And the Emperor already had a first wife—the Empress.
The Empress hated my mother.
But her hatred didn’t last long.
Perhaps heaven answered her jealousy—
My sickly mother died right after giving birth to me.
“You’re a smart child. I believe you understand what I said.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I will never sit unless you allow it.”
“Good. Now eat.”
The Empress’s hatred for my mother was passed on to me.
“Here, you eat too.”
Bark, bark—
“Come here. Good boy.”
I was never allowed to sit with the royal family.
Instead, I ate with the palace dog.
I was five years old.
No one dared to oppose the Empress.
Not even the Emperor.
A year later—
“Your Majesty… Father. Something is wrong with my tongue. I can’t taste anything.”
I lost my sense of taste.
But no one in the palace cared.
All attention was on the Crown Prince.
Michael Ester.
My older brother.
I had to be inferior to him in everything.
Any talent I showed was treated like a problem.
I lived like that all my life.
But I never got used to it.
Eventually, I left the palace.
As a knight, my only duty was to kill monsters.
I kept fighting… and became an adult.
That was how I gained my title.
And my land.
The northern land, Lavric.
It was my refuge.
And the title of Grand Duke was my shield.
I only wanted to live quietly, out of the Empress’s sight.
I lost many things because I was my mother’s son.
But among them, losing my sense of taste was the worst.
It made me unstable.
And more violent.
I kept killing monsters again and again.
Then one day—
“The Second Prince should be of marriageable age now. There’s a suitable bride. The daughter of the Kihis family is said to be very beautiful.”
A marriage I didn’t want was arranged.
And I met Vivian Kihis.
And then—
Because of the food she made,
The sense of taste I had lost for over ten years suddenly returned.
