Chapter 13
From that day, Xenon (the duke) started writing a very long letter, while Rohanen hurried to order more copies of the magazine.
The latest issue arrived faster than expected.
But after all the extra deliveries, Rohanen regretted it.
‘…I should’ve shown it later.’
As soon as Xenon got the magazines, he stopped eating and drinking, and only filled out the “Popularity Poll Postcards.”
‘They want a reason for every vote. And to stop duplicate votes, they won’t accept the same answer twice. The first 50 were easy, but now… it’s getting harder.’
Of course, the editors didn’t actually check every single answer, and most readers cheated.
But Xenon never even thought about cheating. He wrote 50 different compliments for Medeia—all serious and sincere.
“Rohanen, tell me five more things I can praise Medeia for.”
Like that.
“…Oh, Lord.”
Rohanen crossed himself every time Xenon gave him homework. And the more he watched, the more he started to resent Medeia.
His already tired lord was exhausting himself even more… all because of this silly popularity poll!
But maybe things could change now.
‘If my guess is right…’
Kyria’s true identity was—
“Um… hello?”
A voice interrupted his thoughts.
Everyone in the kitchen turned toward the door.
‘What the… a gas mask?’
A young woman stood there, wearing a cute dress but also a gas mask.
The scene was so strange that silence fell. No one invited her in—they all looked suspicious.
No one, except one person.
“Ah, please, come in.”
It was Rohanen.
“…Huh?”
The cook, Alma, and the servants were shocked.
Rohanen was gentle, but when it came to strangers entering the duke’s castle, he was as strict as the duke himself.
But now? He was practically begging her to come in.
“This way, please. Don’t be shy.”
“Uh… okay.”
Looking confused, the gas-mask girl followed him inside.
Kyria eyed him suspiciously.
‘Why is this priest being so nice? He doesn’t even know me. Is this some kind of scam?’
Rohanen misunderstood her stare and spoke more kindly.
“Don’t be afraid. Unlike monsters, we won’t harm you. You can even take that mask off here.”
“Oh. Right.”
Kyria removed the mask.
Everyone gasped.
‘Such a cute young lady?!’
While the servants were stunned, Rohanen offered his hand with a gentle smile.
“Sorry for the late introduction. I am Rohanen Deers, a humble priest serving the duke. Please, just call me Rohanen.”
“…!”
Kyria realized immediately—this was the very priest who helped the duke with holy power. She shook his hand politely.
“I’m Kyria. I’ll be working as the duke’s apothecary.”
“Yes, I’ve heard. In fact, I was the one who posted the apothecary job notice. I apologize for the trouble.”
As they spoke, the head cook, Alma, stepped closer.
“So you’re the new apothecary?”
“Yes.”
The servants gasped loudly—“Ooooh!”
They were used to only seeing men and monsters every day in the castle. To suddenly meet a refined young lady felt like spring had come inside.
Their suspicion quickly melted.
“Miss Kyria, was your morning peaceful? I—ugh.”
“Move over, Rohanen! Here, miss. You must be hungry. Forgive me, I forgot we had a guest.”
Alma shoved Rohanen aside and handed Kyria a napkin. The servants rushed to set the table—plates, forks, knives, wine glasses—all brought eagerly. They even fought over who would serve first.
‘What is this… an army mess hall?’
Kyria was a little overwhelmed, but kept her noble manners and accepted gracefully.
“Thank you for the warm welcome. By the way, I overheard you mention… ‘Demon Grass’? What is that?”
“It’s what we call the weeds growing all around the castle.”
“Oh, I saw those earlier. So they’re called Demon Grass.”
Her eyes sparkled with curiosity, so Alma explained more.
“They grow everywhere, but lately they’ve spread too much. I think the monsters planted them to chase you away.”
“I see…”
“Monsters love the stuff. But for people, it’s dangerous—it makes it hard to breathe.”
So, the monsters’ tricks were twofold: tribute/extortion and Demon Grass.
‘So Demon Grass is like catnip for monsters, huh? That explains why the wyvern kidnapped me even though I’m not a wizard.’
‘But… if monsters love it so much, maybe I can use it against them later?’
Alma interrupted her thoughts.
“Anyway, you must be hungry. Here, eat.”
Thud.
A giant plate was placed in front of her, holding an entire fried chicken.
“Here, everyone gets one whole chicken. That’s the rule.”
Kyria’s jaw dropped. The servants grinned.
Alma laughed.
“Don’t be shy. Our duke’s castle never lets anyone starve. We’ve got plenty of meat!”
“Really?”
“Of course. This whole castle is surrounded by living meat—monsters!”
“…!”
Kyria turned pale. Alma slapped her back, laughing.
“Just kidding! It’s normal chicken, don’t worry. Though… if things got really bad, monster meat isn’t impossible to eat.”
“….”
Kyria decided to pretend she hadn’t heard that.
She forced herself to cut into the chicken politely, even though she desperately wanted to grab it with her hands.
‘Fried chicken… after all this time. I never thought I’d get to eat this here.’
She remembered Korea. She often missed chicken there.
Her heart trembled as she cut a piece.
She put it in her mouth—then her eyes went wide.
‘What… what is this?! It tastes awful!!’
The flavor was terrible.
“…Did you, um… season it before frying?”
“Of course. We even marinated it with herbs for the duke’s health. Don’t worry, we didn’t treat you poorly.”
Alma frowned.
“Why? Is it… bad?”
“…Yes. It tastes bad.”
She answered honestly, because as the duke’s apothecary, she couldn’t ignore it.
The servants froze. Alma’s face darkened.
“…Miss, maybe that’s just because you’re from the south. Up here in the north, we always eat like this.”
It was true—the northern vegetables and meats were purified with holy water. That removed poison but also destroyed flavor and nutrients.
Food here was only for survival, not taste.
Kyria softened her tone.
“That’s not it. I just think… your skill as a cook isn’t being shown properly. The ingredients are the problem.”
“Ingredients?”
“Yes. If the food was free of poison without holy water, then your true cooking would shine.”
Alma sighed.
“That’s impossible. Without holy water, the food is toxic. And southern ingredients are too expensive.”
“Then what if I told you I can do it? Cleanse food without holy water?”
“…What?”
“Because I’m not a magician. I’m an apothecary. I can detoxify ingredients.”
“Detoxify… food?”
Kyria’s face was full of confidence.
Alma stared at her for a long moment. Then, slowly, she gave an order:
“Bring all the ingredients here!”
