Chapter 08
Duke Nox Ruppelen ascended to his title at the mere age of twelve.
His parents, the late duke and duchess, had gone on a trip to a seaside village, only to lose their lives when a massive sea dragon stirred up a deadly tidal wave.
The young Lord Ruppelen, who had been raised preciously and protected all his life, suddenly became the head of the ducal family, bearing the weight of its future.
“What, becoming the head of a house at twelve? That’s way too cruel for a kid.”
Choi Dahye, with whom I co-wrote a web novel, looked over Duke Ruppelen’s backstory and commented with pity.
“What’s cruel about it? It’s a super common setup in romance-fantasy novels.”
“Wow, Seo Hayoon. You really are such a dry woman, totally lacking sensitivity!”
“It has to be this way so his bratty personality makes sense in the story.”
No matter what Dahye said, I stubbornly stuck with the duke’s character settings.
Suddenly forced into his position as a boy-duke, Ruppelen clenched his teeth and swore revenge. He began gathering people who could help him.
But revenge wasn’t as easy as he imagined.
After all, the leader of the ducal house was just a twelve-year-old boy—worse yet, a brat so blinded by revenge that he couldn’t think straight and kept charging around recklessly.
How easy must it have looked to manipulate or betray such a child?
Instead of helping him, people kept trying to trick and exploit the young duke. Just as he was growing weary of this, a so-called expert appeared, claiming he could slay the dragon.
The duke was overjoyed and treated him like a distinguished guest. But that very night, the man crept into the duke’s bedchamber with a dagger in hand.
Escaping that attempt on his life had been sheer luck.
“Tch, count yourself lucky today.”
Barely surviving, Duke Ruppelen vowed never again to entrust his revenge to anyone else.
And more than that, he resolved to grow strong himself, for survival’s sake.
From that day on, he poured all his energy into honing his own skills rather than searching for others to fight for him.
Eventually, he became the finest swordsman in the Asteria Empire. Boldly, he declared his intention to hunt down the sea dragon.
“I’ll slay the beast that stole my parents’ lives.”
But there was one more obstacle in his path.
The sea dragon’s lair lay in the waters between the Asteria Empire and the Kingdom of Tyan. Strictly speaking, though, the lair was within Tyan’s territorial waters.
Marching troops into another country’s waters could easily be mistaken for an act of war.
Thus, the duke first sought permission from Tyan’s king before heading into those seas.
And that is exactly where The Song of the Sorrowful Sea begins.
“I’m going to present His Majesty the King with delicious food. I have a favor to ask of him, and, well, a bribe never hurts. Besides, no one cooks seafood better than our divers do.”
As I gazed at the duke’s face, his light brown eyes seemed wistful, as though recalling distant memories.
He must have been thinking of his parents.
“…Hmm. I do feel a bit guilty, actually.”
Duke Ruppelen was so handsome that even strangers turned their heads when he passed. But tragically, he reached adulthood without ever once putting that beautiful face to use.
In short, he’d never even been in love.
“Not that romance mattered—he was so obsessed with revenge he had no time to notice anyone around him.”
As the one who had written all this backstory myself, I suddenly felt a pang of guilt. So, I decided to help the duke with his request.
“Well, more like an unfair labor order under a lopsided contract, but still.”
Tyan’s king was no easy man. According to the original story, Duke Ruppelen’s request would be flatly denied.
The two would test each other’s patience through a drawn-out back-and-forth of pleading and refusal. So I figured it wouldn’t hurt if I meddled just a little.
“Alright. Tomorrow I’ll cook a clear codfish soup. Take it with you when you meet the king.”
“What’s codfish soup?”
“It’s a broth dish made with fish.”
“Ah… Sorry, but, Gianna…”
The duke looked around my face with a troubled expression.
“His Majesty hates broth dishes. Couldn’t you make something else?”
“Wait—did he seriously investigate the king’s food preferences already?”
The duke was unnecessarily diligent, as always.
But I shook my head.
“The codfish soup isn’t for His Majesty.”
“Then who’s it for?”
“Why, for the princess, of course. That’s how proper flattery works.”
I gave him a look as if to say, “Don’t you even know that much?”
Seeing him flustered gave me a strange sense of triumph.
“Ahh, so satisfying. You’re always acting superior, huh? How do you like being on the receiving end for once?”
Back when I worked at an office, there were times I had to prepare gifts for clients. Sure, giving people something they personally needed worked fine, but the absolute best gift was something for their children. Ten times out of ten, if you gave them something for their kids, they were deeply touched.
It wasn’t just good for business—I even won employee of the year that way.
“They say His Majesty adores the princess, don’t they?”
“I’ve heard he’s helpless when it comes to her words.”
“And I’ve heard the princess is a complete sucker for new kinds of food.”
“So I’ve heard, yes.”
“Have you ever tried codfish soup before, Duke?”
“Hmm… To be honest, this is my first time hearing of it.”
“Exactly. Which means the princess has never tried it either. So when you bring her codfish soup, she’ll be delighted and amazed.”
Codfish soup didn’t even exist in this world. Naturally, there was no way the princess could have tasted it before.
Watching me brim with confidence, the duke quietly asked:
“But tell me, diver… How does someone who’s been cooped up on an island her whole life know all this?”
“…What?”
“The island folk don’t even know our country is called the Asteria Empire, let alone anything about the Kingdom of Tyan.”
Oh no.
I cursed my careless mouth and scrambled for an excuse.
“W-well, I could have overheard! On the ship—everyone kept talking about His Majesty and the princess!”
I forced a bright smile and began backing away.
“Anyway, I’d better head to the market to find fresh cod! See you at dinner!”
As I darted off, I barely caught the duke’s muttered words trailing behind me:
“…How does someone who just arrived here already know where the market is in Tyan’s capital?”
…Damn it.
By dusk, I slipped back to where the duke’s ship was docked.
Thankfully, he didn’t press me with more questions. In fact, he even arranged a room for me—right next to his own.
“Keeping you nearby means I can ask you for cooking every day, doesn’t it?”
Was he a considerate employer looking after his worker’s convenience, or just a ruthless boss determined to squeeze every drop of labor from me?
Either way, thanks to him I got to stay in an inn as luxurious as a five-star hotel.
The capital of Tyan lay right on the coast. From the window of my room, I could see dazzling sandy beaches stretching out beneath the open sky.
Every morning, I prepared a new seafood dish for the duke. The rest of the day, I wandered the city, sightseeing at leisure.
“Now then, what should I cook tomorrow?”
Browsing the seafood market for tomorrow’s ingredients had become a small joy of mine.
That day, I bought fresh clams and made vongole pasta. Handing it over to the duke, I reminded him firmly:
“Make sure the royal chef boils the pasta when you arrive at the palace. If you cook it now, it’ll get soggy by the time you present it.”
“Couldn’t you just make something that only needs reheating?”
“…Just take what I give you. Do you think making a new dish every day is easy?”
Honestly, Duke Ruppelen should be thanking the gods he was born in the Asteria Empire. If he’d been born in Korea, he’d have gotten a good smack on the back for being so picky at the dinner table.
Grumbling under his breath, he reluctantly accepted the pot. Then I quickly slipped out of the inn.
