Chapter 24
He grabbed my struggling waist firmly, making sure I didn’t slip, and started walking somewhere.
As we passed through the corridor, I could feel the servants’ gazes on us—a mix of curiosity and delight.
“Embarrassing…”
Unlike me, who wanted to die from embarrassment, Baratheon was visibly excited.
He walked confidently toward his destination, soaking up everyone’s attention.
I knew where he was headed.
“The kitchen, right?”
“Aigo, miss!”
As soon as I appeared, the head chef and the servants greeted me warmly with big smiles.
It was as if Baratheon were invisible—no one paid him any attention.
“See? Nobody can even see me, huh? Not a single person greets me?”
Baratheon muttered, but he didn’t seem upset at all.
Instead, he gestured to the nearest servant to bring a chair.
The servant quickly brought a small chair, and Baratheon helped me sit in it.
Around the chair, the servants gathered in a circle, with me sitting in the center.
It felt like…
“An interrogation session…?”
Why did I eat so many snacks before this?! There’s barely any chocolate left because of me!
I nervously glanced around. When I made eye contact, people quickly covered their mouths and looked away.
The awkward silence was broken by Baratheon.
“Stop just standing there staring. Go grab some food. Hey, kid, what does she like again?”
“Miss likes meat and chocolate cookies,” the head chef replied promptly, as if he had memorized my tastes.
Baratheon nodded.
“Then get those.”
At his command, the servants dispersed to their stations. Soon after, the sounds of bustling food preparation and the aroma of delicious dishes filled the air.
“You know,” Baratheon said, leaning over to meet my gaze as he watched the food being prepared, looking bored.
“Your hand is still so light… seriously, isn’t your body weird?”
“I’m not light. You’re just ridiculously strong,” I replied.
“Even considering that, you’re way too light. You’re like a sheet of paper,” he said, holding my hand on his lap, inspecting it from all angles.
“Look. Your hands are small, your wrists thin, and your neck…”
His gaze slowly moved upward, and when it met mine, I couldn’t help but gape.
“I didn’t realize he was this handsome, always saying silly things every day.”
Well, he’s Siche’s twin, so it made sense he was also handsome.
“I’ve always thought only Siche was good-looking. But this one’s hair even shines like gold…”
“…What are you doing?”
“Huh?”
“Why are you touching my hair like you’re going to pull it out?”
“Oh.”
When did my hand go there?
I had unconsciously reached out, thinking the golden hair was beautiful.
“I’m sorry…”
I awkwardly smiled and tried to pull my hand away, but Baratheon leaned in even closer.
“It’s fine. If you’re curious, you can touch it. This is a rare chance. I don’t let just anyone do this.”
“It’s not curiosity…”
“Why not? It’s amazing. There aren’t many people with such bright blonde hair. Siche and I suffered a lot because of this hair when we lived in the slums.”
Baratheon frowned, remembering the past.
“If it grew a bit long, people wanted to cut it. If it was short, they wanted to pull it out. We had to cover it with cloth every day.”
“Why cut it?”
“Because it was rare hair and could make money.”
Indeed, Siche and Baratheon’s hair was a beautiful color.
I’d seen many blondes, but hair that shone so cleanly and beautifully was rare.
“It’s not rare for curiosity. It’s rare because it’s pretty.”
“…Pretty?”
“Yes. It shines like sunlight and looks as sweet as honey. That’s why everyone wanted it. Not because it was rare, but because it was pretty.”
For some reason, Baratheon looked dazed at my words.
“Oh, now that I think of it, people told me the same thing about my eyes. They said they were rare.”
“Yours too?”
“Yes. Purple eyes. Those are really rare.”
“Of course they are.”
“Because of that, some customers even tried to buy my eyes.”
“Buy eyes? At least hair can be cut or pulled…”
“Huh?”
I tilted my head at his obvious statement.
“You can pull out eyes too.”
“W-what a crazy thing to say!”
“But back then I was starving, and someone offered a lot of money, so I considered it. I had been hungry for about a week.”
I reasoned, Even one eye is enough to see, right?
“It would’ve hurt too much, so I gave up… Ouch!”
Remembering the incident casually, Baratheon suddenly flicked my forehead.
I glared at him, full of indignation, and he looked down at me with a twisted expression.
“Hey, don’t even think about such disgusting stuff, okay?”
“Seems you’re more sensitive than I thought, milord. Pulling out eyes is nothing…”
“Nothing?! It’s a huge deal!”
While Baratheon pouted, the sounds of the kitchen finally quieted down.
The food was ready.
“Wow!”
Everything before me was my favorite. Hunger, which I had forgotten, rushed back.
“I didn’t even eat properly while reviewing the proposals.”
I smiled contentedly, grabbing a fork, but Baratheon’s displeased voice cut through.
“What’s this? So little? Who’s this for?”
“This is little? It’s plenty.”
By any measure, the portions were more than enough. I probably wouldn’t finish it all.
“When I was your age, I could eat three times this much.”
“Maybe that’s because you eat a lot, Teon…”
“Still, it’s too little! Bring more food! You need to eat enough so you’re not just a sheet of paper but more like a piece of wood!”
At his demand, the kitchen grew busy again.
He’ll just eat the leftovers himself, I bet.
I sighed and shoved a chocolate cookie into my mouth.
As expected, chocolate cookies are the best!
“Ugh… I feel like I’m going to be sick.”
I tried to calm my queasy stomach and got up.
I had eaten more than usual thanks to Baratheon’s insistence, and now it seemed I had overdone it.
“I’m properly bloated.”
I considered taking a digestive aid, but it was too late at night to call someone.
“Maybe a walk would help?”
Walking a bit might ease it.
Blanche, who had been watching me, opened her birdcage and returned to human form.
She now looked like someone around Siche or Baratheon’s age.
“Are you in pain?”
“…No.”
She liked strong people. If she thought I was weaker than her, she would start trouble immediately.
I must always appear strong in front of her.
Blanche gave a small chuckle at my pale face, which apparently wasn’t very convincing.
“Interesting. No one lies to me.”
“Were there only honest people around you?”
“No. I killed anyone who lied. I don’t tolerate deceit.”
“So, are you going to kill me too?”
I kicked her shin in annoyance, but she didn’t flinch, only staring at me blankly.
“Strange.”
“What’s strange?”
“Why is my king an exception? No matter what happens, I don’t feel bad. I might even feel a little happy…”
“You really have weird tastes.”
I sighed and tried to reason with Blanche patiently.
“Sometimes in life, you meet an exception. Not everything can go according to plan. It’s not that special.”
Stop obsessing over me, you fool!
“But before, everything went according to my plan.”
“Well, lucky you. Now you’ll taste a little bitterness in life.”
Blanche smiled brightly, as if realizing something.
“I see. My king, you are the only bitterness in my life.”
“…Stop giving it weird meaning.”
True. If she were the type to be persuaded by words, it would have happened 500 years ago.
“Make me some digestive medicine. That’s an order.”
“Digestive medicine? Was your pale face just because your stomach didn’t feel well?”
Blanche placed her hand on my forehead.
A cool energy spread through my body.
What is this?
At the same time, my blocked stomach felt relieved.
Looking up at her, she smiled confidently.
“I am a capable subordinate, my king.”
“Even dog poop has medicinal uses…”
“Dog poop? Are you calling me dog poop?”
“You said nothing I do would make you upset, right?”
“I did, but for the first time, I feel upset, my king. Why dog poop of all things?”
“Uh, that’s a term of endearment! Friends call each other dog poop or cow poop.”
“Friends…? Between us…?”
Blanche stared at me for a moment, then nodded resolutely.
“Very well, my king. Then it’s fine to call me dog poop.”
