Chapter 18
‘You said you hated him and called him a pervert.’
Besides, Beth knew I used to work as a holy knight.
‘She even hid behind me when we saw a monster.’
Of course, I admit that climbing a roof in a holy knight’s uniform and boots is different from doing it in a dress and heels…
“It was dangerous,” Karl said.
“It really was,” Beth agreed.
Seeing Beth suddenly agree with Karl, I quickly changed the subject.
“…That’s not the important part!”
“If that’s not important, then what is? Your safety is—”
“Right, speaking of my safety… I’m hungry.”
“Don’t change the subject!”
Instead of answering Beth, I turned to Karl.
It seemed easier to deal with him.
“So, are you really giving that to me?”
“Of course, if you—”
“It’s Elaine, I told you.”
Is he really going to keep calling me “you” even after I corrected him?
Karl looked me in the eye, cleared his throat, and finally spoke as if he had made a decision.
“…The one who said she was hungry was Elaine.”
“…”
“That’s why.”
Karl said my name a bit awkwardly, and then looked like he was thinking hard about something.
He moved his tongue oddly, like he had tasted something while preparing food for me.
I asked just to be sure.
“It’s not ogre meat, right?”
“…”
He looked at me like I had just accused him unfairly.
I felt a bit wronged.
‘You’re the one who first thought I was a spy and picked a fight.’
Still, I didn’t need to bring that up. I tried to brush it off lightly.
“No, I mean… I heard people here eat monsters.”
“Didn’t I leave to make sure you wouldn’t get monster meat?”
Karl made the same sulky face he did earlier when he was pretending to be a harassed noble lady.
“You said you wouldn’t eat it even if I served it.”
“…”
“Lady Elaine, you’re really picky.”
“…”
“In that way, you and the Grand Duke seem like a good match.”
Even with his confusing words that sounded half like a compliment, half like an insult, my eyes were on the dish he was holding.
I made up the excuse, but I really was hungry.
Karl, looking at my face, carried the dish into the sitting room.
Without thinking, I followed him.
“Wow.”
I stopped when I saw what was there.
“Oh my gosh.”
Beth also quietly gasped.
How did he fit all of that in that small basket?
The table in the sitting room was full of food.
It looked like the table legs would break from the weight.
‘Where did he even get all this?’
The steak wasn’t the only thing.
In the middle of the table, there was a stew with chunks of potatoes and mushrooms mixed with rich-smelling cheese.
There was a golden pie wrapped in pastry that smelled like apples.
There were also slices of rye bread topped with lots of raspberries and something like powdered sugar—maybe a dessert or appetizer.
…Honestly, for a place that said supplies were hard to get, this meal was way too fancy.
Especially for a simple monster hunter to bring.
‘Did he raid the Grand Duke’s kitchen or something?’
Of course, that couldn’t be it.
The people at the Grand Duke’s estate didn’t even treat me like a proper duchess, so they wouldn’t give me food like this.
‘Then where did he raid?’
At this point, I was sure Karl had stolen it from somewhere.
‘He’s the one who stole it, not me.’
I wasn’t guilty. I’m the duchess. This kind of food should be normal for me.
So it should be okay to eat it, right? Maybe…
As I was trying to push away a tiny bit of guilt,
Karl shrugged his shoulders.
His smile gave me a bad feeling again.
“If you’re that picky about meat, and you don’t want to eat this…”
“When did I say that?”
“I guess I’ll have to eat it all by myself.”
“……”
My eyes turned into triangles without me realizing it.
‘Is he seriously messing with me?’
He set up the whole meal, then suddenly changes his words? That’s not right.
Even if someone locks you up or becomes obsessed, a real Korean still feeds people. I couldn’t help but be upset.
Karl made a face like, “Want me to show you how to be even more annoying?” Then he added,
“If you really want to eat it—”
“……”
“Say ‘please.’”
“What did he just say…”
Before I could respond, Beth acted like she was suddenly on my side and loaded a bullet into her mouth like a gun.
Meanwhile, I didn’t miss the sight of Karl picking up a fork from the dish and stabbing a piece of meat.
Juice dripped from the perfectly cooked meat, sparkling as it fell onto the white plate.
Karl slightly opened his mouth like he was about to eat it.
His lips parted, showing white teeth and a red tongue flicking like a snake.
It looked like he wanted me to stare, but I turned my eyes away and kept watching the meat.
‘I’m hungry.’
But that didn’t mean I was going to say what he wanted.
‘Even if I’ve softened a lot compared to before…’
I’ve grown up, and now I try not to be stubborn with people—but not with Karl. For some reason, I just didn’t want to lose to him.
So, the moment Karl brought the fork close to his mouth like he was really going to eat it—
‘Now!’
I quickly moved my feet and rushed toward him.
Karl’s eyes, which were long and narrow like a cat’s, suddenly narrowed more as he tried to move away, but to me it looked slow, like slow motion.
‘Where do you think you’re going?’
Sure, I had to back down when it came to strength.
But aiming and shooting is all about proper form, precision, and quick decisions.
I grabbed the knife stuck in the pie and went straight for the meat on Karl’s fork.
Karl tried to back away but hesitated. There was nowhere to go in this small sitting room.
Especially not for a big guy like him.
‘Got you.’
Then suddenly…
Karl gripped his fork tighter.
Golden light glowed from it.
‘…Is he really using aura here?’
I thought he might be a sword master-level fighter—and I was right.
He wouldn’t buy me a skewer at the market, and now—
‘He’s using aura to stop a small girl like me from eating?’
Normally, I would’ve been mad if someone called me small.
But in moments like this, being small and weak was my best weapon.
‘No way this guy is the male lead. Not a chance.’
Again, I threw away the strange hope I had every time I saw his good looks.
‘Was he even waiting for me to come at him?’
He looked like he expected me to attack.
I could even see his arm muscles swell up.
As soon as I saw him bringing out both aura and muscles just to block my knife, my brain kicked into high speed.
Still, quick decision-making is my specialty, right?
‘Fine then.’
I dropped the knife and ran at him with my bare hands.
“……!”
Karl was surprised to see me come at him without a weapon, and I saw him quickly pull back the aura from his fork so I wouldn’t get hurt.
“Hup.”
“……”
I grabbed Karl’s wrist and pulled it toward me—then bit the fork in my mouth.
Because I moved so fast, part of his fingers ended up in my mouth too.
‘Ew, tastes gross.’
I could taste the leather from his glove on the tip of my tongue.
Even if it’s good gear, it’s not made to be eaten.
I shivered a little but kept biting down on the meat hanging off the fork.
As soon as I did, juicy flavor filled my mouth.
“Mmm!”
Karl froze from the moment I touched the fork with my mouth.
While I happily puffed my cheeks with meat, Beth spoke in shock.
“…What just happened?”
“Nothing much.”
To someone untrained like Beth, it probably looked too fast to follow.
While Karl stood there frozen, I picked up the knife I had dropped earlier and handed Beth a piece of meat.
“Try it, Beth. It’s good.”
“Huh? Of course it’s good—oh wow, this is amazing.”
“Right?”
“Wow. Honestly, mmm, I want another bite.”
The sour sauce at the end must’ve been just her style.
As I gave Beth another piece of meat, Karl still hadn’t moved.
…It was starting to get a little scary.
‘Is he seriously mad just because of that?’
I wondered if I had upset the person who was feeding me, and I glanced at him nervously for just a second.
Karl slowly started to move—and stretched his hand toward me like he was planning revenge.
