Chapter 9
And just like that, I ended up having a second breakfast with this grumpy man.
Technically, it was more like brunch, somewhere between breakfast and lunch. But with the amount of food laid out—enough to break the table—it felt wrong to even call it brunch.
Meat, meat, meat, and more meat. Not that I minded, since I absolutely love meat.
While eating the second main dish—veal steak, which the head chef personally came out to explain—I carefully asked,
“Um, do you usually eat like this?”
“If I ate this much every meal, our head chef would probably run away in the middle of the night.”
So basically, no—this isn’t normal.
Just as I put the last piece of steak in my mouth, there was a knock at the door.
The smiling chef entered with another tray. This was already the third main dish!
He dramatically lifted the lid from the silver plate and proudly announced,
“Smoked duck, roasted for 20 hours.”
Wow—duck! My absolute favorite.
He placed the plates in front of us and then left the room.
I whispered,
“He seems really happy with his job.”
The man smirked.
“Not really. If all this food were for me, he wouldn’t have shown his face and would’ve grumbled for hours.”
That made me remember something I’d been wondering.
“What’s the occasion today? I can tell the meal is more special than usual.”
“Hmm?”
The man looked at me like I asked a silly question, then calmly said,
“Isn’t today Lady Bartoli’s birthday?”
…What?
I almost jumped out of my seat.
“You knew?!”
“Who wouldn’t? Unbelievable. Colin!”
Wait, isn’t it weirder that he did know?
At his call, the butler—who’d been waiting outside—entered the dining room. The man said,
“There are people who don’t know it’s Lady Bartoli’s birthday.”
“Oh no, that’s unacceptable,” the butler replied seriously.
Did he hear that right?
Owen nodded solemnly.
“Of course. Send out a special notice across the Empire: ‘Today is the birthday of the most beautiful lady of House Bartoli, Sophia ta Bartoli.’”
What!?
Even with such ridiculous words, the butler simply nodded as if this was normal.
“Understood, sir. Should I inform the Imperial Times as well?”
“No, they’re too slow. Hmm… better to request the Emperor to declare a national holiday. He did say I could ask for anything last time.”
“I’ll make the preparations.”
I couldn’t hold back anymore—I burst out laughing. Even though I knew they were joking, it still made me feel happy.
The duke’s eldest son and his butler had perfect comedic timing. It almost felt rehearsed.
“Thank you, Duke Glentino. Just like before, you’re really funny.”
“I’m being completely serious.”
Even that line made me laugh again.
But what really made my heart warm… was the dessert.
It might sound silly to some, but the crown-shaped gugelhupf cake is my absolute favorite. Especially when it’s filled with dried figs, raisins, and cranberries—then it’s perfect!
And that perfect cake was right in front of me!
“It tastes amazing.”
I only gave a light compliment, but honestly, I wanted to jump up and cheer with both thumbs up.
The chocolate marble inside, the decoration with blueberries and chocolate pieces—it was the best gugelhupf I’d ever had.
No one in my family likes dried fruit, so I never got to eat things like this at home. I usually just picked at the raisin cookies in gift boxes everyone else avoided.
The man smiled slightly.
“It’s the dessert our chef makes best.”
“All the dishes were amazing. Everything suited my taste perfectly.”
When I said that sincerely, he lifted his hand and slightly covered his mouth. I could see his lips curving up.
He’d smiled easily before, so why act shy now?
After I finished the cake, the chef brought out seasonal fruits as the final dessert.
It was… peaches.
I quietly picked up my fork without showing any emotion and watched him eat.
Owen ta Glentino—who I thought was arrogant—was surprisingly elegant at the table. He used his long fingers to handle the fork and knife gracefully, slicing the peach and bringing it to his mouth.
Even his hands, lips, and jaw as he chewed… everything looked like it had been sculpted by a god.
As he picked up the second slice, he looked my way. I was still holding my empty fork.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
“Oh… I’m allergic to peaches.”
His face instantly stiffened.
Then he called out loudly, and the butler rushed in.
“Yes, sir?”
“Throw out all the peaches.”
“What?”
Unlike me, the butler didn’t seem surprised. He simply bowed.
“Yes, sir.”
The peaches were cleared away in an instant. The man paused, then changed the order.
“No, that’s not enough. Wipe out all peach seeds from the Empire.”
“Yes, sir. From now on, peaches will no longer exist in this world.”
“You catch on quick.”
The butler gave a proud smile and disappeared.
“……”
What a… dramatic way to treat a guest.
They made me feel like someone incredibly special.
But honestly, I didn’t hate it. No, I actually… liked it.
“Do you have any other food allergies, my lady?”
“Ah, no. That’s all.”
Then I hesitated and added,
“And even peaches don’t cause a severe reaction. Just some vomiting and rashes.”
“If it got any worse, you’d be dead.”
He said this with a straight face.
Just then, there was another knock. The servants brought in new fruits—raspberries, blueberries, and grapes. Light and easy to eat.
This was the first time in a long while that I could eat comfortably, without watching anyone’s mood.
As soon as the last dish was cleared, I gave him a sincere thank-you.
“Everything was delicious.”
“Yes, it seems so.”
I couldn’t tell if he saw my annoyed expression or not, but he added dryly,
“Though you could’ve eaten even more.”
What, is he trying to fatten me up?
Then, my gaze shifted to his face. There were dark circles under his eyes. He must’ve stayed up all night finishing up the funeral arrangements.
And at that moment, I remembered my situation again.
This wasn’t the time for me to laugh and enjoy food so freely.
In a calm voice, I said,
“Duke Glentino, as you probably know… I lost my fiancé yesterday.”
“Yes, I know. I was actually about to speak with you about your former fiancé.”
By then, tea had been served in front of both of us. The butler had quietly poured it and disappeared.
I swallowed nervously.
“Before that… there’s something I want to say first.”
“Go ahead.”
“……”
Before I came here, I had planned to act shameless. I was going to say, “Go ahead and demand compensation if you want. You don’t have any proof it’s my fault.”
But after all the kindness he showed me, it didn’t feel right.
Even if he ends up hating me later, I didn’t want to lie or make excuses now.
So—half out of impulse—I confessed.
“Arnold died… because of me.”
“…What?”
I lowered my head and fidgeted with my fingers.
It was incredibly hard to admit that his brother died because of the feud in the Bartoli family.
I slowly began explaining.
“You know how people say, ‘They love each other so much, they’d die for one another’? For me and my sister Leonie, it’s the opposite. We’re more like, ‘We can’t live without trying to kill each other.’ Seriously—we both want the other gone.”
“I… see.”
“And you saw me in the woods the other day, right? That was because of Leonie’s failed assassination attempt on me. She got angry… and in revenge, she killed my fiancé.”
After I finally got the words out, I started counting slowly in my head.
If he asked for mo
re details, I was ready to explain everything.
Not knowing how he would react made me nervous.
Maybe I reached fifty in my head when he finally spoke.
“To put it simply… I completely disagree.”
“Arnold’s death was not your fault.”
