Chapter 8
I was lost in deep thought.
“…Refined stones alone are not enough.”
No matter how many times I thought about it,
the answer was always the same.
To save Carlos,
just providing refined stones would not be enough.
Refined stones could calm the clash
between demonic energy and magic power.
But that was all.
They could not restore
a body that was already broken.
Even at a glance,
Carlos’s physical condition was terrible.
Honestly, it was a miracle he was still alive.
His body must have slowly collapsed over many years.
During the days I stayed in the mansion,
I noticed he barely slept
and hardly ate.
Of course,
if the goal was only to keep him barely alive,
refined stones alone would be enough…
But I didn’t want that.
What I want is for the Grand Duke to live like a human being.
If there was anything I gained
from living my whole life as a princess,
it was this—
I knew an unbelievable amount
about demonic energy and refined stones.
All thanks to the emperor.
It was not publicly known,
but the emperor also possessed magic power.
While giving the people
only the smallest amount of refined stones,
he maintained his own body
in perfect condition
by any means necessary.
And I had served him
from the closest distance.
There was no one
who understood better than me
how to manage a body
exposed to demonic energy.
Though I never imagined
I would use that knowledge on someone else.
I looked out the bedroom window.
“…Now is probably the best time, right?”
There was a clear reason
I had been unable to act for so long.
After my violent first meeting with Damian,
a fierce gaze followed me
everywhere inside the mansion.
He didn’t even try to hide
that he was watching me.
Honestly,
it would have been easier
if he just wrote it on his face.
I kept avoiding him,
wondering what insults I would hear if we met.
Fortunately,
Damian had been away since morning today.
“Alright. Let’s do it now.”
After sitting seriously on the bed for a moment,
I suddenly jumped down.
“First… food.”
* * *
When I reached the kitchen,
it happened to be completely empty.
I must have missed mealtime.
“It’s huge…”
For a moment,
I simply stared at the vast space.
Then I quietly closed the door
and walked softly toward the storage room.
Thankfully,
the storage was full of fresh ingredients—
as expected of the Grand Duke’s mansion.
“Let’s see… eggplant, tomatoes, mushrooms…”
I searched every corner
and carefully gathered spices and herbs too,
then waddled back to the kitchen.
After pouring everything onto the counter,
I tried to find a knife—
and suddenly felt troubled.
“…I can’t reach.”
That was right.
The kitchen here was too tall for me.
I wasn’t even sure
I could cut properly.
While looking around,
I spotted a small wooden box.
After struggling to drag it over
and climbing on top,
my height finally matched.
“I can’t believe my height would hurt my pride.”
The emperor liked my
small and delicate body.
He said he liked
that his only daughter
fit perfectly in his arms.
To please him,
I had restricted my diet extremely,
and even at twenty
I remained far below average height.
Thinking about it now,
he probably just hated
the idea of me gaining any strength.
And now
I was seven years younger again—
of course I was even smaller.
“Maybe I can still grow
if I try from now on…”
With that useless thought,
I picked up the knife.
But as soon as I placed
the ingredients on the board,
another problem appeared.
“Hmm…
how big should I cut them?”
I had visited the kitchen
countless times
to prepare the emperor’s meals,
but sadly,
I had never cooked myself.
Naturally.
What servant would dare
place kitchen tools
in the hands of a princess?
And I myself
never allowed even a speck of dust
to touch my dress.
“…Hmm.”
I hesitated briefly.
Then I clenched my teeth
and gripped the knife firmly.
“I’ll understand once I try.
It can’t be that hard.”
I had watched meal preparations
for years.
As far as I remembered,
it didn’t look difficult.
“Eggplant long and thin…
tomatoes cut into squares… right?”
I began cutting
based only on old memories.
The eggplant looked
somewhat decent,
even if uneven.
But the real problem
was the tomatoes.
When the chef cut them,
they became neat cubes.
But in front of me now
was something completely crushed—
so broken
it had no shape at all.
Red juice splattered everywhere.
It looked less like cooking
and more like a crime scene.
“…This isn’t right.”
No matter how I looked at it,
this wasn’t edible.
“Let’s try again.”
I climbed down,
brought more tomatoes,
and tried carefully this time.
But sadly,
the result was almost the same.
This time,
tomato juice even burst out
and stained my apron red.
“…Why is this so hard?”
Chefs made it look easy.
Wasn’t it supposed to be simple?
I stood there blankly
staring at the ruined tomatoes—
when suddenly—
“Oh my! Princess, what on earth happened here?!”
A shocked voice came
from across the room.
Mia, who was passing by,
stared at me in horror.
She looked between
me holding a kitchen knife
and the destroyed tomatoes,
then rushed inside.
“I wondered why you weren’t in your room—
so you were here?
Oh dear, your clothes are a mess…
If you were hungry,
you should have told me.”
“I’m not hungry…”
“Then… bored?”
“No.”
Who would cause this chaos
in a kitchen
just because they were bored?
I almost argued,
but closed my mouth.
Anything I said
would sound strange.
How should I explain this?
As the silence grew longer,
Mia looked at me curiously.
Her bright eyes
seemed to poke my cheeks.
In the end,
I muttered quietly,
“I… wanted to prepare a meal.”
“A meal?
Didn’t you already eat lunch?”
“Not for me…
I mean…”
The words stuck in my throat.
My face grew hot.
This is why
I planned to finish it secretly.
After tightly closing
and reopening my eyes,
I spoke.
“I know food
that’s good for a body
damaged by demonic energy.”
“…Pardon?”
“Th-the emperor
often ate it too.”
Mia looked confused,
then suddenly realized
what I meant.
“Is it…
food for the master?”
“…That was the plan.”
Even though
it clearly failed.
I looked helplessly
at the ruined cutting board.
Mia followed my gaze downward.
A short silence passed.
“Goodness.”
Then Mia smiled gently
and rolled up her sleeves.
“May I help you?”
