Hee-hee!

Early in the morning, before the morning sun became too hot, a small horse-drawn cart had arrived at Caleb Manor.

Inside, it was filled with ingredients to be used on Caleb Manor that day.

“Five kilograms of beef and eight kilograms of pork. Five each of carrots and turnips. Cornstarch, nutmeg, and cloves. Where are the eggs? Haam.”

“Oh, I almost forgot. Here they are. They were just laid, so keep them warm. Yanan yawned; what a strange thing to happen.”

“I cleaned the stables yesterday because Lord Hades scolded Yanan.”

“Yanan got scolded by Lord Hades? Haha. I should bet some money on the long game today!”

The old man who delivered fresh ingredients every morning laughed heartily and looked around.

“Where is Lukwan? I have something to apologize to him.”

“He’s probably still asleep, oblivious to the rising sun.”

“Oh, then, you deliver this for me.”

The old man handed a glass bottle to Yanan.

Inside, there was a lump of something unpleasant, like dark red porridge.

“What is this?”

Yanan accepted it with a suspicious look.

“This is… really good for your health. I accidentally gave him another medicine yesterday.”

The old man whispered secretly, and Yanan, as if touched by something dirty, returned it to the old man.

“Ugh! Disgusting! Lukwan, did this guy reverse his age? Take it away! Wait, did you say yesterday?! What, what… What kind of medicine did you accidentally give him?”

Yanan, with a corner of her mind grabbing onto something, turned pale.

The strange eel-like drink that her master gulped down.

“He’s looking for something like this since he’s getting older. Click. It’s hard to find a small freshwater eel like this one from the Benthos River. I gave him five silver coins, but I feel sorry because the item changed. So please don’t report it to the authorities. I brought two bottles instead.”

The old man handed the medicine bottles back to Yanan, saying.

It’s not bad for the body. Yanan sighed deeply, wiping her forehead.

“But did anyone among the maids get married? I ordered ingredients yesterday, and it seems they’re making rokum.”

Rokum is a kind of chewy jelly-like dessert often eaten to wish a sweet life for a newlywed couple.

“Well, why should someone get married to eat it? The children said they wanted something sweet as the days got hotter, so I thought I’d make some.”

Yanan skillfully mumbled while receiving the luggage.

“As expected, there’s vitality when there’s a master on the estate, and it looks good. But when Mercatus passes, the general will probably leave this place again, won’t he?”

Yanan chuckled slyly and, with her maids, busily began unpacking the ingredients.

After placing the ordered ingredients, Yanan, who sighed, carefully headed to the hallway where her master’s bedroom was, holding a tray to make sure it didn’t make a sound.

Slipping through the layers of hung-out aprons, when she peeked into the bedroom without knowing she had entered, there were two men and women who were busy sleeping, not realizing that I had come in.
As if admiring a silver oasis rising from the thick soil in the middle of a deep desert somewhere, Caleb’s chamberlain watched the scenery with satisfaction. Concerned that the sunlight might pour in strongly, she carefully inspected the various colors of fabric hanging from the ceiling.

Behind the door, she listened intently to the irregular breaths of a somewhat rough man and the rhythmic breathing of a woman with gentle sighs. Her eyes seemed to slightly redden.

Now she sincerely prayed that her master would cast away the ghosts of the past and find happiness.

“Yasmine, it seems you can be relieved now.”

Even though she might be in a hurry due to sleeping, Yanan, convinced that it would be okay to skip their morning meal, or maybe even lunch, looked at the intertwined Hades and Latifa.

“Plenty of time to make rokum.”

Yanan walked slowly towards the kitchen.

Open or not? No, perhaps not.

It seemed like the sun had risen when she saw the light coming through her closed eyelids, but it was frightening to open her eyes.

The sensation on her body clearly felt like the texture of the silk blanket on the bed, but there was also the warm body temperature of someone else. Still pretending to be asleep, she slightly twisted her body, but with the man’s body temperature firmly blocking her front and back, Latifa had no way to escape.

‘Is he still asleep?’

If Hades was still asleep, Latifa prepared to slowly lift her eyelids, ready to sneak away quietly.

‘Well, if he had already woken up, it wouldn’t be this quiet.’

One. Two. Three.

Latifa counted silently and opened her eyes slightly.

“……”

“Uh, um……”

As soon as Latifa made eye contact with Hades, she quickly closed her eyes again.

Beyond her slightly open eyes, a soft colored light, passing through the pinkish flag and settling down, was coloring his black eyes.

‘Crazy! He was awake.’

Not only was he awake, but he was also staring at her fixedly.

What was adulthood for desert women?