How To Choose A Knight (28 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 12
Jade stirred the spatula with a crimson face. On the pan, something yellow, red, and green was haphazardly mixed together, its shape so mangled it was unrecognizable.
Axel snatched the spatula, moved it a few times, then passed a death sentence on the food-like substance.
“Throw it away.”
“No way! These are the eggs Olivia gave me!”
Jade shivered indignantly, as if his words were unthinkable, and immediately began pouring out the egg’s origin story.
“She said it came from a very old hen that hadn’t laid any eggs for a long time after getting injured by an owl. So Olivia always kept watch over its roost and placed a warm brazier nearby, and after several months, it finally laid an egg again. That’s how precious these eggs are! She said she doesn’t just give them to anyone!”
“And yet it’s you who ruined such a precious thing.”
Since the old woman always said that whenever giving out eggs, Axel wasn’t particularly moved or concerned. After all, only Jade would fall for such talk.
Yet even under his gaze, which clearly asked why she was making such a fuss over him, Jade remained undeterred.
“No, this is still edible! It’s just… a bit ugly-looking. Anyway, once you chew it, everything mixes together in the end.”
“Fine. Then you eat it.”
With an indifferent expression, Axel dumped the greasy mixture of eggs and vegetables onto a plate. His movements were neat and composed.
Jade stared at the plate with an odd look—this won’t taste good…—but after moving it to the table, she watched the almost magical scene unfolding from the man’s fingertips.
His large hands moved with pure efficiency. He cracked an egg—tap—onto the scorching hot pan, and the moment it sizzled—chiik!—he whisked it into soft, fluffy clouds.
“Wow.”
Jade’s wide-eyed admiration spilled out in constant exclamations.
A rich, savory aroma filled the entire house. When she cooked, the air was always thick with a burnt smell—but this scent was so mouthwatering it completely overpowered that memory.
The man skillfully trimmed vegetables and tossed them into the pan. After quickly applying just enough heat to slightly wilt them, he arranged them neatly on the plate.
What stunned Jade most was how he handled the massive cast-iron pan with one hand as if it were a toy. She herself could barely manage it with both hands, grunting and groaning just to shift it an inch.
Watching his arm muscles bulge and flex with every movement, Jade asked curiously,
“Isn’t it heavy?”
Without even glancing at her, Axel replied flatly,
“That’s exactly why I don’t give you an axe.”
“But I can handle small things now, right?”
“Well, you probably can. Though I have no idea what you’d even use such trifles for.”
Jade grumbled,
“All fires start small.”
“Then there’s no need to restart if you never let it go out. Hand me a bowl.”
With that, after pouring a stew made from various leftover ingredients, the meal preparation was finally complete.
On the table sat dry but savory bread, eggs, roasted vegetables, and a steaming hot stew.
Compared to what they ate in the castle, it was incredibly humble. Back then, even surrounded by countless dishes, she’d always had no appetite—but now, just the smell alone made her stomach churn so violently it ached.
Moreover, Axel no longer mocked her as a little bird for the amount she ate. Probably because she genuinely ate much more now.
“This looks delicious! You put so much into the stew.”
Jade chirped cheerfully, and Axel narrowed his eyes slightly. His smile didn’t seem fake.
“…Did you live starving outside the forest?”
“Of course not! The table was always full of dishes every single day.”
“Then you find this bread tasty?”
Axel pointed skeptically at the bread studded with dark grains. Though rougher in taste than white bread at first…
“It gets more savory the more you chew!”
“……”
Axel, looking dubious, pushed a wooden bowl toward her. It was piled high with thinly sliced dark bread. Jade beamed brightly.
“Oh! Can I eat as much as I want? You said the merchant might be late, right? Is there enough bread?”
“…Just stop worrying and eat as much as you like.”
Watching her happily grab another piece of bread, Axel grew slightly more serious. He was genuinely starting to worry about this seemingly naive mage.
If she thought this bread was delicious, someone must surely be embezzling the funds allocated for her ingredients. The first time he’d eaten this dark bread, its wood-like taste had shocked him so much he spat it out immediately.
“As far as I can tell, it doesn’t seem like an accident that you ended up here. Go back and look carefully for the people who dislike you. It might be a scheme.”
Jade giggled brightly.
“Of course it is! Plenty of people dislike me. It’s strange anyway that a teleporting mage would suddenly make a mistake like that. I’m just glad I’m still alive. Right?”
The man tilted his head, unimpressed by her cheerful tone, which showed no surprise at such suspicion.
“You have a lot of people who dislike you?”
“Yep, tons. Wow, this is tasty.”
Resting his chin in his hand, Axel studied the girl sitting across from him as she chewed thoughtfully.
She was unusually sensitive to heat, always sporting rosy cheeks, and the faint redness under her slightly downturned eyes gave her an oddly childlike impression.
Objectively—very objectively—it seemed she gave off an innocent, pure aura that made her hard to hate.
It wasn’t just her appearance either; her actions were genuinely simple. Though he hadn’t observed her long, she clearly wasn’t the type to hide malicious intent behind a smile.
Then why?
Unaware that Axel was silently scrutinizing her, Jade continued eating.
She dipped the warm bread into the stew and found it even tastier than what they’d had in the castle. Of course, the wheat was certainly of lower quality, but somehow it just felt better.
Was it because she’d been moving around so much lately? She chewed the bread diligently, entertaining that plausible theory.
The first thing she’d learned here was that physical exhaustion sharpens the appetite, while mental exhaustion dulls it.
She glanced briefly at Axel across the table—he was eating neatly, not spilling a single crumb.
He ate about three times as much as she did, yet his table manners were so impeccable he merely looked like a good eater—pleasant to watch.
But some things couldn’t be hidden: he clearly followed proper dining etiquette. He must have belonged to a noble household outside the forest.
Perhaps he was the second son of a modest house? Did he grow disillusioned after inheritance disputes? Or was everything decided solely by birth order, ignoring his abilities?
Or maybe he hailed from a minor family that held a knighthood. Maybe a mage in that house insisted he become their paired knight and harassed him—Axel probably left because he disliked mages.
Come to think of it, if someone this stubborn and upright had been near me, I might’ve considered him as a knight-pair too.
Sensing her fixed gaze, Axel’s light-colored eyes turned toward her. Their eyes met before she could look away.
Jade brazenly met his handsome eyes for a moment before casually shifting her gaze to her bowl.
“What?”
“What about what?”
“What are you staring at?”
“You just looked unusually handsome today, so I was admiring you.”
Axel frowned, but Jade poked at her plate with her fork. She’d already eaten plenty of bread and stew—it was time to try the dish she’d cooked herself. Assuming this even qualified as cooking.
She cut off a piece of the greasy egg, clearly showing signs of burning and dryness.
It shimmered with a bit too much oil, but hey—everything tasty got mixed in, so it should be fine!
Unaware that Axel was watching her with renewed curiosity, Jade popped the food into her mouth—and immediately scrunched up her entire face.
Ugh, so greasy.
And it tasted burnt, too.
“How’s the dish made with those precious eggs?”
“……”
“You used plenty of that precious oil, too.”
“……”
“Next time, heat the pan properly before adding anything. And you’ll wash the dishes.”
“Sigh….”
Jade forced the food down with water. She didn’t want to throw it away—it was a gift from Olivia, earned through her hard help.
Meanwhile, the vegetables were undercooked, giving off a strangely fishy smell, yet their ends were pitch black from burning—an utterly baffling contradiction.
Seeing this, Axel reached out, snatched a bite, sighed, and swapped her plate.
“No, I—”
“I’d rather do this than watch you eat with that near-death expression.”
Jade politely refused a couple of times before swiftly digging into Axel’s cooking. Ah, now this was proper food.
“How come I can’t do it? I used the same oil and spices!”
“The same?”
“…Whatever! You must’ve been bad at cooking at first too, right? When did you get good? Is there hope for me?”
Axel snorted.
“I was good from the beginning.”
“Don’t lie. Olivia told me you made her sigh every time she saw you back then! You might be showing off now, but apparently it was really, really bad!”
He regretted not silencing Olivia’s mouth earlier—but it was too late now. Jade’s violet eyes sparkled with interest.
“She said you were worse than me!”
Even so, he couldn’t let that slide.
“It wasn’t that bad. And I could chop wood perfectly from the start.”
“Laughable. She said you couldn’t cook.”
“It was definitely better than this.”
Axel lifted a half-burnt vegetable end with his fork, and Jade instantly put on a humble expression.
“Ugh….”
“Don’t get cocky.”
“Alright! So when did you actually get better?”
He gave a soft chuckle and scooped the rest of the stew onto Jade’s plate.
“After about three seasons passed.”
“Oh, that’s unexpected. I thought you’d keep teasing me till the end.”
“That’s exactly why you shouldn’t expect to improve.”
At those words, Jade suddenly became aware of her situation.
Ah, right. It was just before winter, and the merchant was supposed to arrive before spring.
One season.
Just as she was starting to get used to that crooked smile of his, his sudden words hit her with unexpected fluster—she almost felt like she’d been smacked on the head.
Why?
Hiding her confused feelings, Jade merely grumbled,
“No. I’ll get better faster than that.”
“We’ll see.”
“I’ll try again tomorrow—just once more.”
Axel tilted his head and said,
“It’s your earnings, so it’s your choice. Fine, maybe you’ll improve before the season ends.”
Jade hoped so. If there was an endpoint, she wanted to reach it in finished form.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
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MANGA DISCUSSION
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Chapter Comments (13)
I feel like Axel must of royal bloodline. Jade is so cute! They are gonna be so cute together
How come the comments are showing up every chapter? I thought the comment would only show up on the chapter you commented on?
How come the comments are showing up every chapter? I thought the comment would only show up on the chapter you commented on?
Inline Comments (64)
If only I’d had the chance to say a proper goodbye—to tidy things up—would it ha
I have a feeling in this chapter, he too will realize his feelings- or come to be mad at Jade
Before those behind could stop him, the young man gulped down the plain water fr
Hhahahah your brother must love you a lot~~ he’s probably gonna reunite you with Jade
“A handsome man with a good body.”
Hahah looks like someone is getting an entertaining sister in law hehheh
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Apu
It is so sweet how preciously the treat the eggs because they are empathetic to the old hen’s struggle. Idk why I didn’t expect that from their character. I wonder how fervently her aides and servants are searching for her right now? I feel like one of them should be clever enough to investigate the uncle
Apu
It is so sweet how preciously the treat the eggs because they are empathetic to the old hen’s struggle. Idk why I didn’t expect that from their character. I wonder how fervently her aides and servants are searching for her right now? I feel like one of them should be clever enough to investigate the uncle