‘How strange.’
No matter how dull one may be, they had to notice it at this point.
Whether it was the maid’s fault or the kitchen’s, someone was intentionally ruining my meals.
Of course, I had no intention of telling the Duke.
I might be nothing but an uninvited guest that the Duke happened to be burdened with, but the maids and chefs have been servants working under him for a long time.
That didn’t mean I wanted to question the maid about it either.
She might obediently bring me bread and soup, but what if she spat in it as well?
So, the solution I came up with after much thought…
Raiding the kitchen.
[Star Icon][Star Icon][Star Icon]I hugged a bag full of loot and grinned broadly.
‘I’m happy!’
Perhaps because it was late autumn, the fruits harvested throughout the year were stored in abundance in the kitchen.
A few apples and pears wouldn’t be missed if I secretly took them.
I also snuck a piece of apple pie.
Judging by the delicious smell wafting around, the taste seemed to be exquisite as well.
But my joyous loot did not last long.
“This time she didn’t even eat the cheese? What’s wrong with that woman!”
I quickly hid and pricked up my ears.
I thought I knew who the ‘that woman’ one of the chefs was loudly complaining about.
Perhaps I might even find out why my meals always end up in that state.
“Maybe she noticed we gave her cheese nibbled by rats.”
What?
I doubted my ears for a moment.
What’s going on?
“Isn’t that something she should just put up with? His Highness told us to just keep her from starving.”
“……What if we tell His Highness? She’s still His Highness’s first wife, isn’t she?”
“A woman he has never spent a night with should be called his wife? It’s clear he took in that lowly woman out of curiosity.”
“Still, treating her so carelessly seems wrong. We’ll have to be more careful with her next meal.”
“Yes, let’s send her flour porridge next time.”
Shock and anger bubbled inside me.
The image of a wife in Donovan Duke’s castle seemed very bad, so it might explain why they were preparing my meals so poorly despite having such rich ingredients.
But give me cheese nibbled by rats?
This was not something I could let slide.
Of course, for now…
‘I’ll have to tell the Duke and clear up this rumor.’
Upon reflection, there were more than one or two strange things.
From the butler’s surprise when he was told to prepare a room on the same floor, to the maid not waking me until my bathwater was cold and I was shivering.
There was hostility that could not be explained by mere dissatisfaction with a meal guest.
Thump thump.
I slipped out of my hiding place after hearing the two chefs leaving the kitchen.
Gurgle.
My stomach rumbled loudly as my tension eased.
I stared wideeyed at the bag.
The Duke wouldn’t die if I told him a little later.
But if I didn’t eat these lovely foods soon, I felt like I would die.
‘I need to find a place where I can eat in peace.’
[Star Icon][Star Icon][Star Icon]Hades Croitner shrugged his shoulders.
Attacks from the demon army were a common occurrence every two or three months, but that didn’t lessen the fatigue of the people of the dukedom.
Fortunately, the Duke’s castle was at a standoff point with the demon armies, so the territory was unharmed, but cleaning up after was the knights’ job.
‘I should probably raise their salaries.’
Demon horns sell at a high price.
Even sharing a little of that profit would boost the knights’ morale.
The problem was that winter was approaching and the trade routes would close…
‘I need to find a market before that.’
Hades was lost in thought for a moment.
It would be nice if he could forge a path with his strength alone, but though he could freeze things, melting them was not his specialty.
“…Maybe it’s possible with holy fire.”
For a brief moment, the image of the mouselike saintess floated in his mind.
Soon after, Hades shook his head.
Although she had a strong personality contrary to her insignificant appearance, and her mind worked well, he had confirmed several times that her divine power itself was worthless.
“She will be of no help at all.”
Hades sighed.
It seemed he would have to delay the salary increase until after spring.
Still, the loyalty of the knights was his sole consolation.
Especially, the commander of the knights, Sir William, and his vicecommander, Sir Tobias, were steadfast arms, possessing both skill and integrity.
Hades stood up from his seat.
Though it was almost time to close his eyes, he planned to meditate to dispel the distracting thoughts.
Especially on the day when the demon army was annihilated, there were many times when his dreams were restless, so he wanted to move his body until he was utterly exhausted.
“I must go to the training ground today after a long time.”
The knights would be training as usual when he went to the martial arts field.
Hades, who did not want to tense the already tired knights, moved to the training ground.
“What’s this?”
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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