Whether it was because I was speaking informally or because he kept acting like this, I couldn’t hold back my words. Seeing that I was angry, he looked at me with eyes wide open as if he found it fascinating.

“You seem cuter the more I look at you.”

I could ignore anything else he said, but I couldn’t ignore that. I narrowed my eyes and shook my head as I said,

“……Don’t like me.”

“You’re quite selfconscious.”

He snorted at my words. He truly looked amused as he chuckled, and it made my blood boil.

‘Is he really finding me that funny? Is that why he keeps teasing me?’

I was feeling incredulous when he slapped my shoulder and said,

“Let’s eat quickly.”

Are all these people Korean? Why do they like food so much?

“Yes.”

But I couldn’t refuse if it was food.

I quickly stood up from my seat.

(This is a time separator.)

It seems that deep inside, I was looking forward to what food I would eat in the blood sect. I opened my mouth wide as I saw the meal spread out before me.

“……What is this?”

“What do you mean, what? It’s food.”

He nonchalantly sat down at one end of the table. But I couldn’t sit down with him.

That’s because there was not a single cooked item on the table!

The meat was as bloody as ever, the vegetables were just washed and chopped, and what was said to be rice was pale gruel.

‘That gruel seems to be just boiled rice? So it’s rice water, not white porridge!’

What does it mean to have everything served in its natural state? At a loss, I put my hands on my hips and asked,

“Weren’t you supposed to get elaborate meals every time, being the sect leader?”

“The previous sect leader might have done that.”

He shrugged off my words as if it were trivial.

“But I haven’t been the sect leader for long. How can I eat food that others have made for me without knowing what’s in it?”

“So you prepared this yourself?”

“Yes.”

I roughly understood the situation. So the previous sect leader didn’t eat like this, but now he doesn’t trust the cooks, so he eats like this.

‘Still, this is too much.’

It was a raw meal that was hard to accept even after understanding the situation. I frowned and asked,

“……Do you prefer raw food?”

It was an extreme diet that you couldn’t eat unless it was to some degree your preference.

He shrugged at my question as if there were no problem and picked up his chopsticks.

“Raw meat is edible too.”

As he picked up a piece of meat… uh, I involuntarily groaned. I quickly grabbed his wrist.

“You’ll die eating raw meat. Do you know how many parasites are in meat?”

“Don’t see any?”

“Sigh.”

If you see them, they’re not parasites. Of course, there are visible parasites, but still.

I didn’t think I’d have to roll up my sleeves here. I sighed and held up two fingers.

“Wait just two dakyeong (30 minutes).”

(This is a time separator.)

The kitchen of the blood sect was enormous. Perhaps because the cook had left a long time ago, the cooking tools were terribly managed, and there weren’t many ingredients.

‘But I can cook right away.’
The meat that Hyuljung Hyuk had sliced raw was thankfully pork. I was about to be unable to do anything without oil, but it would work to use pig fat.

Somehow I managed to prepare a meal with what was available, and though it was far from perfect, it looked much more like a meal than before. Hyuljung Hyuk looked at the meal I’d prepared with narrowed eyes.

“What is this?”

“What do you mean what? It’s a meal.”

“A dish I’ve never seen before?”

He’s incredibly suspicious, this guy. I crossed my arms and answered with my chin up.

“I had no spices and only a little salt, so I just grilled it. It’s not even worth calling cooking.”

“You grilled the vegetables to eat?”

“They’re soft and tasty when grilled. Of course, eating them raw would be healthier.”

Hyuljung Hyuk hesitantly sat back down at the table. Then, picking up his spoon, he stirred the rice in front of him and asked.

“What’s this rice? Why is it burned?”

“It’s not burned, it’s fried. You’ve never eaten fried rice?”

“……??”

His eyes widened in an expression that said he really had never heard of it before.

There are people in the Central Plains who’ve never eaten fried rice? I let out a sigh. I picked up my spoon and chopsticks and said,

“Stop talking. Let’s eat and talk. I don’t have any poison on hand, so eat without worry.”

“…….”

Hyuljung Hyuk looked at me suspiciously, then scooped up a bit of fried rice and put it in his mouth. He quickly widened his eyes.

“Whwhat’s this savory taste?”

“It all becomes savory when fried.”

Though the calories will probably shoot up.

‘Anyway, he’s a martial artist, so his basal metabolism rate is probably high. What’s the big deal?’

Thinking that, I smirked, when Hyuljung Hyuk put a piece of meat in his mouth and choked. I froze at his intense reaction.

“What, what is it! Did you bite your tongue?”

Or was there a stone in it! I quickly held out a small dish for him to spit the stone onto.

That’s when Hyuljung Hyuk muttered in the most sincere voice I’d heard since I met him,

“……It’s delicious.”

“What?”

It’s just salted and grilled, what’s there to react so strongly to? Whether he saw my bewildered face or not, Hyuljung Hyuk grabbed my shoulder and raved.

“Steamed bun, you don’t need to use spells. It doesn’t matter if your magic failed. You’ll live in the Hyul Clan for the rest of your life.”

“……Excuse me? When did I ever ask to be accepted like that?”

Why are the people in this area, regardless of their status, so poor in their eating habits?

Anyway, seeing him eat happily, I couldn’t help but smile. I grinned and watched Hyuljung Hyuk eat earnestly.

‘Anyway, I’m glad he seems to completely trust me now.’

Even dogs are wary of food offered by someone they don’t trust.

‘Whether I look weak or win him over, it doesn’t matter. What’s important is that he trusts me.’

If he keeps trusting me like this, he might let me outside one day.

‘I have to escape then.’

I bit my lip hard.