“I hate to see you wither away. Just eat everything that’s delicious without thinking. I wish you wouldn’t darken your thoughts.”
He wiped Ariadne’s lips with his fingers. It was the lips where the milk mixed with saliva had flowed down because Ariadne had wiped it rudely.
“You’re pretty.”
Ariadne shuddered, her body trembling. It was sweet talk that men only spew right before going to bed. She’d heard such things plenty of times in her previous life. She stubbornly spat out,
“Just because you say that doesn’t mean I’m going to allow you to stay here any longer today.”
At Ariadne’s harsh words, Alfonso’s bluegrey eyes quivered slightly. But he did not get angry or anything, but pressed against her very closely and pressed his lips to her forehead.
“Ari. Don’t say that. I didn’t mean it like that.”
He paused to choose his words, then continued,
“In my eyes, you’re prettier than anyone else in the world. You don’t need to lose weight or get overly dolled up. Just do what you want to do, eat what you want to eat, and live comfortably and naturally.”
That was a luxury that Prince Alfonso himself could not afford. But he was going to claim it for himself too.
Being able to live as myself, a natural everyday life. And even more so for his woman. He intended to make it come true a hundred times, a thousand times.
He took Ariadne’s hand and squeezed it tightly.
“I was worried about you, I couldn’t not come.”
He softly stroked her forehead and continued,
“It’s strange. Even though you’re really good at everything, you’re like a child put up for sale at a market. I’m constantly worried about you, constantly worried about you, my heart aches.”
Even though Prince Alfonso realized that the owner of the tribute was not Ariadne but Arabella, he could not stop his footsteps, even though the reason he had been going to San Carlo had disappeared.
The worries and affection that occupied a corner of his chest drove his San Carlo journey.
Arabella was Ariadne’s very cute youngest sister, and the only place in that house, where inhuman people were rampant, that she could be attached to. When he imagined what Ariadne’s feelings would be, it felt like a knife was stabbing his heart.
The girl with black hair, who was stubbornly shutting her lips and pretending to be strong, would have nowhere to lean on. He wanted to run to her and become a shoulder for her to lean on.
Even though he was a prince without any real power, a boy who was not yet a crown prince despite being an only son, there were still things he could do.
No, there were things that even a pauper from the street could do. Telling his girl that she was not alone, and that she could hold his hand when she was tired, was one of them.
That’s why he was standing in front of her now, after coming up in a ridiculous rush, staying awake for three days and nights.
“I worry because you don’t even do the basics. Even young children know how to feed themselves once they turn four. I had to bring you all the way up to San Carlo to feed you because you can’t even do what children can.”
Alfonso rubbed his nose on Ariadne’s face.
“You’re worse than a baby.”
“No, I’m not!”
“Then eat your meal with your own hands.”
He placed a spoon in Ariadne’s hand and pushed a bowl of soup towards her.
Having come this far, she couldn’t back out. She scooped up the clear broth of mushrooms and beef with a spoon, but she couldn’t easily bring it to her mouth.
Beside her, Alfonso whispered into her ear.
“Quick, before I feed you like earlier.”
Startled by the baritone suddenly ringing in her ear, Ariadne put the spoon in her mouth.
The taste of dried porcini mushrooms and beef permeated Ariadne’s throat.
The scent of the proper food she tasted after a long time was strange and momentarily disgusting at first. But as the soup flowed down her esophagus, the pleasant taste she used to know brushed past her senses. Yes, this was the taste…
When Ariadne swallowed a mouthful, Alfonso petted her head and praised her.
“Come on, one more bite.”
At Alfonso’s coaxing, she scooped up another spoonful of mushroom beef soup and put it in her mouth. The delightful taste of the food, which she only faintly felt at the end earlier, now spread across her tongue as soon as it touched.
Ariadne voluntarily scooped up a third spoonful.
Alfonso watched all of this with a pleased look, leaning on his chin. Ariadne finished all the mushroom beef soup and even ate the potato gnocchi and roasted lamb.
She couldn’t eat much of the meat she tasted after a long time because of its strong gamey smell, but it was still a considerable progress. Alfonso, too, fully relieved the starvation he had suffered for the past three days, unable to eat anything but frozen jerky.
Indeed, the main contributor to finishing off the food was Prince Alfonso.
The food that filled one large tray was gone in the blink of an eye once they started eating earnestly. Alfonso, seemingly regretful, chewed and swallowed the last piece of lamb.
“Do you want me to bring more?”
“No, this is enough. I just ate the leftovers.”
An Indifferent Woman is the One Men Desire the Most
One-line summary: The female lead is actually cold-hearted and extremely rational. She has stage-by-stage relationships and won’t two-time, but there will always be someone who secretly likes her.
This novel has the following triggers, so if you’re sensitive to these, please don’t read:
1. The female lead has had many relationships, but she treated each one seriously and broke up properly.
It’s just that the men unilaterally pestered her incessantly. For the female lead, when she doesn’t like someone anymore, she simply doesn’t like them.
(This applies to her relationships with Male Lead 1, 2, 3, and 4 as well, but she’s loyal in each 1-on-1 relationship!)
2. In this novel, Male Lead 2 and the female lead kiss in a car, and Male Lead 1 sees it and beats up Male Lead 2.
The female lead calls the police and sends both Male Lead 1 and 2 to the police station! Male Lead 1 begs the female lead not to break up with him.
3. Male Lead 1 has a gentle appearance but an obsessive personality.
Male Lead 2 has a delicate and soft appearance, slightly green tea-like (two-faced).
Male Lead 3 is a youthful college student and a smart person who has secretly liked the female lead for a long time.
Male Lead 4 is the female lead’s father’s special assistant, a business elite with deep, hidden thoughts.
4. At the beginning of this novel, the female lead has already broken up with Male Lead 1 (Chapter 4) and gotten back together with Male Lead 2 (ex-boyfriend).
5. Enter with caution if you have triggers!!!