It wasn’t just the servants who were making a fuss.

Babito, who came to the dining room with me, was also in a state of shock with his eyes wide open.

“Do, do you really taste the flavor?”

Kashar remained silent in response.

But looking at the empty plate with not a drop of sauce left, one could tell.

The fact that his taste buds were responding to this magnificent food.

“A miracle, a miracle has happened!”

Babito was the first to shout. Not to be outdone, the other servants even had tears in their eyes.

“The future mistress has performed a miracle!”

‘What? Future mistress?’

As I stood frozen, unable to adapt to the situation, things got even more chaotic.

“As expected, the master’s lover can do anything!”

“How can such a miracle! I respect you, Miss Eileen!”

“Miss, please take me as your disciple!”

From servants to maids to the head chef, everyone was in an uproar.

Amidst the unceasing applause, my face instantly turned into a burning peach.

‘I, I’m a fake lover!’

Your master has someone he’ll fall in love with at first sight later.

To prevent the bad ending, I need to introduce a new woman to him…

‘Me, the future mistress?’

Ding- Ding ding-!

I heard the illusion of wedding bells in my head.

Me in a pure white dress and Kashar in a tuxedo. And even the twins as flower children.

‘We’ll have one son and one daughter.’

A truly harmonious family.

The vision that passed in an instant was a wonderland of dreams and love.

‘No, no. I’m just a supporting character. Calm down.’

It seemed I had imagined too grandiose a future.

Even if Kashar doesn’t fall in love with the female lead, the object of his affection would be another woman, not me.

That’s the unwritten rule.

In an instant, my mouth turned bitter and my head started to return to reality.

‘Wait a minute.’

Putting aside the praise from those around me, there was one thing that bothered me.

‘Kashar can’t taste?’

He had been generous with praise for both the first breakfast I prepared and the second meal of makgeolli and kimchi pancakes.

“Hold on. What do you mean Kashar can’t taste…”

“Enough.”

The boisterous atmosphere was brought to an end by Kashar’s rebuke.

“Eileen, I’m done eating. Now let’s play with us!”

“There are many interesting things in the box in my room. I want to show them to you.”

“Oh, oh? Wait a minute…!”

I was led away by the children’s hands before I could do anything.

Seeing me like that, Kashar waved his hand lightly.

“Breakfast was good.”

I slipped out of the dining room with the twins, casually ignoring that one comment.

[This is the timeline separator]

That night after finishing childcare.

‘Finally alone.’

I returned to my room, dragging my tired body.

I plopped down on the bed, but my mind was still noisy.

Of course, all the blame lay with Kashar.

‘He lost his sense of taste?’

The truth I heard from Dracu was truly shocking.

At some point, Kashar had lost his ability to taste. It was a fact known to everyone in this castle.

‘Then has he been lying all this time?’

I recalled him eating my food with relish until now.

He even went so far as to describe the taste, but was it all an act?

My insides twisted and eventually my heart started to ache.

Why did I feel so disappointed?

I curled up, hugging my pillow.

‘…And what’s with the clause requiring me to cook without fail.’

The reason Kashar hadn’t been eating meals all along was because he had lost his sense of taste.

But that would be the same even if he ate my cooking.

Why did he insist on such a clause?

‘I don’t know.’

Although I had been incarnated as a supporting character, differences from the original story’s explanation began to appear.

I tried to ask, but Kashar didn’t show up for lunch or dinner either.

I was lost in gloomy thoughts when.

Knock knock.

I rolled over at the sound of knocking.

‘Who is it? The kids?’

Maybe it’s Ashtraile.

Perhaps because I was feeling low, my movements were sluggish.

When I opened the door like that.

“Who… Kashar?”

“Hello.”

The one who had been making me worry all day was standing in the hallway.

Facing the person I had been thinking about all day, I somehow felt sulky.

“What’s the matter?”

“I came to ask you on a date.”

Kashar smiled at my grumpy question.

I glanced at his outstretched hand, and finally placed mine on top of it.

He held my hand and began walking down the dark corridor.

“Where are we going?”

“The most normal place in this castle.”

Was there a normal space in this castle besides my room and the twins’ room?

As I stared at him suspiciously, our eyes met.

I lowered my gaze slightly. It was the end of a coward weak to handsome men and fear.

After descending a long staircase, we arrived at a back door I had never seen before. It led outside.

The moon was bright. The pale light illuminated yellow flower petals.

But the shape of the flowers was somehow familiar.

“Moonflowers?”

“You know these flowers?”

I awkwardly answered his surprised question.

“Just the name.”

Not just the name, I knew very well about the behind-the-scenes story of those flowers and Kashar.

‘They were Viviana’s favorite flowers.’

She loved them so much that before she went mad, all the flowers in the Empress’s palace were covered in moonflowers.

Perhaps influenced by that. Kashar also kept moonflowers close.

Even the flowers he gifted to the female lead when he imprisoned her were the same.

“I had this place made on my orders, what do you think? Does it seem a bit less like a demon king’s castle?”

“…You heard?”

“You were mumbling earnestly in your sleep. ‘Please let me escape from the demon king’s castle.'”

It was the end of someone who had lost their mind to deep sleep.

I had no words after being caught badmouthing someone else’s home.

I quietly closed my mouth and admired the moonlit flowers.

‘They’re beautiful.’

Moonflowers were famous for blooming under moonlight. Unlike other flowers, only buds could be seen during the day, so they were rarely planted in gardens.

“Did you bring me here to show me this?”

“Yes.”

When I asked with narrowed eyes, Kashar answered readily.

Though it couldn’t be, he seemed to know what I had been brooding over today.

‘I guess I was feeling hurt by Kashar.’

This was why my insides had been twisting and I felt resentful.

Coming here and seeing beautiful things for the first time, my heart began to soften.

Before I knew it, my protruding lips had retreated on their own.

“…It’s beautiful.”

I expressed my appreciation for the flower garden before me, just as he had praised my cooking.

Kashar smiled at that.

Under the soft moonlight, that smile tasted both sweet and bitter.

“…Um, about what you said earlier about not being able to taste.”

I finally asked.

My mouth felt dry as I anxiously watched his expression.

Eventually, Kashar, who had been staring down at me, admitted the truth.

“It’s true.”

“…Then you’ve been lying all this time?”

Being confirmed by the person himself made me feel even more upset.

He was still holding my hand.

When I tried to shake off Kashar’s hand, he intertwined our fingers more firmly.

“No. I can taste everything you make.”

“How is that possible?”

“I only react to food you make. I swear on this crest.”

Kashar was unbuttoning his shirt.

He turned around after taking off his clothes. On his back, which rippled with muscles, was inscribed the crest of the red moon.

‘The oath of truth.’

It was the ancient token shared between Kashar and the Emperor, and his collar.

If we add an oath here, we will become contractors betting our lives on each other.

I got scared in advance and pulled my hand away.

“I suffer from madness. I’m ingesting poison to maintain my sanity.”

I, who had read the original work, knew that well too.

When I hesitated, he seemed to think I was scared and his hand caressed my cheek.

“That poison comes from the land of the Mein. If you eat it, you can maintain your sanity, but it gradually takes away your senses.”

“Senses?”

“Yes. Especially all the good sensations among the five senses.”

This was the first time I had heard this.

‘I knew it caused severe headaches, but…’

I even knew that in the end, he would die slowly while vomiting black blood.

But I had no idea about the origin of the fruit or that it took away the good senses.

‘So it comes from the land of the Mein.’

The places where the Mein and humans lived were strikingly different.

The reason it hadn’t been invaded until now was because it was a land where humans couldn’t live.

‘This is more serious than what was in the book!’

Then what Kashar had lost wasn’t just his sense of taste.

I looked at him with confused eyes.

Kashar gently stroked my cheek.

“For the first time in 3 years, I tasted something properly. Only from you.”

The eyes looking at me were sincere.

I don’t know how my cooking revived his sense of taste.

But.

“I feel at ease with you by my side. This is sincere.”

With those words, Kashar leaned his face on my shoulder.

Why did I want to hug him when he was usually so glib and scary despite being an innocent man?

My hand grasped at the air.

After hesitating, I carefully embraced him.

“…It must have been hard.”

“Yeah. All I could sense was the smell of blood and rotten tastes.”

What would it feel like to not be able to taste or smell?

But being able to sense all the bad sensations. That seemed even more terrifying in its own way.

Pat pat.

My hand comforting his back gained strength.

Along with doubt about whether my cooking really had an effect.

But if it really helps.

“I’ll work hard to help you!”

If he could taste the food I made, it seemed like he might be able to taste everything someday.

‘I’m glad I can help even this much.’

Although I’m not the female lead and can’t break the curse, I was happy to be of even a little help to him.

Kashar said nothing and rubbed his cheek against my neck. It was ticklish, but on a completely different level from the ticklishness I usually felt.

I pushed Kashar away and shouted.

“That’s enough, hurry up and put your clothes on!”

“Why? You like it when I take them off.”

“You’ll catch a cold!”

The crest drawn on his back was like a terrible scar for Kashar.

I hurriedly dressed Kashar.

Although it was summer, the night air was really cold. But my body was only hot.

“Then, shall we go back?”

“…Yes!”

Afraid my reddened face might show, I quickly lowered my head.

Hoping the dark night would hide my face.

When I came to my senses, we had already arrived on the third floor.

It was time to part ways.

I greeted him in front of my room door.

“Then, good night.”

“…Why are you going there?”

“Well, because this is my room?”

I could only answer naturally when asked something so obvious.

But he asked again as if I was saying something strange.

“We agreed to sleep together starting today, didn’t we?”

“…What?”

This was completely news to me.

As I stood there blankly, he brought up our first night together.

At that moment, I remembered.

Kashar’s last words.

‘We’ll sleep together from now on, right?’

At that time, what did I say?

‘What answer. You just nodded!’

I let out a silent scream. My face had long since turned as red as a radish.

The grand imaginary wedding scene I had fantasized about during the day was about to begin its second act with a loud trumpet fanfare.

But Kashar’s pitiful voice brought me back to reality.

“You might not like it. Sleeping together in a contract relationship.”

He looked particularly pitiable today.

“When you’re here, it seems like my headaches subside.”

Headache.

It was the magic word that made me, who had cracked his skull at our first meeting, particularly weak.

‘I see.’

I forgot that this man was also an herbivore like me.

Somehow I felt reassured yet disappointed.

I turned Kashar’s body around and entered his room.

“Come on, come on. Lie down here!”

Kashar lay down on the bed after being pushed on the back. I sat down next to him.

“I’ll stay by your side until you fall asleep.”

It was no different from what I did for Louis and Evan.

“Lullaby lullaby, our Kashar.”

“…”

Ah, is this not right?

A bewildered gaze was directed at me.

I should have just stayed quiet.

Why does my hand keep reaching for him even as I regret it?

I carefully brushed his fine golden hair.

“Sleep well.”

How much time had passed?

Nod nod. My head kept turning this way and that.

As my eyes fully closed, a hand that couldn’t bear to watch laid me down.

“…Uh, on the front hill. On the back hill.”

With the lullaby I had been muttering in my heart leaking out, I fell asleep by his side.

It was a night filled with the sound of quiet breathing. Red eyes were watching Eileen.

Just as Eileen was about to turn her back to the burning gaze that seemed about to devour her.

“You can’t.”

Kashar embraced Eileen.

Wooong. A grumbling sound came out as if she felt stuffy, and he chuckled.

“You allowed this.”

One by one. One by one. The red-eyed snake was swallowing her as much as she permitted.