This Life, I Will Save The Duke (20 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 45

Ariel’s past four days had flown by quickly.

As always, she tended to the demonic realm flowers and plants in the greenhouse in the morning, and in the afternoon, she instructed Damian. It involved everything from marinating the meat to timing the high-heat searing, how long to baste thick cuts of meat with oil, and precisely when and how much of the blended spices to sprinkle while roasting.

At night, she brooded over the dragon egg. Judging by the current pace, it seemed she’d need at least another full month, so she significantly extended the time spent on it. This was only possible because Kaius had been away from the manor the entire time.

Her first reaction upon hearing he’d be gone for several days was relief—she wouldn’t have to worry about the nights. The next was anxiety—what if Ludvian came to visit? But after spending a night without him, she realized one thing with absolute clarity:

The sense of reassurance Kaius brought simply by being at her side was incomparable to anything else.

During those nights without him, she’d lock her door and slide her dagger under her pillow before lying down, yet she couldn’t sleep properly. She considered asking Sir Carsen to assign a guard outside her bedroom door, but hesitated—such a request might seem like she didn’t trust the people of the manor.

It wasn’t until two days had passed that Ariel grew curious about the exact reason for his absence and finally asked Butler Raymond. Only then did she learn that Kaius had gone to obtain the guest list for the upcoming birthday banquet and was personally persuading those nobles to attend. That was when Ariel understood this competition wasn’t decided by cooking skill alone.

Ariel immediately retraced her memories. She recalled Olivia von Cladeos, the host of this birthday banquet. Olivia remained a major figure who still wielded considerable influence among many nobles, and Ariel also remembered she had suffered from persistent headaches for quite some time.

Based on that knowledge, Ariel prepared a personalized birthday gift for Olivia von Cladeos, earnestly hoping it would benefit Kaius.

***

“Your Grace, I’ve prepared what you instructed. We’ll depart for the manor now.”

Kaius slowly opened his closed eyes. Pulling back the curtain of the carriage window, dazzling sunlight fell upon his face. Slightly narrowing his eyes, he opened the window, and a cool breeze gently tousled his hair.

Letting out a low sigh, Kaius ran both hands over his face. He was returning from meeting influential nobles over the past four days.

If he lost this competition, it would take at least two years to recover from the losses.

Thus, he had to do everything within his power. His personal efforts had borne fruit—half of them had agreed to judge solely based on the food’s flavor. The other half, however, remained resolute.

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