Chapter 71: No kissing without my permission
Hanna''s weeping continued until dawn.
*
It was a sunny morning.
I was standing in the kitchen, preparing breakfast for Hanna who would return to the Royal Academy in the afternoon.
Thedy, with her half-asleep eyes, sat at the dining table, rubbing her sleepy eyes and asked me in a drowsy voice as I cooked.
"Ricardo. I conquered Chocte Land today."
Thedy had finally fulfilled her dream.
I asked her about the conclusion of her political story regarding Chocte Land, wondering how she resolved the conflict with the Chocte Land citizens in a way that they would ept, knowing thedy.
"Have you be a wise ruler?"
Thedy nodded and said.
"Mhm. I ate them all."
"…?"
"They were delicious."
Thedy said with a dreamy smile.
"My dream is world domination."
"Let''s give up on that."
Thedy threw the fork she was holding.
It''s healthier for your mental health to give up on dreams that don''te true early on.
Out of pride for the current Royal lineage and wishing it a long existence, I ced a pot that I had made myself from the workshop upon the magical stone-powered gas range.
A ck pot.
Although I had made it myself, thedy found it odd-looking and disliked it. She said it looked like a cursed teapot.
Having loved hot soup in my previous life, I was quite satisfied using it.
I nned to make a light meal this morning.
Not a stimting dish like tteokbokki, but steamed eggs, a Korean dish, to soothe Hanna who had been through an emotional ordeal.
As someone possessing someone else''s body, I couldn''t let my pride prepare a mundane meal.
To uphold the dignity of a butler, I furrowed my brow and focused on my cooking.
"…Ricardo."
"Shh. I am concentrating on cooking."
"It''s serious."
Thedy gestured to her empty te.
Thedy, rushing me to fill her empty te with food, spoke bluntly.
"Bread."
"You need to have rice."
"I''m hungry."
"Eating snacks before the meal prevents you from enjoying your meal."
Thedy asked with a serious expression.
"What''s for breakfast today…?"
cing more importance on today''s breakfast menu than future ns or the flow of politics, thedy inquired with a serious look.
Confidently, I responded to thedy.
"Steamed eggs with rice."
Thedy clenched her fists around the fork. It seemed that she was looking forward to the steamed eggs after a long time. Although I was happy imagining her greasy stomach epting the revolution of a different meal,
Thedy, however, had a discontent look about her, not ready to wee the revolution.
She expressed her discontent.
"The mother hen will be sad, so let''s have meat instead."
"The mother hen''s offspring have already crossed the point of no return, with the yolk and whites separated."
"…Ricardo."
Thedy nced sadly at the pot.
"The mother hen is crying."
"…"
"Don''t you hear the mother hen ‘crowing'' sadly? The grief of a mother searching for her son in the chicken coop… it saddens me."
The subject of meat always heightened thedy''s sensitivity.
Thedy put on a sullen face and spoke to me once more.
"Give the steamed eggs to the mother hen, and make meat for today''s breakfast."
"Denied."
"Eeeek!! Meat! Meat! The mother hen is going toe and haunt Ricardo."
"The mother hen is destined to be dinner tonight, so you''ll have to wait a bit longer before she can meet her children."
Thedy raised a question mark over her head.
"Chicken?"
"Yes."
"She''s gone to a good ce then. The mother hen will be happy."
Thedy nodded vigorously, mourning the Cockerel family who had served as her daily bread in her heart.
True coldness befitting the empire''s greatest viiness.
After a moment, a scream came from the second floor.
-Kyaaaak!! Have you gone mad!!!
Hanna, who had just woken up, was kicking the nkets furiously, and the sound echoed down the stairs.
-Crazy… This is crazy… What are you going to do hugging me there… Ahhh! Crazy woman…!
Thedy raised her head and said.
"Ricardo, she called me a crazy woman."
"It''s not true."
"No, she said I''m mad."
"It sounds more like she''s calling herself mad."
"Is that so…?"
To console the upsetdy, I ced bread on her te.
Thedy bit into the bread with a moved expression.
"Yum."
Thedy’s wounded heart was healed by a single piece of bread.
-Thud thud thud
The faint sound of footsteps could be heard from the stairs. The morning''s embarrassed main character, Hanna, timidly made her appearance in the dining room, head hung low.
"Ah… Did you sleep well?"
Thedy, with bread in her mouth, saw Hanna and said.
"Crybaby."
Whoosh…!
Hanna''s ears turned bright red.
"Don''t tease me."
"Crybaby. You cried a lot."
"…"
"You also stole my chocte."
Thedy still held a grudge about the chocte snatched away from herst night.
Hanna, with her face flushed, sat down. She did not forget to bow slightly to me as I was cooking in the kitchen.
Sprinkling salt on the steamed eggs with the fervor of a chef, I turned around and greeted Hanna.
"Good morning."
"Yes… good morning… Aboutst night, butler…"
"Yes, I slept well."
Thedy interjected awkwardly into our conversation.
"Ricardo didn’t sleep a wink yesterday."
"…"
"He kept walking in and out of the room because he was worried… Hey! Don''t cover my mouth!"
"It’s embarrassing."
"Eeek!!!"
Hanna couldn’t lift her head, overwhelmed by embarrassment.
-I really tried hard, why does no one acknowledge it… waaah… how much effort I put in…
-Am I not acknowledging it?
-…Because the butler keeps doing that, I… get the wrong idea…. Waaah….
-Don''t cry. Thedy dislikes it when you cry.
-…Ricardo is mine…
-Waaah…
I thought it must be hard even for me to look her in the face. She cried her heart out in my arms; perhaps it would have been stranger to look at each other nonchntly after that.
Knowing Hanna''s embarrassment, I offered a strained smile as I ced the steaming steamed eggs on the table without saying anything more.
Why are you so sad?
I held back questions about why she had cried, instead hoping with a small smile that she would enjoy the carefully prepared meal.
"It''s a risotto made with eggs. I hope it''s to your taste."
A blushing Hanna carefully scooped up some steamed eggs with a spoon. Swallowing hard at the sight of the perfectly made yellow eggs, she gingerly brought it to her lips, cringing at the heat but soon opened her eyes wide, adjusting to the unfamiliar dish.
"It''s delicious."
"I''m d to hear that."
"Really…"
Hanna lowered her head while looking at the spoon.
"It’s delicious…"
An emotional Hanna bowed her head.
Sensitive Hanna.
Just as she was about to quietly leave her seat, thedy, who had been watching Hanna intently, disrupted the moment.
"Crybaby."
"I''m not going to cry!"
"Liar."
"…Even the youngdy is a crybaby."
"I''m an iron-bloodeddy without tears."
Thedy said smugly, yet her tears started welling up when she saw my bandage-free right arm.
"Ooooh…"
"Why are you trying to cry,dy?"
"Just feeling sad."
It was a sensitivedy indeed.
Time passed and the afternoon came when Hanna was to leave the mansion.
Standing in front of the gate, Hanna looked back with a face full of reluctance towards me and thedy. And.
-Grrrrm…
Gomtang was watching.
Hanna looked at Gomtang with trembling eyes, whispering as if she had seen an entity that shouldn’t belong in the mansion and inaudible to Gomtang.
"Is it a pet?"
"Yes. I picked it up in the Hamel mountains."
"The Hamel mountains? What kind of dog do you find in the mountains… Isn’t that… a bear?"
I answered Hanna''s question firmly.
"It''s a dog."
"It looks like a bear no matter how you look at it."
"It''s a dog."
Gomtang seemed to like Hanna, rubbing its top against her leg.
Feeling the fluffy head of Gomtang against her calf, Hanna had aplicated expression.
Twitching her shoulder and looking scared for a moment, she also had an expression showing her desire to touch the silky fur.
Seeing the more rxed expression on Hanna’s facepared to yesterday, I felt a bit more at ease and cautiously handed her a paper bag that I had hidden behind my back.
"I tried making some cookies."
Hanna stood still.
Visibly moved by the unexpected gift, she stared silently at the paper bag in her hands.
I teased the hesitating Hanna.
"Your hand might fall off."
"But I haven''t given you anything…"
I shook my head and responded.
"You can give itter."
Seed and pay back.
There''s no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Imagining Hanna''s future as a sessful prosecutor and a generous patron, I smiled affectionately.
"I believe in you, Miss Hanna."
Hanna, with a blushing face, carefully epted the paper bag. Gripping the handle firmly as though she would never let go, Hanna looked at me with moist eyes and said.
"I will definitely repay youter. I’ll seed so notably that you can''t refuse."
‘I have a feeling that the message came across differently…''
The youngdy, sitting in a chair, also gave a small wave and greeted Hanna.
"Take care, crybaby."
"I''m not a crybaby."
Just as I was about to turn around and head back to the mansion, she shouted at me with a loud voice.
"Butler!"
Hanna ran towards me.
Wondering if she left something behind, I stood still, but Hanna was still hurrying over.
‘What’s going on?''
With her eyes tightly shut, Hanna ran up and stopped in front of me, raising herself on her tiptoes with her fists clenched.
"Did you leave something behi… huh?"
‘Peck'' – The cool touch of lips against my cheek. Soft sensation. Was this heaven?
Startled, I stood there dumbfounded.
Touching the spot on my face where lips had been, in a daze. Hanna, with a mischievous smile, looked at me.
"This… This is just a goodbye kiss, so don’t get the wrong idea."
My face was suddenly burning hot.
"Yes…"
The youngdy gripped the chocte firmly.
"Eeek!!! Get out!"
The youngdy was very angry.
***
Hanna left, and darkness crept over the silent mansion.
The youngdy was looking at me, lying beneath her thighs with a serious expression.
ring nostrils.
A furrowed brow.
I asked the youngdy.
"What are you doing?"
She answered seriously.
"Disinfection."
The youngdy was rubbing a handkerchief over my cheek where Hanna’s lips had passed.
My cheek was red-hot.
Not from the handkerchief rubbing but because my body is not so weak.
It was the shadow cast from the youngdy''s chest that made my face turn red.
It was a splendid view.
Far better than the autumn leaves I''d seen in the Hamel.
The youngdy spoke sullenly.
"No more kisses from now on."
"There''s no such rule."
"It was created today."
The youngdy seemed possessive.
"Ricardo is mine…!"
I responded to the youngdy with a smile.
"I am aware."
I liked the youngdy just as she was.