CHAPTER 03.
Following Martin into the dining room, Ariel sat down at the large dining table.
A moment later, the servants began bringing out the food.
“Freshly baked bread made from wheat ground this morning. It’s very soft.”
“A steak made from veal. The texture is exceptionally tender.”
“Do you like lobster?”
“A whole roasted chicken, browned to perfection.”
“How about eggplant? It’s baked with plenty of tomato sauce and cheese.”
“Stew made by simmering oxtail…”
“Prosciutto made from pork hind leg…”
“Roasted duck eggs…”
The feast seemed endless.
She was the only one sitting at the table, so why was there so much food?
Is someone else coming?
Ariel let out a deep sigh.
She wasn’t particularly pleased about sharing a meal with some mere human, but what could she do?
She was relying on this household for shelter, after all.
If someone is coming, why don’t they hurry up? Why make me wait? I’m starving.
With all this delicious-looking food sitting right in front of her, having to do nothing but swallow her saliva was torture.
At that moment, Martin, who was standing nearby waiting on her, asked with concern,
“Why aren’t you eating? Is there something wrong with the food?”
“Hm? Isn’t someone else coming?”
“Pardon?”
Martin looked puzzled, but soon seemed to realize something. An awkward expression appeared on his face.
“Oh dear, what shall we do? His Highness probably won’t be coming. He’s taking a bath at the moment.”
Ariel’s eyes widened.
Then does that mean all this food was prepared just for me?
Do humans normally eat this much?
She was too astonished to say anything when—
Grrrrr. Grrrrrr.
What are you doing, you stupid stomach?! How embarrassing! Making such a spectacle of me in front of humans!
Ariel’s face flushed bright red as she clutched her stomach, and Martin chuckled softly.
“You must be very hungry. And yet you waited until His Highness arrived. How polite of you. Come, please eat. It will taste better while it’s still warm.”
“Th-Then… should I?”
Martin placed a fork and knife in Ariel’s hands, and she eagerly reached out.
She stabbed a large steak with the fork and knife and took a huge bite.
Savory juices burst from the meat and spread across her tongue.
D-Delicious!
The human food she was tasting for the first time was far more delicious than she had expected.
It couldn’t even compare to the tree fruits and scraps of grass she had eaten in the divine realm.
Do humans get to eat food this delicious every day?
It seemed unfair that humans ate better than a goddess herself.
Even as she thought that, Ariel continued moving her hands frantically, while Martin smiled fondly.
“Goodness, even your appetite is exactly like your father’s. His Highness also prefers meat-heavy meals. When he was young, he barely ate vegetables and gave this old man quite a headache.”
“Father? What’s that?”
“My, perhaps that’s still a difficult word for you, young lady. ‘Father’ simply means ‘dad.’”
Martin corrected himself, but Ariel understood no more than before.
Father? What’s that? The humans call the master of this house ‘Your Highness,’ so does father mean the same thing as master?
Ariel pondered for a moment.
But soon, the oxtail stew she had casually put into her mouth completely captured her attention, and the thought was pushed aside.
Oh, heavens. Who knew such delicious food existed? Coming to the mortal world was a wonderful decision.
Ariel popped a large piece of meat into her mouth and chewed happily, cupping her cheeks in bliss.
After the meal, Ariel was escorted by a maid to the Grand Duke’s study.
When the large doors opened, the Grand Duke, who had been sitting on the sofa, immediately asked,
“Did you enjoy the meal?”
How could she not have enjoyed it? She had never tasted food so delicious in her entire life.
But she couldn’t say that outright.
If he finds out that a goddess has been eating food inferior to what humans eat, he’ll look down on me!
So Ariel crossed her short arms and raised her chin arrogantly.
“It wasn’t bad.”
As though she ate such food every day.
“I’m glad.”
The Grand Duke gave a faint smile and lifted the dome covering a dish on the table.
A splendid plate was revealed.
And what was on it—
Huh? A lump of dirt?
A round mass of dough covered with countless large chunks of something hard.
It was unmistakably a lump of dirt.
Why did he put a lump of dirt on a plate?
Ariel tilted her head, but the Grand Duke said nothing.
He merely watched her with an unreadable gaze.
What am I supposed to do with this?
She poked the strange-looking dough a few times and even blew on it, but she couldn’t figure out what it was for.
Surely he isn’t expecting me to eat dirt.
Just as she was wondering about it—
A thunderbolt of a command fell upon her.
“Eat it.”
“W-W-Wha… what did you say?”
Ariel was so stunned that she stammered.
Her dignity as a goddess, which should always remain lofty and impeccable, had suffered another blow, but this was hardly the time to worry about that.
This crazy human! How dare he tell me to eat a lump of dirt?!
Regardless of whether he knew her identity, wasn’t he simply cruel?
He wanted her to eat dirt!
Dirt with pebbles mixed into it, no less!
Are you trying to break all my teeth? You deserve divine punishment for this!
Trembling with rage, Ariel raised her right hand high.
But—
“Are you not going to eat it?”
Ariel’s hand fell helplessly.
She had no power right now.
No power to punish that insolent human.
Until she found a way back, she had to remain in the mortal world, and to do that, she needed this human’s cooperation.
In other words, instead of angering him, she had to keep him happy.
This is absolutely ridiculous…
She lamented her situation, but there was no other way.
Ariel slowly brought her trembling hand toward the plate.
The black lump of dirt crumbled inside her tiny hand.
Arrogant human. One day, I will definitely make you pay for this humiliation.
Determined to exact a terrible revenge, Ariel brought the damp lump of dirt to her mouth.
But then—
“Hm?”
Ariel’s eyes widened.
Sweet syrup flowed from the lump of dirt.
Something even sweeter burst from the little chunks embedded inside it.
W-What is this?
Not a single fruit in the divine realm had ever tasted as heavenly as this dirt and these stones.
Dirt and stones can be sweet?!
She had no time to question it.
Crunch, crunch.
Ariel, completely dazed by the flavor, devoured the lumps of dirt one after another.
The Grand Duke, who had been startled by her enthusiasm, cautiously spoke.
“There is something I want to ask you.”
“Wha’ is it?”
Oops!
Her words came out garbled because her mouth was stuffed full of the dirt lump.
Ariel hurriedly swallowed it.
“What did you want to ask?”
“Do you know what your family name is?”
“My family name?”
“Yes, your surname. Or, if you don’t know that, your parents’ names will do.”
“My parents?”
What on earth were those?
Ariel tilted her head, and the Grand Duke’s expression darkened slightly.
“Hmm. Then where did you live?”
“Where did I live? Of course, the divine—”
Ariel hurriedly covered her mouth.
She remembered what the Grand Duke had said earlier.
“Oh, you mean that stupid goddess.”
“Born with the destiny of becoming a king, yet unable to wield divine power and consequently ignored by the gods. I don’t know whether to call her pitiful or unfortunate.”
The Grand Duke’s insulting words came rushing back to her.
He’s already looking down on me. If he finds out that I fell into the mortal world without any power, he’ll look down on me even more, won’t he?
Ariel was used to being looked down upon by the gods, but she didn’t want to be looked down upon by some mere human as well.
She firmly shut her mouth.
The Grand Duke asked several more questions, but she didn’t answer a single one.
“You don’t seem to know anything.”
He exchanged a troubled glance with Ren and eventually nodded.
“All right. I understand.”
Ariel’s expression immediately brightened.
She had been dying to keep eating those dirt lumps ever since she tasted them, but the Grand Duke kept asking questions and making her wait.
Now that all the questions are over, I can eat in peace, right?
Ariel smiled happily and reached out her hand.
But—
“You may leave now.”
The unexpected dismissal froze Ariel in place.
Ariel remained frozen like a stone statue as the maids dragged her into a room.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, young lady. My name is Jane, and from today onward, I will be attending to you.”
“I’m Lila!”
“My name is Ines. It is truly an honor to serve you, young lady.”
They seemed terribly excited about something. After eagerly introducing themselves, they immediately stripped Ariel of her clothes.
Then they placed her in a bathtub filled with warm water and began fussing over her under the pretense of attending to her.
“Just look at that silky hair!”
“And this soft skin!”
“The servants at your previous residence must have taken very good care of you.”
Their praise was incredibly sweet.
Normally, Ariel would have twisted around proudly and boasted, Of course they did!
But right now—
My dirt lump…
She simply couldn’t stop thinking about the lump she hadn’t been able to finish eating.
“All done!”
After her long bath—
“These clothes were prepared in a hurry, so I’m afraid they won’t be exactly to your liking. I’ll speak to the butler soon and have some proper clothes made that befit your status, so please bear with them for a little while.”
She changed into new clothes.
“Bored, aren’t you? But we need to dry your hair thoroughly so your scalp doesn’t get damaged.”
Even after her wet hair had been completely dried—
My precious dirt lump…
She was practically going mad with regret over having worried about appearances at that exact moment.
Does he mean I can’t eat anything unless I answer his questions? What a stingy human. Instead of being happy that he can personally offer food to a god…
Her eyes even filled with tears from her sorrow.
Sniff.
When she sniffled, Jane’s eyes widened.
“Oh my, young lady! What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”
Her voice was remarkably gentle.
If I tell this human, maybe she’ll bring me more dirt lumps?
But asking for them outright somehow felt embarrassing.
Ariel hesitated for quite some time, but eventually the temptation of the dirt lump won out over her pride.
She timidly opened her mouth.
“Um…”
“Yes, young lady? Please tell me.”
“That black, round thing from earlier… Could you bring me some more?”
“The black, round thing?”
Jane tilted her head in confusion.
But before long, she realized that Ariel meant the cookies and her eyes widened.
Why had the girl hesitated so much over something like that?
With a single word, Jane could have several plates brought to her.
Could it be that she hasn’t had many of those kinds of sweets before? Surely not.
For commoners, such desserts were a rare luxury that they might taste only once or twice in their entire lives.
But for nobles, that wasn’t the case.
And she was the Grand Duke’s daughter, at that.
There was no reason she couldn’t indulge in something as simple as this.
Jane tilted her head, then suddenly covered her mouth with a gasp.
Could it be that no one has properly taken care of the young lady all this time?
There was no other explanation.
Come to think of it, His Highness brought only the young lady and didn’t bring her birth mother. And the clothes she was wearing were filthy, as if they hadn’t been washed in days.
In reality, the dirt on Ariel’s clothes had simply come from rolling around on the ground, but the maid had no way of knowing that, so her imagination continued to run wild.
And her imagination eventually reached its final conclusion.
Gasp! Could the young lady have been left all alone ever since her mother died?
The maid’s eyes reddened.
Poor young lady. Without parents, all alone in such a tiny body…
Sniffling and wiping away her tears, she clenched her fists.
Then—
“Sniff… What a cruel world!”
She dashed out of the room.
Left alone in the empty room, Ariel made a miserable face.
“Why would she cry that much just because I asked for a little more of that dirt lump?”
The mortal world was truly an unforgiving place.
