~CHAPTER 43~
“Oh my goodness, what on earth is this!”
“Sir Lennox! Please put down the knife, okay?”
“Good heavens, what in the world……!”
“Just how much have you been drinking…….”
Half-asleep, Magia Hoji and the maids’ voices reached her.
Having woken up intermittently from light sleep, Mayna got up without much difficulty.
It was past midnight, the early dawn hours. The commotion came from the kitchen.
Mayna, wearing a nightdress with a house gown over it, hurried down the stairs.
“Assistant!”
As soon as she entered the kitchen, Mayna was speechless at the scene before her.
Under the command of the capable chef Barbread, Lennox Castle’s kitchen, usually perfectly organized, was utterly in chaos.
The vast countertop was flooded with water, and all kinds of cooking tools were strewn everywhere.
On the marble island counter, positioned near the dining room to allow simple meals while cooking, various ingredients lay scattered.
Fresh vegetables and fruits, even raw meat dripping blood—all hacked up with knives and thrown across the counter.
Ha……
A sigh mixed with a nervous laugh caught Mayna’s eye, and she saw Caliph.
Caliph had just emerged from the inner ingredient storage, holding something, and froze when he spotted Mayna.
His shirt sleeves were rolled up messily, and he held a chunk of meat with bare hands.
My head is spinning just looking at this…… Mayna quickly regained her composure and turned to Magia.
“I’ll handle the cleaning. Everyone else, please leave.”
Magia hesitated.
Then she whispered softly to Lennox so he wouldn’t hear.
“Are you sure this is okay?”
Mayna gestured for the maids to leave.
Meanwhile, Caliph tossed the meat onto the cutting board.
Mayna quickly stepped beside him.
“Sir Lennox. Please stop.”
It wasn’t the mess that worried her.
Several knives scattered in disorder made her far more uneasy.
“It’s fine, go inside.”
Caliph replied nonchalantly, gesturing with his hand.
He probably didn’t realize how unsteady he was, slurring his words and staggering—just like any drunkard.
“Why did you drink so much?”
Mayna couldn’t hide her worry.
It had only been half a day since he had jumped out of the carriage on his own.
She had guessed he would be coming back drunk.
“What is all this?”
This level of drunken chaos was entirely new to her.
“Just cooking something to eat.”
Caliph mumbled.
“What exactly?”
“Nothing.”
“Cooking?”
“Can’t you tell?”
Caliph lazily looked around.
Mayna realized it would only look like a murder scene to anyone sober, so she didn’t argue.
Years of assisting him had made her used to dealing with drunk antics.
“Nothing specific. Just anything.”
“Anything?”
“Yes. Anything that fills the stomach.”
Caliph picked up a halved red bell pepper.
Humming while choosing a knife, Mayna stopped him.
“Sir Lennox. It’s fine if you want to cook, but can I handle the chopping?”
“Why?”
“I’m worried you might hurt yourself.”
“It’s fine.”
“No, you have tomorrow’s schedule. You can’t get hurt cooking.”
“Tomorrow’s schedule?”
Mayna carefully watched him pick up a knife.
For some reason, Caliph chuckled softly.
“You don’t know my schedule now.”
“……”
True enough.
He was drunk, wreaking havoc in the kitchen, and she no longer knew his daily routine.
“Mayna.”
Caliph spoke quietly, exhaling heavily.
His eyes were clouded by alcohol, but he seemed to hold onto some fragment of clarity.
“Yes. Speak.”
“Where were you last night?”
“……”
Mayna lowered her gaze.
Even in Banze’s office and in the carriage home, she had never answered this question.
She neither wanted to say she was at the hospital nor make up a lie.
“I had some errands.”
She answered vaguely, moving knives safely.
Caliph leaned on the work counter, watching her with reddish eyes, and sighed deeply.
“Ugh, the smell of alcohol.”
Mayna tried to speak lightly, scolding him gently.
Up close, he looked even more pitiable, his faint beard shadowed along his jaw.
“Go wash up and get some sleep. You couldn’t rest well yesterday either, right?”
He didn’t respond, staring blankly.
“Are you teasing me?”
“Huh?”
“Or mocking me?”
A faint laugh punctuated each syllable.
“Sir Lennox. I’m neither teasing nor mocking.”
“Do you think you can sleep?”
“……”
“Do you really think that?”
If you sleep, you sleep. What’s the problem?
“Mayna.”
“Yes.”
“Do you think I’ll let you go?”
She raised her gaze again.
Caliph grinned with a contorted expression.
“I have no intention of letting you go.”
“……”
“So, a new paladin?”
“……”
“Ha ha…….”
He laughed aloud with cold eyes and clenched his fists.
“Don’t go.”
For a moment, his eyes cleared as if the alcohol had vanished.
“…Where?”
“You said you’d meet soon. New paladin.”
“Yes.”
Mayna felt tears threatening to fall.
She bit her lips in frustration and tasted blood.
“For now, today……”
Finishing the conversation and tidying up, she suddenly noticed blood seeping through the right side of Caliph’s shirt near his ribs.
Startled, she stepped closer.
“Wait a moment. What happened here?”
“……”
“Are you hurt?”
She reached to check, but Caliph grabbed her wrist and removed her hand.
“Sir Lennox. I asked if you’re hurt.”
“I’m fine. I’m fine……”
He closed and opened his eyes tightly, clutching his head.
A sudden headache seemed to hit, and he groaned through his lips.
“Are you alright?”
Mayna asked with concern, but Caliph remained silent.
“Sit at the table and wait for a moment.”
She hurried to the inner kitchen.
Mayna grabbed dried leaves Banze had prepared, which helped restore vitality and clarity, especially after severe hangovers or poison effects, without taking the precious ingredients separately.
She boiled water in the coffee pot.
Once brewed, she handed the tea to Caliph, who accepted it with an unreadable expression.
“Drink this first.”
“……”
“Drink it first, then we’ll talk.”
“I don’t understand you.”
“I thought I knew you well, but apparently not.”
Caliph set down the cup she forced into his hands and approached her.
