Chapter: 09
“Accelerated aging? What is that?”
At Everain’s question, Lionel answered.
“That’s a good question. To understand accelerated aging, you first need to know about the concept of slow aging.”
Lionel began explaining step by step.
“Slow aging, or a slow-aging diet, was a type of diet that was once popular in Korea… No, way over there in the East. To put it simply, it’s the idea that consistently eating healthy foods can slow down the aging process of the body. There were actually a lot of people who saw results from it.”
There was a time when Lionel had eaten nothing but beans in an attempt to practice slow aging, so she had no trouble explaining the concept.
Then Kellen asked as though he had realized something.
“Then is an accelerated-aging diet a diet that speeds up the body’s aging?”
“As expected of you, Assistant! You’re smart. Yes, exactly. So, I’m going to feed the Duke an accelerated-aging diet and observe the changes in his body.”
Lionel folded her fingers one by one as she listed the supposed benefits of an accelerated-aging diet.
“The expected changes include weight gain, increased blood pressure, skin problems, increased cholesterol levels, increased blood sugar levels, and so on. Gastrointestinal disorders may also occur.”
After saying all that, Lionel suddenly realized something.
This was absolute garbage talk that completely betrayed the principles of being a doctor.
As Lionel felt a pang of guilt, Everain cautiously spoke to her.
“Personal physician. I may be ignorant when it comes to medicine, but everything you just listed sounds extremely bad for the body…”
“Be quiet, Everain. If you don’t know anything, keep your mouth shut and just agree with me. Surely he can’t be less intelligent than you, whose brain has apparently turned into muscle.”
Kellen, who had somehow become a complete worshipper of Lionel, jabbed Everain in the side.
At this point, he looked like he would applaud even if Lionel started picking her teeth with a utility pole.
Everain awkwardly shut his mouth. However, Lionel defended him.
“You hit the nail on the head, Stock… I mean, Sir Everain. This is an experiment intended to ‘change’ the Duke’s body in some way.”
Lionel pointed at the Duke.
Honestly, if she considered only her academic curiosity as a doctor, she wanted to preserve his body exactly as it was and use it as official educational material.
However, in order to survive, she had to find a way to make him grow old and die.
“The Duke hasn’t eaten properly for the past 300 years, right? So, the idea is to try awakening the aging cells inside his body with stimulating foods.”
“‘Cells’? What are those?”
“Ah, um. They’re the smallest units that make up the body. Very, very tiny cells come together to form our bodies.”
Lionel explained it as if she were reading one of those educational comic books full of question marks that she had loved as a child.
Everain nodded, but he still looked full of questions.
“Do you think it will work?”
“If his weight increases by even one gram, or if he gets an upset stomach… I think there might be a possibility.”
The gazes of the assistant, the guard knight, and the personal physician simultaneously turned toward the Duke.
Whether or not they would test this depended entirely on the immortal’s willingness.
Blasion accepted it faster than Lionel had expected.
“I understand. Proceed.”
“Oh…? Really?”
“Did I not say it? I trust you, Teacher, and I will follow you completely. I will do whatever you wish.”
A patient who listens so well is the best!
Feeling hope blooming in her chest, Lionel spoke.
“Good. Then I’d like to start the accelerated-aging diet right away, but there’s something I need to do first. Assistant, could you prepare enough paper for everyone in this mansion?”
“Paper? I can prepare as much as you need, but what do you intend to use it for?”
Lionel smiled brightly.
“I’m going to start with some market research.”
A few days later, I sat at the desk in the examination room with a pile of papers in my hands.
The Duke was sitting across from me. He seemed rather concerned about the ‘questionnaire’ I had conducted.
“Meat, fish. Fruits and vegetables… Hmm, just as I expected. People want to eat a variety of foods in balanced amounts.”
“As long as their stomachs are full, that is enough.”
“Duke, I told you not to consider yourself the same as everyone else.”
At first, the servants had reacted rather indifferently when they saw the questionnaires. But as soon as they heard that they were for creating a new menu, their eyes suddenly changed.
“Does this mean we can finally escape this dried-meat hell?”
At the servant’s words, I nodded.
“Yes. I’m going to order ingredients based on the results of the questionnaires.”
“My goodness! I thought you were just a doctor, but a savior has come! Thank you!!”
And so, every single person submitted their questionnaire without exception, and based on the results, I created a perfectly balanced menu of carbohydrates, protein, and fat.
At last, a magnificent menu chart resembling a high-school cafeteria meal schedule was completed.
“When did you say the new chef was coming?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Good. Then I’ll have them cook based on this menu.”
Phew, that was one thing taken care of…
Just as I was finally feeling relieved, I suddenly felt someone watching me and raised my head.
I saw the Duke’s purple eyes staring straight at me.
“…Is there something you wanted to say?”
“You really work hard. Since when have you worked so diligently?”
I gave a small laugh.
“I’ve always worked diligently.”
“Despite that, it seems you weren’t appreciated at your previous workplace.”
How could he suddenly dig up such a painful memory…?
I narrowed my brows and glared at the Duke.
“Does the Duke know the misery of being a contract worker? You don’t even know what I went through, so don’t say things so carelessly.”
“What did you go through?”
“Don’t even get me started. When I was working at the hospital, the director kept making a fuss about introducing me to a good man, so I actually went to the meeting. I thought, ‘He must be quite a catch if he’s making such a big deal about him.’”
“And? Was he a handsome man?”
“No. The crazy director himself showed up. He said, ‘Surprised?’”
The Duke suddenly turned his head for a moment before facing forward again.
In that brief moment, I became convinced that he had gone through a laugh-suppression challenge.
The Duke asked with an expression that suggested nothing unusual had happened.
“And? What happened?”
“What do you think happened? I immediately called it off and left. I wanted to quit the hospital right then and there, but I had to pay off my debts…”
“It is not too late even now. If you wish, I can take care of him.”
The Duke spoke in a low voice.
I laughed, thinking he was joking, but after realizing he was serious, I shook my head.
“It’s fine. Besides, his wife caught him doing that sort of thing and beat him up right in front of the hospital. He actually quit the hospital first.”
“In any case, that worked out well for you.”
“Exactly. But I also tried to help the ladies working in the hospital cafeteria by forming a union, got caught, and was fired soon afterward. So it didn’t really matter.”
It had been a bitter and short time working at that hospital.
I finished the story with nothing but bitterness in my heart.
“Duke, never, ever go to a blind date, okay? Let’s make sure we strictly maintain the relationship between employer and employee.”
“I will never go, so rest assured.”
We both kept serious expressions as we firmly agreed never to meet at a blind date.
Good. A relationship this dry. Very desirable.
Satisfied, I turned my eyes back to the chart.
I thought we were going to return to our respective work.
But then—
“I am not foolish like that director.”
“…?”
“I cannot afford to lose a good employee like you, someone so diligent and passionate about everything you do, because of some trivial desire.”
Leaving only those words behind, the Duke left the examination room.
I remained behind and stared blankly at his retreating figure for a moment.
“…Was that a compliment?”
That was a compliment, right? He was complimenting me for working hard, right?
For some reason, the sudden compliment made my cheeks feel hot.
I placed my hands against both cheeks to cool them down.
“Teacher Frencia. The questionnaire results are… Huh? Are you feeling sick? Your face looks red.”
Kellen happened to enter the room.
I quickly turned my head away and pretended nothing was wrong.
“Ah, it’s nothing. More importantly, Assistant, could you take care of this?”
I handed him a note I had prepared beforehand.
“Please order all the items listed here. They’re ingredients specifically for the accelerated-aging menu.”
“Yes, understood.”
Kellen glanced over the note once before asking me,
“You ordered a lot of chicken. A whole sack of sugar, too, and a whole sack of garlic? Why do you need so many spices?”
“Spices?”
I immediately denied it.
“Garlic is not a spice. It’s a famine-relief crop.”
“Excuse me…?”
“You roast it. Boil it. Eat it as it is.”
I watched.
Kellen’s green eyes trembled slightly.
He seemed to be contemplating whether to object to the words of the personal physician he admired, or just let it go.
In the end, Kellen changed the subject.
He was a man who knew how to navigate social situations.
“So, what are you going to make with these?”
The main culprits behind accelerated aging are chronic inflammation, reactive oxygen species, and advanced glycation end products (*AGEs).
And the things that accelerate these are refined carbohydrates that rapidly raise blood sugar, excessive sugar, processed meat, fried foods, and so on.
I intended to create a diet that gathered together foods perfectly suited to all these conditions—a diet that went beyond high-speed aging and reached light-speed aging.
All for the purpose of leaving a blemish on the Duke’s perfect body.
“What am I going to make…?”
I grinned.
Just thinking about delicious food for the first time in a while made me smile for no particular reason.
“I’m going to make fried chicken and tanghulu.”
