Chapter 8
If it were merely a child from the temple refusing to eat meat in order to follow its doctrines, he could have simply accepted it and moved on.
But for some reason, he couldn’t.
At last, the Duke reached a conclusion.
She’s a child who came all the way here to heal my eyes.
Naturally, he found himself concerned about her health.
More than anything, he hated seeing small, fragile creatures wasting away from weakness.
The Duke spoke.
“Make sure the child is provided with every meal she needs.”
Then he added,
“Forget about temple doctrine. Prepare food so delicious that she’ll be tempted to eat it anyway.”
At his words, Simon’s eyes lit up, and he nodded eagerly.
The next morning, Liriette mumbled without even opening her eyes.
“I want to sleep a little longer…”
The exhaustion that had accumulated over the past several days was overwhelming.
One comfortable night on a cloud-like bed wasn’t enough to wash it away.
She wanted to bury her face in the soft pillow, hide beneath the warm blanket, and rest just a little longer.
But after wriggling around like a caterpillar preparing for hibernation, Liriette forced herself to open her eyes and tugged on the bell cord beside the bed.
Moments later, Simon hurried into the room.
“Lady Liriette! Is something wrong?”
Seeing him rush in as though a disaster had occurred, Liriette became flustered.
“Nothing happened. Last night you told me to pull the cord when I woke up, so…”
Simon widened his eyes and checked the watch on his wrist.
Five in the morning.
Far too early for a child to be awake.
“Was the bed uncomfortable, perhaps?”
“No! It was wonderful!”
“Then why are you up so early? The sun hasn’t even risen yet. You should sleep a little longer.”
“Well…”
Liriette gently brushed her curly silver hair before continuing.
“I need to pray.”
For the second time since yesterday evening, Simon felt anger welling up inside him.
Another one of that blasted temple’s doctrines.
He was right.
Like every other priest, Liriette woke before dawn every day, washed herself, and prayed.
Even when she was ill, she never skipped a single day.
To Liriette, it was simply part of her daily routine, so she had no idea what Simon was thinking as she asked cautiously,
“Could you prepare some water for me? It doesn’t have to be a whole tub of warm water like yesterday. Just a little water and a towel to wash myself with would be enough…”
“…”
When Simon didn’t answer immediately, Liriette nervously fidgeted with her fingers.
“I’m sorry. Am I making an unreasonable request so early in the morning?”
“Please don’t say that. My duty is to make sure you are comfortable while you’re staying in this castle. I’ll prepare everything right away.”
At his kind reply, the tension left Liriette’s face.
Soon afterward, Simon returned with steaming warm water and a towel.
He tried to help wash her face, but Liriette firmly insisted she could do it herself and carefully wiped her face with the towel.
“I imagine you’d prefer to pray alone?”
“Yes.”
Before closing the door, Simon caught one last glimpse of her.
A tiny child kneeling before a window where dawn had yet to break.
Her prayers did not end until an entire hour had passed.
When Simon entered afterward, he looked at her with concern.
“Don’t tell me… you’ve been kneeling for the entire hour?”
“Yes.”
“…”
Seeing Simon staring at her, Liriette tilted her head.
“Why? Do people in the North pray differently?”
“No… it’s not that, but…”
No matter how devout someone was, hardly anyone knelt for an hour immediately after waking.
Especially not a ten-year-old child.
“Don’t your legs hurt?”
After kneeling for an hour, anyone’s legs would go numb. Sometimes the cramps were so severe she wanted to scream.
Whenever that happened, the High Priest would strike her across the back with his cane, shouting at her to pray properly and continue.
So Liriette answered without thinking much of it.
“I’m fine.”
Not They don’t hurt.
Just I’m fine.
Simon looked at her with complicated emotions before lowering his gaze.
“You’ve worked hard praying so early this morning. I’ll prepare a breakfast that will give you strength.”
Breakfastānot lunch or dinner.
Naturally, Liriette expected something much simpler than the feast from the previous evening.
Instead, the round table was covered with an even greater variety of lavish dishes.
This… is breakfast…?
As Liriette stood frozen in surprise, Simon explained,
“These are the Duke’s orders. He said that since you’re an honored guest, your meals must never be lacking.”
Since it was the Duke’s command, she had nothing to say.
More importantly, they prepared all of this just for me. I don’t want to make things awkward by bringing up temple doctrine again.
Instead of saying she wouldn’t be able to finish everything, she bowed deeply.
“Thank you very much. I’ll enjoy the meal.”
Behind Simon, the maids silently erupted with excitement.
I want to pat her head!
I want to pick her up and spin her around!
Simon wasn’t much different.
But I mustn’t. She’s His Grace’s honored guest. I have to remain respectful.
Keeping those thoughts to himself, he presented her with an elegantly patterned plate.
“I’ll take care of whatever is left, so please help yourself.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Holding her plate, Liriette slowly circled the table.
Watching her, Simon smiled like a fox.
Today’s meat is different from yesterday’s, Lady Liriette.
Yesterday’s dishes had simply been grilled.
Today’s meat had been prepared with far greater care.
Crispy fried chicken glazed with shimmering honey.
Butter-grilled salmon topped with lemon slices.
Thick steaks stir-fried with colorful vegetables.
No humanāor even an animalācould possibly resist such delicious-looking meat!
Surely Liriette would finally put at least one piece onto her plate.
Just as Simon expected, her eyes lingered on the meat dishes.
She even swallowed unconsciously.
But…
What she placed on her plate was fresh lettuce salad, sliced tomatoes, a warm loaf of bread, and a bowl of soup.
Not a single bite of meat.
She still didn’t take even one piece… Impossible!
Simon fell into deep despair.
Completely unaware of his inner turmoil, Liriette happily chewed her food.
The food here really is delicious.
The crisp sound of fresh salad echoed softly from her tiny mouth.
After breakfast, Liriette headed to the Duke of Windsorice’s room.
She had come to continue treating him.
As before, the Duke sat in his chair with bandages wrapped over his eyes.
At least I’m not as nervous as I was yesterday.
Taking a small breath, Liriette lifted the hem of her skirt.
“It’s an honor to see you again, Your Grace, Duke of Windsorice.”
After greeting him, she slowly raised her head.
The Duke’s sculpted face remained expressionless, appearing no different from the day before.
But Liriette had always been good at reading people’s emotions.
She immediately noticed it.
The Duke seemed… slightly displeased.
She grew anxious.
Did something happen overnight? Or is he upset because his eyes didn’t heal immediately?
As she desperately searched for the reason behind his mood, the Duke spoke.
“I heard you ate no more than a sparrow again this morning.”
His unexpected remark made Liriette’s large blue eyes tremble.
Since it had secretly been bothering her, she stiffened and replied,
“They prepared such a wonderful meal for me, but I couldn’t eat very much. I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. Still, seeing you refuse so stubbornly made me curious. Is the food at Windsorice Castle really that poor?”
Liriette immediately shook her head.
“No!”
“…”
“I’ve never eaten food that delicious in my entire life! The cabbage was crisp, the grapes were sweet, the bread was soft… and especially the stir-fried beans with carrotsāthey were absolutely amazing!”
Even without his sight, the Duke could hear the absolute sincerity in her voice.
Yet he was still unsatisfied.
“If it was that delicious, why not try even one bite of meat?”
“…!”
“I know your temple has a doctrine forbidding the eating of living creatures with blood. But those rules are meant for priests devoted to ascetic practiceānot for a tiny child like you.”
