TPCFE 09

Chapter 9

“Are you scared? There’s no need to be so surprised. Those two are always like that.”

The attending physician, Aila, had approached me at some point and whispered quietly.

“Huh?”

“Whether it’s positive or negative, Cain is pretty much the only person who can get any kind of reaction out of Bael. From Bael’s perspective, he’s the only guardian he’s had since he was four. And from Cain’s perspective, Bael is the nephew he treasures more than anyone else in the world.”

“…How did that happen?”

Luciela suddenly became curious and asked.

“Well, it probably has something to do with the fact that the time when Bael’s father died was around the same time Cain was incorporated into the direct line of the family. According to Cain, though…”

Aila gazed into the air as if trying to recall the details.

“When he first received his baronial title and came here, Bael was the only person who needed Cain.”

“The only person who needed him…”

“Bael became sensitive after injuring his legs, which is why things have gotten this bad between them now. Even so, they don’t seriously hurt each other.”

She added that with an exasperated expression.

So that’s what this was.

Was this some kind of twisted, tangled expression of affection?

“What about you, Aila?”

“Me?”

Luciela nodded.

“Come to think of it, I met Cain around that time, too. I…”

Aila looked up into the air for a moment before giving a small laugh.

“I suppose meeting those two changed the direction of my life a little.”

That was all the explanation she gave.

But that wasn’t what mattered to Luciela.

“Oh, wait. Are you thinking of getting in between them?”

Aila’s eyes widened when she saw Luciela taking a step toward the two men.

“Yes. We’re running out of time.”

There was only one thought that had forced its way into Luciela’s mind amid the dangerous situation.

The pumpkin soup she had worked so hard to make was getting cold.

As a cook, there was absolutely no way she could tolerate that.

Luciela quietly, but firmly, approached the two men who were facing each other.

“Um… how about you eat first and fight afterward?”

At that moment, the heavy pressure dominating the room abruptly snapped.

Bael’s sharp gaze slowly turned toward her.

“It has a whole lot of very, very expensive ingredients in it…”

“Take it away. I don’t need it.”

Bael cut her off harshly.

The boy’s fierce eyes stared straight at Luciela.

Luciela frowned.

He didn’t need it?

Who decided that?

I made it after using up all my mana.

I even carefully picked out the pumpkin that looked like it would be the sweetest!

“I said take it away.”

Tick!

Before Luciela could even answer, Bael impatiently swung his hand and knocked the tray away.

Although she quickly managed to regain her balance, the bowl of soup tipped precariously, splashing its contents everywhere.

About half of the soup spilled onto the tray, while a generous amount of yellow liquid splattered across Luciela’s hand and clothes.

Perhaps he hadn’t intended for things to go that far, because for a brief moment, Bael’s eyes trembled faintly as he looked at her hand.

However, when she didn’t scream, and perhaps after realizing that the liquid had cooled enough that it wasn’t hot, his expression returned to its usual coldness.

“What the hell was that for?!”

Cain shouted furiously.

Bael continued to stare at him defiantly.

“I’ve had enough experiments performed on my body. If you were trying to treat me out of curiosity, shouldn’t you be satisfied by now? No one except Aila has actually been able to help me.”

At the words experiment and curiosity, Cain’s face twitched slightly.

“Just one bite.”

Cain held himself back and tried again.

“Just try one bite. I guarantee the taste.”

“No way.”

Bael shook his head as though he couldn’t trust him in the slightest.

“After mixing all kinds of medicines together and forcing me to put all sorts of disgusting things into my mouth?”

“Bael.”

“Do you think someone with paralyzed legs loses his taste buds, too? I said I don’t want to eat it, so why…”

“This time is different.”

He spoke again as he looked at Luciela’s pumpkin soup.

“It’s not just the taste. It has other effects…”

“Bleh.”

Perhaps because he disliked the mere mention of effects, Bael looked Luciela straight in the eyes and pretended to gag.

Wow.

Watching him, Luciela bit her lips repeatedly.

The guy her mother had thought of as the protagonist of the game was acting this childish?

It was childish enough to make her shudder.

The problem was that Luciela herself was around the same age as him.

That childish mockery had hit harder than she expected.

In other words, Luciela was getting annoyed.

“Even the food made by Bellaon’s head chef doesn’t really suit my taste, so what could this girl possibly—Huh?”

Bael’s eyes widened in an instant.

Something warm and soft had been shoved into his mouth.

“You’ve got to have some limits. I’m telling you to taste it before you judge it.”

Holding onto the handle of the spoon protruding from Bael’s mouth, Luciela said,

“…”

Bael glared at Luciela with blazing eyes, and Luciela met his gaze just as fiercely.

Gulp.

As the two stared each other down, Bael’s throat moved slightly, as though a few drops of soup had gone down.

The next moment, Bael’s expression changed.

Like ice melting, the coldness in his eyes gradually softened.

Then his jaw moved faintly, and his fierce blue eyes slowly widened in surprise.

“It’s… sweet.”

“Of course it is. I made it with the finest pumpkin.”

“It’s not just sweet. There’s something deeper…”

Bael took the spoon from her hand.

Then he put another bite into his mouth.

And another.

Crunch.

This time, what he ate was bread.

The moment he bit into it, the crispy crust cracked between his teeth, followed by the soft, chewy interior that stimulated his palate.

Bael instinctively savored the texture and closed his eyes.

Clink, clink.

The hand holding the spoon gradually picked up speed, and his eyes grew wider and wider.

Aila and Cain, who were watching him, stood frozen in place with their mouths hanging open as if they had seen a ghost.

“Lord Bael is… eating food by himself.”

“…I can’t believe it even though I’m seeing it with my own eyes.”

In an instant, the bowl was completely empty.

“What did you feed me?”

Bael muttered.

“It’s not just the taste. My body…”

As if he had sensed something, he clenched both hands tightly and tensed his body.

Nothing happened for several seconds.

Once again, Bael furrowed his brow and exerted force somewhere in his body.

Twitch.

“Oh my!”

Aila was the first to notice the tiny movement.

“Lord Bael, your leg…”

Twitch.

There was no mistaking it.

Bael’s supposedly paralyzed leg had trembled ever so slightly for a brief moment.

Cain also stared blankly at the movement.

Was it real?

Had it really worked?

Had the miracle they had spent years searching for actually existed in this world?

What in the world is this girl…?

His gaze suddenly turned toward Luciela.

But she wasn’t looking at Bael’s legs.

She was looking somewhere above his head, at a spot in the air.

“…”

Luciela stared intently at the status window she had summoned above Bael’s head again.

Ah. So that was it.

The buff could strengthen the muscles in his legs, but the real cause was…

Pop.

Suddenly, the world around Luciela tilted violently.

No.

It was Luciela’s own body that had tilted.

Apparently, the fifty minutes were up.

“…!”

“Whoa?”

Cain and Bael hurriedly caught her, but Luciela’s body went completely limp as all her strength drained away.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you? Did you faint? Your complexion…”

Suddenly, Bael’s eyes sharpened again as he looked toward Cain.

“Uncle, what happened to her? Did you do this to her?”

“That’s not what happened! She did faint when we first met, but I was certain she had recovered her stamina…”

“Why would you bring someone who’d already fainted here right away, you idiot?”

Cain bit his lip tightly.

He had to admit it.

Come to think of it, Bael was right.

He had been in too much of a hurry because he wanted the two of them to meet. He should have let her rest for at least a week before bringing her here.

“What was her condition like when you arrived at the kitchen?”

Aila asked as she placed a hand against Luciela’s forehead.

“She seemed fine. She did suddenly turn pale after cooking, though…”

Cain let out a sigh filled with guilt.

“Could it have been because of the cooking?”

Bael’s eyes trembled.

Up close, Luciela looked especially small and frail.

Even more so than Bael himself, who had been unable to leave the house for years because of his illness.

She was even rather scruffy.

Did she not even take a bath after arriving, and instead cook for me until she passed out?

The heavenly taste still lingered in his mouth.

It almost felt as though he could sense the devotion of someone who had poured their entire energy into making it.

Without realizing it, Bael carefully brushed Luciela’s forehead.

“Huh?”

At that moment, he felt a tremor in the hand he was holding.

His eyes widened as he looked closely at Luciela’s face.

He saw a pair of green eyes that were half-open.

She wasn’t fully awake. It seemed the noise had brought only part of her consciousness back.

“You… idiot? Did Uncle threaten you? You stupid…”

“Be quiet. Listen to me. I saw it earlier…”

Luciela mumbled, her mind still hazy.

“What… what am I supposed to listen to?”

Bael instinctively leaned closer, bringing his ear right next to her lips. He flinched for a moment, but didn’t move away.

“You have toxins built up in your body. If you don’t detoxify them, you’ll be in serious trouble.”

Luciela spoke.

Aila, who had been listening, looked at her in shock.

“This isn’t something that can be fixed with cooking. At least, it can’t be fixed with cooking alone.”

“What does that…”

“Sorry.”

After saying that, Luciela completely passed out.