Volume 1 Chapter 11 The Effect Of The Curse Breaking And The Kidnapping
I brought the finished dish to the table.
Sir Ciel followed behind me. He is as tall as Mr. Lucian, but he seems slimmer. However, because he wears a loose robe, he looks quite big.
Having a big man walking behind me makes me feel nervous, like when you encounter a bear in the forest. Out of fear.
Though, I've never actually met a bear in the forest. Maybe it feels something like that.
"Sir Ciel, please enjoy your meal. I'll make some tea now. For breakfast, we had milk tea, but by chance, lunch ended up being all meat, so I'll prepare some refreshing hojicha."
"Hojicha?"
"Yes. Soy sauce, hojicha, and green tea are sold by a traveling merchant from Wa country. They're delicious."
"It's an island nation across the sea, right?"
"Yes! The merchant Tsukuyomi crosses the sea on a ship called Whale No. 1. It's really cute, Whale No. 1."
I get the delicious meat from Mx. Margaret's shop, but I buy other ingredients at the market.
The peddler Tsukuyomi has a shop at the market and sells seasonings and teas that aren't available in the kingdom.
Once, I got to see the ship Whale No. 1 that they ride when crossing the sea.
It's not just a ship; it's a whale. There's a dome-shaped passenger area for 2 people set up on top of the whale.
Tsukuyomi is called a sorcerer in Wakoku country, and they seem to be someone like a mage in the kingdom, and they can talk to whales.
The control stick is missing, but it seems that Whale No. 1 will follow the the peddler Tsukuyomi's instructions.
"You know... you look cuter when you smile than when you're crying."
Sitting at a 4-person table, Sir Ciel smiled brightly at me.
It's so dazzling. His smile shines brighter than the expensive, sparkling jewels on his head.
"I-I won't be fooled...! I'll go make some tea...!"
I quickly moved away from Sir Ciel.
Just like Mr. Lucian, Sir Ciel must be popular with women.
He seems so experienced.
Once he lets his guard down, he gets bored and tosses people aside.
I don't know for sure, but that's how it feels. People in high positions usually act like that, I guess.
I went back to the kitchen and boiled some new water.
In the meantime, I stuffed the dirty dishes into the sink and soaked them in water.
I checked to make sure the stove was off, covered the rice cooker and soup pot, and put the leftover ingredients back in the pantry.
Then, I took the cute flower-patterned teapot and added the hojicha tea leaves I bought from the peddler Tsukuyomi, pouring in the hot water.
I placed the teapot and matching flower-patterned cups on a tray, holding it with both hands as I returned to Sir Ciel.
Sir Ciel was trying hard to eat his meal with a fork and knife.
"Sir Ciel?"
He was trying to stab the hamburger with his fork, but it seemed he was having trouble, and it was spilling all over the plate.
"What's wrong, Sir Ciel...? Is it hard to eat...?"
"No. Um... it seems like I can't see anymore, so I don't know where anything is."
"W-What...!"
Sir Ciel's red eyes, smiling with a troubled expression, definitely look unfocused.
His body is really being eaten away by a curse.
Poor Sir Ciel. It's sad, even if he brought this on himself.
But if that's the case, shouldn't he be getting treatment somewhere proper instead of leisurely eating?
Sir Ciel is the top royal mage in this country, among those who can use magic.
Healing magic can cure injuries and curses, but someone like Sir Ciel should be able to use it without a doubt.
Yet, even that didn't work, so he came to me.
Clinging to the rumors Mr. Lucian is spreading.
But in reality, I can't do anything. Still, he doesn't blame me or feel disappointed; he's trying to eat.
"Sir Ciel, I'm sorry for being useless... I've always been like this. Even though I was born into the Rest priest family, I can't use healing magic at all... It might not be the time to eat, but... um, would you like to eat?"
"Ms. Lydia... can you help me?"
"Y-Yes...!"
I placed the tea set tray on the table and took the knife and fork from Sir Ciel's hand.
Then, I cut the Onigashima hamburger into small pieces and brought it to Sir Ciel's mouth.
His thin lips opened, revealing a red tongue. A beautiful sky-blue gem sparkled on his tongue.
I felt like I was seeing something I shouldn't.
"...Huh?"
Sir Ciel chewed and swallowed a piece of hamburger, tilting his head.
"Was it not tasty? Did it not suit your taste? B-but, Sir Ciel, you can't taste it, right? Since you can't see either... you probably didn't understand it well. That was a hamburger, Sir Ciel, you just ate a hamburger."
I brought a chair and sat down across from Sir Ciel.
He blinked once and put a finger to his mouth.
"Ms. Lydia. It has a soft, rich meat flavor and a sweet and sour tomato taste."
"You can taste it?"
"Yes. ...That's amazing. It works so quickly with just one bite..."
Sir Ciel looked down as if deep in thought, mumbling softly.
Then he turned his gaze to me. His red eyes, which seemed unfocused, were looking straight into my eyes.
"...Ms. Lydia. ...You had that kind of face. I thought you were cute even when my vision was blurry, but... you're really, very cute."
A spark of enthusiasm lit up in his red eyes.
I felt my whole body shiver.
"Eep..."
"Are you not used to it, Ms. Lydia? Just being called cute makes your face turn so red. In this not-so-safe south district, you might get eaten by a wolf right away."
"I-I'm fine, I'm fine... My defenses are ironclad, after all, I'm an iron maiden...! Sir Ciel, you can see now, right? Please eat your food by yourself...!"
Sir Ciel tried to wipe the tears from the corners of my eyes with his long fingers, so I ran away.
I felt sorry for him, even though I had fed him.
The distance between us, the distance is just weird... This is why being a knight captain or a mage captain is not good.
"I remembered...! The servant from the priest's family said that if I got close to knight captain Mr. Lucian, I would get pregnant... Sir Ciel, you must be the same...!"
"I don't have such special powers. ...By the way, Ms. Lydia. Is the arrangement of this realistic sausage and the Onigashima hamburger on purpose?"
It seems Sir Ciel stopped flirting and teasing me and suddenly changed the subject.
His gaze was fixed on the Onigashima hamburger, which looked like an island floating in red sauce, and the realistic sausage placed on top of it.
"I thought it looked cute when I arranged them..."
"Arranged? More like it's sitting on top."
"Both are big, so if I arranged them side by side, they would overflow from the plate, so I put one on top... I thought it looked cute."
It is cute, right?
I think it's cute, but...
Is there a problem? Even in sausage and bean stew, the sausage goes on top of the beans.
Sausages are meant to be on top. It's not a problem if it's on the hamburger either.
"I see... What exactly is Lucian teaching you? ...I heard the rumor that he visits you every day."
"Well, he hasn't really taught me anything... He did tell me about the size of the sausage..."
"I'll tell you mine later too."
"Wh-What do you mean? Does Sir Ciel have an ideal size for sausages too? Did I make them a bit too big...? They are big, so it might be hard for cute girls to eat them..."
Sir Ciel elegantly cut the hamburger and brought it to his mouth.
Then he finished eating while cutting the sausage into smaller pieces, and he also ate all the soup and the limit oil onion rice.
During that time, I was making tea and then brought my own soup to eat.
There were no other customers, and I was feeling a bit bored.
Since Sir Ciel wanted me to stay with him, I had no choice.
No choice, but...
Somehow, I felt happy to eat with someone.
"...Thank you for the meal, Ms. Lydia. Everything was very delicious, thank you."
Sir Ciel said with his hands together.
Now that I think about it, Sir Ciel doesn't say a prayer for meals like the knights do.
But he politely puts his hands together and smiles at me.
It's dazzling. So dazzling that it feels almost harmful to my eyes.
"I wonder when was the last time I ate such delicious food... I can understand why Lucian comes here every day."
"Y-Yeah, I'm glad... Sir Ciel, have you developed a taste for it?"
"Just as Lucian said... it seems your cooking has a special power. The power of breaking curses seems to be in the hamburger."
"Th-That's probably just in ypir head... Sir Ciel, I don't think you were cursed or anything...!"
When Sir Ciel snapped his fingers, the used dishes and the dirty items left in the sink floated into the air, cleaned themselves in an instant, and neatly lined up on the kitchen counter.
Then, Sir Ciel easily picked up my body.
Like a piece of luggage, over his shoulder.
"W-what are you doing, what are you doing...!?"
"Please come with me for a moment. Don't worry, I'll pay."
"Nooo, you pervert...!"
Despite my resistance and screams being in vain, I was carried away by Sir Ciel from the restaurant, kidnapped.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)