Volume 1 Chapter 45 Lydia's Fear, And Then A Wish
In the kitchen of the sanatorium, I asked Sir Ciel and Sir Roxas to set up the pot, basket, and seasonings.
Looking around the kitchen, I clenched my hands to get pumped up.
"Alright...! According to Mr. Michael, there are 20 patients. That means I need to make soft octopus risotto for 20 people...!"
"Ms. Lydia, is there anything I can help with?"
"Lydia. I'll help too."
As Sir Ciel and Sir Roxas spoke to me, I smiled with gratitude.
"Sir Ciel, if that's the case, please prepare the plates and boil water for the hojicha tea. Sir Roxas, you should sit and try not to move as much as possible."
"Understood, Ms. Lydia."
"Why can't I move?"
Sir Roxas said this with a puzzled look, but he sat down on a chair at the kitchen work table.
Sir Ciel searched for the kettle, filled it with water, and started boiling it.
After washing the rice, I chopped the onions and cut the soft, boiled octopus into small pieces.
"Lydia, yesterday's fried octopus was delicious. My brother was happy too."
While I was cutting the octopus, Sir Roxas spoke up.
"How is Sir Rail doing?"
"He's surprisingly well. His appetite has returned, and he seems to be sleeping well. Since I only have trustworthy servants at the mansion in the capital, I don't think my brother's condition will reach my father and the Girard family."
"...Um, ...your mother, just like your father, also thinks of Sir Rail...?"
"My mother... I wonder. In the Girard family, the head of the family, my father's word is absolute. Right now, everyone is afraid of me and obeys. It has always been like this. If my father says something is black, even something white becomes black."
"The Rest priest family is the same. ...My father was everything."
"So, your mother... I mean, your biological mother."
"I don't really remember her well. She passed away before I could understand anything. My father never talked about her, and the servants also followed my father..."
"I see. ...Noble families are usually all the same. It seems my brother really doesn't plan to come back home. Right now, he's starting to practice sword swings in the garden to regain his strength."
Sir Roxas said this with a look of disbelief, but he seemed a bit happy.
I stir-fried the onions in a deep large frying pan until they became soft, then added the rice.
After stir-frying the rice with the onions, I added about half of the boiled octopus water that Sir Ciel brought me, along with the finely chopped, soft octopus.
"I see, that's good.... If everyone here, like Sir Rail, could get better... I think so."
"Lydia. ...You looked like you were afraid of the power you hold. I understand that feeling."
"Um, well, um, that, magic of yours..."
"Soul Stealing...!"
"That magic... is perfect for stews..."
"It's just a power that brings death. ...I thought that, but there are different ways to think about it."
"Cooking is perfect for simmering... I also thought I could try cooking here because Sir Ciel and you gave me the courage to take a step forward."
"Ciel, um..."
"Y-yes... The truth is, I'm scared. I'm always scared. I have no power, and it's hard to feel like I might let you down... I just want to live quietly, but I feel like I can't do anything."
While the risotto simmers gently on low heat, I cut the remaining octopus into bite-sized pieces and add them to the pot, lightly seasoning with soy sauce, sake, and sugar as I cook.
"But... when you, and Sir Ciel, hug me... it makes me feel really strong. When you hold me while I'm crying, I feel so safe. It makes me think that everything will be okay. I want to try my best."
"...I see. Wait, Lydia. Ciel is your..."
"Friend. If it's okay with me, I'm always here. We're friends, after all."
"Yes!"
After boiling water in the kettle, Sir Ciel takes out plates and cups from the cupboard and arranges them on the workbench.
While I was washing the knife and cutting board, I felt a bit shy and my cheeks flushed.
Sir Ciel is so kind.
I'm really happy that he wants to stay friends forever.
"The warmth of a person is comforting... I've never been hugged by anyone before."
"As friends."
"Yes, as friends."
Sir Roxas frowned and said bitterly, "I'm not a friend, though."
"Sir Roxas isn't a friend..."
"Why is Ciel okay, but I'm not?"
"Well, that's because you're a Duke..."
"Maybe it was wrong to make her wear a maid outfit and take her around."
Sir Ciel said in a calm voice. I wasn't being dragged around, but since I was made to wear a maid outfit, I didn't deny it.
After all, it was something I was made to wear, the maid outfit.
I still haven't returned that outfit from that time.
When I tried to return it, Sir Roxas said he would give it to me, so it's in my closet.
"It can't be helped. Lydia was tangled up with the octopus at that time, you know."
"It was all wet and slimy, and then Sir Roxas took me away..."
"That sounds tough, Ms. Lydia."
"Y-yes. It was tough, Sir Ciel... But since Sir Roxas got slimy too, we were able to take a bath at the Duke's house, so it was okay..."
"I see..."
Sir Ciel gave a look to Sir Roxas that seemed to say he wanted to say something.
Sir Roxas, flustered, said, "That couldn't be helped."
"...That was quite a mess."
"Looking back, yes."
"I can't really say anything about others either."
Sir Ciel smiled vaguely, and Sir Roxas let out a deep sigh.
I checked the risotto and the tender octopus stew.
When I took off the pot's lid, the deliciously cooked rice and the tender octopus that seemed easy to eat appeared.
Yup. It looks tasty.
"...I hope the patients will eat it... I hope they want to eat it..."
I said as if praying. The food in the pot seemed to shine as if it was listening to my wish.
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