Chapter 8. A Meal with Different Expectations

Moreover, the growling sound was like a chick chirping ‘tweet tweet—’ begging for food.

Cute.

Theo quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

Otherwise, his curving lips would have been immediately noticed.

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

Yuelina kept looking around as if she wanted to hide somewhere.

It was clearly because she felt embarrassed and awkward.

Theo understood.

This wasn’t seduction.

She was really just hungry.

Who would try to seduce someone by calculating their stomach growls?

It was just that Theo himself thought Yuelina’s growling sound was too cute.

Theo wanted to drag the chef by the collar and scold him to cook for her without any breaks.

No, it wasn’t just a desire; he was really about to do it.

Theo stood up to punish the chef.

The Grand Duchess was on the verge of starving to death.

She was supposed to live by his side as the Grand Duchess for life, so he couldn’t let her starve like this.

“Your Highness the Grand Duke. I’ll bring in the meal.”

Fortunately, Ulysse’s voice was faster than Theo’s action.

Along with Ulysse, who brought in a well-aged white wine, the mansion’s butler began to set the meal on the table.

Golden-brown baked bread and potato soup. The main course of finely chopped vegetables and beef kept coming onto the table.

Theo hoped Yuelina would quickly pick up her fork and stuff something into her mouth.

But Yuelina only gaped at the meal being placed on the table.

It was Yuelina’s first time seeing the principality’s cuisine.

A sweet and enchanting aroma tickled her nose, and the fresh, glossy foods looked delicious.

Just looking at them made her feel good.

“Eat.”

Theo urged Yuelina, who was staring at the food in a daze.

Although it was Yuelina who was hungry, he was the one impatient for her to eat.

After hesitating for a while, Yuelina picked up her fork at Theo’s urging and stabbed a piece of beef.

All the food on the plate was just the right size for one bite. She put the food in her mouth and chewed slowly.

Theo quietly watched as Yuelina’s cheeks puffed up like a squirrel’s.

“It’s delicious! Your Highness, please eat too.”

Only when she offered him food with a satisfied expression did Theo start eating as well.

Meanwhile, Ulysse filled Theo and Yuelina’s wine glasses.

He thought his lord looked quite busy.

Theo was closer to devouring the food rather than eating it. He was generally indifferent to food.

While he was so sensitive in battles with murderous enemies, he showed no interest in food.

It was understandable, as enjoying food on a busy battlefield was a luxury.

Theo consumed food only to satisfy hunger, and now it had become a habit.

While chewing his food unappealingly as usual, his eyes keenly observed Yuelina as though he was tracking an enemy on the battlefield.

The well-baked bread, when had he torn it all up? He subtly pushed the plate of crumbled bread, like an enemy’s castle gate, towards Yuelina.

To think he was using his agile and sensitive combat senses to cut and tear food.

Indeed, it was a good sign.

Ulysse smiled contentedly and retreated outside again.

On the other hand, Theo wasn’t even aware that Ulysse had poured wine into his glass and left.

Theo was simply fascinated by Yuelina sitting in front of him.

After growling like a chick’s weak cry, now she was pecking at her food like a crow-tit.

While he scooped up food with his spoon and chewed it in one bite, Yuelina hadn’t even eaten a quarter of that.

She was diligently chewing and constantly munching on something, but he couldn’t tell what she was eating.

Do people in that village always eat so little?

Well, she was as small as a crow-tit, so how much could fit inside her?

She was so different from himself, who would devour anything in front of him until it was gone.

Theo had already finished his meal and was swirling wine in his mouth, fully appreciating Yuelina’s dining.

Every time Yuelina reached out her arm and moved busily to eat, a sweet floral scent wafted.

It was a far superior fragrance to the decades-aged wine.

If only Yuelina were in front of him, even drinking plain water wouldn’t be bad.

Why does he keep staring?

While Theo was seriously considering quitting alcohol, Yuelina was receiving his piercing gaze with her whole body.

It seemed like not even ten minutes had passed since they started eating, but Theo had already cleaned his plate spotless.

Theo said he didn’t eat breakfast, so perhaps he eats a lot for lunch.

If so, wouldn’t the meal be a bit insufficient?

Maybe that’s why he was eyeing the food in front of her.

Yuelina scooped some of her food onto a small plate in front of her and gently pushed it towards him.

“Would you… like some more?”

Without saying anything, Theo accepted the plate Yuelina offered and devoured it in one go.

Yuelina watched him eat, lost in thought.

He must certainly have been hungry and wanted to eat her food too.

Yuelina was convinced as she saw Theo’s mouth open wide and the food going down his throat.

And what was it?

The sight of food being constantly swallowed into his mouth, the way his Adam’s apple bobbed as the food went down his throat, it was truly…

Like the instinctive movements of a beast.

He was just hurriedly eating because he was hungry, but why did it look so primal?

Yuelina shook off her flustered thoughts and pushed another plate towards him.

“Would you like this too?”

Theo grabbed a handful of the finely chopped bread Yuelina offered and dumped it into his mouth.

“This too?”

Yuelina now wondered how much more Theo could eat.

But Theo didn’t accept the plate and stared at Yuelina. He seemed to be seriously contemplating something.

Yuelina had a moment of realization. Could he be upset, thinking her behavior was rude?

That’s when it happened.

“If I eat it all, then what will the Grand Duchess eat?”

“…Ah.”

Theo was genuinely curious.

Soup and bread. The meat placed in front of Yuelina.

If he ate even the salad now, what could Yuelina say she had eaten for her meal?

Could she store enough energy to walk around eating so little?

Yuelina hesitated at Theo’s question.

It seemed he might be displeased that she wasn’t eating much of the meal offered out of goodwill.

“I’m, I’m eating too.”

Yuelina quickly picked up a cherry tomato from the salad plate and ate it, watching Theo’s reaction.

She chewed on the cherry tomato, smaller than one of Theo’s finger joints, for a long time.

“Mmm.”

It must have been quite delicious, as her eyes widened while chewing, and she muttered, “Delicious—”

Only then did Theo pick up his wine glass and wet his throat again.

It seemed she enjoyed eating even if she ate as little as bird feed.

Yuelina had said she always made sure to eat breakfast.

Somehow, it bothered him.

“I’ll find a dedicated maid for the Grand Duchess. Until then, I’ll assign a housemaid to you for now.”

“Ah, I’m fine!”

Despite Yuelina’s protests, Theo shook his head firmly.

“You are the Grand Duchess, so it’s only natural for you to have servants.”

“Ah…”

“Meals, grooming, anything else you want in this castle, feel free to do as you please.”

Theo didn’t forget to put the restriction ‘in this castle’ on Yuelina.

It was a roundabout expression meaning that he absolutely wouldn’t allow her to go to the village or return home.

But there was no way Yuelina could understand Theo’s intentions.

She only felt grateful for Theo’s words showing kindness to her.

“…Thank you.”

“Until now, I was the only one in the mansion, so I didn’t think to pay attention to such things.”

Yuelina put down the fork she was holding at Theo’s last words.

The Black Mansion was solely for Theo.

In this place with dozens of rooms, Theo was always alone.

Yuelina had asked Delkan about Theo’s marriage in the reception room.

To be precise, it was a direct question about whether they had consummated the marriage. To her question, Delkan replied like this,

“There was no consummation. They all had someone they loved and left His Highness the Grand Duke’s side. They all ran away before even holding the wedding ceremony.”

Yuelina found those words incredibly painful.

She could guess why Theo didn’t want to have a wedding ceremony, and why he didn’t want to share a room with Yuelina.

Unlike her desire to get to know him slowly, Theo might have been fed up with the very idea of marriage.

She felt sorry for Theo for no reason.

An unwanted marriage, with a foreigner as his partner, and agreeing to the marriage on the condition of magic stones…

It felt like her very existence was becoming a wound to someone already full of scars.

After all, Yuelina herself had also tried to use Theo.

On the other hand, Theo became a bit anxious seeing Yuelina’s face harden.

What’s the problem this time?