Janet gave her a warm smile, gesturing to the bowl of soup on the table.

“Come on, you need to eat well if you want to get better.”

“All right. Thank you.”

“Isn’t your recovery a little too slow? It’s not just a day or two—it’s already been a week.”

“A stab wound doesn’t heal in a day or two. But thanks for your concern.”

Liana answered Janet’s thinly veiled sarcasm with indifference.

Yet Janet didn’t leave. She stood beside the bed, glancing again and again, almost unconsciously, at the soup. All she had to do was set down the meal and go, but it was clear she wanted to see Liana eat it with her own eyes. Liana followed her gaze to the steaming white cauliflower soup.

There could be only one reason for her insistence—she must have tampered with the food.

“Sorry that you went to the trouble, but I don’t have much of an appetite today.”

Liana offered Janet a gentle smile, pretending not to notice.

She knew very well how the Lester household’s servants regarded her. None of them were fond of the newcomer. They’d heard the story about Liana Serpens getting injured while saving His Grace the Duke, but really—could that possibly be true? That frail-looking girl had saved the undefeated hero, the Duke himself? It was easier for them to believe that she’d just gotten in the way and ended up hurt while trailing after her master, starry-eyed.

No wonder hardly any of the servants treated her kindly. Janet was no exception.

Liana watched Janet, who now stood before her with her arms folded, exuding an air of defiance.

‘She’s terrible at hiding her feelings…’

Restless eyes, a gaze that wandered to other thoughts, a smirk that betrayed her intentions. To try something so obvious with such a face—Janet must think she’s dealing with a fool. Or maybe she just didn’t care if Liana figured it out. After all, Liana was bedridden and had no choice but to eat whatever food Janet brought her.

“If you don’t have an appetite, how come you haven’t eaten anything since last night?”

That was right—Janet hadn’t brought her dinner the night before. Liana chose not to mention it. But guilt was clear in Janet’s behavior.

“I just got too busy—there weren’t enough hands, and I forgot.”

“While you’re lying around so comfortably, the rest of us are running ourselves ragged because we’re short-handed. And now you won’t even eat the food I went out of my way to bring you? Honestly, that’s a little hurtful. It’s not as if we aren’t busy enough already, and yet we’re still making sure you’re fed. Don’t you think you could at least take a bite out of consideration for us?”

In other words: Stop acting so spoiled and just eat what you’re given.

Liana could hear every thorn in Janet’s voice. She let out a sigh and finally picked up the spoon from the tray.

“You’re right. I should eat if I want to get better soon.”

A smile spread across Janet’s face as Liana quietly stirred the soup in front of her. But as she did, something black and hard, about the size of a thumbnail, caught on the spoon—it was a cockroach.

Liana calmly lifted the spoon, the bug perched right on top, and met Janet’s gaze.

“Sorry, but I don’t really have a taste for bug soup.”

She said, holding the spoon up to Janet’s face.

“Why don’t you have a bite instead?”

Janet’s face turned bright red at Liana’s shameless retort.

“How can you say something like that over a simple mistake—just because a bug ended up in your soup!”

“Oh, it was a mistake?”

Liana set the spoon down, feigning innocence and nodding as if she believed her. A mistake? Not likely. There was no way the chef who cooked for the duke could have missed such a large cockroach.

In a noble household’s kitchen, where they served not only the duke but his guests as well, the chance of something like this happening by accident was next to none. Especially when Janet had brought it in herself, wearing that sly look on her face.

Still, Liana smiled sweetly.

“At least you didn’t make that mistake with His Grace’s soup.”

Janet’s face stiffened. Without saying another word, she turned on her heel and stormed out, slamming the door shut behind her. Liana closed her eyes for a moment at the sound, feeling a dull throb in her head.

“She could’ve at least taken the bowl with her while she was at it.”

She muttered, glancing at the untouched soup still sitting in front of her. A faint, nostalgic scent of cauliflower drifted from the bowl. If it hadn’t been for the bug, she might have enjoyed it—it was a scent that brought back memories of home.

‘I used to eat this all the time as a child.’

Whenever she was sick, her father would always make sure she had cauliflower soup—gentle on the stomach, soft, and one of Luise Ideana’s favorites.

‘What a shame.’

If not for the bug, she would have tasted it, if only for old times’ sake.

She set the bowl aside with a quiet sigh.

‘Not that I could have eaten much, even if it hadn’t been ruined.’

Even if Janet hadn’t put a bug in the soup, Liana wouldn’t have been able to eat it. The holy power Dietrich used had scoured every inch of her body, leaving her with severe internal injuries.

Wounds from holy power were even harder to heal than the stab wound in her abdomen. For days now, she hadn’t been able to take a single bite of the food Janet brought her.

‘Not that it matters—even if I starve, I won’t die…’

The gnawing hunger twisting her stomach was bothersome, but her body could endure without food, thanks to the curse that made her nearly immortal. She decided, if only halfheartedly, to consider that a small “blessing” of her condition.

🌺⟡───⟡🌺 🌺⟡───⟡🌺

“So, did you deliver it?”

As Janet returned to the kitchen, the other maids swarmed around her.

“Did she eat it? Did you see her eat?”

“I don’t know!”

Janet pouted, ignoring the cluster of maids pressing in.

“What, you left before checking? Maybe we’ll find an empty bowl later?”

“Isn’t it hilarious? Sitting up all prim and proper like a princess, just to be served cockroach soup.”

One of the maids giggled quietly, and the others joined in.

Just then, Mary, passing behind them, clicked her tongue.

“You’d better be careful. What if the master finds out?”

“What, you can’t even do this much? You know how irritating she is. Did you see how His Grace personally checks her menu now?”

Janet narrowed her eyes, voice dripping with resentment.

After Liana woke, Shed had personally given the kitchen staff strict orders about her meals. Thanks to the duke’s explicit instructions, the maids had been forced to prepare the unexpected cauliflower soup for her.

‘A bowl of oat porridge would’ve been enough… Why cauliflower soup, of all things?’

Shed hadn’t visited Liana himself or kept watch at her bedside, but he made sure to direct and check every detail related to her care from behind the scenes.

“And that young Viscount Eclace, and High Priest Dietrich—did you see how interested they are in her?”

“Honestly, is she even that pretty?”

The male servants shrugged at the maids’ chatter.

“It’s a matter of taste. If you like soft, delicate, innocent girls… well, there’s no one like Liana.”

One of the men said, scratching his head and laughing cluelessly.

Janet shot him a sharp look.

“Well, I like healthy, s*xy, glamorous women. Like you, Janet.”

“Pfft! Who wants compliments from someone like you?”

Janet cut him off coldly, rolling her eyes at his foolish grin.

Mary gave them all a pitying look.

“I’m saying, you’d better watch yourselves, now that the master’s taking a personal interest. Don’t you remember what happened to Head Maid Caroline?”

“Mary, you’re always so careful and cautious. Does that even let you sleep at night? And come on, it’s not like we’re tormenting her that badly.”

Janet replied with a breezy smile, knowing full well that Mary was just a coward—afraid of the duke and afraid of ending up like Caroline.

“What if she really ends up as the master’s mistress, huh? What will you do then?”

“Oh, please! Our master, who can’t even hold his fiancée’s hand, taking a mistress? That would certainly be cause for celebration in this family!”

Janet laughed. The thought of that stone-faced duke keeping a mistress was almost impossible to imagine. Rumors were already swirling that he couldn’t even perform in bed—how could he possibly have a lover?

“Well, nothing’s impossible. Men can’t be trusted.”

Mary replied, narrowing her eyes in warning, but Janet just grinned.

“Want to make a bet, then?”

“A bet?”

“Let’s see what happens first: that girl leaving this house, or her ending up in the master’s bed.”

If Liana was forced out—or left on her own—before anything happened, Janet would win. But if Liana slept with Shed first, the victory would go to Mary.

Janet’s challenge sent a ripple of excitement through the servants, even drawing in the footmen who’d been eavesdropping nearby. After all, life in Faradel had grown dismally boring—this was the most entertainment they’d had in ages.

“Isn’t the outcome obvious? Everyone knows the master is… well, incapable. How could anything happen?”

One of the servants interjected, clearly believing the rumors about the duke’s supposed impotence.

“Even if you put that to one side, what about Priestess Giselle?” What about her and His Grace? There’s no way.”

Another footman shook his head, citing the duke’s fiancée, Giselle Marlheine. To betray such a perfect fiancée would be a sin worthy of divine punishment.

“But they’re not married yet, are they? He could still enjoy himself before the wedding…”

“You mean Liana Serpens might actually manage it?”

“Things have been awfully strange around here lately…”

As the maids and footmen gossiped and debated, Janet fixed her gaze on Mary.

“So, are you in or not?”

Mary, arms folded and lips pursed, didn’t look thrilled. But—

“Fine. The loser pays the winner three months’ wages.”

She took Janet’s bet without hesitation.

🌺⟡───⟡🌺 🌺⟡───⟡🌺

Knock, knock.

At the sound of someone rapping at the door, Eclace—seated at his desk—looked up.

“Come in.”

Bannern, the refined attendant of House Vitel, entered with measured steps.

“Young master, here are the additional documents you requested.”

Bannern placed the thick file in front of Eclace.

On the cover was written: Liana Serpens

“I’ve confirmed it, sir. There’s no one who remembers Liana Serpens’ childhood.”

Eclace skimmed through the secret information gathered by his network of birds, a faint smile curling at his lips.

His suspicion was correct.