Chapter 113 - You really don't take my words seriously, do you?
Translator: Yonnee
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When they heard the news, my family came to the dining hall one by one as well. And the last to arrive was Dad, who had just come back from the garrison.
"Rin! Our family's lucky charm!"
Beside himself with joy, as soon as Dad came in, he rushed to my side and rubbed his rough beard on my cheek.
"So many people have come from the capital! They say that the Saintess's hometown food has become a trend among the nobles, and everyone has come to buy red pepper powder!"
"Hehe, I just wanted to eat some dishes with it... It seems like the food from the Saintess's hometown is similar to the Yuria Kingdom's cuisine."
"Oh, this is the chicken dish I heard about, one that's from the Saintess's hometown, too..."
"Father, it's called 'braised spicy chicken'. It tastes quite good when paired with rice. Please come and sit down."
At David's words, Dad rushed to his seat, and the head butler stepped forward to bring a small basin of clean water for Dad to wash his hands with. After Dad washed his hands, he hurriedly picked up a spoon and tasted the sauce first.
"Wow. This is spicier than what I ate at the Yuria Kingdom..."
"I've been to Yuria as well, but I think this has a distinctly different taste," David said.
Then, Morgan answered.
"Dei, have you ever been to the chicken skewer shop there?"
"I've been there with Father, though I couldn't break the record that you left there."
"Now that you mention it, that was a whole lot of fun!"
Dad joined in on Morgan and David's conversation. Morgan melded naturally between the two.
"Weren't you the one who started the bet, Uncle? To be honest, I didn't know that I ate that much either."
"But that's still not enough for me. Just keep up what you're doing."
"Yes, yes."
Morgan replied playfully- familiarly. Dipping my spoon into the sauce, I spilled it over my bowl of rice and took a spoonful of that to my lips. The combination of the scrumptious white rice and the sweet and spicy braised spicy chicken was immaculate.
As expected, delicious food was a universal language.
It had been a long time since I ate it, and inadvertently, my eyes gravitated towards Ciel. There was a restaurant that I used to go to with him often, where braised spicy chicken was always served as a side dish.
I thought that he didn't like it because he always gave me his serving. And it still didn't seem like he enjoyed eating it.
Perhaps feeling my stare, Ciel looked up and met my gaze.
When we had entered the dining hall just now, his blue eyes carried with them a hint of playfulness. Yet now, it's completely gone. All that was left was coldness.
It was a familiar look of the past. Without realizing it, my heart sank.
It felt as if he was looking at me, the one from the past. He looked at me with such a despondent, somewhat venomous gaze, and I had become so used to it before.
I set down my spoon and brought a glass of water to my mouth. Once again, I was grateful towards my parents for always remembering my preference for ice water.
"I'm sorry, but I'll be going up first."
"Dear, why aren't you eating more?"
As my kind mother asked, I simply nodded in response. It was definitely a delicious meal, but as soon as I saw Ciel's eyes, my appetite disappeared.
"I'm full now."
"Alright, then head on upstairs."
"Yes, I will."
As I got up from my seat, Ciel's eyes remained on me. Yet again, it was a familiar scene-of him chewing on ice with an expression on his face that made it seem like he was feeling very thirsty. I sighed naturally.
Whenever he encountered a situation that he didn't like, he'd always do this. He'd torment his teeth by crunching on ice in an attempt to push his frustration down.
I could understand why he recognized who I was. It occurred to me that I might have recognized him as well, even if his appearance had changed.
When I left the dining hall, the hallways were already dark. I thought that the rain from earlier would just be a brief shower, but the summer monsoon seemed to be pouring down in earnest.
"Milady, please allow me to accompany you to your room."
Mary came to my side with a lamp. As we returned to my room together, she helped me wash up and I changed into my nightgown.
It must be because I had been seeing Ciel often these days, but strangely, I kept thinking about the past.
Especially on a rainy day like this. There was one memory that came to mind.
That day, for the first time, Ciel and I had a fight as husband and wife. I just endured it most of the time, but on that particular day, I just couldn't stand it anymore. I could no longer keep my anger at bay.
Ciel had stayed out without contacting me even once, and so I raised my voice, asking him why he even asked me to marry him if he was going to do this anyway.
And to myself, I asked: I chose to give him my soul the moment he asked me to marry him, yet why do I hate him now?
"No. Honestly, it was too much of him to have stayed out without saying anything back then."
Whatever the reason was behind his actions, I was at least warranted to say something about it as his wife when he had done something that he never told me about.
