Chapter 13

“Hic… h-hic!”

During the lavish luncheon, with food piled so high it looked like eyes might pop out, childish hiccuping sounds kept ringing out.

Before long, Estelle, who had joined them later, Bonita, now seated properly after leaving the duke’s side, and the duke himself at the head seat were all looking at the same person.

Reina. More precisely, the pink haired woman named Reina Botn.

What was there to be so surprised about at the word meal? From that moment on, Reina had started hiccuping, and even after Bonita’s hiccups stopped, Reina’s continued.

“Mom… are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah. Boni, you need to… eat your food properly…”

Covering her reddened mouth, Reina tried her best to suppress the hiccup sounds, but her shoulders were shaking so hard it was painful to watch.

“…”

The duke pondered for a long time, unable to understand why Reina was this shocked.

“Was there anything in that conversation worth being surprised over?”

He was called a mild noble, but that reputation only existed compared to other nobles he’d crushed.

And whatever excessive things the Duke of Winternight did, people were simply happy to see him rise higher.

Following him now was like grabbing hold of a golden lifeline.

In the first place, this gathering had been arranged so he could explain his future plans to Reina in detail. But now didn’t seem like the right time.

Deciding that serious talk should wait until after the meal, the duke picked up his cutlery.

Bonita stared at the fancy dishes, unsure what she should eat.

Even while hiccuping, Reina noticed Bonita’s hesitation and began placing a variety of foods onto her plate.

Fresh vegetables and fruit salad she normally couldn’t eat, softly steamed beef tripe with herbs, and white bread were arranged neatly before her.

“Thanks, Mom!”

Bonita beamed at the food Reina had served her and picked up her fork.

“Hic, Boni…”

“Yeah?”

“You need to… hold the fork… properly.”

Just to get that sentence out, Reina hiccupped two or three times. Barely catching her breath, she demonstrated how to hold the fork correctly.

“…Ah, sorry, Mom.”

Only then did Bonita grip the fork properly. Since Reina had been spending more time with her after getting work at the ducal estate, she hadn’t been able to teach table manners well. Bonita had already gotten used to holding utensils poorly and slipped back into bad habits whenever she relaxed.

“…”

“…Your Grace?”

The duke quietly observed the two, then picked up the empty plate in front of Estelle. Estelle looked at him in confusion.

“…Here.”

Surveying the overly abundant dishes, the duke placed grilled ham wrapped asparagus and baked tomato with cheese onto the plate and handed it to her.

“…”

He then stared at Estelle holding the plate for a long moment. Feeling the intense gaze, Estelle looked back at him.

In that brief instant, father and daughter locked eyes deeply, and the servants standing nearby thought it looked like a tiger and a rabbit making eye contact.

After freezing for a while, Estelle hesitated and spoke.

“…Thank you?”

“Good.”

Only then did the duke withdraw his gaze, seemingly satisfied. An awkward silence was about to stretch out.

Even so, the duke kept watching Estelle’s hand holding the fork. When she held it properly, he felt an odd sense of disappointment.

Throughout the long meal, Reina barely ate at all, drinking only water. Every dish looked mouth watering, yet she couldn’t bring herself to eat.

Starting with Bonita’s kidnapping, everything had changed so dramatically that she felt dizzy.

So many emotional highs and lows had crashed into each other in such a short time that it was hard to steady herself.

‘Why did things turn out like this…’

Reina only wanted Bonita to come back alive. Instead, she was receiving things far beyond what she deserved. Just that alone made her feel stuffed to the point of nausea.

* * *

It was only after the meal ended that the long hiccuping finally stopped.

Bonita and Estelle had eaten until they were stuffed and were now slumped over. After sending the children away, the duke summoned Reina separately to his office.

Reina thought it was truly fortunate she wasn’t hiccuping anymore.

With a serious expression, the duke invited Reina to sit on the sofa in his office.

“Have some tea. Is there any tea you like?”

If asked whether she liked tea, the answer was usually just whatever was cheap and simple. She’d never had the leisure to enjoy it.

Thinking it pointless to explain that, Reina shook her head.

“I’ll drink whatever you give me.”

“Alright.”

The duke rang a bell and ordered the butler to bring tea and light refreshments. Reina wondered if more food was really coming after they’d just eaten, but the duke was large and muscular, so she figured he must eat a lot.

As if reading her thoughts, the duke frowned slightly and said.

“You’re the one who’ll eat.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“…?”

“…You barely ate earlier. It didn’t look like you weren’t hungry.”

“…Ah.”

That was right. Between suppressing hiccups and trying to process everything that had happened, she hadn’t felt hunger even with food in front of her.

Still, she had no idea why the duke was paying attention to that. Trying to read his intentions all of a sudden wasn’t easy. Her gaze fell to the bag in her hand.

“…”

From the very beginning, she’d been clutching this bag without even thinking about when to put it down. She’d brought the cruller donut all the way into the office. Reina lifted the bag slightly and said.

“…I’m fine because I have this donut…”

“…”

The bag had turned translucent, soaked with oil. After quietly looking at Reina, the duke stood up and took the bag from her.

“That’s enough.”

“Ah…”

“So eat.”

“…Yes.”

Even if he hadn’t taken it and had simply told her to eat, she was in no position to refuse. She’d only tried to decline because the kindness felt overwhelming.

A few minutes later, Reina watched a refined tea tray being brought in. Golden colored tea was poured into cups.

“Then… thank you for the meal…”

“Mm.”

The attendant pouring tea glanced at the mismatched pair with curiosity before leaving the room.

The duke watched Reina lift her teacup.

‘She knows how to hold a teacup.’

Without realizing it herself, she held it much like a noble, not hooking her finger through the handle or lifting her pinky.

‘Was she a noble?’

The thought crossed his mind, but the duke knew better than anyone that she wasn’t.

On that bitterly cold winter day when he first met her, Peter had investigated whether she’d approached with money or status in mind. According to the report, she was utterly ordinary, or rather, a poor commoner.

Reina had said Bonita’s father was deceased, but in truth Bonita had been born out of wedlock, and the man had vanished after learning of the pregnancy. Damian Winternight knew this as well.

Still, it wasn’t his past to expose, and he never told Reina that he knew. It would only hurt her.

Even so, the way Reina held her teacup was far too similar to a noble. Was working in households something she’d done before this place?

Reina set the teacup down without a sound. She seemed to like the tea.

“…Mmm.”

On the table were cute sized cakes, madeleines, and bite sized sandwiches. She wondered if she should start with a sandwich and picked one up, taking a bite.

“Blueberry?”

The ham sandwich was generously filled with a blueberry based sauce.

Only then did Reina realize she hadn’t eaten blueberries even once since becoming Reina.

“It suits your taste.”

“Ah… yes. It’s good.”

Only then did she notice the duke was watching her.

“Your Grace, aren’t you already full?”

“…I.”

The duke lifted the cruller donut bag now in his hand.

“I’m fine because I have this.”

“…!”

Repeating Reina’s words almost exactly, he calmly opened the bag and took out the donut.

It was a rough looking donut that didn’t match the elegant tea set at all.

The sweet, oily scent hit his nose, and powdered sugar fell softly.

“…”

Feeling the grease on his fingers, the duke stared at the donut. Reina felt like she might die of embarrassment.

Had this man ever eaten a 230 Theon snack before? Had anyone ever dared to give him one?

“…It’s fine.”

In truth, it wasn’t his first time eating a donut. The duke had experienced far more kinds of food than Reina imagined.

Besides, this donut had been taken by force from someone else, so he had no reason to complain.

Wiping the sugar from his fingers with a handkerchief, the duke spoke.

“The reason I made time like this is because I have something to say and something to ask of you.”

“…Yes, I see.”

Reina’s heart dropped heavily. Seeing her frozen, unable to hide it, the duke placed the handkerchief on the table and raised his head.

“So…”

“…”

“Reina Botn?”

Reina’s face had flushed red, and she looked like she could barely breathe.

“…H-Huh!”

“Reina Botn!”

Her whole body itched like mad. Her heart pounded, her insides felt unbearably restless.

It felt like her skin was crawling, like she wanted to scratch until it peeled away. It was as if every liquid in her body was boiling over.

The duke shouted urgently at her, but the buzzing in her head drowned out his voice.

“Huff… huff…”

Struggling to breathe, she bent forward with her mouth wide open. The agony wracked her whole body, and Reina clawed desperately at the sofa leather.

“Reina Botn! Damn it!”

The duke cursed in a way that didn’t match his face and called out to those outside.

After that, Reina lost consciousness.