IVGC 15

CHAPTER  15……………………………………………….

At that moment.

I decided to treat Elliot a little better.

Pretty boys don’t exactly “benefit the world” just by existing… but still, they’re pleasing to my eyes, so that counts!

On top of that, I had another goal.

It was to lure Elliot into developing a medicine that would improve eyesight.

‘I know plenty about eye-healthy nutrients… lutein is abundant in spinach, right?’

Of course, stuffing someone with spinach and carrots wouldn’t magically improve their vision.

But my target was a genius alchemist.

If I, armed with modern nutritional knowledge, gave him just a bit of guidance, wouldn’t he be able to take off those horrifying glasses?

Just then—

A voice full of embarrassment and shame spoke up.

“Um… please don’t look.”

I blinked.

Elliot’s face turned red as he quickly stepped away from me.

“I, um… I know I’m really ugly… so please stop looking and hurry, please, the glasses—”

For a moment, I was speechless.

Then I spoke up toward Elliot, who was frantically searching for his glasses.

“You’re not ugly at all.”

“……”

“Really. You’re seriously not ugly!”

“……”

“Who even said that? Of all the people I’ve seen so far, you’re… no, you’re easily in the top three most handsome.”

Elliot had a delicate, pretty face—so handsome that, depending on taste, one could even say he was more attractive than Kylos.

Well, I personally preferred handsome men with a fresh, refreshing vibe like Kylos… but Elliot was definitely a rare beauty too.

“You’re very good at flattering people.”

Finally finding his glasses, Elliot hurriedly put them on and sighed.

“Hydee is a good person, so you don’t need to feel guilty about looking at me for a moment. I understand everything.”

“……?”

I was completely baffled. Saying that face was ugly?

If Elliot was ugly, then the only person in the world who wasn’t ugly would probably be the original heroine Sabrina, who hadn’t even properly appeared yet.

Whenever she appeared, the author would describe her beauty in passages easily over a thousand characters long.

“Sorry. I even spilled the food…”

Elliot bowed his head in apology.

His usual confident, self-assured demeanor was nowhere to be seen, which gave me a strange feeling.

I propped my chin up and looked at him sideways.

“Well, food can always be remade, so don’t worry about it. We can make it again now, or later if you prefer.”

“Still, I feel really sorry to you, Hydee…”

“If you’re sorry, can you do me a favor? It’s research-related.”

I blurted it out.

It seemed like the fastest way to restore Elliot’s usual confident attitude was to get him focused on research so he’d forget about his appearance.

“Research?”

As expected, his eyes lit up again.

Even through his thick glasses, the change was obvious—he was clearly excited.

“There are dishes I want to make, and it would be great if I could freely increase or decrease the heat of the stove fire. Could you make a device like that?”

After all, things like blenders or refrigerators weren’t something that could be easily made in a short time.

But adjusting fire intensity up and down? That seemed doable.

Besides, I also had the prejudice that alchemists would naturally be good with fire.

What went wrong?

Elliot’s mood instantly darkened.

“…I’m sorry, Hydee. I’ve disappointed you again.”

Hey, why is he like this again?!

I quickly tried to soothe him.

“No, it’s fine. Even I think that was a difficult request.”

Elliot nodded gloomily.

“You can’t freely control fire unless you’re a dragon. I’ve tried several times myself… but what you want is probably impossible.”

I frowned.

I had read up to the middle of the story, and there had never once been a mention of dragons.

So why suddenly dragons?

“Dragons… really exist?”

“Of course they do.”

Elliot looked at me strangely.

“Hydee, have you been living in isolation or something? They appeared a few years ago! Fortunately, they disappeared soon after.”

…It seemed this world was far more dangerous than I had thought.

A few weeks later

It had been about half a month since the imperial banquet ended.

I was finally able to catch my breath after serving the Emperor’s dinner.

A servant came to me and handed me a bundle of papers—delivering unbelievable news.

“Commemorative stamps? For royal chicken soup?”

I asked, doubting my ears.

Commemorative stamps? For just one dish?

The servant answered without changing expression.

“His Majesty ordered it.”

“……”

I blinked blankly.

Looking at the stamp designs featuring samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup), I almost laughed.

Wait… the drawing of a plump chicken leg simmering in white broth did look kind of cute…

“Do you like it?”

“…Yes.”

I decided to accept the situation calmly.

Come to think of it, the Emperor did regain his strength after eating samgyetang, so maybe it wasn’t that strange to commemorate it.

“Understood.”

The servant collected the designs and stood up.

“Have a pleasant evening, Lady Hydee.”

After he left, the kitchen fell silent.

I finished cleaning up and quickly left.

Today, I planned to rest in my private quarters all day.

The problem was that I had to pass through a hallway frequently used by nobles to get there.

Of course, groups of nobles were still gathered there, chatting before returning to their estates.

They all recognized me and began whispering with widened eyes.

‘I don’t care.’

Just as I was about to pass them quickly—

“Adelhaid?”

My body froze before my mind even reacted.

It was only the second time I had seen that face, but I remembered it clearly.

How could I forget the man who had thrown me out onto the cold street?

And, biologically speaking, my father.

Reynold Siton, the count.

“……”

I tried to pass him without showing any reaction.

There were many possible reasons why he would suddenly seek out his estranged daughter, but none of them interested me.

He was nothing to me.

I had no intention of playing along in this ridiculous performance.

“I—I’m sorry!”

My steps stopped abruptly.

I turned slightly.

Count Siton stood there with a distorted expression, apologizing.

“I’m truly sorry. Back then… I won’t say we had no choice. But after sending you away, we regretted it many times. We even worried about how you would survive those cold nights…”

If the real Adelhaid had heard that, how would she have reacted?

Would she have cried and forgiven him, begging for affection she had never once received?

“Adelhaid, we missed you so much. Ask the servants of our household how long I waited for my daughter to return…”

I slowly turned my body.

It seemed Count Siton had changed his strategy.

He was now implying that if Adelhaid had returned in front of all these nobles, she would have been welcomed at any time.

‘As if.’

I looked at him coldly.

It would be tempting to ignore him completely, but if I did, rumors would spread across high society about how generous Count Siton was—and how cold-hearted Adelhaid was for rejecting him.

“…Father.”

The unfamiliar word left my mouth.

This man was not my father, nor Adelhaid’s father.

But for now, I had to play the role of a forgiving daughter.

“Adelhaid!”

Count Siton looked like he might burst into tears at any moment.