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Chapter 10
Delicious
“Breakfast is here.”
Since her injury, Anasta had been attended to by a maid. The treatment was so meticulous, it felt as if she had truly become the duchess, and Anasta was both flustered and grateful—her body was still too weak to manage on her own.
After neatly finishing the food on her plate, she glanced at the maid.
“Could… I have dessert, please?”
“Of course. What would you like?”
The maid asked in a completely emotionless tone.
“Cake. Something sweet would be nice.”
“I’ll bring it right away.”
Anasta nodded and returned to reading the book she had brought from home—the only item Natasha had left behind, and the one she treasured most.
It was a theological text. Anasta didn’t find it particularly interesting, but it was suitable for passing the time.
A few minutes later, the maid brought three slices of cake. It was more than she had asked for, but she didn’t refuse. On the contrary, she felt so happy she almost cried.
“I’d like to read my book. Could you leave, please?”
“If you need anything, just call me.”
Since her severe injury, life in the Duke’s house had become much easier for Anasta.
After setting the book down, she stared at the door for a long moment before slowly moving her body. She stretched out her arms to bring the wheelchair close to the bed, then shifted her hips.
Supporting herself with her uninjured arm, she moved toward the wheelchair and practically threw herself into it. She almost lost her balance but managed to land safely, adjusting her posture before carefully picking up the dessert plate.
She rolled her chair toward Rian’s room.
Knock, knock.
At this hour, the young master should be resting. Anasta, already familiar with his schedule, knocked on the door and spoke softly: “It’s Anasta.”
“I’m coming in, young master.”
Rian said nothing. Ignoring him, she opened the door.
Inside, Rian glared at her with an intense, piercing stare.
“Today, you’re not throwing a pillow at me.”
She pushed the wheelchair with one hand, struggling as she approached his bed.
“Are you being generous to a fellow patient?”
Rian let out a dry laugh.
“Maybe. Looks like you’ve become a cripple too.”
“Yes. We match nicely. Husband and wife.”
“We’re not a proper married couple.”
He replied coldly. Anasta shrugged, then held out the dessert to him.
Rian just stared at it blankly, not understanding her intention.
“Showing off to me, are you?”
“Eat it.”
“What?”
“It’s good. Cake.”
At her words, Rian frowned.
“I can’t eat cake.”
“From what the physician says every day, take a fixed amount of protein. Vegetables only in set quantities too. One piece of meat, two ladybugs of broth like broth. Fruit—one slice, or maybe a single piece.”
“You know quite well.”
“I ate the same way. For three years. That’s why I go crazy when I see something sweet.”
Anasta looked at one of the three slices of cake.
“From the looks of it, eating one slice of cake won’t kill you. You want to eat it. Go on.”
“Have you decided you want me dead sooner?!”
“If you jumped out the window to die, isn’t it better to die eating something delicious than to die in pain?”
“And if I have a seizure because of it, will you take responsibility?”
“You had seizures even when you didn’t eat it.”
At her words—refusing to back down an inch—Rian was left speechless.
Thinking about it, she was right. If he was going to die anyway, maybe dying while eating something delicious wouldn’t be so bad.
After living on such small portions for so long, sweets like this—and sharing meat—had started to drive him mad with craving. Above all, the three slices of cake on the plate looked incredibly tempting.
But in the end, it was a matter of pride.
He absolutely did not want to listen to Anasta—the woman whose body had been damaged because of him.
“You’re going to get some views if this gets found out, you’ll be thrown out.”
“Will you tell me?”
“Yeah.”
Despite his provocation, Anasta remained calm.
“All right, then, I’ve got a plan too.”
What was she planning now?
Uneasy, Rian hesitated—then, as if snatching it away, he took the fork and knife from the plate. True to his ingrained etiquette and manners, he elegantly cut the cake into small pieces and carefully placed one into his mouth.
It was a strawberry shortcake. Soft, sponge-like white cream, fresh bits of strawberry layered in between, and even strawberry juice.
Rian’s eyes widened at the sweet flavor he hadn’t tasted in nearly three years.
“It’s really good.”
“It’s good, right?”
When she spoke with a cheeky grin, his mood immediately soured again.
“Cake is always good.”
“Have some more.”
“I would’ve done that even without you telling me.”
Rian cut piece after piece and brought them to his mouth. It was insane. The taste of the worldly pleasures he hadn’t felt in so long kept his hands moving nonstop.
After finishing the strawberry cake, he went on to the chocolate one, and then the cheese one.
In no time, he devoured all three slices of cake. Even then, he smacked his lips regretfully, and Anasta barely managed to suppress the smile beginning to break free.
“Oh my, you ate everything. You didn’t even leave me any.”
“Were you hoping I would? What a shame.”
Rian said so with a bright grin that showed he wasn’t sorry at all.
“If I ask for more, the maids will think I’m a pig.”
“Not my problem.”
“I should go back before we get caught.”
Anasta gathered the plates and pushed her wheels.
“Hey.”
Rian called out to her.
“Don’t do something that reckless again.”
“Are you worried about me?”
“No. I’m saying you’re a nuisance. I want to die soon.”
“…”
“So when you get dessert, bring it to me. Like you said—dying after eating something good doesn’t seem so bad.”
Anasta’s recovery was exceptional.
Despite the doctor saying she wouldn’t be able to walk for several weeks, she was already moving about with crutches after just four days.
The bruises that had marred her delicate skin had completely vanished, and the wounds on her arm had healed over, scabbing neatly.
Rian, who witnessed her monstrous recovery with his own eyes, was left in shock.
“Are you a monster?”
“What do you mean?”
Anasta blinked, standing here on her crutches with a cake in hand.
“Your head’s fine too. And you’re already using crutches.”
“I’m tough,” she replied casually, holding the cake out to him.
Today, there were two macarons beside the cake. Even before tasting it, Rian felt his mouth water and accepted the fork and knife she offered.
This scene had repeated itself for four days now.
Whenever he was given something delicious, Rian didn’t grow irritable or spiteful. Instead, like a child clutching a long-desired toy, he wore a faint smile and busied himself with eating the cake.
Anasta found that sight quietly pure. A man with an eternally sharp, crooked expression and a rebellious face—yet completely undone by sweets.
It wasn’t bad.
After finishing the cake, Rian set down his fork and knife.
“Thanks to you, my life is becoming less boring.”
Rian didn’t bother denying it; seemed that, to him as well, it really had been delicious.
“Is there anything else you’d like to do?”
Anasta asked carefully.
“Something you want to do?”
“Yes. Reading a book, studying, listening to music, going outside…”
“And what’s the point of doing any of that?”
He replied bleakly.
“I’m not someone who just does whatever I want either. But I still live doing things in moderation.”
“What do you do in moderation?”
“I rebelled against my parents a lot. I sneaked out of the house sometimes. I secretly sought out and read books I wasn’t allowed to.”
“All of that’s pointless to me.”
“But you want to do it, don’t you? Is there something you want to do really pointless just because you want to?”
At Anasta’s insistence, his expression shifted slightly.
Dreams he had long forgotten began to resurface, from all radiant from just a few slices of cake.
Reading his gaze, Anasta asked once again, “What is it? Tell me.”
“With what?”
“With what you want to do. If you want to study, I can get you books. If you want to go outside, we can’t go far, but I can buy us some time to walk around the estate.”
She looked straight at him with clear, earnest eyes.
“If you want to play sports, I’ll be your opponent. I don’t know how, but if I learn the rules, I can manage well enough.”
“If we get caught, you’ll be thrown out.”
Rian couldn’t understand why Anasta was going this far.
“I’m not doing it for you, young master. I’m too bored. I’m just satisfying my own self-interest.”
Self-interest. Rian thought that didn’t sound so bad.
He didn’t like Anasta, but as a tool to ease his boredom, she was suitable enough. As he considered whether to ask for something excessive, he opened his mouth.
“Chess.”
“What?”
“Do you know how to play chess?”
