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Chapter 12
Clink, clink.
The sound of cutlery striking the dishes rang out briefly and then disappeared.
On the pristine white plates, the colorful, unnamed foods resembled flowers blooming in a garden.
Lucillea looked down at the plate and unconsciously swallowed hard.
Unlike Lucillea, however, Elbadin and Serdian, seated to her left and across from her, continued their meal with expressionless faces.
Was a meal at the Grand Duke’s table always this stifling and cold?
Observing the two, Lucillea sighed inwardly.
Still, perhaps this mealtime would give her a chance to gauge their relationship.
If their bond was strong enough, maybe Elbadin could serve as a shield…
“I don’t know. I’ll just eat for now.”
Lucillea attacked the food on her plate with her fork and knife like a battle.
At that moment, Cookie spoke up.
“Lucy! You have to eat the grilled shrimp on the steak too!”
Cookie, sitting beside Lucillea, was sharing the meal with her.
May had prepared fruits and nuts, arranging a place for Cookie to join.
But perhaps because Cookie had already filled up on fruits in the room, he only poked a few pieces of broken nuts with his beak.
He seemed more interested in Lucillea’s food than his own.
As Lucillea moved her fork toward the salad on her main plate, Cookie squawked:
“No! Don’t eat those leafy things! Eat the meat! Don’t you remember? If you only eat that, you’ll end up all skin and bones like Lucy is now!”
“Skin and bones… that’s not quite it!”
“Yes, it is! That blasted stepfather eats all the meat himself, getting all plump while you stay scrawny.”
Cookie’s nagging continued, as if his stomach would never burst.
“Fine, fine. I’ll eat more meat.”
Suppressing a smile, Lucillea pushed the steak back into her mouth.
“Good! One o’clock! That piece of meat there— the maid said it’s veal tenderloin!”
Meat! Meat! Protein! Protein!
Cookie’s cries for meat, though not for himself, sounded strangely earnest.
“Ten o’clock! Sweet potato with cheese on top! Carbs! Let’s get our Lucy plump and healthy!”
Suppressing a laugh that almost burst out, Lucillea tried to look casual as she moved her fork.
Where did he even learn words like that? Did I ever casually say ‘protein’ or ‘carbs’?
“Don’t leave anything! If you leave food in front of that scary Grand Duke, he might shred you like last time! Or starve you! Stuff it all in your stomach!”
“Okay!”
Following Cookie’s orders, she gradually felt her stomach fill.
At that moment, May, who had been standing against the wall, approached and wiped the sauce from Lucillea’s mouth.
“Lucillea, take it slow. You’ll get a stomachache if you eat too fast.”
“Thanks, May.”
Lucillea chewed carefully, rolling her eyes to check on Elbadin.
“I got so focused on eating that I almost forgot the important thing.”
Finishing her meal was important, but this meal was also a chance to observe the relationship between Elbadin and Serdian.
Tap, tap. She prodded the garnish vegetables with her fork, her eyes rolling to Serdian this time.
Beside him, Cookie’s black eyes followed her movements, watching both of them.
“Bleak… so bleak.”
“That’s right! The atmosphere is suffocating. I think I might choke while eating,” Cookie nodded in agreement.
Elbadin and Serdian cut their meat at the same pace, chewed the same way, and ate with identical expressions.
It was strange.
Though Serdian was not her biological child, he looked more like one than she did.
“It’s not just the black hair and red eyes.”
The atmosphere they radiated—the sharp, cold aura—was similar.
“But there’s no need to also copy the cold, expressionless gaze.”
Suddenly, Lucillea understood why the original Lucillea had been jealous of Serdian.
Serdian seemed more like the true heir than she did.
Perhaps he even thought Serdian had taken her place.
Longing for her parents, insecurity about her social standing, finally reconnecting with her biological father, and then seeing a successor resembling her father more than she did…
And to top it off, losing her father’s love to the successor.
All of those negative circumstances had built a giant lump of jealousy.
Lucillea narrowed her eyes at Serdian.
“But I’m different, Serdian.”
I don’t need a father figure, nor do I need the position of heir to the Grand Duke.
“Besides, I know the story already, so I have no intention of tormenting you or clinging to my father!”
She would quietly gather money and leave the Grand Duke’s household.
“To a place where there’s no biological father, no male lead, a place completely unrelated to the original story, and live freely.”
So…
“So, you take him!”
Father, that’s for you!
Click. At that moment, Elbadin put down his fork and looked at Lucillea.
“You’re eating like you haven’t eaten in days.”
“Eh? M-me?”
Elbadin silently stared at her, as if to ask, “Who else here is eating like they haven’t eaten in days besides you?”
Feeling awkward, Lucillea set her fork down for a moment, straightened her back, and composed herself.
“I haven’t been starving. The food is just too delicious. Leaving food is bad manners, and… also, they said the way a child eats at my age is when we look the cutest.”
Elbadin tilted his head and asked,
“Who said that?”
Lucillea smiled brightly.
“My late grandmother!”
“……”
“……”
The dining hall fell silent.
Even Serdian’s fork paused mid-motion.
“…Ah, I didn’t mean to.”
Mentioning someone who had passed could easily ruin the atmosphere.
“I shouldn’t have mentioned Grandma…”
Clearing her throat, Lucillea continued.
“Anyway! I know that all of this is thanks to His Grace, the Grand Duke! I wanted to say this if I ever saw you again—thank you!”
“……”
After her words, Elbadin leaned back in his chair.
“Thank your powers. I brought them to you.”
Lucillea raised an eyebrow.
“…….”
What?
“It’s not wrong, technically…”
From the Grand Duke’s perspective, it made sense to seek children with powers. Yet…
It still felt oddly irritating.
“There’s no need to speak to a child like that.”
“That’s right! You basically said that without your powers, Lucy would be a useless shell!”
“No… Cookie, you didn’t have to put it like that.”
Well, the meaning was similar.
Maybe, just like with her biological father in her past life, her fate was designed so that she couldn’t get along with her father figure…
Such thoughts crossed her mind.
Still, there was no way to confront the Grand Duke about his tone here.
Lucillea smiled and answered cheerfully.
“Yes, I’ll take it as a sign to nurture my powers and do my best.”
“That’s none of my concern. Whether you survive by growing your powers or get kicked out for failing…”
“……”
Lucillea felt it again.
“Yeah, we really don’t match.”
