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Chapter 16
It felt like I had a choice, but the tone carried a strange sense of coercion. So I paused and thought for a moment.
“Hmm…”
It was difficult to read Sren’s intentions. He didn’t always show a friendly side to me, so I couldn’t help but wonder if there was some hidden scheme in even this. At that moment, as if to reassure me, Sren continued speaking.
“I want to share something I like with you.”
“I see.”
“So trust me and try it. Despite how it looks, it’s really delicious.”
And then Sren ate the steak as if nothing were happening, keeping his gaze fixed on me the whole time. Soon, he added with a charming smile, almost as if giving me permission to decline:
“If it really doesn’t suit your taste, that’s unfortunate, but I can’t help it.”
The air felt tense. Yes, if I didn’t take at least one bite, there might be more trouble later. Better to just take a bite now and get it over with.
With tears in my eyes, I finally cut a piece of the steak and put it in my mouth. Its tender texture and subtle juices hit my tongue, and the strong raw aroma that I wasn’t used to made me want to spit it out immediately. Then, wearing an innocent smile as if unaware, Sren asked:
“So? Is it good?”
He asked with such a bright smile. I found it hard to answer and just smiled faintly. Sren’s eyes curved into crescent shapes, and he added:
“If you like it, have more. It’s meat I specially prepared for you.”
“…Ah, okay.”
“By the way, do you know what’s in this meat?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, I couldn’t help but feel nervous. I braced myself for some outlandish answer, and he laughed playfully.
“My love.”
“…!”
“I put all my feelings for you into it. You should take it all in.”
Ha—what a shock. I had been so tense, thinking he might say something ridiculous like “made with Adenhar.” This was clearly him trying to tease me. I couldn’t just sit there and take it. I put down the utensil in my hand on the table and stood up. Sren’s eyes narrowed as he looked at me.
“Where are you going?”
I smiled at him and said:
“I want to eat with you.”
“…!”
“Then I’ll come over to you.”
Confidently, I walked to him and climbed onto his lap. I wrapped one hand around his neck and took his fork with the other. Then I speared the beans he hadn’t touched yet and brought them to his mouth.
“Ah—”
Sren’s face turned pale.
Ah, so this was it. Just as I couldn’t eat raw meat, Sren apparently didn’t like beans. Feeling even more mischievous, I stacked the beans neatly on the fork. And I returned his words in kind:
“This is my favorite food.”
“What?”
“So you have to eat it all. Got it?”
“Rachel, wait a moment. This is a bit…”
The moment Sren showed reluctance, I wore a sorrowful expression as if I were about to cry.
“You don’t like it?”
“…!”
“You don’t like what I give you? Is that why?”
Sren’s lips trembled. But he finally ate the beans from the fork in my hand, though his complexion remained pale. He chewed half-heartedly and swallowed with difficulty. I patted Sren’s head and said:
“That’s right. Good boy, Sren. You’re eating well.”
“….”
“It tastes better because I gave it to you, right?”
“Uh? Mm.”
Sren reluctantly answered, unable to refuse. At that moment, I realized something. I hadn’t consciously noticed it before, but if I thought about it carefully… this guy can’t do anything if I actively make the first move.
Until now, I had been afraid of him and avoided him, so I hadn’t fully realized it. But thinking back, whenever I either endangered myself or made the first physical move, Sren always reacted. His aura was just so strong that I hadn’t noticed it before.
So, if I train him carefully, it’s not impossible that he would listen to me?
With that thought, a crooked smile spread across my lips.
“Ugh!”
That night, Sren ended up vomiting everything he had eaten.
“Haa… haa…”
Of course, he had always hated vegetables. Crops simply didn’t suit his taste. But Rachel, merciless as ever, used her tears as a weapon to force him to eat every vegetable in front of him. Yet he couldn’t refuse—Rachel wanted him to do it.
“S-Sren, are you alright?”
His concerned butler, Phantom, asked. Sren clenched his fist tightly and used the towel Phantom handed him to wipe his mouth, quickly regaining his composure.
“I’m fine. I’m just glad I didn’t make a fool of myself in front of Rachel.”
Phantom clicked his tongue.
“Master, I think you’re being hated quite a bit right now.”
“What did you say? Shut your mouth. Rachel just gave up her favorite food for me.”
Was he really thinking that sincerely? Phantom was at a loss for words at Sren’s innocence. Rachel’s expression while forcing him to eat vegetables had been nothing short of devilish, yet Sren seemed completely unaware, accepting her words at face value without a hint of suspicion.
She was a master of cruelty unmatched by anyone. And yet, she had managed to melt his heart like this. Phantom was suddenly a little afraid of Rachel. How far could she move her master’s feelings?
Recalling their conversation earlier, Phantom scratched his chin and asked cautiously:
“But are you really okay with this?”
“Why?”
“Rachel said she wants to eat together with you every day from now on.”
Sren’s face flushed red, as if his insides were laid bare. Clutching his hands together, he spoke with joy:
“Yes, you heard that too, right? Rachel has finally started opening her heart to me.”
“…Well, I just worry. I think she’s not really opening her heart but just found a new way to torment you.”
“Why?”
Sren asked, naturally puzzled. Phantom offered a blunt reality check:
“From the start, she wanted meals with only vegetables instead of meat. That doesn’t suit your taste at all, does it?”
“You worry too much.”
“…!”
“Given Rachel’s personality, just a few days ago she didn’t even want to eat with me. So why would she make such a proposal now?”
“Because she wants to tor-…”
Phantom tried to make him face reality, but Sren laughed dismissively and interrupted him.
“No. This is proof that she has feelings for me.”
“Well, if Master thinks so, there’s nothing more for me to say.”
“Exactly. No need to worry. I know Rachel best.”
“Indeed. I couldn’t agree more.”
Of course, what he said wasn’t entirely wrong. Hatred and resentment are feelings, too. As long as Sren is happy, that’s all that matters, and Phantom has always wanted only one thing: for Sren to be happy with the person he loves.
Still, Phantom couldn’t help feeling uneasy. Sren’s love seemed hopeless, and watching him be happy without realizing it, Phantom let out a deep sigh. He looked on bitterly as Sren’s expression softened.
Back in my room, I headed to the bed. Squatting down, I carefully took out the Moonstone I had found in the dining hall. One reason I had gone to Sren’s seat was this. Behind the plate in front of him, the Moonstone had been hidden. Pretending to feed him, I had secretly pocketed it.
This Moonstone had the letter ‘T’. Previously, Adenhar had shown me ‘M’.
“Phew, even with this, it’s hard to guess.”
What could form a six-letter word? I thought hard and sighed. I should have studied English beforehand. Even if I collected all six Moonstones, if I didn’t know the word in English, I wouldn’t know the location of the key.
But I reminded myself that giving up is never the solution. I placed the Moonstone under the bed. Carrying it around would just be cumbersome anyway.
“Now, five more to go.”
Of course, I only needed five more Moonstones. But if collecting four more didn’t give me ‘M’, there was no need to gather extra stones—the answer was already known.
