VNC 27

Chapter 27

Shuwen rubbed her hands together, partly to warm her frozen fingers.

She couldn’t move the arm supporting the rabbit tucked against her chest, so all she could do was rub her one free hand against the other.

When she blew on them, a white puff of breath scattered into the air.

“I don’t know their name.”

“You don’t know their name?”

“I don’t memorize all the servants’ names.”

Shuwen was not naturally suspicious of people. She’d been the same in her previous life.

The fleeting doubt she’d had disappeared immediately at Esselian’s last words.

‘He looks to be in a good mood, so it should be fine.’

“It was a child named Roni who passed it along.”

Esselian’s expression stiffened for a brief moment, then relaxed as if nothing had happened.

“There wasn’t anything else?”

“Anything else?”

There hadn’t been any words—just the recipe book.

What kind of reaction would Esselian have if she told him that Roni had given him a recipe book containing his weakness?

He didn’t know that Roni was aware of that weakness.

The sandwich Shuwen had brought wasn’t from the recipe book.

Using a different recipe instead of the one she’d been given wasn’t a problem in itself, but…

‘I can’t let him realize that I know his weakness.’

He was a man full of distrust—there was no telling what conclusions he might jump to.

Shuwen decided it was best to be cautious.

“No, nothing else.”

The rabbit squirmed in her arms, making Shuwen shift uncomfortably.

“Are you uncomfortable?” Esselian asked, eyeing her curiously before lowering his gaze to the bulge beneath her chest.

That was when it happened.

Shuwen’s body jolted.

More precisely, the coat she was wearing wriggled awkwardly, and from inside it a snow-white rabbit suddenly popped its head out.

“What’s that? Did Her Highness hunt it?” Merchelli asked, sounding surprised now that he’d regained his composure.

At the horrifying misunderstanding, Shuwen shook her head vigorously.

“I met it earlier when I got lost. It looked injured…”

She’d wanted to remove the trap, but she’d been afraid that touching it herself might only make the metal dig deeper into the flesh.

The rabbit had been bothering her all along, and she’d been waiting for a natural moment to bring it up.

This timing was perfect.

Shuwen carefully pulled the rabbit out and showed its injured leg to Esselian.

Esselian looked down at the rabbit indifferently.

“Oh dear.”

“May I take it back to the castle? I want to treat it and then release it.”

“If that’s what you wish, then take it with you.”

“I think I should. It’s cold out, and I’m worried.”

At least he wasn’t heartless like a caretaker.

She would’ve been heartbroken if he’d told her to leave it behind, so this was a relief.

Shuwen looked down at the rabbit.

It kept nibbling at her coat and fingers, which made it seem hungry.

She dismantled her sandwich and fed the rabbit the carrot inside.

Niven clicked his tongue quietly and looked steadily at the Grand Duchess.

The plan had gone down the drain.

There was no way, at least for now, to get the Grand Duchess away.

He couldn’t very well lure her into a carriage by offering her a metal cage for the rabbit.

No need to rush.

Smiling, Niven stepped closer to the Grand Duchess.

Immediately, she openly bristled and pulled her chair slightly closer to Esselian.

Niven laughed aloud, embarrassed.

“Do you like rabbits?”

“Why?”

She’s really on guard.

“I like rabbits too. If His Highness permits it, I was thinking I could teach you how to raise one properly—”

“You don’t like them.”

“Pardon?”

Caught off guard by the unexpected counterattack, Niven froze.

He hated animals of all kinds.

But the only people who knew that were his immediate family.

“What makes you think that?”

“It’s written all over your face.”

When Niven touched his face, Merchelli let out a thoughtless snort of laughter.

In The Cure for the Mad Grand Duke, Niven was a minor villain—number one, to be precise.

The chapters he appeared in had been terribly boring, so Shuwen remembered them clearly.

“I like them.”

Esselian suddenly lifted the rabbit from Shuwen’s lap.

When he touched the trap with his fingers a few times, the jaws clamped around the rabbit’s leg opened. With a soft clatter, the trap fell to the ground.

“Bring a towel.”

Blood dripped down the rabbit’s leg, staining Esselian’s trousers, but he didn’t care.

Taking the towel a servant hurriedly brought him, Esselian wrapped it tightly around the rabbit’s leg.

Looking at the white rabbit and Esselian gazing at it so affectionately, Shuwen realized what the sense of familiarity she’d felt earlier truly was.

The rabbit hadn’t felt strange somehow—and now she saw why.

It looked exactly like Esselian.

Shuwen stared in disbelief at how surprisingly well the two suited each other.

‘His reaction is better than I expected.’

She’d thought he might be irritated by the sudden outing.

Seeing that he wasn’t irritated at all, Shuwen realized her worries had been unnecessary.

‘I’m glad I came out.’

She’d gained three things from this.

First: Esselian had no talent for shooting.

Second: he was embarrassed about that fact.

Third: he liked animals.

The fact that he liked rabbits was unexpected.

‘Come to think of it, he keeps a direwolf too.’

If he hated animals, he wouldn’t bother raising them.

Esselian’s eyes curved into a gentle smile as he looked at the rabbit.

‘He really does like animals.’

Suddenly, Esselian looked at Shuwen. Smiling as if to say look at this, he held the rabbit out slightly toward her.

Shuwen smiled back, but her thoughts drifted to Roni.

Roni was dangerous.

Giving her the recipe book had been no different from a declaration of war. This time, she’d gotten through it safely—but something similar could happen again.

Roni, who had shattered Titiana’s mental state, wouldn’t back down so easily.

‘I need to eliminate her.’

To maintain this safe life, Roni had to be removed.

***

“Oh, Roni—you came at just the right time. Care to taste this?”

As soon as Roni entered the kitchen, Will—who’d always been friendly with her—greeted her warmly.

Roni smiled brightly and stepped right up to him.

“I was just about to ask you to make something tasty for me—I’m starving. Lucky me. What are you making?”

“A new sauce.”

Scooping up a proper amount onto a spoon, Will shrugged and held it out to her.

Roni placed the spoon in her mouth, eyes shining with anticipation.

“Oh, it’s sweet! The original sauce isn’t bad, but this is delicious too. But then…”

Why make this?

Roni felt a flicker of suspicion. Why create a sauce with such a sweet-and-sour flavor?

“Did His Grace say it was okay to develop new sauces?”

Food for the staff here was plentiful and of good quality compared to other places.

But the menu was almost always the same, and the servants frequently complained to Will about getting sick of it.

Every time, Will had said, His Grace has forbidden recipe research.

Even simple sauces.

“He did. And I’m truly grateful for it.”

“Oh my, really? Whatever possessed His Grace?”

“Ahem.”

“Wouldn’t it have been nice if he’d done this sooner?”

When Roni joked lightly, Will suddenly smiled in deep satisfaction and nodded in agreement.

“It’s all thanks to Her Highness.”

Roni’s hand froze mid-movement as she set the spoon down.

But only for an instant.

When Roni looked at him as if urging him to continue, Will said while pouring the sauce into a container,

“Her Highness praised my cooking to the skies. So I asked His Grace whether I could research new recipes to present her with a variety of dishes—and would you believe it? He told me to go ahead!”

Will was practically buzzing with excitement, even humming to himself.

Unlike him, Roni’s smiling lips stiffened and hardened.

“Her Highness even tasted my gratin twice earlier! Of course, one of them was made from some recipe I’d never seen before. Hm? Roni, what’s wrong?”

Will asked, puzzled.

Roni shook her head, smiling only with her mouth.

She lowered her gaze so Will couldn’t see the cold look in her eyes.

“So His Grace said that.”

She wasn’t asking. Will simply nodded.

“I just hope Her Highness enjoys this dish as well.”

Roni clenched the edge of Will’s worktable tightly before releasing it and lifting her head again, her expression smiling as always.

“Oh, by the way—I heard from Lils earlier that some shrimp came in? Shrimp, of all things. Are you expecting guests?”

The Grand Duke’s relatives never went out of their way to request shrimp. The unease Roni had felt on her way to the kitchen now irritated her nerves.

“Guests? Ah. The shrimp was a delivery mistake. Nothing to worry about.”

That’s strange.

Roni tapped her lips lightly, reading the mood.

The kitchen should have been in chaos by now—so why recipe development? And Edward was quiet too.

By now, the Grand Duchess should have been crying and begging at the very least.

“Then was it sent back?”

Surely that idiot Will hadn’t just left it lying around? He was diligent, but also lazy at times. That was why Roni hadn’t even placed a spell on it—but should she have after all?

Then Will’s next words made Roni’s eyes widen as if she’d been struck.

“What did you just say?”

Seeing Roni so rarely shocked, Will chuckled.

He repeated himself.

“It should be in Her Highness’s stomach by now. She eats shrimp quite well.”

“That’s impossible… Surely Her Highness didn’t eat all of it? There was a fair amount.”

“But she did.”

“…Earlier, I heard that Her Highness was preparing food for His Grace. Don’t tell me she shared the shrimp dish with him—?”

Will shook his head firmly, as if the thought alone disgusted him.

“She ate it all herself. For His Grace, I packed sandwiches made from my own recipe.”

Just like with the Grand Duchess, Roni had underestimated things and skipped using magic.

To think she’d be hit back like this.

Roni swallowed a hollow laugh.