“You hate me.”
Kaian dusted his hands with salt and pepper over the sizzling pan from the heat. My fists clenched as I watched him move the pan to the other side of the table as if showing off.
“Don’t be so mean.”
However, my stomach turned when I tried to chase after the playful Kaian.
“Ugh.”
At that moment, my stomach felt like it was being squeezed, and without realizing it, I placed my hands on the table and bent down.
It was a symptom of morning sickness that I became aware of thanks to the doctor.
I slept all afternoon after lunch, so I felt empty for so long.
“Are you okay?”
Kaian hurriedly came over and wrapped his arms around my shoulders.
The red eyes illuminated by the dim kitchen light were full of worry.
'Really... You don't know, right?'
The man who had been begging me for food just a little while ago had disappeared.
I was at a loss for his comfort, and as he carefully placed his hand on my forehead, caressed my cheek, and then kneaded my arm and squeezed my hand to make sure I was not cold, I felt like I wanted to cry.
For being too kind.
I wanted to believe that maybe he knew about my pregnancy and was pretending not to know.
Finally, I shook off his hand that was embracing me.
"I'm hungry. Don’t play around.”
"Sorry."
The man, who readily admitted his mistake, offered me a chair and sat me down near the table.
Kaian entered the storage room, leaving a pan bubbling with grease in front of me, and brought bread and cheese wrapped in a cloth, then placed a plate and sliced it with a small knife for me to eat.
I took a sip of water and picked up my fork.
When I soaked a small piece of bread in oil and put it in my mouth, I felt like the pain squeezing my stomach was already subsiding.
As he mashed the potatoes, I eagerly ate the cooked bacon and potatoes with bread. He simply sprinkled a little salt on it, but the saltiness went down well.
“Eat slowly.”
"Bread. Cut it out quickly.”
As I fussed, Kaian piled the freshly cut bread into bite-sized pieces on my plate. When the soft, greasy food was introduced, my rumbling stomach quickly subsided.
While I was emptying the pan, Kaian took some apples out of the storage room and started cutting them into small pieces.
“Phew.”
When I sighed, I felt full and proud. My stomach was full, and all the emotions that had made me angry, upset, or irritated just a moment ago disappeared and I became drowsy.
After becoming pregnant, I felt strangely lighter.
I was very upset when I was hungry or had morning sickness, and was peaceful otherwise.
The doctor said that all pregnant women are like that. My condition, he says, is quite normal.
I, who had never seen a pregnant woman up close at Castle de Valmonde, didn't really feel that way.
Because Vermont was a valuable woman, and because she had arranged an arranged marriage away from her relatives, the Duchess of Vermont was the only one in my family who would become pregnant. It was something I had never seen before, and no matter how hard the doctor explained it, it was not easy to understand.
I felt upset because my personality seemed to have become odd and strange these days.
I felt like an ugly person who was difficult to love and to be liked.
It was difficult for me to calm my mind, which easily became negative and distorted.
But now everything was satisfactory.
I waited a moment for Kaian to stop peeling the apples, and as soon as he let go of the knife from his hand, I raised my arms and dug into his sides.
The charcoals that were visible among the ashes that Kaian had left while cooking the food glowed red and slowly burned.
I leaned it in his arms and I watched for a while.
Before I knew it, Kaian had also given me an embrace so that I could lean on it comfortably, without him saying a word.
With only a strong arm around my back, I felt protected by a stone wall that no one could threaten.
On the one hand, I thought that Kaian would be a really good husband for me.
He was such a strong and beautiful man.
For me, holding a shield and weapons cannot be the only criterion for being strong.
After having a child, I felt differently. For example, even if he was shipwrecked alone somewhere, he was not a man who would starve his wife and children. Kaian was a man who cut down trees, built fences, and skillfully created shelter from the wind and rain.
It occurred to me that he would find whatever food she could find, make a fire for me, feed me to my heart's content, and stay by my side even if he had to stay up all night when I and my child fell asleep.
‘Me too. Is this the time to gain this confidence after robbing the castle kitchen at night?'
I said I thought what I was thinking was funny, but I didn't think I was wrong.
Kaian was such an amazing person, and every time he showed me one of these unexpected sides, I fell in love with him even more.
I decided to add 'a man who is good at cooking' to my ideal type. Even though I was already married.
“It’s strange because you’re good at so many things.”
He let out a small laugh I told him how I felt about the dinner he had given me today. Every time he laughed, the shoulder I rested my head on shook in rhythm.
“It’s even weirder because you’re so curious, but there are so many things I can’t do.”
“You think it’s strange?”
"Yes. Isn't it usually the case that you don't hold back and start yelling first? You have no fear.”
“I wasn’t scared, but it’s increasing in number.”
Will I be a good mother who can make this precious baby happy?
I was afraid that might not be the case.
"No. You are still fearless.”
He also couldn't get rid of the habit of speaking clearly according to his thoughts. However, the profile of the man without the hair was so statuesque that I briefly concentrated on prenatal education.
‘I see something good. I see good things.'
I asked, my mind suddenly feeling surprisingly calm again.
“I guess you don’t have to come to the kitchen often. How do you know so well?”
On the one hand, what he was doing seemed like someone who was determined to get the chef on his back.
He seems like a person with a bad personality.
Whatever he brings out, he is given the modifier that it is the chef's hidden weapon, the chef's favorite weapon, or the chef's secret weapon.
I wondered if it would be okay to take out all of those things, but he didn't care and used them all to feed me.
“This castle has many hidden secrets. I need to show you that.”
Kaian lifted me up, holding me halfway to the side. On the other side of the entrance we came in, we could see warehouses divided by purpose.
There were also places where dried grains, flour, vegetables, and fruits were stored, and large jars lined with cooking oil and oil to fill oil lamps.
After passing through them, we came to a place where firewood was piled up, and there was a strange-looking monster lying there.
It looked like huge iron boxes and barrels were stacked here and there, and there was a long pipe that seemed to be connected somewhere.
"What's this?"
When I opened my eyes wide, Kaian explained.
“It’s called a boiler.”
"Boiler?"
“You put firewood in a wood-burning stove, boil the water inside, and then raise it upstairs with a mechanical device. So you can use hot water right in your bedroom.”
“Wow. Cool."
I came and went and examined it. I was so amazed when I first learned that I could fill a bathroom with water drawn from inside his room.
Hannah did not know this, and on her first day at Rowen Castle, she asked th maid and servants to put hot water on me, whose whole body was cold due to the rain, and she was indignant.
Who would have imagined that just by turning the water valve on the bathtub, hot water would come out?
I hated to tell Vermont that, but the maid who brought water from the kitchen and filled the bathtub, and the servants, were really mean to think about.
Anyway, now that I know it well, I can use it comfortably.
“I can’t believe the water came from this far away from the kitchen.”
As I admired him, Kaian looked at me quietly and then grabbed my hand.
“Come here.”
The drowsiness disappeared and my mind became clear.
I followed Kaian in hopes of showing me something interesting.
Out into the hallway that ran parallel to the warehouse, Kaian took me to the far end.
The warehouse was empty. Unlike the warehouses where things were neatly organized by type, including the area where the firewood for the boiler was piled up, it was empty.
“What are we doing here?”
Instead of answering, Kaian had me touch the wall at eye level with my hand.
Container.
Then, between the heaviness of the bricks, there was a place that made a hollow sound. When I looked at that spot closely, it seemed to stick out a little more than the others.
Kaian glanced at me to make sure I was watching, then pressed down hard on the spot.
Then something surprising happened.
There was a sound of something heavy spinning, and the floor became hollow and took the shape of stairs.
Thump.
A sound like stones rolling and scraping came from deep in the ground and then stopped. Half of the warehouse's floor collapsed, forming a black staircase leading to the basement. I was so surprised that I opened my mouth and stared blankly at it.
"There’s a protruding spot down here.”
The brick that had previously protruded the size of a fingernail was pushed deeper into the wall, and the brick below it instead protruded about a span.
“Press this again.”
I was able to press the rock without much effort than I thought. When I pressed it hard, it pushed into the wall and the stone floor rose again, becoming a flat floor.
“Remember this. It may be useless, but it’s worth knowing.”
“What is this?”
Kaian answered while checking to see if the device was working properly.
“Emergency exit.”
“Is there any need for an emergency escape?”
The Duke of Temnes, who became the first head of the family, was an undefeated general and this was his castle.
As I asked him, the words he had put into his mouth about 'emergency escape' seemed unrealistic, Kaian looked down at me with a stern look on his face.
“You say you want to have my child? In that case, you shouldn’t go in half-heartedly.”
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