Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: An Awkward Dinner
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*Clatter, clatter.*
The brief clinking of silverware faded into silence.
On the pristine white plate, the colorful, unfamiliar dishes were reminiscent of flowers blooming in a garden.
Lucillea gazed down at the plate, her mouth watering without her realizing it.
Unlike Lucillea, Elbadin and Serdian—seated to her left and across from her, respectively—continued their meal with expressions devoid of any emotion.
Was dinner in the grand ducal household always this suffocating and desolate?
Lucillea, who had been cautiously observing the two, sighed inwardly.
Still, this dinner might be a chance to figure out the nature of their relationship.
It would be nice if their bond was stronger than I thought, and Elbadin could act as my shield…
‘I don’t know. I’ll just eat for now.’
Lucillea wielded her fork and knife with gusto, attacking the food on the plate the maid had set before her.
Just then, Cookie spoke.
[Lucy! Eat the grilled shrimp on top of the steak, too!]
Cookie was also dining beside Lucillea.
Mei had prepared a spot for the bird with sliced fruits and nuts.
But perhaps full from all the fruit back in the room, Cookie only pecked at a few pieces of nuts with its beak.
It seemed more interested in Lucillea’s meal than its own.
When Lucillea moved her fork toward the salad on her main plate, Cookie shrieked.
[No! Not that leafy stuff, eat the meat! Have you forgotten?! That’s why you’re so scrawny, from only eating things like that!]
‘Scrawny… I’m not that bad?!’
[Yes, you are that bad! That damn foster father of yours hogged all the meat for himself, getting all fat and plump.]
Cookie’s nagging continued. *Ugh, why doesn’t his stupid stomach just burst already?*
‘Alright. I’ll focus on the meat.’
Lucillea stifled a laugh and pushed another piece of steak into her mouth.
[Good job! One o’clock! The maid said that meat was veal tenderloin!]
Meat! Meat! Protein! Protein!
Though it wasn’t the one eating, Cookie’s voice was strangely desperate as it chanted for meat.
[Ten o’clock! Baked sweet potato with cheese! Carbohydrates! Let’s get our Lucy all chubby!]
*Pfft!* She barely managed to suppress a sudden burst of laughter, moving her fork with as neutral an expression as she could muster.
‘Where on earth did it learn words like that?’
Did I ever unconsciously use words like ‘protein’ or ‘carbohydrates’...?
[Don’t leave anything! If you leave food in front of that scary Grand Duke, he might hit you again like he did to Shured! Or he’ll starve you! Shove as much as you can into your stomach!]
‘Okay!’
As she ate under Cookie’s command, she gradually started to feel full.
Just then, Mei, who had been standing by the wall, approached and wiped some sauce from the corner of Lucillea’s mouth.
“Lady Lucillea, please slow down. You’ll give yourself indigestion.”
“Thank you, Mei.”
Chewing her food thoroughly, Lucillea carefully shifted her gaze to watch Elbadin.
‘I was so focused on eating that I forgot what was truly important.’
Finishing all my food was important, but this was also an opportunity to observe the relationship between Elbadin and Serdian.
*Poke, poke.* Lucillea prodded at the garnished vegetables with the tip of her fork, her eyes darting again. This time, she looked at Serdian.
Beside her, Cookie’s little black eyes followed her movements, also turning toward the two men.
‘So bleak, so desolate.’
[I know, right? This suffocating atmosphere is going to give me indigestion.]
Cookie said, nodding in agreement.
Elbadin and Serdian, with identical blank expressions, cut their meat at the same pace and chewed and swallowed in unison.
It was strange.
She was the biological child, yet Serdian looked more like the true son in this situation.
‘And I’m not just talking about the black hair and red eyes.’
The very aura they exuded—that sharp, cold atmosphere—was also similar.
‘But they didn’t have to resemble each other down to their stern, icy gazes.’
Somehow, she felt she could understand why the original Lucillea had been so jealous of Serdian.
Because Serdian seemed more like the real child than she did.
She had probably thought Serdian had stolen her place.
A longing for her parents, an inferiority complex about her own status.
On top of that, there was the biological father she had just found, and next to him, an heir who resembled him more than she did.
And as if the position of heir wasn't enough, she must have felt he had stolen her father’s love as well.
All those negative circumstances must have coalesced into a massive lump of envy.
Lucillea watched Serdian with narrowed eyes.
‘But I’m different, Serdian.’
I don’t need a father, and I don’t need the position of heir to the grand duchy!
‘Besides, I already know the original story, so I have no intention of tormenting you, nor do I have any obsession with my biological father!’
I’m just going to live a long, quiet life, save up a lot of money, and leave this grand duchy behind.
‘I’ll go somewhere with no biological father, no male lead—a place completely unrelated to the original story—and live freely.’
So…
‘So, you can have him!’
You can have our dad!
*Clink.* Just then, Elbadin set down his fork and looked at Lucillea.
“You eat as if you’ve been starved for days.”
“Huh? M-Me?”
Elbadin then stared at her silently, his eyes asking, *Is there anyone else here eating as if they’ve been starved for days?*
His gaze made Lucillea feel needlessly embarrassed. *Ahem.* She put down her fork for a moment, straightened her back, and corrected her posture.
“It’s not that I’ve been starved; the food is just so delicious. Besides, wasting food is a bad habit, and… well… I was told that for a girl my age, eating well is the prettiest sight.”
Elbadin tilted his head and asked.
“Who said that?”
To his question, Lucillea answered with a bright smile.
“My late grandmother!”
“…”
“…”
For a moment, the dining room fell silent.
*Clatter.* Even Serdian, who had been eating without a word, froze.
‘…Ah, I didn’t mean to.’
Bringing up someone who had passed away was a surefire way to ruin the mood.
‘Agh, I shouldn’t have mentioned my grandmother…!’
Lucillea cleared her throat, *ahem*, and spoke again.
“Anyway! I know this is all thanks to Your Highness’s consideration! I really wanted to say this when I saw you again. Thank you!”
“…”
When Lucillea finished, Elbadin leaned back in his chair and said.
“Thank the power inside you. I brought your power here, not you.”
At Elbadin’s words, Lucillea’s eyebrow twitched.
“…”
What was that?
‘He’s not wrong, but…’
From the perspective of the grand ducal family, which sought out children with special abilities, it was a perfectly logical statement. And yet…
It felt strangely unpleasant…!
‘There’s no need to speak to a child like that.’
[Exactly! He just called you a useless shell that would be worthless without your power!]
‘No… Cookie, he didn’t go that far.’
Well, the meaning is pretty similar, I guess.
Maybe, just like how I didn’t get along with my biological father in my past life, my destiny is designed so that I can never get along with the existence known as a ‘father’…
The thought crossed her mind for no reason.
Nevertheless, she couldn’t just lash out and tell the Grand Duke his tone was insufferable.
Lucillea smiled and answered cheerfully.
“Yes, I’ll take that to mean you want me to cultivate my power well, and I will do my best.”
“That is none of my concern. Whether you cultivate your power and find a way to live, or fail to and get thrown out.”
“…”
Lucillea felt it once again.
‘As I thought, we just don’t get along.’