Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 168
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 168
Once he noticed one, he saw ten.
A huge greatsword was stuck to the wall as if it were a decoration, and a dagger was hidden under the sofa.
Beyond that, there were concealed weapons at a level an ordinary person wouldn’t even detect.
At this point, it wouldn’t have been strange to call it a weapon shop.
“I’d hate for bean sprout soup to be my last meal.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing.”
Lion passed the speechless Second Prince and stepped inside.
He at least knew that all those weapons weren’t meant to threaten him.
‘He’s probably guarding against ambushes.’
Just from that, it felt like he’d glimpsed a fragment of Kyle’s life, and the feeling was truly strange.
He was also the miserable boss who ground his younger brother down, but seeing this, Lion found himself at a loss for words.
‘Good grief.’
Lion heaved a deep sigh inwardly.
Fortunately, the Second Prince, unable to read his expression because of the mask, guided Lion to the table.
“…”
No matter what he intended to do, it seemed best to sit him down first.
‘And besides…’
He glanced.
The Second Prince stared at what Lion was holding and asked.
“What is that?”
“Food.”
“…”
Well, obviously. It was on a tray, with dishes. He really seemed to have packed it all up.
‘Is he not planning to lift the curse today?’
He had said the timing of lifting the curse was at his own discretion, but then why had he come here?
And carrying food like that, no less.
‘Last night he clearly seemed eager to resolve the matter quickly.’
Wasn’t that why he had personally given him the room number where he was staying?
The Second Prince thought his intuition was quite sharp.
But today, that intuition seemed off.
…Was this why they said not to try to guess?
He couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
One thing was certain, though.
That man was interested in him.
If not, he wouldn’t have approached him like this at all.
‘…Or is he that type?’
It wasn’t a common type, but there were also types who kept others under their control to satisfy their desire to dominate.
If Lion had heard these inner thoughts, he would have gaped and strongly denied it, but the Second Prince nodded to himself inwardly.
‘Then there’s no choice but to play along with his game.’
There was only one way to satisfy such people.
He would have to play along and humor them.
He didn’t seem to have a nasty personality, so if he just matched him a little, he could achieve his goal.
It was a plan that seemed a bit servile for an imperial prince,
but that kind of pride didn’t matter to Kyle.
Because he had a clear goal:
proving he was alive in this empire and thrusting the blade of revenge at those who tried to kill him.
“Have you eaten?”
“Not yet, actually.”
“Good. Let’s eat first.”
“All right.”
The Second Prince obediently followed his words.
He wasn’t pleased with this situation, but Kyle had endured even more distasteful, hellish circumstances.
Honestly, compared to that…
‘It’s bewildering, but not bad.’
There were plenty of opportunities to probe.
More importantly, having that man nearby again today alleviated the pain.
It meant his skill was undoubtedly real.
‘I have no interest in food, but I should at least react appropriately.’
Lion, unable to read the Second Prince’s thoughts, immediately opened the lids and began setting out the food.
He placed the steaming bean sprout bulgogi in the center and set the bean sprout soup and rice in front of each of them.
And finally, he set down the wooden chopsticks and spoons he had prepared in advance.
‘Mm. Good. Good.’
A table with rice, soup, and a delicious side dish was complete.
‘It would have been nice to have more side dishes…’
Seasoned pepper salad mixed with doenjang, or namul. Spicy-sweet gochujang stir-fried dried squid strips.
And…
The thing any Korean would naturally think of.
Napa cabbage kimchi!
The storage had roughly similar ingredients, but the problem was there was no jang to season them with.
Doenjang, gochujang, soy sauce.
With at least salt, carrots, and gochugaru, he had managed this much.
‘When I really go back, I’ll make jang first thing.’
Lion firmly resolved that inwardly and took his seat.
He was about to explain how to eat it, but hesitated a moment.
‘Ah, he might misunderstand.’
The Second Prince was someone who hid weapons here and there even in Hotel Easter, which had tremendous security.
That also meant assassination attempts were just as frequent.
‘Would they really only send assassins?’
Surely there had been poisoning attempts too.
In that case, instead of explaining, wouldn’t it be better to show him directly?
And…
‘I really can’t stand it anymore!’
He had tasted it earlier, after all.
Both the bean sprout bulgogi and the bean sprout soup!
A known taste is even more terrifying.
Instead of explaining, Lion scooped up a big spoonful of rice, shoved it into his mouth, grabbed some bean sprout bulgogi with his chopsticks, and chomped away.
The sweet and savory rice was covered like a blanket by the spicy-salty bulgogi, and the thin bulgogi meat chewed softly.
And…
Crunch!
The bean sprouts, saturated with seasoning, added a crunchy texture after that…
And, gulp.
It disappeared in an instant.
Just vanished before he even realized he had swallowed.
‘Wow…’
Even though he made it himself, it was truly delicious.
No, because he made it himself, it suited his taste perfectly.
Lion forgot to tell the Second Prince how to eat it and devoted himself entirely to the meal.
He soothed his mouth, numb from the rare spiciness, with the cool yet warm bean sprout soup, then scooped up more rice.
“…Is it good?”
“It’s amazing.”
Watching him, the Second Prince felt drained.
Because he intuitively sensed that the hypothesis he had just formed had missed the mark.
The man before him was simply… eating deliciously,
even raising his spoon before the Second Prince himself.
‘For showing that there’s no poison…’
It just felt like he was eating first because he was hungry.
And he handled those unfamiliar utensils so freely.
At any rate, it was a style of dining he had never seen before.
It was enough to make him wonder if this priest was from another continent.
Even the Second Prince, who had lost interest in food, felt his curiosity pique at the sight of someone eating so happily before him.
‘Is it really that good?’
The Second Prince hesitated a moment, then first lifted a spoonful of the clear soup.
The clear broth had a unique aroma, as if several spices had been added, but…
‘Even when I was going hungry, I’ve never eaten a soup this thin.’
It had a fair amount of solids, but upon closer inspection, they were like weeds.
It had no viscosity and was so transparent he doubted any flavor could come from it.
Yet, since he was eating it so deliciously…
Sip.
Unable to set aside his doubts, the Second Prince carefully brought the spoon to his mouth, held the liquid in his mouth, savored it, and swallowed.
Then he couldn’t help but be surprised.
Not because it was poisoned.
This was…
“…It’s delicious.”
It was strangely delicious.
It was seasoned with something salty, yet had depth, and the aroma of garlic and pepper was exquisite.
And above all, these weeds.
“They’re bean sprouts.”
Lion grinned and cleared up the Second Prince’s curiosity.
“Bean sprouts.”
An unusual vegetable he had never seen before was the core of this soup.
It was refreshing and clean.
So much so that the pain he always carried from the curse vanished completely.
Moreover, the different textures of the bean and the stem were quite unique, and above all, the spicy tang that lingered at the end was addictive.
It was a very interesting dish.
‘…Interesting?’
The Second Prince was startled by his own thought.
Actually, he hadn’t always been indifferent to food.
On the contrary, his harsh life at the bottom had given him an appetite.
But ever since becoming a prince, he had cut off all interest in food.
Because from the day he entered the palace until just a few days ago, poisoning attempts had continued incessantly.
Of course, he had developed a tolerance to poison with the help of ‘them’ before coming here, but there was no benefit to deliberately ingesting poison.
So he always ate the bare minimum, only things that couldn’t be poisoned.
He especially avoided stews and soups, which were best suited for poisoning.
And yet…
“Don’t just drink the soup; have the rice and meat too.”
Lion picked up a generous amount of bulgogi with his chopsticks and plopped it onto the Second Prince’s rice bowl.
“Ah, if you’re worried it might be poisoned, I could always swap bowls with you, but…”
As he spoke, Lion looked at his own bowl.
More than half the rice was already gone.
Hmm, even so, giving someone food you’ve been eating from is a bit much.
But the bulgogi was best eaten with rice.
“Never mind.”
The Second Prince lifted the red meat placed on the rice and put it in his mouth.
Unlike the bean sprout soup earlier, an intense spiciness hit his mouth from the start.
Just when he thought it might be a bit too spicy, the white rice absorbed the spiciness and neutralized it.
Instinctively, to support the rice calming the heat, the Second Prince scooped up a big spoonful of bean sprout soup and drank it.
A few tender bean sprouts came along, and only then did the flavors match.
‘Still, it’s a bit tingly.’
Before he knew it, he put rice into his now-empty mouth, and since just rice felt bland, he used his clumsy chopsticks to pick up some bulgogi.
Eating further, his mouth felt dry, so he drank the soup.
…Like that, he emptied every dish.
“…”
Only after lifting the bowl and drinking the soup straight from it did the Second Prince realize his own actions.
So far… he wasn’t embarrassed.
He thought it was natural for a person to lose themselves before delicious food.
But—
“You eat well.”
From the moment he read ‘contentment’ on the face of someone whose features he couldn’t even properly make out due to the disguise, it became deeply humiliating.
It was like praising a child for eating all their food!
The Second Prince set down his spoon and covered his face with one hand.
“Was it delicious?”
“…Yes.”
And he admitted it.
A proper meal for the first time in a while, though unfamiliar, was fantastically delicious.
Enough to unconsciously think, ‘I might live.’
A brief silence filled the room.
It was peaceful rather than awkward.
Feeling his full stomach, he breathed evenly.
The fellow in front of him didn’t bother him or get on his nerves.
There would be talk of the curse and future plans later, but for now, it didn’t matter.
Just as Kyle was enjoying that fleeting moment of leisure, something unexpected happened.
“Then I’ll be on my way.”
“What?”
The fellow sitting in front of him smoothly rose and said he was leaving.
Kyle’s leisure shattered instantly, and his dulled wariness sharpened again.
Just like that, leaving?
“Why?”
“Hm?”
“We clearly finished the food.”
“That’s right.”
“We still haven’t talked about the curse.”
“Hm…”
Lion scratched his cheek, looking at Kyle.
Actually, Lion also wanted to discuss the curse if possible.
But the moment he entered the room, he set that thought aside.
The numerous concealed weapons for ambush defense.
Though the prince had relaxed a bit after a delicious meal, the Second Prince still wouldn’t fully trust him.
Perhaps the only reason he gave him the room number was that there was no other way to meet.
No, it was certain, since without the room’s owner revealing the number, one couldn’t even visit unexpectedly.
‘And… his life isn’t something a single meal can resolve.’
How tensely he must have lived.
And how many people must have approached him like this.
He couldn’t see through his whole life, but he could catch a glimpse of the fragments.
‘But even if I spoke kindly…’
The Second Prince wouldn’t take those words at face value.
So Lion decided to slightly change the nuance of his words.
“Because it seems you still don’t trust me.”