Julius did not immediately agree to the young girl’s request.
He stood by the bed, his pitch-black eyes filled with hesitation and concern.
The young man looked at Helos the way one might look at a child who was throwing a tantrum despite not knowing any better.
Roasted meat. To an ordinary person, that word might represent a lavish meal, satisfaction, and enjoyment.
But for Helos, it had once meant nothing but torment and pain.
Julius knew Helos’s physical condition better than anyone.
Because of the curse, her body had become an extremely sensitive mana-rejecting vessel.
In this world brimming with mana, even the most common livestock carried trace amounts of mana particles deposited within their flesh and blood.
What was a nourishing delicacy for ordinary people would, the moment it entered Helos’s body, instantly trigger a reaction from the “curse of silence” within her.
That agonizing, gut-wrenching pain, as if every organ were being torn apart by invisible hands.
When they were young, Julius had known about this, but he had never witnessed it firsthand.
Even on the first morning he brought Helos her breakfast, he never saw what she looked like in pain.
But according to Eleanor, when she and Helos were very young, Helos had once sneaked a bite of a magical beast steak from the duke’s plate out of sheer greed.
That night, her face had turned deathly pale from the pain. She curled up on the bed, shivering uncontrollably, without even the strength to cry.
From that day on, the word “meat” had completely disappeared from Helos’s diet.
She could only eat bread and vegetables with extremely low mana content, living an austere life like an ascetic monk.
And now, she was voluntarily asking to eat roasted meat?
“Helos.”
Julius furrowed his brow, trying to talk her out of it.
“Are you sure? With your condition, if you eat recklessly…”
“I’m sure!”
Helos cut him off.
She lifted her head, and those pale violet eyes shimmered with a light he had never seen before—tinged with a hint of craving for food.
“I feel great right now. Really. Better than I’ve ever felt.”
She patted her flat stomach.
“Besides, I’m starving! I’ve had enough of that grass-like vegetable salad! I want meat! I want that big, juicy roasted meat that sizzles with fat!!”
Julius looked at her, so full of energy and vigor, and swallowed back the words of protest that had been on the tip of his tongue.
He wasn’t foolish.
On the contrary, as a chosen one, his observational skills far surpassed ordinary people.
When his gaze swept over Helos’s rosy cheeks once more, and over the curves of her body that seemed to have “grown” somewhat overnight, something clicked in his mind.
Puberty.
Right. If he counted her age, she was fifteen now.
This was the time when the body grew rapidly and demanded plenty of nutrition.
On top of that, she had undergone such intense special training, and had consumed a massive amount of energy while unconscious.
It made perfect sense that her body would instinctively crave high-calorie food.
“Her appetite increased, huh…”
Julius murmured to himself.
Still, he remained worried whether her body could withstand the impact of that mana.
“Julius, um…”
Seeing him lost in thought, Helos couldn’t help but reach out and gently tug at his sleeve.
She called his name in that soft, coaxing tone tinged with a hint of playfulness.
Her big, watery eyes blinked again and again, practically screaming the words “please, please, please.”
Julius felt something strike his heart like a heavy blow.
He sighed.
Even a chosen one who had never flinched in the face of a thousand-strong army crumbled completely before this girl’s eye attack.
“Fine.”
He shook his head helplessly and turned to look at Gavi, who had been standing quietly by the side the whole time.
The two exchanged a glance.
A flicker of understanding passed through Gavi’s gray eyes.
She gave a slight bow, as if to say: “If the Master wants to eat, then let her eat. If something happens, we’ll take responsibility.”
“I’ll go prepare it.”
Gavi said curtly, then turned and quickly left the room.
Before long, a rich aroma of meat drifted in through the open door.
Gavi pushed a silver cart into the room.
On the cart sat a massive silver platter, bearing a freshly grilled steak the size of a human head.
The beef was cooked to perfection—its surface a tantalizing burnt brown, still sizzling and steaming.
Where it had been sliced open, pink marbling was clearly visible, with rich juices slowly seeping through the grain, releasing an irresistible fragrance.
It was accompanied by golden-fried potato wedges and a few sprigs of vibrant rosemary—both beautiful to look at and mouthwatering.
“Gulp.”
Helos swallowed hard, unable to help herself.
Her eyes were fixed on that piece of meat like a wolf that had gone three days without food finally spotting a lost lamb.
Julius wheeled the cart to the bedside, set up the small table, and placed the steak in front of Helos.
He thoughtfully cut it into pieces and handed her a silver fork.
“Eat.”
He sat down by the bed, still looking tense, like a prisoner awaiting his verdict.
“If you feel even the slightest bit unwell, stop immediately. Understand?”
“Yeah, yeah, mom.”
Helos brushed him off with a dismissive reply.
She picked up the fork, stabbed a piece of still-steaming beef, and brought it to her lips.
But just as the meat reached her mouth, her hand froze.
She stared at the piece of meat, the long-missed aroma lingering around her nose.
The girl hesitated.
That fear of pain, etched deep into her bones, made her falter at the final moment.
She instinctively licked her slightly dry lips.
Could she really… eat this?
Helos took a deep breath, and her gaze at the steak turned resolute.
‘What am I afraid of? Worst case, I hurt for two days!’
‘Dig in!’
She opened her mouth and, without further hesitation, bit down on the meat.
“!”
The sensation of her teeth slicing through the fibers came through crystal clear.
Then, rich meat juices exploded in her mouth.
That savory flavor, that satisfaction brought by the fat—it bombarded her taste buds instantly.
Helos closed her eyes, waiting for the expected pain to arrive.
But nothing happened.
Not only was there no pain, there wasn’t even the nausea that came from not eating meat for so long.
Instead, a warm current slid down her esophagus into her stomach, transforming into pure energy that nourished her long-parched body.
This is the power of meat!
‘I’m so alive right now~’
Helos snapped her eyes open.
Those pale violet eyes blazed with astonishing brilliance.
“So delicious!”
She let out a genuine exclamation of delight.
She had expected her stomach to feel uneasy after going so long without proper meat.
But unexpectedly, the moment it entered her mouth, all she felt was pure bliss.
“Are you really okay?”
Julius watched her expression cautiously from the side, a holy light spell already prepared in his hand to ease the pain—though it probably wouldn’t do much anyway.
“I’m fine! Completely fine!”
Helos answered loudly.
She no longer held back, no longer hesitated.
Like a true glutton, she wielded her fork and launched a full-scale assault on the roasted meat on her plate.
One piece after another.
She ate quickly, yet she didn’t seem messy about it.
Her cheeks puffed out like a little hamster storing food.
That steak the size of a human head, along with all the side dishes, vanished into her mouth at an astonishing speed.
Julius and Gavi watched from the side, utterly dumbfounded.
They looked at the now-empty plate, then at the girl who was licking her lips with lingering satisfaction.
Their eyes were filled with sheer shock.
This…
Was this really the same Helos who got full after two slices of bread and had to drink her milk in three sips?
Was her stomach a bottomless pit?
Helos set down her fork and let out an unladylike burp.
“Burp~”
She patted her slightly rounded belly, a blissful smile spreading across her face.
“Um…”
She looked up at Julius, who still hadn’t snapped out of his daze.
Those violet eyes gleamed with a dangerous light called “I’m not full yet.”
“Julius.”
She blinked.
“Can I… have another one?”
Julius’s hand twitched, nearly crushing the cup in his grip.
“Huh?! Another one?!”
He looked at her in alarm, quickly reaching out to feel her forehead, then her stomach.
“Are you crazy? Binge eating can kill you! And are you sure you don’t feel anything wrong? Does your stomach hurt? Are you dizzy?”
He was frightened by her abnormal appetite.
This was almost scarier to him than her being unconscious.
“Hey, stop poking me!”
Helos slapped his hand away, showing not the slightest sign of discomfort.
On the contrary, her complexion was remarkably radiant. Her lips, which had been pale before, were now vibrant and full of color. She looked positively glowing with energy.
“I’m perfectly fine!”
Helos grinned, slapping her now-more-developed chest with some force, producing a “thump thump” sound.
She hopped off the bed and spun around barefoot on the floor, proving just how amazing she felt right now.
“I’ve never felt better in my life!”
“Julius, you don’t understand.”
The girl stopped, looking at the still-worried young man before her.
A confident, mysterious smile curled at the corner of her lips.
“I’ve already achieved enlightenment.”
“Enlightenment?”
Julius looked completely baffled.
“That’s right.”
Helos nodded, lying through her teeth without so much as a flush of embarrassment:
“I’ve fully comprehended what Teacher Sylvia taught me, and mastered the power that belongs to me.”
She clenched her fist, feeling that gentle yet mighty force flowing within her.
“In other words…”
She declared, enunciating each word:
“From today onward.”
“I never have to worry about that damned curse again!”
“I can eat whatever I want! Touch whatever I want!”