I had been confined to the Heter mansion, and it was now the 10th day.
The quality of meals had drastically improved since Letia’s visit, rising from gruel to gourmet Western cuisine.
It was too luxurious to be food served to a prisoner, which left me feeling slightly uneasy, but the taste was irresistible.
Delicious food, luxurious furniture, and a spot where warm sunlight poured in—it was paradise.
The only flaw was that I couldn’t go outside.
However, expecting free movement as a prisoner would be excessive.
Even the privileges I currently enjoyed were exceptional, and I couldn’t ask for more.
“Ahaha! Really?”
“I’m telling you, it’s true.”
Perhaps understanding my feelings, Letia assigned someone to keep me company.
It was the maid who had run away after seeing me licking a bowl on the first day.
Her name was Sherry, a 14-year-old girl with a timid but very cheerful personality.
“I never imagined you had such a bleak past! But seeing how well you eat anything, it makes sense. If I go hungry for a while, do you think I could overcome my dislike for bell peppers?”
“Don’t even think about it. Starving yourself at a young age isn’t the way. If you want to get over bell peppers, try eating them little by little with food you like.”
“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea!”
Despite being from the Empire, Sherry laughed and chatted with me freely.
In the kingdom, she was the only person who approached me without discrimination.
Well, perhaps there was one more person who came to mind.
“By the way, does Letia Heter have a food she dislikes?”
“Lady Letia?”
“Yeah.”
Was that too blunt?
But surely asking about food preferences wasn’t crossing a line, was it?
After all, she held the power of life and death over me.
“I’ve never seen Lady Letia being picky with food.”
“Really? So she’s a perfect hero without even a single food she dislikes…”
“Oh! But there was something she ate while making a terrible face!”
“What was it?”
“Lemons!”
Well, anyone would grimace while eating a lemon.
However, Sherry, having never tried one, declared this with sparkling eyes and confidence.
I thought it would be fun to have her try the sourness of a lemon someday.
Wouldn’t her face scrunch up so much her facial muscles might contort?
“Kukuk…!” “Why are you suddenly laughing?”
“It’s just something I’m looking forward to so much that I can’t help it.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a secret.”
“But I shared an important secret! You should tell me too!”
Sherry pouted and clung to me until the end, but I didn’t give in and kept my secret to myself.
Planning to mess with someone and expecting them to tell you? That’s unlikely.
Besides, I doubt there will ever be a chance for me to make Sherry eat a lemon.
Unless I escape the status of a prisoner, I’ll remain trapped here indefinitely.
Even if I were released, it would only mean the war is over, and I’d be sent straight back to the Empire.
In the end, the memories and connections I make here will all end in a hollow farewell.
“I’ll tell you later.”
“I didn’t expect you to be so stingy!”
“It’s for your own good. Shouldn’t you be heading out soon?”
“Ah! Today’s the day I’m supposed to help the head chef clean the kitchen! Eek! I’m already late!”
Though she grumbled, Sherry’s reaction when she glanced at the grandfather clock behind me was priceless.
She was so startled she almost jumped.
A girl full of emotions, showing such vivid reactions—she was truly amusing.
Even though we talked through the bars of my cell, I never got bored.
“Go quickly. If you’re any later, you’ll get scolded badly.”
“I’ll come back later! And you better tell me then!”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Ugh!”
She waved her hand through the bars and dashed off in a hurry.
Watching Sherry scramble like that made me wonder.
Despite the confinement, wasn’t this lifestyle far better than the busy days I’d endured in the past?
It was a natural question, but perhaps it was the Empire’s ideology of “diligence” that had brainwashed me all this time.
“When you can rest, you should rest fully.”
After seeing Sherry off, I lay on the bed to rest.
That was when I sensed a presence nearby—an overwhelming one.
In the Heter mansion, only one person carried such a commanding aura.
“Ahem.”
Letia Heter.
She cleared her throat as she approached the prison cell.
“Do you have some business with me?”
Whenever I faced Letia, memories of that time naturally resurfaced—her sudden, bold kiss, all in the name of gaining my trust.
Even though she’d been so daring, it seemed I was the only one still hung up on it.
“The weather is lovely today, isn’t it?”
“It’s raining.”
“I like rainy days!”
“Oh, uh, I see.”
Without being asked, she gripped the bars and eagerly shared her preferences.
Her sudden enthusiasm startled me so much that I stammered without realizing it.
“I do have favorite foods, but none that I dislike. I’m not picky—I eat anything well.”
Was I supposed to praise her for that?
The hero of the kingdom?
For not being a picky eater?
“When I ate a lemon, I didn’t grimace either.
My eyes just closed for a moment because of the sourness!”
“Don’t misunderstand! Th-that’s all!”
Letia rambled on about something that didn’t even need explaining, then left as abruptly as she came.
It seemed she had overheard my conversation with Sherry.
Despite imagining heroes as perfect beings, I could sense traces of humanity in her.
Especially when she was nervously sweating while justifying herself—it was oddly endearing.
“Pfft!”
She’s amusing.
“Zenith!”
Night fell upon the mansion.
In the late hours when everyone had finished preparing for bed, Letia barged into the room of her trusted aide, Zenith.
Throwing the door open, she rushed in and hugged her out of the blue.
“M-Master? What is the meaning of this?”
“I just don’t get it!”
“What don’t you get?”
“How to talk to someone I like! I tried talking to them again today, but I couldn’t create the right mood at all!”
Letia’s voice quivered as she vented her frustration, sounding like a child complaining to their grandmother.
Even though Letia was more like a granddaughter in terms of age, her rank as Zenith’s superior would have made the situation awkward.
Yet Zenith simply smiled kindly and patted Letia’s head.
“Things didn’t go well with that person again today, did they?”
“Exactly. I want to have a natural conversation, but the moment I meet their eyes, my heart races, and my mind goes blank! Even when I try to suppress my emotions like usual, it’s impossible!”
“Why not express your feelings honestly, then?”
Letia trusted Zenith enough to cling to her without hesitation, showing just how absolute that trust was.
Letia had already confessed her feelings for Siyoon to Zenith quite some time ago.
“If I get too close to him, people will start spreading rumors that I’m colluding with the Empire.”
“True, there’s been an increase in those disapproving of you lately.”
“For now, I should avoid giving them anything to criticize. But I just can’t stand the thought of not seeing him!”
“Is it that serious?”
“Yes! To the point where I feel like if things go wrong, I’d rather kill him and then myself!”
“Master, that’s a bit…”
“N-no, I’m joking! I just mean that’s how desperate I am.”
Letia tried to laugh it off as a joke, but Zenith thought otherwise.
In that fleeting moment, Letia’s pupils had darkened with an emptiness that didn’t feel like a joke.
Her normally beautiful blue eyes lost their vibrance, revealing an unsettling void.
If I don’t find a solution, her lovesickness will only worsen.
The real problem was the number of eyes watching Letia’s every move.
Even though the mansion staff had been carefully vetted, there was still a chance that spies lurked among them.
Some might have been clean at first but could have been swayed by irresistible offers later.
But it’s not like there’s no way at all.
At the very least, there were fewer eyes at night.
Letia had a habit of going to bed early, so any spies in the mansion likely assumed nothing happened after dark.
If they could use that timing to their advantage…
I might be able to satisfy my master’s desires.
Even if it meant adding nightly patrol duties, Zenith was willing to sacrifice her sleep for her master’s perilous love.
“Master.”
“Hm?”
“Would you like to know how to completely win over a man’s heart?”
“Is there really a way?”
“Of course. From what I’ve heard, it’s a method many people have used to captivate their romantic interests.”
“What is it? Tell me!”
“Simple—you share a night with the man you fancy.”
Though it was a bold and extreme suggestion, it wasn’t entirely ineffective.
“But wouldn’t he dislike it if I just showed up unannounced at night?”
“There’s a solution for that, too.”
“What is it?”
“You slip a sleeping drug into his food to make him fall asleep.”
“Zenith, are you a genius?”
“It’s not to brag, but people used to call me clever back in the day.”
Zenith casually suggested a ruinous plan to Letia.
Unfortunately, Zenith herself was an unmarried woman who had never so much as held a man’s hand, let alone experienced romance.
That Letia sought advice from someone like her was proof that neither of them were entirely normal.
“Shall I prepare a stock of potent sleeping drugs?”
“Yes!”
Their conversation spiraled into a dangerous plot, leaving only pity for the one who would inevitably become their victim.
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