Chapter 10: Give It A Try

A magnificent feast.

Literally, a full course of buffet-style dishes lay before me, intensifying the hunger I had suppressed until now.

Growllll.

Mouth-watering dishes of all kinds were laid out, and fruits I had never seen before were piled high like mountains beside them.

The sight was more than enough to stimulate my famished stomach.

Having briefly envied Lilac’s wealth, my conscience pricked me, and I could only cautiously observe her.

Growllll.

The consecutive roars of my stomach echoed loud enough to be heard outside.

Lilac tilted her head, watching me furtively, then finally picked me up and moved me to a suitable spot at the table laden with the feast.

Well, technically, she didn’t just move me; she sat down with me too…

But what did it matter?

Fatty foods I might never see again in my life were right before my eyes.

If I ate with her help, I could resolve this hunger.

‘Feels like I haven’t eaten anything in ages. If I eat food like this, I could starve for days.’

I meant it.

The spread was truly on par with a 5-star hotel.

I’d never been to a hotel in my past life, but surely it would be something like this?

“Which one do you want to eat first?”

Lilac asked casually, waiting for my answer.

The question made my head spin.

I usually don’t know what to eat first when I go to hotels or restaurants.

“Uh… well…”

As my words trailed off and my eyes darted around, a sigh came from behind me.

“Just tell me what you want to eat.”

‘But there’s too much food…’

It would be different if there were only one or two dishes, but with dozens laid out, pinpointing one was exceptionally difficult.

Lilac didn’t press further and waited quietly until I chose.

“I’ll have that one-“

Feeling that the food might get cold if I delayed any longer, which would be incredibly sad, I finally made up my mind and was about to speak.

“Young Lady Sia has been nearly fasting for two days, so eating rich food immediately might be too much for her. How about warming her stomach with mushroom soup first?”

Butler, appearing from behind, offered advice, and Lilac nodded as if struck by a great realization.

“Definitely… Last time I fed her stew, she vomited blood. That was almost a disaster.”

“Yes. Young Lady Sia cannot eat anything forcefully right now. Therefore, she should primarily eat foods that won’t upset her stomach.”

Edwyn, whom I felt like I hadn’t seen in a long time despite meeting yesterday or the day before, chimed in from the side.

It felt strangely like I hadn’t seen him in a while, even though we met just recently.

“Ah. Alright, just bring the soup.”

“Loyalty.”

As Lilac barked with an annoyed tone, Butler and Edwyn quickly exited the room.

‘How are they so perfectly in sync?’

Anyway, just before my hunger reached its peak.

Butler returned just in the nick of time and placed a bowl of mushroom soup in front of us.

Not a single sound was made as he placed the bowl down, further cementing the fact that he was a butler.

It could be because he was an assassin, but this seemed separate from that.

“Ugh…”

Unable to bear it any longer, I moved my hand before Lilac could.

However, a critical problem arose.

‘Shiiiit… I can’t even use my arm properly.’

Gathering every last bit of strength I had, all I could manage was barely lifting it.

Once I used that strength, I couldn’t even move my hand.

‘Can I even live like this?’

What I had treated as a joke until now became a realistic problem, and fear arose.

They say the most painful ways to die are starvation and burning to death.

It seemed I was destined to experience both.

Ah.

I’ve already experienced one, so only the other remains.

Lilac watched my face silently, then chuckled and picked up a spoon from the various utensils laid out.

Then she scooped a large spoonful of the soup, filled with chopped mushrooms, brought it to her own mouth, and blew on it gently—hoo—to cool it down without splashing.

Holding the moderately warmed soup in front of my mouth this time, she said.

“This time should be okay.”

Trusting her, I weakly opened my mouth and bit down—chomp—on the spoon before me.

Nom nom.

The warm soup, neither hot nor lukewarm, entered my mouth, gently loosening the stiff muscles.

I had eaten soup many times in my past life, but this was the first time soup felt like it warmed my entire body.

My jaw muscles loosened, allowing my jaw to move naturally again, and I opened it once more. Because the spoon, filled with soup again, was already in front of my mouth.

I wanted to eat faster, but my tongue and jaw seemed to forbid it, moving sluggishly.

Just eating one spoonful of soup took 20 seconds.

At this point, even a newborn baby could eat better than me.

Feeling so miserably domesticated like this.

But it doesn’t feel bad…

Perhaps a new inclination of mine has awakened?

Shoving aside the ridiculous thought, I focused on eating the continuously incoming soup.

While I was eating soup, Lilac also ate other dishes.

I wanted to try other things too, but the amount of soup didn’t decrease.

After eating about half, I looked up at Lilac, and perhaps understanding my intention, she pushed the remaining soup bowl aside and brought another dish.

A visual that looked like something I could eat without upsetting my stomach.

Carbonara pasta replaced the soup.

Butler moved the soup bowl onto a trolley.

Wasting food is punishable by heaven, but that’s only on Earth.

This isn’t Earth, so it doesn’t matter.

As I stared silently at the pasta, Lilac’s hand somehow didn’t move.

When it still hadn’t moved after a minute, I looked up with a questioning expression and saw her wearing a mischievous grin.

“Say, ‘Please’.”

“Eh…?”

“Say. Please.”

Seeing Lilac teasing me with a wide grin felt like being hit on the back of the head.

No matter how much she was the boss, this was just…

‘Being a s*ave…’

Maybe I was picked up by the dark mastermind behind the diamond spoon?

Anyway, powerless and lacking everything, defying her words wouldn’t do me any good.

If I didn’t, she might not even give me food…

“Pl… Please…”

Kim Sia, the man I once was, was now dead.

All that remained was the Sia of this life.

I can no longer revive the will of a man.

‘What am I doing at my age…’

No matter how young my body became, or how incapable it was of doing anything properly… could I continue to endure situations like this?

‘Ah, whatever. I need to eat this carbonara.’

The soup alone didn’t fill my stomach, and I felt I wouldn’t be satisfied until I ate those noodles dripping with cream.

Instinct overtook reason, so there was nothing I couldn’t do now.

As I did what Lilac asked, I saw the corners of her lips curl up even further.

I felt some dissatisfaction about that, but my mood lifted as I looked at the pasta brought on the fork.

If I could eat food like this all day, I wouldn’t mind becoming her pet-.

Flinch.

‘Did I just think about giving up on being human?’

As I glared at the pasta that reappeared, the fork poked my mouth, automatically making me open it.

Nom nom.

Where did the tense Sia from moments ago go, leaving this relaxed female animal?

Sia didn’t know it, but in Lilac’s mind, thoughts of even embracing Sia were forming.

As the food that seemed to melt my body entered again, all impure thoughts vanished.

What tremendous power this food held.

Lilac and I finished the carbonara pasta together, and then I could try other dishes in order.

It was only about five dishes in total, but it was a satisfying meal for me.

To think these nobles ate food like this every day.

It was a secret that I felt a slight regret for being born in 21st-century South Korea.

Of course, here you couldn’t eat tteokbokki, sundae, odeng, and chicken.

I could overlook the others, but the absence of chicken brought a great sense of loss.

Not being able to see Chicken-nim again.

What a cruel reality.

However, that despair didn’t last long.

“Shall we have chicken for dinner tomorrow?”

‘I love you, Lilac.’

Although it wasn’t fried chicken, there were dishes like roasted turkey or some country’s tied-and-roasted chicken.
Perhaps the chicken dishes here would be similar.

That alone is enough.

‘I’ll have to cook it myself later.’

Dinner took a full 2 hours.

For a Korean, it would have been a 10-minute cut, at most.

I couldn’t even eat much(?).

What are five dishes?

And I shared them with Lilac.

Roughly calculating by portion size, it felt like I ate about 2 servings.

The disappointment was brief, and I started thinking positively.

‘Still, maybe I’ll gain some weight with this much?’

Others might think I ate moderately, but for me, I should have eaten more.

I resent my stomach for not being able to take in more.

‘Somehow, I’ll increase my eating capacity within this week.’

Whatever happens, I need to gain weight first before I can even think about working.

In this state, I feel like I couldn’t even cook porridge properly.

‘If I ask Lilac, maybe she’ll provide such a spread every day?’

But I have some shame too, so I didn’t want to say that.

So, there was only one method left.

If I clung to her, which she considered my ‘job’, every mealtime would be bountiful.

‘Yes. It’s work.’

In a different sense, this side also performed self-justification.