“This is smoked meat from the Hundred-headed Anhinga of the Southern Region of the Himheda Kingdom. After being steamed and sliced, it’s coated in a tangy-sweet sauce. The taste is savory and tender, and when paired with the sweet-and-sour dip, its flavor is so unique it could be served on the Royal Table—ah~”
With one hand supporting from below and the other presenting a silver fork with a slice of smoked meat, Tilan fed Lulumia as if she were her mother. Lulumia, sitting at the table reading, opened her mouth wide without a shred of shame, swallowing the smoked meat in one bite.
She had been captured by a rich little girl with good taste and plenty of money.
That’s right. After Tilan took Lulumia back to the manor from the jewelry store, she hadn’t even lasted half an hour before surrendering to Tilan’s gentle offensive.
Delicious dishes and beautiful clothes, all the servants treated her as though she were a god. Everywhere she looked, only luxurious furniture greeted her eyes. No need to wear shoes after entering—the thick, warm carpets let her run freely.
Most crucial of all, Tilan was gentle, pretty, and knew just how to coax her. She always answered Lulumia’s questions at just the right moment, never making her inexperienced self feel awkward. Everything was flawlessly prepared.
It was practically like being taken home and pampered by a rich, adorable young lady.
Lulumia could shamelessly admit that anyone would fall under such an assault.
After the initial resistance, suspicion, and tentative tries, Lulumia had now entered the stage of “enjoy what can be enjoyed, as long as I stick to my bottom line, it’s fine.” She completely understood why the Original Host hadn’t resisted those wandering hands—though the Original Host was too clueless to realize it—because no one could resist this kind of temptation!
It might look spineless, but Lulumia used the Spirit Victory Method: sure, she seemed to be pampered and fed by Tilan, but from another angle, wasn’t it Maid Tilan devoting herself entirely to serving her mistress?
Victory!
Enjoying the explosive flavor of the smoked meat on her tongue, the corners of Lulumia’s mouth curled into a w-shape.
This was the ideal otherworldly life: a fireplace to keep warm, beautiful clothes to wear, anything she wanted to eat within reach, even a beautiful girl to care for her at her side. Compared to this, what kind of hardship had she endured just a few days ago?
Back then, she only ate bread and milk with bacon, not even a decent sauce to dip in, eating the same thing every meal to the point of choking. Her only clothes were a simple platinum church dress. Sure, it looked nice, but in the late autumn chill, it wasn’t warm at all—let alone that the dress was a size too big, so she had to keep rubbing her hands together on the street just to keep from freezing.
Her living conditions were no better. All the rooms in the church were built of stone, and with no fireplace, the inside was extra cold. She had to add a layer of clothes over her blanket at night to avoid waking up shivering.
The sound of Tilan’s voice was enough to make one’s heart itch. If those inexperienced academy students saw the look in Tilan’s eyes, their souls would probably be snatched away.
Unfortunately, though Tilan’s demeanor was mature, there was still a childish innocence on her face, so this trick had no effect on Lulumia.
Rather than trying to seduce her with feminine charm, it would be better to just bring out more delicious food.
Since Lulumia pretended not to understand and acted clueless, Tilan didn’t push further. She let go of the fork she’d been lightly biting, took out a wine glass, and poured crystal-clear red wine for both herself and Lulumia.
“Want some? The saltiness of the smoked meat pairs even better with the fruity aroma of red wine.”
Tilan took a sip first. Under the soft, goose-yellow light, her lips, moistened by the wine, became even more alluring.
Lulumia didn’t stand on ceremony, either. She picked up her glass and took a sip. Just as Tilan said, the fruity aroma of the wine instantly washed away the greasiness between her teeth, refreshing her palate and making her eyes light up.
Tilan chuckled, “You’re just like before, never a shred of caution. If I put poison in the wine, you’d be knocked out in no time. Sigh, what will you do in the future? I always worry someone will trick you away and you’ll even help them count the money.”
“Because it’s Tilan who gave it to me. Tilan would never sell me.”
Lulumia huffed like a spoiled child. She dared act this way because she’d seen the Original Host’s memories—whenever the Original Host was with Tilan, she always accepted whatever Tilan gave her. Tilan was always honest and never secretly added anything extra.
“You’re right.” As if pondering something, Tilan lowered her head to look at her glass, her thumb—painted with red nail polish—gently stroking the rim.
“When I saw you bring up the newspaper this afternoon, you seemed like a different person, someone I didn’t know anymore. Not the carefree, fearless magic automaton from before. But now, I’m relieved. You’re still the same as always.”
Tilan tilted her head and looked at the table, where the book in front of Lulumia wasn’t food, but a history of the continent.
“Her Highness the Fourth Princess really changed you a lot. At the very least, you would never have picked up a book to read before—did Dean Lyan send you back to boost your intelligence?”
“What do you mean, ‘boost my intelligence’? That’s so rude, I’ve always been smart!” “Yes, yes, you’re very smart, very smart.”
If you were that smart, I wouldn’t have always thought you were a fool, Tilan thought with a smile.
She stopped bothering Lulumia as she read and instead propped her head up with one hand, gazing at the serious Lulumia as if looking at her lover. She thought that Lulumia looked especially charming when she was serious—maybe being smarter was actually a good thing. The corners of her mouth curled into a faint smile.