Chapter 6
Chapter 6
I didn’t know how the bread had been baked, but the moment I took a bite, a crisp sound echoed, and a savory aroma filled my mouth.
‘This is so good.’
If the bread was this delicious, how incredible must that soup be?
I picked up the spoon and took a generous scoop of the vegetable-scented soup, bringing it straight to my mouth.
‘Wow…’
The rich flavor that spread across my tongue was on a completely different level from the powdered soups I had eaten before.
‘This is insane.’
So this whole time, I’ve never had real soup.
The food was so excellent that I found myself shoveling it into my mouth before I even realized what I was doing. Then, suddenly, I felt a hot gaze on the top of my head and I realized I’d made another big mistake.
I paused mid-bite, spoon halfway to my mouth, and slowly looked up at the nanny. Her eyes were wide, and she was watching me eat with a look of overwhelming emotion.
‘Is that really a face someone should make just because I’m eating well?’
I was puzzled, but thinking back on Ariel’s eating habits, I couldn’t say I didn’t understand her reaction.
“Your Imperial Highness, it seems you’re enjoying the food today.”
The nanny’s voice was noticeably excited.
“Huh? Oh, yeah. It’s pretty good.”
“Really? Then would you like some more?”
“Uh… well…”
I hesitated for a moment.
Should I eat more or not?
Judging by the nanny’s reaction, it didn’t seem like anything I’d worried about earlier would happen if I asked for seconds.
It should be fine… right? I could just say I got my appetite back.
Yeah. People can’t have no appetite forever.
Thinking about it that simply, I smiled brightly and replied to the nanny.
“Sure. Can you bring me some more bread and soup?”
“Your Imperial Highness… this nanny is truly…”
Seeing the nanny get choked up over a single request made me feel strangely confident.
“Maybe some meat too…”
And so, in the end, the word meat slipped out of my mouth.
“Meat?”
“Yeah. For some reason, I feel like having a little meat today.”
Oh, whatever. Since I was already eating, I figured I might as well go all out and said I wanted meat too.
“After being sick, I’ve felt so drained… I think I need something hearty to regain my strength.”
I quickly added an explanation, hoping to avoid raising any suspicion.
“Understood. Please wait just a moment. I’ll have it brought right away.”
Fortunately, the nanny didn’t seem to suspect anything and hurried out of the room without hesitation.
Not long after, the basket was filled with fresh bread, the bowl brimming with soup, and a hearty-looking meat stew, which hadn’t been there before, was placed on the table.
‘Yes, this is it!’
This much food? Now I could say I’d actually eaten.
Looking at the table now generously laden with food, I felt my spirits lift, and my mouth started to water again.
“Please eat slowly, Your Imperial Highness. It’s been a while since you’ve had meat, so make sure to chew well. Remember how much you suffered last time from indigestion.”
“Oh? Right, okay.”
After glancing up briefly at the nanny, who was speaking to me like a child, I finally started eating in earnest.
But despite my earlier confidence, I couldn’t even finish half of what she’d brought me. My body just wouldn’t cooperate.
As soon as I took a big spoonful of the meat stew and swallowed it, my body sent a clear signal of rejection. This isn’t it.
Still, I wanted to eat the delicious food in front of me so badly.
Even as I recalled the nanny’s warning about last time, I tried to eat slowly and cautiously. But before I even finished, indigestion hit again, right in the middle of eating.
‘I can’t even eat properly… How is this fair?’
If it had happened after I’d finished, I wouldn’t feel this bitter.
In any case, I had no choice but to cut the meal short, take some medicine, and send everyone, including the nanny, out under the pretense of needing rest.
Thankfully, the medicine seemed to work, and the tight, uncomfortable feeling in my stomach was slowly easing. As the pain subsided, I sat on the sofa and looked around the room I hadn’t properly examined until now.
“It’s huge.”
Well, it was the Imperial Consort’s room, so it made sense that it was spacious.
‘Once I leave the palace in a few months, I probably won’t be able to live in a place like this again.’
Even though I hadn’t managed to finish the food, the thought of not being able to eat anything that delicious again made me feel a bit wistful. It didn’t seem like returning to my original family was even an option anymore…
Ariel’s brother had sent her to the palace when she was very young.
No, banished would be a better word.
So even if I went back to House Rubeian, no one would welcome me.
But honestly, what would be the point? I wasn’t Ariel.
Anyone who knew her, or whom she had known, meant nothing to me. Just strangers.
Fine. Once I leave the imperial palace, I’ll live my life.
Sooner or later, the emperor will lose interest in me and cast me aside.
When that happens, I’ll play the pitiful abandoned woman and squeeze as much alimony out of him as I can. If I get a massive settlement, I could live comfortably for the rest of my life without ever needing to work.
Sure, maybe not in a house as big as this one, but I’d still find a really nice place to live. Then I’d travel, do everything I’ve ever wanted to do.
‘Sounds like a pretty good life—ah!’
Maybe… just maybe… I could find a way to go back? Not just back to another book, but to my real world.
No matter how bright and glamorous this place might be, it couldn’t compare to the world I came from.
“But… will I ever really find a way back?”
The question returned to me, suddenly and sharply.
Why was I here? Why me?
But of course, I had no answer. That question would keep coming back.
As long as I couldn’t return, I would keep thinking about it: why, how, and what I could do. Still, I wouldn’t be disheartened if I never found a solution.
That just wouldn’t be like me.
If I had no choice but to live in this world, then I’d live it my way.
To do that, I needed knowledge – knowledge of this place.
Truthfully, what Ariel knew wasn’t of much use for the life I was about to lead. So from now on, I had to gather as much information as possible. And as far as I knew, there was only one perfect place to get that kind of information.
Feeling that the indigestion had nearly passed, I decided to act while the thought was still fresh. I pulled the bell cord hanging near the bed to summon the nanny.
“Your Imperial Highness, I’m coming in.”
Her voice rang out as she entered the room.
“You called for me?”
“I want to go to the Imperial Library.”
“The Imperial Library?”
She looked at me with the same expression she’d worn earlier when I asked for meat.
“Yeah. I’d like to read a few books.”
I answered casually, as though it were no big deal.
“Understood. I’ll make preparations right away. Please wait a moment.”
The Imperial Library in the palace was said to contain nearly every book in existence. The building was packed with volumes from floor to ceiling.
As long as Calix didn’t suddenly change his mind about me, I’d be able to pick up all the knowledge I needed to survive in this world by visiting the library frequently. It’s not like I had much else to do anyway, so there was nothing to stop me.
Well… almost nothing.
‘Studying takes energy, too.’
My wretched stamina. That was the problem.
“Your Imperial Highness, it’s the nanny. I’m coming in.”
“Come in.”
A short while later, she returned, having finished preparations.
“I’ve arranged for a carriage to take you to the library.”
“A carriage?”
Was it really that far?
I tried to search Ariel’s memories. She had once visited the library to see Calix, and it was quite a distance from the Imperial Consort’s quarters.
‘Still, it’s not that far… is it?’
“No, it’s fine.”
“Pardon?”
“No need for the carriage. I’ll walk.”
I decided to walk instead to build up my miserable stamina, even if just a little. If I suddenly took up horseback riding or some other intense activity, it might seem suspicious since Ariel had never done anything like that.
So for now, the best way to gradually increase my activity was by walking to distant places or taking strolls after meals.
“But it’s very far, Your Imperial Highness. It’ll take over twenty minutes on foot.”
“That’s fine. I can manage.”
Twenty minutes was far? Honestly, when I heard that, I thought: That’s not much of a workout at all.
‘No… hold on.’
The current me didn’t have a healthy body. I was frail, fragile, barely fit to be upright. Maybe even that twenty-minute walk to the library would be a tough and exhausting challenge.
……
T/N: Cheer up, Ariel! You can do this! (I just realized now that FL here and FL in The Witch’s Requiem has the same name lol)
