Chapter 39 : Chapter 39
Volume 1
Chapter 39 : A Maid Who Knows How to Cook Always Earns Extra Points
“Young Master, it is time to eat.”
At Ann’s gentle call, Muen opened his eyes.
Her voice was so soft that, for a moment, Muen felt as though he had returned to the old days, when he slept in that large, soft bed and woke each morning to Ann’s voice.
Unfortunately, that was all in the past.
Muen was now imprisoned inside a cage, with cold steel beneath his bare backside—steel colder even than his own heart.
“How long has it been?”
Muen looked up at Ann, and a flash of exhaustion passed through his eyes.
“A whole night has already gone by.”
Ann set the food box down in front of Muen and said with a light laugh,
“Did Young Master sleep well last night?”
“What do you think?!”
Muen yanked angrily at the shackles on his hands and sneered.
“If you take these shackles off, put a two-meter bed in here, and cover it with velvet blankets and pillows instead of making me sit naked on this freezing floor, then maybe there will come a day when I can say I slept well.”
“I am afraid I cannot grant the Young Master that request. After all, if the Young Master happened to slip away, I would be very, very heartbroken.”
“Am I not just a useless young master you spoiled rotten? Is this really necessary? Even death row prisoners do not get treated this badly!”
“It never hurts to be cautious.”
Ann slowly took breakfast out of the food box and smiled.
“Young Master seemed rather tired yesterday, so I specially stewed a ten-tonic restorative soup for you.”
“A restorative soup?”
“Yes. I saw it in a book. It is more or less a soup made by simmering things like tiger whip, bull whip, goblin whip, troll whip, and Molorita giant bear whip together. I heard it is extremely beneficial for men.”
“What exactly is a Molorita giant bear?” Muen’s face changed slightly.
“It is a kind of magical beast. I heard that when a male Molorita giant bear goes into heat, if it cannot find a mate, there will be a great many more holes in the trees around its habitat by the next morning. That is why it is also commonly called the tree-hole bear.”
“Tree holes...”
Muen no longer wished to ask how those tree holes came to be.
He lowered his head and watched Ann unscrew the lid of the container with her slender fingers, then pour the black broth with its pungent smell into a bowl.
For some reason, as the soup flowed out, he felt his poor little heart trembling along with it.
“Are you sure all of that can even be consumed together?”
“Of course it can.”
Ann said, “Did Young Master not know? Actually, ever since you were ten, I have been secretly adding these things to your food. Of course, considering your age, I did not add very much.”
“What?”
Muen’s face changed drastically.
“Ten?”
In other words, he had been drinking this so-called ten-tonic restorative soup for a full eight years!
“One should always prepare in advance. Actually, what I most wanted to add was dragon whip, but dragons are not the easiest things to catch. I can only wait until I get the chance to let Young Master try it later.”
“Do not talk about catching dragons so casually! This is terrifying!”
“Why should Young Master be afraid? As long as Young Master behaves, I would never harm you.”
Ann lifted the soup bowl and held the spoon out before Muen.
“Come, Young Master, open wide. Ah—”
“I am not drinking that!”
Muen shook his head and dodged the spoon.
Who knew what kind of aftereffects there might be from drinking too much of this stuff?
Perhaps the original owner had been that foolish because of this so-called ten-tonic restorative soup.
“Not drinking it?”
The smile on Ann’s lovely face suddenly stilled.
She bent down and met Muen’s eyes at close range.
In those captivating eyes, Muen saw a deep darkness flowing, as though it might surge out at any moment and devour everything.
“Are you sure?”
The words carried no direct threat, yet Muen felt as though a gleaming hatchet had been pressed right against his heart.
If he answered incorrectly, he would be split open on the spot.
“No, I will drink it. I will.”
Muen nodded with an awkward laugh, then stretched his head forward as far as he could and drank the restorative soup from the spoon.
A true man knew when to bend and when to stand tall. It was only a bowl of restorative soup. What was there not to drink?
He had already been drinking it for eight years.
What difference did one more time make?
Mm...
Surprisingly, it actually tasted rather good.
...
...
After feeding Muen the restorative soup spoonful by spoonful, Ann suddenly stood up.
Before Muen could even react, he saw the maid uniform on her body slip down to the floor, revealing her fair, delicate body.
“Again?”
Muen’s eyes widened in grief and indignation.
“How long has it even been since last time?”
Ann was not even wearing any underwear.
She had planned this from the start!
“It cannot be helped.”
Ann licked her crimson lips and slowly crawled toward Muen as she bent down, her gaze full of provocation.
“I need to leave marks on Young Master as soon as possible that belong to me alone~”
“You wicked woman, do not come over here—mmph...”
“Mhm... Young Master says no, but your body is still very honest~”
“That... that is not true.”
“Is that so? Mhm... but Young Master is moving on his own, you know...”
“Damn it...”
...
Two hours later.
...
After it was over, Ann put her dress back on with complete satisfaction.
Meanwhile, Muen stared at the ceiling with vacant eyes, like a girl who had been violated by a villain and no longer felt there was any hope left in life.
Perhaps feeling that what she had done was indeed somewhat excessive from Muen’s perspective, Ann crouched beside him, propped her cheek up with one hand, and said with a trace of apology,
“It seems I may have gone a bit too far with Young Master.”
“...”
Muen rolled his eyes at her but said nothing.
“Seeing a Young Master like this makes my conscience uneasy.”
Muen rolled his eyes again.
Conscience?
After everything you have done to me, do you still have a conscience?
“In that case, how about I grant the Young Master one small request?”
Muen’s eyes lit up.
“I want my freedom—”
“That is not possible.”
Ann pressed a finger to Muen’s lips.
“I said a small request.”
“Then take off the shackles.”
“No.”
“I want clothes.”
“No.”
“I want a bed.”
“No.”
“This is not allowed, that is not allowed...”
Muen wailed,
“Then just how small does this request have to be?!”
“Let me think.”
After pondering for a moment, Ann said,
“Roughly to the extent of deciding what to have for lunch.”
“...That really is small.”
Muen let out a sigh.
“But something is better than nothing.”
“So the Young Master has already decided?”
“Yes, more or less.”
“What is it?”
“Come to think of it, autumn should be arriving soon, should it not?”
Muen did not answer at once, instead choosing to play coy.
“At this time in previous years, I would already be boating on Bepor Lake, admiring the beautiful scenery while tasting the delicious autumn fish freshly caught from the water.”
“Young Master wants fish from Bepor Lake?”
“Yes. Fish are at their fattest in autumn. If they were steamed and paired with red wine from Count Locke’s estate, it would make for a splendid meal.”
“But Bepor Lake is so far away. If the fish were sent over—”
“Ah, last year I drifted upon the lake, full of youthful spirit and pride, while now I can only be shut inside this tiny prison. How tragic, how pitiful. What meaning can such a life possibly have? I may as well die.”
“...Very well.”
The corner of Ann’s eye twitched, but she still kept smiling as she said,
“I will get the fish. Please wait patiently, Young Master.”
“Oh.”
Muen stopped lamenting at once, looked at Ann, and arched her brow.
“Then I shall be waiting, Ann.”