Chapter 104: Open Your Mouth, Drink
The best ingredients are often cooked in the simplest way.
After working hard for a long time, Evelia followed a recipe book and made a bowl of nutritious porridge.
While the girl had passed out again, Evelia went to the kitchen to prepare something for her to eat. After flipping through her cookbook, she chose a soft rice porridge, something easy for kids to digest.
Since Armand’s estate only used the finest ingredients, the porridge came out looking great. It smelled so good that even Evelia couldn’t resist taking a small sniff, and then a small sip.
She tasted the light, slightly bitter flavor caused by the nutritious herbs inside and felt like something was missing.
So, already used to strong sweet-and-sour flavors, she brought out her treasured tomato ketchup.
Splat. Squeeze.
Without hesitation, she squeezed the entire packet of ketchup into the porridge.
After stirring the now thick red mixture, Evelia took another sip and looked satisfied.
“…Not bad.”
She licked her lips and couldn’t help taking another sip.
For her, once ketchup was added, any food could become delicious. And because the ketchup flavor was so strong, what she actually tasted was just ketchup with different textures.
How could ketchup not be delicious?
Thinking this, she picked up the entire pot of hot porridge and brought it back to her room. Seeing that the girl was still unconscious on the bed, she sat down beside her and poked her pale, hunger-stricken cheek.
Poke.
Evelia poked her once. The girl didn’t move, just made a low groaning sound.
Poke.
She poked again. Still no real reaction, just a painful expression on the girl’s face.
Poke.
Evelia poked a third time. This time, the girl’s eyelashes trembled a bit. Behind her tightly closed eyelids, her eyes were clearly darting around in fear.
“If you’re awake, then drink the porridge.”
Evelia realized the girl had already woken up. Her fake-sleeping skills were terrible. But even with such bad acting, the girl refused to open her eyes.
Because she knew… the moment she opened her eyes, she’d have to face hell. She’d have to face the monster who had once taken her head off, the very person who killed her!
What horrible luck. Out of everyone in this giant city, why her? How could she be so unlucky as to run into this woman again? Did she do something bad in a past life and was now being punished for it?
The little alchemist had hoped to get away with playing dead, thinking maybe this "Red Crow" would just assume she was some dead rat and toss her out. Being thrown out and left hungry was still better than getting her head twisted off again.
But she overestimated herself. Holding her breath for a long time was way too hard. So instead of playing dead, she had to settle for pretending to be asleep.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t good at that either. Evelia saw through it immediately.
It was clear the girl really didn’t want to open her eyes and face the cruel truth. She had thought she had finally escaped, only to end up being picked up by the same person all over again.
Luckily, this “Red Crow” didn’t seem to recognize her new body. Otherwise—
—Wait, huh?
Suddenly, the little alchemist realized something.
—This “Red Crow” doesn’t recognize me at all!
The girl suddenly realized the truth.
It could be said that she knew the “Red Crow,” but the “Red Crow” didn’t know that she was the alchemist whose head had once been torn off!
Oh~ So that’s how it is~ This makes things so much easier!
She gave a wicked little smile in her heart.
This meant… she was now one of the very few people who knew the true identity of the “Red Crow”!
‘Heh heh~ Little Red Crow, the heavens have not abandoned me. I knew that a genius alchemist like me wouldn’t lose just because of bad luck. Now I’ve got something to use against you!’
“Guh—?!”
Just as the little alchemist was secretly feeling proud and thinking that running into Evelia wasn’t bad luck but a lucky break, she suddenly felt her mouth being forcefully pried open.
She instinctively tried to keep her mouth shut, but her nose was pinched shut. As she opened her mouth to breathe, a spoonful of sour-tasting porridge was shoved straight in.
“Open your mouth.”
“Mmm—ahh!!”
Evelia had read in a book that to keep a child healthy, you must make sure they eat properly. Seeing how thin and weak this girl was, Evelia figured she had been starving for too long and was probably malnourished. So for the sake of her healthy growth, Evelia held the bowl of porridge and forcefully started feeding her.
After all, Evelia still planned to use this child as a practice subject. She had finally gotten one, there was no way she was going to let her die so easily. It would be a huge hassle to go find another.
This one had walked right into her hands. Of course she was going to take full advantage.
“Urgh—mmpf… glug…!!”
The poor little alchemist opened her eyes in fear, only to see Evelia calmly and coldly pushing what looked like a bowl of blood-colored porridge into her mouth. The sour and sharp taste was so strong that she didn’t even realize it was ketchup at first, she actually thought it was blood!
Was this crazy woman making her eat organs and blood from someone she had just killed, to get rid of the evidence?!
“If you don’t want to die, don’t move.”
What Evelia meant was, ‘If you don’t want to starve to death, stop fussing and eat.’
She just wanted the poor, starving little girl to eat something and get some strength back.
But her cold, emotionless tone, and the way she stared at the girl like she was just an object, terrified the alchemist, who had already died once at Evelia’s hands.
Just moments ago, she had been planning how to secretly take advantage of Evelia. But now, she was too scared to even breathe loudly, and all she could do was cry and choke as Evelia fed her.
The alchemist swallowed the porridge awkwardly, her throat gulping and gurgling as she was forced to eat too fast. She couldn’t breathe properly, and since she had only just woken up, she started getting dizzy again. Her vision blurred, she nearly passed out a second time.
She had thought one bowl would be enough. Just one bowl had already felt like a life-or-death trial. When she closed her eyes, she could almost see her ancestors on the other side of a river, waving her over…
But then—clang!
Evelia brought over another container, a huge pot almost as big as the alchemist herself, and placed it on the table.
“...Hic.”
Looking at the enormous bowl, which gave off such a scary aura that its shadow alone seemed to swallow her whole, the girl let out a frightened little hiccup.
“Open your mouth. Drink.”
“Uhh… sob sob…”
I—I was wrong! I’ll never plot against you again!!
Someone, please save me!!