Chapter 249: A Familiar Scent
To hide the fact that he had been seriously injured and unconscious for a while, Armand quickly washed up after waking and changed into his knight uniform.
He avoided the house staff who were going about their duties, circled around from the back door to the front, and pretended like nothing had happened, as if he had just come home from a long day of work.
He greeted the passing knights and servants casually, giving them the impression that he had only been working overtime and was now finally getting a break.
But even though he had woken up, Armand was still running a mild fever. After showing his face briefly around the estate just to let people know he was fine, he returned to his bedroom, took off the slightly uncomfortable uniform, and lay down again, feeling the headache caused by the fever.
“Dad, are you still not better yet?”
Rachel came up beside Armand and sweetly tucked him in like a caring elder.
“Nah, I’m fine now. Don’t underestimate your old man.”
While Evelia had gone out to prepare lunch for Armand, Rachel had come in. When they saw each other, both of them looked surprised.
Rachel was shocked that Armand had woken up so soon, and that he didn’t seem to want any treatment.
What about the poison in his body? Was he just going to ignore it?
She didn’t know how he had survived it, but it looked like he was really treating it like a mild cold.
Armand, on the other hand, was surprised by how cheerful Rachel looked. He had thought that such a young child, after being kidnapped, would be stuck in fear or trauma. He had even been considering whether to ask a psychologist to help her recover.
But Rachel seemed totally fine. Eating, drinking, and acting like nothing had happened at all. They were both worried about each other’s health and mental state, but because of their hidden identities, neither of them could speak too directly.
Armand could only ask in a roundabout way as “Dad”, if Rachel had had any nightmares recently. And Rachel, playing the role of “daughter,” could only ask if Armand had felt any strange symptoms in his body.
As for their answers, of course, they were all half-truths, saying part of it and hiding the rest. Even if you put all their words together, there weren’t many real facts.
“I’m glad you’re okay, Dad. You really made me worry...”
Rachel wasn’t just worried about Armand’s health. She was also worried about whether Armand might have been taken advantage of while unconscious. She had no idea what kind of face he’d make when he eventually learned the truth.
He had been poisoned, running a high fever, and kissed several times while unconscious. If the roles were reversed and this happened to a girl, the story would’ve gone viral.
As she thought about this, Rachel even wondered who actually took advantage of whom.
Ugh... Young people and their romantic nonsense...
“Haha, sorry. I just got tired these past few days and took a nap. Really, I’m totally fine, sorry to make you worry.”
Seeing that even a child like Rachel was worried about him, Armand gave a light laugh, trying to ease the tense mood. Unlike the forced smile he had earlier, this one was real and relaxed. It looked much better.
When Rachel saw that familiar smile, she should’ve felt happy about Armand starting to recover. But strangely, she felt complicated emotions instead.
...So he does know about his condition.
That calm and peaceful look clearly meant that Armand was aware of the poison in his body.
That meant this poison didn’t come from the most recent incident. He must have been poisoned a long time ago. And this probably wasn’t the first time the poison had acted up, either. Otherwise, he couldn’t possibly be this calm.
Just thinking about that gave Rachel goosebumps.
How deadly must that poison be, if it had stayed in his body for so long?
How did he survive all these years?
Now that she thought about it, maybe that “stomach problem” Armand had mentioned before wasn’t just a regular illness caused by skipping meals…
Was it... the poison eating away at him?
If the poison had already damaged his stomach, then the rest of his organs probably weren’t in good shape either.
There were times when Rachel had noticed the smell of alchemy potions in Armand’s room, could it be that he had been using special medicines to relieve the pain caused by the poison?
Oh my god, this guy… He’s been living way too hard, hasn’t he? What is he even fighting for so desperately?
“Mr. Armand.”
Just as Rachel was still wondering how Armand had managed to survive, Evelia knocked on the door and came in. She was holding Armand’s lunch and sat down in the chair next to his bed.
Since the lunch was made by Evelia, there was no doubt it would include something with tomatoes. Sure enough, when Armand and Rachel both leaned over to look, they saw a plate of bright red tomato cheese pasta.
But judging by the amount of ingredients, it looked more like “cheese pasta with tomato overload.”
There was more tomato sauce than actual pasta, it looked like someone just casually tossed a few noodles into a bowl of tomato sauce.
…Is it really okay to give something like this to someone who just woke up from a coma?
Rachel complained silently in her head, something she’d never dare say out loud if she wanted to stay alive.
Judging from Armand’s expression, he seemed to be thinking the same thing. His smile stiffened on his face as he glanced between Evelia’s tomato cheese pasta and Rachel beside him.
“Rach—”
“—I’ll just leave you two to enjoy your meal together!”
Before Armand could even try to drag Rachel into this “trap” with him, the ever-alert Rachel had already sensed the danger.
She jumped off the bed and darted out of the room at lightning speed. It seemed the recent kidnapping had actually trained her physical reflexes quite well.
“...She runs fast…”
“Mr. Armand, is something wrong?”
Even though Evelia cared about Rachel to some extent, with Armand now in front of her, 1000% of her attention was focused on him. She didn’t ask why Rachel ran so fast or where she went. She just sat quietly across from Armand, looking sweet and obedient, with her fork and spoon ready to go.
“……”
Looking at the sea of blood-red tomato sauce, Armand grew a little nervous and felt a drop of cold sweat slide down his back.
But if it was made by Evelia…
I’ve eaten all kinds of poison already. What’s a little tomato sauce to me?!
He had nearly missed the chance to eat a meal personally made by Evelia. Starting today, he’ll treasure everything she cooks for him!
With this bold determination, Armand took a deep breath, his eyes full of resolve like a soldier heading to battle.
“So this is my lunch, right? Thanks, I’ll take it—”
Just as Armand reached to take the plate, Evelia moved it away from him.
“No need for you to lift a finger, Mr. Armand. You just woke up, I'll feed you.”
As she spoke, Evelia scooped up a spoonful of tomato sauce with melted cheese, skipping the noodles for now, and brought it toward Armand’s mouth.
“Please open wide, ahhh—”
As she dragged out the final “ah,” the spoon was already right in front of Armand’s lips. The strong tomato smell filled his nose, making the corners of his mouth twitch a little.
“Ahhh—”
Seeing Armand not opening his mouth, Evelia repeated the feeding sound again and moved the spoon even closer.
“…Ah…”
As for Armand, although he had just looked so determined, when he was actually faced with this tomato dish, he honestly felt like running away for a second.
But… a real man doesn’t back down at the last minute!
So, after building up his courage, Armand decided to challenge Evelia’s tomato cooking again after so long—
“Cough—ugh…”
—And ended up almost throwing up after the first bite.
Yeah… he had definitely overestimated himself.
Because of the added cheese, this batch of tomato sauce had a stickier texture than usual. And since Armand had been unconscious for a while, he hadn’t eaten anything proper in days, only flavorless nutrient fluids. His taste buds had become very sensitive.
So, being hit with a spoonful of Evelia’s favorite ultra-sweet-and-sour tomato sauce made his tongue and mouth feel completely overwhelmed.
“Mr. Armand, are you okay? Is your body hurting again?”
Seeing Armand frown and look uncomfortable, Evelia quickly put down the food tray and leaned in, cupping his face in her hands. She wiped the tomato sauce from the corner of his mouth, then very naturally put her sauce-covered finger in her mouth to taste it.
Armand, busy coughing, didn’t even notice this. He only saw Evelia’s face, still calm as always, but when their eyes met, he could still feel the worry in her gaze.
That one look alone made Armand suddenly feel that… eating more tomato sauce wasn’t so bad after all.
At worst, I’ll just take a few more days off, he thought. Carle said he could handle things anyway.
“No, I’m fine,” Armand said with a cheerful smile as he forced himself to swallow the sticky sauce. “Don’t worry, really. I’m okay.”
“That’s good to hear, Mr. Armand.”
Evelia relaxed a little after hearing that and checking his expression. She returned to her seat and picked up the tray again.
“Okay then, Mr. Armand—ahhh—”
This time, she offered him another spoonful of sauce, with half a noodle included.
As Armand stared at the spoonful of bright red tomato sauce Evelia was holding up, he suddenly remembered the early days when they had just met.
Back then, she had done the same thing, wearing her maid outfit, holding up a spoon of red sauce, saying “Ah” in her usual emotionless voice.
Armand still remembered how it had felt like a bunch of heart-shaped bricks had slammed into him.
It had been early spring back then, and now it was already autumn.
Just one more cold winter, and a new year would begin.
Will the warm days of the new spring… feel different this time?
Thinking of the past, Armand smiled and opened his mouth, letting Evelia feed him another spoonful of sauce.
Even though the flavor was still strong, it wasn’t as bad as the first bite. And remembering how Evelia used to scowl while feeding him in the past… well, her current expression made it much easier to eat.
Sigh… he really must be getting old, thinking back on the past so much.
With that thought, Armand gave a helpless little laugh.
Meanwhile, Evelia's eyes were focused on Armand’s lips, still stained with a bit of tomato sauce.
She remembered all the things she’d done to him while he was unconscious, and without thinking, she licked her own lips.
She didn’t even know why her heart was beating faster. Her whole body felt strangely hot, and her legs rubbed together slightly under her maid skirt.
—Mr. Armand with tomato sauce… looks even more delicious… I really want to do what I did before again…
But when she remembered that Armand was now awake, Evelia shook her head slightly in her heart.
Yeah… I still have to hold back.