Rubica was very determined to eat until she was full, but everything felt like sand in her mouth. In the end, she put down the bread and managed to drink a glass of milk. Elise glanced at her as she refilled the glass with milk.
It looked like Rubica had no appetite. In the meantime, Rubica was wondering whether she was supposed to stop there, but eating only a little bread and a glass of milk when she had such a big breakfast in front of her didn’t seem right.
Moreover, Elise was so worried to see her like that.
-Just talk with her so that she will not become nervous and help her eat well.
What Ann had said before she left rang in her ears. Elise had promised to do her best, but the result till now hadn’t been good.
She hadn’t managed to even have a small talk about the weather while Rubica washed her face, and breakfast was now turning into a disaster.
Elise had never served Rubica before and didn’t know she generally didn’t have much appetite in the morning. Instead, she just felt like it was all her fault and desperately tried to get an opportunity to make up to it.
“Madam, the omelet looks delicious. Please try it.”
Rubica looked at the omelet. It was full of fresh mushrooms, vegetables, bird meat, and expensive cheese. However, she had never savored it properly. She was sad that it wasn’t dinner and was even sadder when thinking that the omelet never came out during dinner.
“Does it look delicious?”
“Yes. I ate it two days ago, and it was really delicious. The warm mushrooms and fried onions in it are particularly tasty.”
Elise really wanted to recover Rubica’s appetite and tried hard to make the omelet look even more inviting. As many people liked it, it was one of the dishes that frequently came out as breakfast. So, Elise described it as if it was the best dish in the world. There was nothing else like it.
Rubica stared at it and then asked, “Would you like to have it then?”
“What?”
By rules, Rubica and Elise couldn’t eat together. Sitting together and eating with the master and the mistress was not allowed without being invited. Moreover, Elise was Rubica’s lady-in-waiting. She was supposed to serve the mistress, not be invited by her. The manners and common sense she had were ordering her to politely refuse Rubica’s offer as it wasn’t right. But…
‘I must make her eat, no matter what.’
Elise was like a mouse in a corner who couldn’t see anything. In short, she was moving in the right direction where it would lead her to a mistake.
“Would you eat if I have a bite?”
She said what mothers said to soothe picky-eating children, and she regretted saying it soon after. She was worried Rubica might get angry because of that. However, this weird duchess was not mad. She was glad to hear that.
“Would you do that for me?”
Do? Do what?
“Bring a plate, and, um, fork and knife. A napkin too.”
Rubica was fast to act and didn’t give Elise enough time to wake up from the surprise. Although the maids were a little puzzled, they did what Rubica ordered. Elise’s seat was ready in no time.
Now the girl was about to cry, but Rubica just smiled and gestured to the seat next to her. Elise didn’t want to sit as she knew the manners. The education she received till now was telling her she couldn’t sit.
“Elise, please, sit.”
Elise hesitated for a long time. Rubica asked again, but she still didn’t move. Rubica’s smile started to fade, and soon she was utterly disappointed. That woke Elise up.
She recalled the time Rubica transformed her first. She transformed her in a way that wasn’t right in the people’s perspective and morals which Mrs. Shaynie had always talked about. Elise had been afraid. She had feared she might look like a cheap woman when finished. However, the girl she saw in the mirror was a proud noble girl, and her friends also saw her that way.
‘Yes, she’s the one who matters. I must make her have at least one more bite. Manners and morals exist to make people happy, right? If I fail to make her happy to keep them, it would not be right.’
Elise’s mind rushed in front of the huge stress. Because of Shaynie’s education, she had become a quiet and timid girl, but she was a teenager. By her age, she was supposed to rebel against the rules. In the end, she just plopped down on the chair.
“If I eat, you eat as well.”
She announced and Rubica smiled happily.
“Okay, I’ll eat when you eat.”
Rubica quickly cut her omelet in half. Then, she followed Elise and ate her portion. The flavor of the soft egg and rich cheese filled her mouth.
“It’s delicious.”
She hadn’t been able to feel any taste, but now it was so delicious. Her appetite immediately surged up. She moved her spoon so fast when eating the omelet. Elise was relieved to see that but, at the same time, she felt so uncomfortable and wished she could stand up again. A lady-in-waiting eating on the same table with her mistress… she felt embarrassed when seeing the maids.
‘I should just finish this omelet quickly and get up.’
But then, Rubica put roasted asparagus and beans on Elise’s plate.
“Try this. It’s really good when eaten together with the omelet.”
Recommending tasty food is necessary for a pleasant meal. Plus, Rubica liked caring for others. It was in her nature, but Elise turned pale again at seeing her smile.
“… Your Grace.”
“Please, it’s so tasty and I want you to try it.”
Elise had no choice but to take it. Was it because it had been cooked for the duchess? It was certainly much tastier than the meals she had at the annex.
“It’s really good.”
Rubica smiled happily. She had memories of not being able to eat for days. That was why she wanted to share when she got something tasty.
Plus, the girl she liked so much was with her. Rubica then poured milk into a glass. The maids yelped, but she didn’t care and handed it to Elise.
“I think you should drink a lot of milk.”
“Excuse me?”
Elise was supposed to help the mistress eat, but now she was the one being cared. She took the glass, although she didn’t know what to do with it. Sitting at the table alone had cost her all the courage of the year. She wanted Rubica to be satisfied, but what happened next felt like a storm.
“Milk is good for your skin.”
Rubica even rushed her, and Elise thought refusing again would be rude, so she drank the milk. This brightened Rubica up.
“Drink, drink.”
Elise did as Rubica said like a good girl. Even though Elise was much taller than Rubica, to her, she looked so young and cute.
“And try this, too.”
Elise managed to finish the milk, but then Rubica put a dish of salmon and vegetables in front of her. Now, it looked like Rubica was the one who was serving her.
“You, you should eat as well.”
“I’ll eat if you eat this.”
Elise felt like she was getting a stomachache. This was just too much. She wanted to get up and run out, but Rubica looked so happy. She had no choice but to eat the salmon. It was an expensive dish, but she couldn’t feel any taste in it.
“Elise, you need to eat more.”
Rubica cut the bread into pieces and put it in front of the girl.
“Madam, you should eat too.”
Elise desperately begged like someone asking to be saved from hell, so Rubica quickly took a bite of the omelet.
“I’m eating. You should eat too, Elise.”
“I’m, I’m full.”
Rubica looked very disappointed and put down her fork.
“Really?”
It looked like she was about to finish eating there. Elise was surprised to see her like that and quickly ate a piece of bread.
“Thinking about it again, I can eat some more bread. It’s really tasty. You should try it with the omelet.”
“Really?”
Rubica smiled brightly. Then she ate the bread with the omelet just as Elise recommended and complimented her for being right.
‘She is… she is a devil.’
Rubica was kind. She had saved Elise from the pain, had given her a job and many things. Actually, to Elise, she was more than just kind. She was an angel. However, she was also a devil. The evilest of them all.
Elise’s family had gone bankrupt because they didn’t change their way of living even after their revenue decreased. Her mother at the abbey always reminded her of them through letters. ‘Avoid the extravagance you don’t deserve. Save and save as much as you can.’ Elise had taken it as her motto. She didn’t want to be like her father. She wanted to be humble.
However, after meeting Rubica, she had to cross that line over and over.
‘I, I will not be tricked again.’
Apart from Rubica, who was in the middle of a sweet and happy meal, Elise promised something to herself. Every moral had a good reason. Now Elise knew why the mistress and the lady-in-waiting were not allowed to eat together. It wasn’t for the mistress. The rule must have been made for the lady-in-waiting’s heart and stomach. She told herself it was the first and the last time she would have a meal with Rubica. She even vowed in the name of the god of honesty to not be shaken again.
