Chapter 10
2. Accumulating the dark history
Inaila opened her eyes in the morning and gazed at the ceiling of her room, which was still twirling.
‘Anyway, I’m already 13.’
It was nothing wrong to have a taste of an alcoholic drink along with a yakgwa. She had taken it along with the cookies because she thought it would be a nice combination.
‘I forgot that minors were not allowed to drink alcohol.’
“My Lady, is everything all right? The chef has prepared a special cheese bread for Lady to get rid of her hangover!”
“It’s fine, I don’t need it……”
She felt a little lightheaded, but a headache grasped her head as soon as she heard the word ‘cheese bread’.
“……I want to have soybean paste stew with dried radish leaves.”
“Pardon? But t-that is g-garbage…”
Inaila sighed as the maid frightfully stuttered out.
‘Ah, let’s not talk about it.’
She turned around, burying herself deeper under the quilt.
It seemed like the last day was the most tiring day. Beating the dough and slicing the vegetables with these short hands of hers. They made her muscles cramp.
As some of the maids hurried to inform the Duke that she had woken up, two of them gathered their strength to ask her.
“My Lady, the cookies you made were very delicious. When did you learn that?”
“Yes, I agree. The chef spent the whole night trying to prepare it, but he couldn’t make anything similar to it.”
“It’s called yakgwa. It is usually presented in the wedding ceremonies in my coun—”
Her words were cut off by a sudden noise in the room next to hers. It wouldn’t be a thief because the maids were all calm.
‘Huh? Why is he still in his room at this hour?’
“……What’s happening?”
“His Highness is grounded in his room, Miss.”
“What? Why?”
“For what else, Miss? He gave you a drink. Thus, the Duke had given an order to lock him up in his room.”
“But I was the one who brought that drink, wasn’t I ?”
“The Duke said it was wrong for His Highness to let My Lady drink the liquor. Even Tom, who let My Lady carry the drink, was punished. However, the chef has taken him to his room and is trying to figure out your secret recipe.”
“Ah….I see.”
‘I guess he’s training in his room.’
She was remorseful. She didn’t know that having just a sip of alcohol would cause such consequences.
She still had the memory of her previous life when she emptied a whole bottle of sogokju (A traditional drink in Korea) with the chef, and when she gulped down on a couple of cups of makgeolli (A Korean alcoholic beverage).
[TL/N: Sogokju – A traditional liquor in Korea.
Makgeolli – A Korean alcoholic beverage.]
Of course, both sogokju and makgeolli have high alcohol content. Therefore, on the next day, she had to boil radish leaves and dried pollack with soybean paste to drive off her headache.
It was wasteful to throw away the radish leaves that were snipped off when making kkakdugi. They were very helpful in removing her fatigue when she chewed on them.
[TL/N: Kkakdugi – A Korean dish made from diced radish.]
‘Neither I nor the boss was this helpless.’
“Miss, excuse me, but…”
‘Hmm, I wonder why they’re so chatty today. Is it the effect of the syrup I made?’
“Didn’t you take it to offer a drink to Lord Karpel? If not, why did you drink it? But, I am indeed rueful……”
The maid looked at her pitifully.
“…..that nothing happened. Thanks to Tom, the Duke went after you as soon as he was informed about the drink.”
Inaila was quite confused.
‘What are you talking about? Why would you feel sorry that nothing happened? Should Ibe in the coffin now?’
However, she could read the expression that was plastered on their faces. It was clearly pointing to something that should have happened between a man and a woman.
“Do you not know that I’m only 13?”
“Oh, of course, Miss.”
‘Wait…’
“You’re all grown up at 13, Miss.”
Another maid chimed in as Inaila kept staring at them with a puzzled look.
‘What do you mean?’
“Besides, Our Lady is already engaged and is under a lot of protection…….”
“What’s going on here, Ina?”
Her father stood at the door, holding the doorknob. As he snarled at the maids with a red face, the maids pursed their lips.
“Yes, try to teach her about awful things, and I might fire you from your jobs.”
The maids quickly shook their heads, their faces slowly losing their complexion.
She honestly didn’t agree with what the maids tried to say, but there was only one thing she understood. Her father was acting so overprotective that it put the maids at the risk of losing their jobs for only expressing their opinions on a love affair.
“It was Ina’s fault, papa. And from now on, she promises to never have a single drink with His Highness anymore.”
For a second, she thought a light grin had appeared on his face. The next thing she knew she was being hugged by her father with a proud look on his face.
“Yes, yes, my Ina is very smart! Don’t do that ever again, or you might get into trouble, dear!”
She was sorry for creating such a situation for Karpel. But she thought the simple cookies might be able to melt away the resentment he had accumulated towards her.
In particular, it could be thought of as a bribe.
‘I don’t think I’d be in any trouble if I stay careful at every step.’
But still, she nodded at her father’s statement. She stupidly kept nodding at him as he kept asking about her promise.
“But I don’t think His Highness did anything wrong, papa. Can’t you please relax?”
“Yes, but I wouldn’t.”
“……P-Papa~”
“It was the fault of His Highness, Ina.”
She tried to melt him by making her eyes sparkle, but he was strangely determined.
‘What! How? Did you lose your brain somewhere?’
Anxious, she slowly raised her head innocently, preparing to dig up more information from him.
“What’s wrong, papa?”
“……”
The Duke carefully laid her on her bed.
“Papa has to attend to his duties, sweetheart.”
And then he ran away.
‘What did Karpel do?’
There was nothing he could do to a girl who fell down after drinking.
“Ah, come on, what wrong did His Highness do?”
When she curiously asked the maids, they shook their heads.
“I-I don’t know, Miss.”
“Yes, My Lady was smiling and clinging to him, but he didn’t do anything.”
“Huh? What? What did I do?”
‘I do remember losing my consciousness after drinking it. What did I do?’
“Oh my, Miss. You don’t remember?”
Somehow, cold chills passed through her spine.
‘So, it was me.’
“I, uh, I was smiling and c-clinging?”
“Yes, Miss, you even skipped on the honorifics.”
“H-How?”
“Oh, you kept on telling him to hug you, Miss.”
The maids glanced at her as if they were looking at a clingy and pushy girl.
“Why are you staring at me like that?! That was just a hug!”
She screamed, standing up on her feet. She ran out of her room and clung to the door of the next room.
“Your Highness! That was just a misunderstanding!”
She shouted as she knocked on the door. However, no answer came from the room.
“Please forgive me about yesterday, Your Highness! I apologize for my rude behavior! It’s all my fault!”
Every servant in the hallway turned her heads as if to pretend they had seen nothing, but her face was clearly flushed red.
The room was as silent as a graveyard.
She kept on knocking on his door and calling him, but she had to return back to her room because it seemed like a nuisance to keep doing that.