“Is that possible, Ergo?”
The Duke inquired of Ergo, the armorer and master blacksmith in charge of the armory. Ergo looked at me, scanning the mask I wore with the eyes of a craftsman from his seated position.
“Yes, it’s not difficult. I just need to mold it according to the shape and size of the face that needs covering… But does the face inside the mask differ from the one you’ve revealed?”
His tone implied questioning the necessity of a new mask.
“If you need a mask that covers the entire face, that would be easier.”
Hearing this, I slowly removed the half-mask that had been covering my original face.
I felt a wave of shame, as if I was being stripped bare in front of everyone. But now, I wanted to reveal my true face, to stand under the sun with my authentic self.
And perhaps, seeing the life I had to live, covering my unscarred face, might open their hearts a bit to me.
That hope overcame the shame.
I removed the mask and looked at Ergo.
“This is my real face.”
Ergo gasped.
“What happened to you? Your original face is pretty, no, no, I mean, not unsightly.”
Without realizing, he blurted out and then turned red, observing my right side, the side that was intact.
I felt a surge of emotion and had to fight back tears.
Quickly, I put the mask back on.
“I’ve lived like this all my life. The South deceived me into believing the disfigured side was my true face.”
“How did you find out? How are you certain that the right side is your real face?”
The Duke’s tone was cold.
His voice seemed to suppress something rising within him. He wasn’t looking at me but had his head bowed.
“…I found out by chance. That’s all I can say. I’m sorry.”
My voice trembled involuntarily.
After a moment, Arcadia spoke.
“You’ll be given a proper chance to prove yourself, so you better be prepared. Don’t expect any leniency just because you seem frail.”
“That’s exactly what I want.”
I managed a small smile.
Arcadia’s expression had softened compared to before.
I followed the only person who had accepted me, the chief cook Mobius, to the mess tent.
The tent was a fully equipped kitchen, reminiscent of a grand castle’s culinary department.
A huge, long grill that could cook steaks for dozens at once, expansive countertops where ingredients could be laid out without overlapping.
I saw a few soldiers prepping ingredients in front of the grill and countertops.
“Our cooks. Eating is what gives strength for battle. This place is the source of power for our knights, the core department of the Knights’ Order, you could say.”
The bear-like Mobius smiled brightly like a child. He shouted,
“We are the strongest in the empire!”
The young soldiers, looking bored, chanted in response, holding their knives high.
“Even in taste!! We are the Culinary Division!!”
Their perfectly timed chant suggested it wasn’t their first time doing this routine.
“Bringing joy to the knights with delicious food, we are the ‘sunshine of the Knights’ Order.’ Welcome, newbie. Your name was…”
“Estelle.”
“Yes, Estelle. I am Mobius.”
“Yes, Chef Mobius…”
Mobius’s eyes twinkled, expecting a particular form of address.
“Chief Cook?”
“Chief Cook… not bad. But I wouldn’t mind a bit more flair in the title.”
Not enough? Challenging.
After pondering, I said,
“The strongest… Chief Cook?”
“Ha ha, I like that! But I prefer being called Mobius Colonel.”
“Colonel?”
“Yes. Our Knights’ Order is led by the Duke, with Knight Nugent as the Vice-Captain, followed by several colonels. I used to be a colonel myself, serving under the previous Duke, roaming the battlefields.”
Mobius’s eyes grew solemn as he reminisced about the past. He rolled up the long sleeves covering his thick forearms, revealing burnt, melted red flesh. It seemed the damage wasn’t just limited to his arm.
“!”
“I almost died after being hit by an oil-soaked fire arrow. The previous Duke saved me. Unfortunately, I lost much of my strength and couldn’t wield a sword anymore, but it led me to discover the new world of cooking. Miss Estelle, or should I say, Estelle, you too should take heart.”
Mobius was kind. His eyes looked at my face.
I see.
That’s why he accepted me. He must have thought the right side of my face was also scarred by burns.
“Thank you, Colonel Mobius.”
“Ha ha, sure.”
Someone else’s kindness still felt unfamiliar.
But this unfamiliar warmth spread gently within my heart.
“I hope, as the Duke said, that your face is the result of black magic and not a burn. Burns are too painful.”
At his words, I smiled nonchalantly. I wasn’t sure how to respond to his concern.
Yet, a warmth thawed my frozen heart. What is this feeling?
“When we return to the North, I’ll ask Adrian to examine you. If it’s magic, maybe it can be healed.”
I remembered what the Duke had said earlier.
[We’ll know more once we return to the North and have Adrian look at it.]Could this Adrian determine why my face is like this?
“Who is this Adrian, if I may ask?”
“Huh? Adrian? He’s the greatest magician in the North, no, in the entire Empire.”
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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