Chapter 19: Come and Eat Some Seafood! 

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Apparently, Maricle-sama was very pleased with the bath. After a few days, his appearance would revert back to the one I first saw him with but despite that, he was always in a better mood compared to before. 

Sure. He was able to sleep on his bed like normal on the day we gave him a bath and the next day after. I also felt his complexion looked so much better than he was before. 

To be fair, it was no wonder that such deep wrinkles would be perpetually plastered on his forehead if he had to spend his life resting on either a stone or iron chair. 

As for me, the day to give Maricle-sama a bath was a great chance for me to get an abundance of fresh seafood. The big prawns I got on the first day I bathed Maricle-sama, they were so juicy and delicious. It was not an exaggeration to say they were the epitome of flavour itself. The taste was simply wonderful beyond belief. 

I had received 『space-time storage box』from Bhadra-sama through the automaton. I was told that this magic tool was like a magic warehouse where time would freeze for all the things I put inside. So I put all of the marine products I harvested from Maricle-sama into this box. 

…..The marine products I could harvest from Maricle-sama were bigger, fresher, more flavourful and so much easier to get than the ones in my parents’ house. 

Is it really a curse? Isn’t it not a blessing from the angels instead? I really can’t count how many times I wish I could receive the same predisposition as Maricle-sama everytime I bite into these delicious seafood!

“……..Miltia… Those… Do they taste that good?”

These days, I have been cooking all the meals for myself and Maricle-sama myself. Although I needed to use the vegetables and meats that Maricle-sama had bought for the main dishes, I was given permission to add one or two side dishes made from the seafood I harvested from Maricle-sama. 

………. Though I was the only one who would eat those….

“Y-yes… It tastes very delicious.”

Maricle-sama was staring curiously at a plate of boiled mantis shrimp that I had peeled beforehand. 

Deep green eyes and silvery blue hair. There were still traces of blue-black skin and you could see the curses beginning to form on some part of his body but if you casted all of those aside, Maricle-sama looked so beautiful that even a princess would be captivated by him. 

I… I mean…. Even in this state, I could still see fragments of his beauty appearing and disappearing. He was definitely in an entirely different world compared to me who was the epitome of poor and shabby. 

These days, Maricle-sama was practically exuding the aura of nobility because now he was able to wear normal human clothes thanks to our bath session that was held almost everyday. 

“…… I see…… Miltia… Is there…Can you feel any… Abnormality… Happening to you after eating… That stuff everyday?”

“Unfortunately… No. I’m sorry.”

“Why did you say ‘unfortunately’… Haaahh… Your common sense is truly incomprehensible…” 

Maricle-sama sighed but he was smiling. It seemed he wasn’t upset nor disgusted. He was simply curious about my diet. Well that was to be expected. As the head of a duke family, he must’ve never dined face to face with someone as poor and shameless as me who came from a low-rank count family. 

“You know… That… Do you…. Do you mind if I have a taste of that?”

Timidly, Maricle-sama pointed at a… Bowl of soup next to the boiled mantis shrimp. This soup was made by boiling crustacean’s shell like the shrimp’s head or the crab’s shell until it became a stock. Then I added some pot herbs into the stock and boiled them together.  As if the essence of the sea itself was being condensed within, the soup tasted so refined and full of flavour. 

But still… For someone like the duke to eat something like this… I felt grateful that the duke himself was interested in my cooking but…

…. This soup…. It was actually made by reusing the shell after I peeled the ‘meat’ part off…. Even the pot herbs itself… I used the skin of the leek, the leafy part of the celery that wasn’t meant to be eaten and the core of the cabbages. I used that kind of stuff for this soup.

If I may be blunt, this soup was practically 『the poor man’s soup made from leftovers』.

“U-Umm… I don’t mind but… I’m not sure this soup will suit your taste…”

“I am very aware of that fact.”

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T/N: Actually that’s the right way to make stock! By using leftovers! Also the character development here! Our ML finally starting to accept his ‘curse’! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝

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