Chapter 113

“Do I… have to do all of this?”

A mountain of plain white dishes, without a single fancy pattern, was piled up before my eyes.

If I lined them up, they’d probably tower over me.

“This is nothing. Are you already whining? Kids these days, tsk tsk.”

An elderly woman, her body covered in muscles, crossed her arms and glared down at me.

‘Why is she so tall and scary…’

She looked at least 2 meters tall.

Her height far exceeded that of an average man, so I had to crane my neck to look up at her.

This old woman, whom Viviana called Grandma Miranda, was the owner of this shabby tavern.

As soon as Viviana left, she grabbed me by the scruff of my neck, shoved me into the kitchen, and left me standing pitifully in front of a mountain of dishes.

When I asked why there was no one else in the kitchen, she replied that she ran the tavern all by herself.

Judging by the interior and furniture, it seemed far inferior to the shops in the Empire, but it appeared that quite a few customers still came by.

I wondered if one person could handle it all, but then again, with her size and muscles, she probably could do anything.

“Are you here to play? Hurry up and get to work!”

“Eek?!”

My body flinched at the ear-splitting shout.

Had anyone ever yelled at me like that in this life? Moreover, she looked like a commoner. Did she not know I was a noble?

“Could you… lower your voice a bit…?”

“Lower my voice? If you’re going to waste my time, get out now!”

At the voice that tore through my eardrums again, I reflexively reached for the gloves.

“Fine, I’ll do it!”

After all, it’s just dishwashing.

Of course, I’ve never done dishes before in my life, but it should be less painful than breaking fingers or cutting wrists.

Besides, this is a task Viviana entrusted to me. I don’t want to disappoint her, who always reaches out to me first.

Honestly, I don’t see how such menial tasks, fit for commoners, could be atonement, but Viviana is far wiser and more outstanding than someone like me. I believe she has a plan, so I put on the gloves.

It’s not like I’m surrendering because I’m scared of that old lady.

‘How hard can dishwashing be?’

Just slap on some soap, rinse it in water, and wipe it off. That’s it. Thinking I should finish quickly, I carefully picked up a dish and dipped it into the water basin.

But the water seeped through the flimsy gloves in an instant. The icy water temperature made me instinctively pull my arm out.

“Ah, eek?!”

“Tsk tsk.”

Miranda narrowed her eyes and glared at me as if I were pathetic.

“It’s too cold! How am I supposed to work with this?!”

“What, did you expect warm water? Do you think this is some palace or something?”

“N-no, but this is…!”

“What’s so cold about it? I used to wash myself with water colder than this when I was outside.”

Miranda clicked her tongue and looked down at me with disdain. Her tone made my anger flare up.

What’s so great about living in poverty that she looks down on me like this? If it were the old me, a few sweet words would have gotten me jewels enough to have warm water running all day for months.

Not that I was right back then, but there’s no reason to be treated like this.

‘…No, pull yourself together.’

I didn’t come here to complain.

I reminded myself that I was a sinner and dipped my hands back into the water.

“Ugh…”

The water was so cold that I wondered if wearing gloves even mattered, but I bit my lip, thinking it was better than nothing.

It’s fine. It’s not as painful as breaking fingers. Compared to the pain of biting my tongue or burning my wrists, this is nothing. I comforted myself and tried to hypnotize myself.

“I’ll go handle the backlog of orders. Finish this while I’m gone.”

Grandma Miranda snorted and turned her back.

I felt the urge to flip her off as she walked away, but I held back, knowing I’d be in big trouble if she caught me.

‘Who washes with water like this? She’s just showing off…!’

I grumbled under my breath, suppressing the pain of my freezing hands. Still, as time passed, the water didn’t feel as cold as before.

I dipped the dishes in the water, lathered them with soap, rinsed off the suds, and wiped them dry with a cloth before placing them on the dish rack.

Repeating this, I soon had a decent pile of clean dishes beside me. But despairingly, the mountain of unwashed dishes still loomed before me.

“…Can’t I just do them all at once?”

It felt like a waste of time to do them one by one.

I gathered the dishes in front of me and dumped them all into the water basin. I made a generous amount of soap suds and poured them over the dishes. After roughly scrubbing them with the soapy water, I placed them one by one on the dish rack, muttering to myself.

“They’ll dry on their own, right?”

Natural drying is a thing for a reason, isn’t it?

I smiled contentedly at the dishes neatly stacked on the rack.

The speed had improved significantly. At this rate, I should be able to finish soon.

“There’s nothing dumber than being inefficient.”

Swallowing a bitter smile, I dipped another dish into the water.

Every time the cold water seeped through the gloves, my body shivered.

But I gritted my teeth and endured, imagining the old hag’s flustered face.

※

Despite being an extremely impoverished region due to constant wars, Miranda’s food was always popular among soldiers and mercenaries, rivaling even the fancy restaurants in the Imperial Capital.

“What’s the matter, old lady? You never let anyone into the kitchen before, and now you’ve got staff?”

A mercenary with a thick beard hanging below his chin asked with sparkling eyes. Miranda frowned as she placed a dish of food in front of him.

“Stop yapping and eat your food.”

“Alright~ If the old lady says so.”

The mercenary laughed heartily and began devouring the food.

Miranda shook her head, thinking of the kid scrunching up her face while doing the dishes.

“I can hear everything, kid.”

The brat’s voice grumbling in the kitchen. She wondered what face the kid would make if she knew her sharp ears caught everything.

The kid was so skinny it made her frown.

It seemed like her parents hadn’t been feeding her properly, as she looked like she could collapse any moment.

At that age, kids should be chubby to grow into strong, healthy bodies later.

“Tsk. Kids these days are all flashy on the outside but empty inside.”

Despite looking like she’d faint from a flick on the forehead, the kid had an annoyingly strong spirit, making her quite the brat.

Normally, such a delicate, pampered noble girl wouldn’t be worth her attention.

Those high-nosed nobles who look down on the world, pretending to be swans without getting their hands dirty—just thinking about them made her sick.

Their arrogance, believing they could have everything without lifting a finger, was their true nature.

But the only reason she let the kid into the kitchen was one.

The earnest request of Princess Merdelia. If it weren’t for that, Miranda would have kicked the brat out of the region immediately.

Her first meeting with Viviana was on the battlefield seven years ago.

Living as a mercenary, Miranda took on a request from the fallen Kingdom of Kaladwen and fought on the battlefield, swinging her sword to keep the kingdom alive.

Back then, Miranda encountered a monster known as the Empire’s Sword.

Emotionless eyes and a sword devoid of feeling. The killing intent emanating from that blade was enough to make even Miranda suffocate.

But unfortunately, the Kingdom of Kaladwen fell before their fight could conclude. As a result, Miranda had to leave the battlefield and return to her wandering mercenary life.

The one who hired her back then was none other than Princess Viviana.

[Old lady, I heard you have a hobby for cooking.]

The massive funds and this shop, received under the condition of cooperating with the Merdelia Ducal Family.

It wasn’t a losing business, so Miranda accepted her offer without much resistance. Since then, she settled here, guarding the outskirts of the continent while running the tavern.

Truthfully, her interest in Princess Viviana was also a reason.

Those eyes, filled with madness, as if she had already given up on life at such a young age. Did she know how much fear those eyes instilled in others on the battlefield?

But the eyes she saw recently were completely different.

The eyes of a love-struck fool, dripping with honey. The colors within were incomparably vibrant and bright compared to before.

It was hard to believe it was the same Viviana who swung her sword emotionlessly on the battlefield. She was shining brilliantly.

And it wasn’t hard to figure out who had changed her eyes like that.

“I never thought that monster of a princess would be so shallow.”

Moreover, it was another woman. The world is full of surprises.

Well, it was true that the brat was stunningly beautiful. Even Miranda had been momentarily captivated by her dazzling appearance during their first meeting.

But unfortunately, her personality was a disaster. There’s nothing more tiresome than dealing with a woman full of thorns.

Sorry, Princess Viviana, but that brat will probably run away from here within a week.

Feeling regretful, she handed over the last dish and returned to the kitchen.

“Kid, you finished the dishes, right?”

“Ah, you’re back?”

The kid was smiling confidently.

The dishes and cups were all neatly placed on the dish rack. Moreover, the gloves were off and lying haphazardly, so it seemed she had finished the dishes quite a while ago.

“Oh? Did you really finish?”

“Is dishwashing some grand task?”

Listening to the kid’s sarcastic remark, Miranda picked up a dish from the rack.

At first glance, the surface of the dish seemed to shine cleanly. But upon closer inspection, there was still grease glistening on it.

Not only was it not properly dried, but food remnants were still stuck to the edges of the plate.

“…You damn brat.”

It was clear she hadn’t properly checked the dishes she washed.

The brat, oblivious to this, was puffing out her chest and looking at her confidently.

“You half-baked brat! Is this what you call dishwashing?”

“Eek?!!?”

At her shout, the kid’s eyes widened in shock.

She trembled like a frightened rabbit, stepping back and covering her ears, glaring threateningly. It was quite amusing.

“Why, why are you yelling at me?!”

“A newborn could do better than this! How can you not even do such a simple task with two hands and two feet?”

“W-well, just eat it like that! It’s going to get dirty again anyway!”

This is why nobles are the worst.

Every single one of them is insufferable.

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