The traveling party was persuaded by Aslan.
There was no particular eloquence or other reason; it was simply because they knew there could be nothing better than the plan Aslan had presented.
Needless to say, Aslan’s plan was the best.
Moreover, based on what they had heard, it seemed like the plan was indifferent to whether Lewena had betrayed them or if the information provided was genuine.
Such an efficient plan left no room for opposition.
There was no choice but to execute the plan, and the traveling party had no option but to agree.
Thus, all that remained was to prepare what was necessary for carrying out the plan.
Considering that most of the preparations were already in place and all that was left was for the traveling party to rest, there was really no need to do anything special.
At most, it would involve communicating the changed plan to Budonggong, the staff, and the commander.
Even that required only a brief use of Aslan’s time.
“Since that’s settled, I’ll be back in a bit.”
Aslan’s words as he stepped outside. The traveling party did not stop him, and Aslan walked out of the empty inn.
Not long after, Tiamat headed toward the bell tower as per her usual compulsion, while Angie, Phey, and Richard each went outside for practice.
As the members of the traveling party gradually left one by one, the only ones remaining inside the inn were Ereta, Lumel, and Lewena.
There was no conversation between the three who remained.
An uncomfortable atmosphere filled the air, scattering through the inn’s bleak ambiance like fine dust.
It seemed Ereta felt uneasy about this atmosphere and the fact that she had to share space with Lewena, for she soon left her seat.
Her excuse was reasonable enough.
She claimed she would provide treatment to soldiers in need.
Though Lewena caught her disapproving gaze, she showed no reaction, as if she had never intended to hold Ereta back in the first place.
In the end, only Lewena and Lumel remained inside the inn.
Even Lumel found Lewena’s presence uncomfortable, so after silently staring at Lewena for a moment, he sighed and got up from his seat.
To prepare the meal the group would eat upon their return, he headed toward the kitchen at the back of the inn.
A pair of purple eyes followed him closely. The owner of those eyes observed his actions for a while before asking:
“What are you doing?”
The voice was refined but carried a chilling undertone that sent a shiver down one’s spine.
Lumel flinched as if the voice had brushed against his spine, then turned around to face Lewena.
This Lewena was not the same as when she had been brought in, dressed in tattered clothes.
Her current attire revealed no skin except for her face, giving off an almost obsessive impression of propriety.
Her arms were completely hidden under long gloves, and she wore a dress that covered her neck.
Furthermore, instead of the shoes Aslan had brought, she opted for boots that concealed even her ankles.
This compulsively modest outfit paradoxically appeared decadent to Lumel, somehow exuding a strange allure.
Perhaps it looked overly provocative.
Lumel couldn’t help but wonder if she had dressed this way to seduce Aslan.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, another voice startled him again.
“Do you like Hyunwoo too?”
Before Lumel could answer the previous question, another one came his way.
The first thing that popped into Lumel’s head was an inquiry.
“Huh… Who?”
It must have been a reference to Aslan.
Lumel recalled that Lewena had called Aslan by that name several times, and she smiled faintly.
“You call him Aslan, don’t you?”
Though phrased as a question, it didn’t feel like one.
Thus, Lumel had no response, merely pondering why she had brought this up.
‘Some kind of magical language? Or perhaps a term from Aslan’s world?’
There was no way to tell which it was. After contemplating for a while, Lumel stammered out a belated reply to the initial question.
“I’m cooking.”
His tone was unexpectedly cold, startling even himself.
Upon hearing this, Lewena quietly gazed at Lumel, but there was no trace of hostility in her eyes.
This puzzled Lumel, but he awkwardly turned his head away and continued preparing the food.
He was making pies.
Pies filled with minced chicken and some vegetables.
Since there was an oven available, he decided to try something other than stew for a change.
This homemade dish was also meant to be the first meal he prepared for Aslan since regaining his sense of taste, and he wanted to make sure it was good.
So Lumel continued cooking, and while doing so, a certain memory surfaced amidst his thoughts.
Not so distant a past, when Lumel had confessed his feelings to Aslan and received a rejection along with its reason.
Aslan had needed to kill Lewena and thus feared loss, leading him to reject Lumel.
A priestess, a bad woman, and someone he had personally killed—this was how Lumel saw Lewena.
She was reputed to be quite infamous in the southern continent.
And oddly enough, she still seemed to attract Aslan’s attention.
Lumel was curious.
Despite everything, did Lewena still love Aslan?
Or had she let go of any feelings for him?
What did Aslan think of Lewena?
But he couldn’t ask.
If he did and the answer exceeded his expectations, Lumel might…
The involuntary thoughts made Lumel clench his lips tightly, biting them without realizing it.
His roughly bitten nails itched where he had gnawed on them repeatedly.
Unconsciously bringing his nails to his mouth, Lumel suddenly became aware of a looming shadow and found himself face-to-face with Lewena.
“…”
A pale-skinned beauty with purple eyes, resembling a doll at first glance.
Despite the dreary setting, her beauty wasn’t repulsive—it was Lewena.
Caught off guard by her unexpected proximity, Lumel unconsciously parted his lips, and Lewena reached out toward his chin.
Gently gripping his jaw, Lewena’s action startled him momentarily, but the sensation didn’t last long.
Before he could fully process it, Lewena ran her gloved thumb over his lips, a delicate movement that seemed almost flirtatious.
“…Mmmph.”
Shouldering slightly, Lumel frowned as her fingers grazed his cracked lips, feeling a subtle pain spread.
When he instinctively tried to remove her hand, the pain disappeared.
The sensation was unfamiliar, but Lumel’s instincts whispered that it was mana.
“It’s basic restoration magic. Whenever Hyunwoo got clumsily injured… I used to do this often.”
The murmured explanation from the woman standing before him.
As her thumb withdrew from his lips, Lumel could feel an odd chill through the glove.
It was a touch that seemed almost inhuman.
That’s why, immediately after the sensation vanished, Lumel realized his lips had fully healed.
Releasing his grip on his chin, Lewena watched as Lumel touched his lips, visibly flustered.
Though it was unclear when she had entered the kitchen, she certainly didn’t seem to belong there.
Rather, she looked more suited to enjoying tea leisurely outside the kitchen.
This impression was understandable, given that Lumel had experience mingling with nobility as the daughter of a noble family.
The words that followed from Lewena’s mouth were equally unexpected for similar reasons.
“Minced chicken pie and stir-fried peas with lettuce… Bacon and vegetable stew, right?”
Lumel hadn’t expected her to correctly guess what he was preparing.
“Can you cook?”
Wide-eyed, Lumel asked, and Lewena glanced at him with an enigmatic look.
“A little.”
Hearing this, Lumel recalled Aslan’s catastrophic cooking skills—or rather, his poor dietary choices.
Until Lumel joined the group, the others had survived solely on preserved food, which clearly highlighted Aslan’s lost sense of taste.
Given this, it was unsurprising that if Lewena could cook, things might have been different.
It seemed natural that Lewena could cook, considering Aslan hadn’t always lacked a sense of taste.
As if reading Lumel’s thoughts, Lewena smirked.
“Surprised?”
Lumel recoiled slightly.
With every movement, something swayed, catching Lewena’s fleeting glance before she reconnected eye contact with Lumel.
This intentional gaze was clearly aimed at lowering his guard, unnecessary though it may have been.
Lumel perceived her intent and visibly became uncomfortable.
Lumel disliked such women.
They were unreadable and generally dangerous.
Based on Aslan’s stories, Lewena was likely dangerous in reality as well.
Thus, Lumel found Lewena unpleasant.
Still, there was something he had to ask, so he stayed.
“Lewena… What do you think of Aslan?”
“How do you think I feel?”
Responding with a gentle smile, Lewena countered. Shrugging slightly, Lumel continued cooking.
“I don’t know.”
Was she fond of Aslan? It was hard to tell.
She seemed to regard him as an entertaining toy.
While stirring the meat filling for the pie, Lumel likened the chaotic scene before him to Lewena’s inscrutable inner workings.
Just as it appeared, Lewena’s thoughts were incomprehensible, even to someone with heightened empathy.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t just stand idly by without understanding.
Raising his eyes, Lumel’s gaze carried a faint glimmer of hostility.
“Still… I know that Aslan has suffered and been sad more often because of you than he has laughed.”
Setting the pan down, Lumel stared at Lewena with somber copper eyes.
“Aslan has lived pushing people away because of you. Believing he failed to stop you in time, he chose a life weighed down by responsibility over happiness.”
Though saying this, Lumel could see the obsession lurking beneath.
“I’ve never seen him laugh properly. Others probably haven’t either. It’s because of the suffering you caused him…”
His words trailed off ambiguously, and Lumel found himself gripping a kitchen knife.
Its hooked and split blade would undoubtedly cause excruciating pain if used to stab.
Yet, it was perfect for a possessive woman to thrust into her rival.
The reason his words stopped was simple: this was the full stop.
Maybe it was the inertia of madness. Lewena watched with interest before speaking.
“Your pastry is burning.”
Hearing this, the madness faded from Lumel’s eyes. A fleeting glance downward, and discomfort replaced it.
“Ah.”
Realizing her mistake, Lumel placed the knife on a table beside the oven and hastily stirred the contents of the pan with a spatula.
Turning her back, the woman quickly poured the mixture into pie molds, while Lewena, watching her from behind, subtly erased her faint smile.
“Don’t worry.”
Engrossed in finishing the pie, Lumel turned her head curiously at these words, meeting Lewena’s barely noticeable smile.
“What do you mean…?”
“It’s a secret.”
Lumel’s furrowed brows naturally conveyed her skepticism. Leaning on her hips, she spoke with evident displeasure.
“I warn you now. Don’t mess with Aslan. No matter who you are or how necessary you may be to Aslan… If I believe you’re harming him, I’ll intervene.”
The hostility remained despite the fading madness.
Though it seemed trivial to Lewena, it was clear that Aslan would suffer greatly if she were to die.
Lewena also believed dying at someone else’s hands was undesirable.
She decided to give something in return.
“Would you like to know what Hyunwoo likes to eat?”
The suggestion was sudden.
Despite its unexpectedness, Lumel couldn’t help but be intrigued.
Amused by Lumel’s surprised silence, Lewena smiled subtly.
A faint affection for a man could be sensed in Lewena’s subsequent words, a sentiment only perceptible to someone like Lumel.
*
Aslan had lost his sense of taste quite a while ago.
By the time he met Lewena, his sense of taste was already gone.
However, the point at which he stopped eating altogether did not coincide with the loss of his sense of taste.
While conveying information to Father Budonggong and explaining the revised plan to the commander, heading back to the vacant inn where the group was staying, Aslan caught a familiar scent.
It was the smell of lasagna.
A fragrance he had encountered even after losing his sense of taste.
Though this memory was fleeting, Aslan wrinkled his brow in confusion.
Back when Aslan lived with Lewena,
he had no sense of taste and couldn’t perceive the flavor of food.
Even so, thanks to Lewena, Aslan could relive the taste of the lasagna his mother used to make.
Because Lewena could convey taste even to someone like Aslan, who had lost his sense of taste.
For someone skilled in high-level illusion magic like Lewena, this wasn’t an impossible feat.
All that was left was for Lewena to recreate the taste.
Despite there being no real need, Lewena insisted on cooking it herself.
What started with Lewena, who knew nothing about cooking, proposing the idea eventually led to her becoming proficient enough to replicate similar dishes based on mere descriptions.
Once Lewena finally succeeded in recreating the lasagna, their evening routine became consistent.
Lewena would cook according to the description, sharing the meal with Aslan, then transmit the taste to him using magic.
Still, it took a long time to perfectly recreate the lasagna.
Perhaps due to the differences between Earth’s ingredients and Geladridion’s.
Despite these obstacles, Lewena eventually succeeded, smiling with a rare sense of accomplishment.
That was the scent that lingered in the air.
As Aslan opened the main door on the first floor of the inn and stepped inside, the smell strongly tickled his nose.
On the table lay an abundance of food.
Besides what appeared to be meat pies and lasagna, there were various stews and salads covering the dining table.
Lumel, busy serving the food, brightened upon seeing Aslan enter.
“Aslan! Please come in.”
Welcoming him, Lumel pulled out a chair as if inviting him to sit and rest. Her following words explained the situation.
She mentioned that Lewena had told her about Aslan’s favorite foods, which she had attempted to recreate. She added that the dishes were her own work.
However, Aslan couldn’t help but focus on Lewena standing straight behind Lumel instead of listening to her explanation.
Lewena wore a faint smile that bordered on expressionless.
It was a smile that created an unsettling feeling.
This unsettling sensation persisted vividly until Aslan thanked her and sat down.
