Irene Decided to Die - Chapter 28
Remembering that time, Lani repeated to herself as if making a promise.
“I’ll secretly give you something to eat.”
A friend’s words were interrupted by Mary with a cold voice.
“No, it’s better not to do that. If we get caught, it’s over for us too.”
“But, you are our friend.”
“Before being friends, we were the maids of the Duke’s household.”
And the person they served was a Saintess. Realizing what that meant, the other maids fell silent.
“Look, I’m okay!”
Lani tried to reassure the other maids with a forced smile.
“Don’t worry too much.”
Then, she returned to her room.
One day, two days, three days. Her stomach felt like it was shriveling up. Thunder seemed to roar continuously from her belly, and there was a pain at the pit of her stomach.
Just three days of starving felt this torturous. Lani thought as she fought back the tears.
Looking in the mirror, her once plump cheeks were now gaunt, and the skin under her eyes was stretched thin and dark.
The hunger was so intense that she couldn’t even sleep. The number of mistakes she made at work also increased.
And with every mistake, the days she had to go hungry increased. It felt like she was tearing her own stomach apart with her hands. The hunger that water couldn’t satisfy was torturous.
“Lani.”
Hoping that a friend among the other maids might help,
“Come to the dining hall. The Saintess has requested you to serve her at this meal.”
The hope was not realized. Lani asked with a downcast look,
“Is there anything to eat?”
“Something to eat?”
The maid looked troubled.
They were already frightened. The thought that a mistake could place them in Lani’s position halted their actions.
Thus, they did not have the courage to offer help at their own expense.
“Nothing.”
“I see.”
Lani sighed deeply. She felt dizzy and on the verge of collapsing, but she was unsure of the consequences if she did.
Dragging her feet, she laboriously moved again.
Why the dining hall of all places? Sighing, Lani straightened up and opened the door to the dining hall.
Normally, Irene ate in her room, so she hardly ever visited the dining hall. This meant something might be up.
Just imagining what was to come made her shoulders slump.
“Come in.”
Despite being told to serve, all preparations for the meal were already complete.
What was unusual was that two servings of food were prepared, but with the King of the North present, this was not considered odd.
However, when it was time to eat, he stepped out of the dining hall.
“Sit down.”
Irene gestured to the opposite side of the table, ordering Lani to sit. She felt uneasy, but she was too weak to protest.
She quietly sat down on the opposite side of the table. In front of her, on the plate, was a thick pie that looked delicious.
Her mouth started watering already. How long had it been since she saw real food like this! Lani gazed at the food, almost losing her senses.
“…Yes.”
So she finally understood Irene’s words.
“Pardon?”
“Eat. With proper manners.”
Could she really eat? Though the thought crossed her mind, her stomach, starved for so long, was already screaming.
‘Eat, go on and eat!’
It was as if she could hear those words. Even then, Lani hesitated for a moment.
It seemed unlikely that Irene was offering purely for her to eat, but the following words made her realize there was no escape.
“You can’t leave this room until you’ve finished everything.”
Lani, as if resolved, picked up the elaborately crafted knife and fork. She then began to cut the pie.
Although from a modest noble family, she was of noble birth herself. She knew how to conduct herself at a noble’s dining table.
Swoosh.
Cutting into the pie revealed the golden-browned meat inside. Her mouth watered.
The knife and fork felt strangely heavy, but even with her hands trembling, she didn’t stop moving them.
The meat pie on the plate was cut messily.
Clink, clank.
The shaky knife and fork scraped against the plate, but Lani barely heard the noise.
‘It’s food!’
Hunger panged even more at the sight of food after so long. Thunder seemed to roar from her belly.
She wanted to quickly put the food into her mouth, but the pieces of pie wouldn’t stick well to the fork. She wanted to grab it with her hands and gobble it down.
Yet, even in this situation, a chilling gaze prevented such actions.
