Battle Divorce! - Chapter 15

Chapter 8.1

Show me? Had he completely lost it?

Daisy went pale.

“N-no. I-I’m scared… hic, sob.”

As Maxim reached for his robe, she quickly began to sob, stopping him immediately.

“Oh, I nearly made the same mistake again. Thank you for stopping me. It does that on its own, so please don’t worry about it.”

How on earth was she supposed to ignore something that massive?

She wanted to call him out, but this man would probably say, “Oh, are you going to look after me? By all means, be my guest,” while proudly flaunting it at her face, so she bit her tongue.

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, Izzy. This is all my fault, so please don’t cry.”

Well, at least crying seems to work. Not only did he apologize, but he even promised not to touch her without her consent from now on.

Thanks to Vicky’s thinking, Daisy barely managed to escape him and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Let me know when you’re ready.”

Daisy nodded. Though she doubted she’d ever actually be “ready,” nodding seemed like the safest answer for now.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“Huh? …No, I-I’m oka—”

Grrrumble—

…Of all times? So embarrassing.

The sound from her stomach made Daisy’s cheeks turn bright red.

“See? You’re hungry. Crying always makes you hungry.”

“….”

“You’ll feel even worse on an empty stomach, so let’s get you some nice meat, alright?”

She thought there was no way she could eat meat at a time like this… but, on second thought, she did feel a bit empty.

After Maxim had suddenly arrived and announced he was ready for their wedding night, she’d ended up skipping her last meal.

“How about a Frenched rack of lamb?”

A Frenched rack of lamb. Even though she wasn’t in the mood for much, lamb sounded… appealing, actually. Lamb was one of her favorite dishes.

Just thinking about it made her mouth water.

“And for dessert, how about chocolate mousse?”

How did he know that chocolate mousse happened to be one of her favorite desserts? Maxim seemed to know just what Daisy liked, choosing all her favorites to help cheer her up.

‘This man… How does he know my tastes so well? Did he investigate me?’

Considering he’d gone straight to the battlefield after their rushed wedding, he wouldn’t have had the time.

It felt a bit odd, but she figured it could just be a coincidence.

‘Well, I suppose he could’ve just asked the staff.’

After all, she always made sure to eat well, even if she was usually ignored to the point where the former grand duchess would scold her to stop eating so much. Besides, Daisy had a way of wearing her likes and dislikes on her expression. Whenever she ate, she couldn’t hide her enjoyment.

Even now, she couldn’t contain her excitement at the thought of a Frenched rack of lamb and chocolate mousse.

“…Alright.”

Daisy answered cautiously, pretending to agree reluctantly. Only then did Maxim’s expression finally relax with a look of relief.

“I’m glad you like it. I’ll have it prepared right away.”

At moments like this, he felt as harmless as a lamb. Daisy was slightly embarrassed, wondering if she had overreacted.

‘He might be a little crazy, but he doesn’t seem like a bad person. That’s a relief.’

Those who feed you tend to be good people.

Just as Daisy started to feel a bit more at ease in his arms, Maxim’s mouth lifted into a smirk.

༺♰༻

Waldeck’s dining room.

When he said he’d have it prepared immediately, he wasn’t exaggerating. A full-course meal was served right away, and with one extra person joining, the room felt almost stiflingly crowded.

Daisy chewed on a small piece of Frenched rack of lamb, unable to swallow it for what felt like ages.

‘How am I supposed to swallow this when he’s staring at me so intensely?’

More precisely, she felt pressured by the two pairs of watchful eyes observing her every move.

Maxim von Waldeck was sipping wine instead of eating, watching her to see if she was enjoying the meal. In the meanwhile, the former grand duchess was watching to make sure she didn’t eat too much. Those were the two sets of eyes on her.

It was later than usual, but since Maxim had returned so unexpectedly, the former grand duchess had also skipped dinner and joined them.

“Izzy.”

The sound of Maxim calling her by her nickname was so sudden it made Daisy’s eyes widen.

“I thought you said you liked it?”

Feeling she had to respond, Daisy swallowed the piece of meat she’d been chewing, almost choking in the process.

“What?”

“Today’s menu.”

“Yes, I do like it.”

But even after hearing her answer, Maxim still looked somewhat unconvinced.

“Then why aren’t you eating?”

He asked again with a serious expression. Feeling pressured by his questioning, Daisy forced a strained smile.

“I am eating.”