Life as a Tower Maid: Locked up with the Prince - Chapter 18

TM has been completely translated on Patreon

Chapter 18

Translator: Yonnee

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My sluggish eyes looked up sharply at once. I couldn’t say anything.

“I didn’t think you were serious about bringing in a pet here in the tower.”

“……”

“You managed to bring one here when you couldn’t even get out.”

His gentle tone was paradoxically thorny.

He wasn’t praising me at all.

With a smile on his lips, he asked.

“Why are you being so eager?”

“……”

“What do you hate so much about me?”

It was strange. Obviously, Albert was speaking with a warm tone, but chills kept running down my back.

Was this the south pole? Why was my body shivering all of a sudden?

But I didn’t give in.

Why?

Because… I’m hungry.

I had to finish this conversation at once. My delicious meal was right there.

My name is Rosé, and I’m the master inventor of the jingle jangle technique.

With a bright smile, I held Albert’s hand.

“Eyy, Your Highness. Don’t be like that. If it’s not the Prince, who else would I like? I didn’t call over Blanc—it’s him who came inside the tower of his own volition. He said that this place is nice because there’s a lot of mana here.”

“I know that. But it’s not enough to justify it.”

I looked up earnestly at Albert. Whenever Albert was in a bad mood, flattery was the best solution.

“I thought that Blanc’s a great dragon, that’s why I thought that we needed to accept him.”

White lies were also a great plus for a quick escape. Opening my eyes as wide and imploringly as possible, I stacked praises upon praises.

“Your Highness is the smartest and most beautiful person that I know, so I’m sure you’ll understand how I feel.”

“No, this is the kind of situation that you really like. At this point, even if you act slyly, I can see through it all, Rosé.”

…Darn it, it didn’t work. But I decided to keep pushing forward.

“Even if you know, you’ll fall for it. Because even if I use my brain, I won’t be able to beat you, Your Highness.”

I said this proudly.

And in turn, Albert chuckled, as though he couldn’t believe what I said.

But like a hawk, I snatched up this chance.

I threw the bait, and you bit it!

“Oh, since Your Highness laughed, then we’re good? I’m hungry. Can we eat together now? Today’s breakfast is to die for.”

Albert, who was shaking his head in disbelief, remained silent as he saw the stir-fried pork on the tray.

“Why is the food you cook always red, Rosé?”

Because it’s Korean food.

Korean food and the color red cannot be separated.

I sat at the table and handed him a spoon, speaking seriously.

“It’s my identity—identity, I tell you. I love all things red. Thank you for the food!”

I mixed the stir-fried pork with my bowl of rice.

Albert, who had just been staring at the food, picked up his spoon and started mixing just as I did.

“Give me some, toooo… I’m hungryyy…”

“Ah, Blanc. Here you go.”

I handed over a bowl of stir-fried pork to Blanc, who was rolling around under the table.

Blanc smiled broadly. It felt like honey was going to drop out of my eyes at the adorable sight.

As he stared back at me, Blanc tilted his head to the side.

“By the way, who’s Blanc?”

“Ack, I gave you that name. If you don’t like it, we can change it.”

“No, it’s okay… I didn’t have a name before… Blaaanc…”

Blanc said his name carefully. As he did so, he soon began to eat his stir-fried pork.

I looked happily at him, then turned back to my meal again.

While I was eating, Albert stared at me.

“How do I eat this?”

“It’s the same as usual. Just mix it like this and eat it with rice. Ahh, so good.”

I raised my thumb. Then, with a thick slice of pork over rice on my spoon, I took a big bite.

The combination of spices, the meat’s juices and rice was so fantastic. My eyes closed at the heavenly flavor.

Eating is the best!

For me, who was trapped in a tower, eating was my only stress reliever.

I finished my meal satisfactorily. Three cheers for mukbang.^[1]

* * *

We’ll have apples as dessert today. If you think you need to apologize, then go straight for the apples.^[2]

Our food was scarce and limited, so it’s a bit of a bother to cater to a picky prince’s tastes. I could make excuses, but fruits were different. Only basic needs were supplied to us.

But anyway, Albert usually ate fruits well so it’s fine.

Prince, why do you eat fruits so well? It’s okay to be a picky person who hates fruits.

But for me, the fruits that I like are peaches, refreshing watermelons, and sweet mangoes. It’s all about a balance between crunchiness and sweetness.

I ate such a good and fulfilling breakfast just earlier, but I think I’m hungry again.

I drew Albert’s face on a red apple on the cutting board. Well, I didn’t draw it deliberately.

Boss. If I were Pinocchio, my nose would have already become taller than this tower.

Shiik, shiik. After cutting up the apples prettily, I placed the pieces in a bowl.

Then, while looking at the bowl that I’ve yet to wash, I breathed out a sigh of relief. It’s great that Blanc isn’t a dragon.

Come to think of it, dragons were large, so if it’s like that, I’d need to feed him a ton of food because his appetite would be enormous.

I wondered a while ago if Blanc’s appetite was big enough that he’d eat up all the remaining ingredients, but it seemed that the amount of meat I gave him earlier was already enough to satisfy him.

Blanc, after eating, went back to the kitchen and fell asleep. Maybe it’s in his nature to sleep a lot.

With a gentle gaze, I looked at the sleeping Blanc and closed the curtains so that the sunlight wouldn’t disturb him.

I had no idea how nice it would be to feel someone else’s warmth in the tranquil kitchen.

Here, I realized once again that humans were truly social beings.

¹ if you don’t already know, ‘mukbang’ is a kind of eating show, or an online broadcast where the host consumes food while interacting with the audience ↩

² ‘apology’ and ‘apple’ are the same word in Korean ↩