CH 13

Seeing Blanc have no motivation like this, my throat felt tight.

“Blanc, there are many reasons in this world for you to keep on living.”

“……”

“I’ll make one with you, a reason.”

Blanc had one remaining year. We’d be able to get out of the tower by then.

Now, after leaving this place, I’ve decided to spend the rest of my time travelling the world with Blanc.

And I would be there by his side as he endures the pain of the metamorphosis.

In fact, I even entertained the thought of becoming his contractor, but it was a little scary. I couldn’t imagine going through that much pain, enough to die.

There was a conflict within me—the desire to save Blanc and the desire to live a long life.

Even though I’ve transmigrated in a book, I signed a contract with Albert so that I can live.

“Let’s go on a trip.”

A building owner doesn’t have to stay in one place. Wherever I go, money will continue to pour into my account.

Albert wasn’t in my future plans, of course.

…And this was the biggest error in my plans.

At this time, I didn’t expect just how much he would change the moment we went outside.

* * *

After a tearful conversation with Blanc, I started making chicken.

First, I brought out the chicken that had already been cut to pieces and washed with water.

After slicing more cuts on the clean chicken, I dipped the meat in a bowl full of milk. It was to remove the odor.

Chicken wasn’t a dish that I made a lot.

Rather than get splattered by oil and get the kitchen dirty, the best method was to buy chicken. So I’ve only ever tried making chicken twice before.

But I can’t possibly forget how to make chicken, now can I? It’s fortunate that I could remember the recipe in this world. There are no chicken restaurants here after all.

It took me a while—about an hour—to marinate the chicken. I took a nap with Blanc at that time.

Blanc was lying down on the bed I prepared for him, while I leaned against the wall.

Having some sleep where Albert couldn’t come was somehow peaceful. I seriously thought about moving my bed here.

After waking up after a nice nap, I started seasoning the chicken, though my face was a bit disheveled.

When I finished seasoning with salt, pepper and minced garlic, there was a necessary waiting time again.

Here’s the reason why I’m too lazy to make chicken. It’s good to eat, but it takes such a long time to make.

Time is gold. So I made up my mind.

I’ll seduce Seo Ina with money when I get out of here.

With so so so much money that it would be hard for her to refuse.

Oh, but Albert would like Seo Ina’s food, too. And… Will I be able to beat his wealth…?

I shook my head, agonizing over useless worries. I’ll think about that later. Delicious dinner first.

I decided to have some French fries to munch on while waiting for the chicken. Ah, if I were to be ambitious with it, I’m not making it properly.

After peeling the potatoes, I cut them up as though they were shredded.

Anyway, I poured a lot of oil into the pot to make chicken today, and that oil won’t disappear once I use it. It’s only right to be efficient.

The cut up potatoes were placed on one side.

The time has finally come to coat the marinated chicken with the batter.

Well, in this world, there’s actually no store that sells frying powder, so I’m using flour this time.

After I seasoned the flour moderately, I adjusted the concentration by adding water.

Batter that was neither too thin nor too thick was what made chicken a success. If fried chicken didn’t have batter, it can’t be called fried chicken.

Putting some flour in another bowl, I added the chicken parts that I had marinated earlier.

After that, I moved them around in the bowl to coat them with the batter evenly.

The oil in the pot was already boiling.

I placed the bowl of chicken and the bowl of fries at one side of the pot. Sweltering heat reached my face.

“It’s hooot…?”

Blanc looked at me as I fanned my face with my hands, then he went closer to me.

It seemed like he was fanning my face with his paws, too.

I didn’t feel any air at all, but I’m happy just to receive Blanc’s heart!

“Ah, it’s so cool now.”

At what I said, Blanc giggled and fanned harder.

Now then, after watching Blanc for a while, I put some of the chicken into the oil.

The chicken began to fry, accompanied by a sizzling sound.

Bubbles went up on the oil and blurred the surroundings with the light smoke that flowed in the air. It felt like I was listening to an ASMR.

Good, good. This pleasant sound was enough to relieve my stress.

Because the inside needed to be cooked properly, I took out all the chicken after frying them once.

I stabbed the parts with a fork to check if it’s cooked well, then fried them once more. Straight into the oil they went.

Good fried chicken must be fried twice to taste good.

It took a long while to fry all the chicken, but I was proud to see them leave the pot and have a golden appearance.

Is this why people cook?

It was strange to feel emotions welling up in me that I’d never once felt while I was living in the modern world. It was only now when I transmigrated in this book.

Along with some French fries, the perfect chicken combination was now complete.

In fact, my favorite flavor was spicy chicken, but I can’t add red pepper paste to it yet, so I replaced the flavor with soy sauce. I also liked the soy sauce chicken in Ky*chon. ¹

Half soy sauce flavored, half regular fried.

Chicken—my secret weapon—is now complete.

The batter wasn’t perfectly in between thick and thin, but I still felt a sense of accomplishment.

Placing the chicken in a bowl, I handed over one to Blanc first.

After taking a bite, Blanc’s eyes twinkled.

“What’s thiiis…? It’s yummyyy…”

I looked at Blanc happily and gave him a chicken leg.

Blanc, do you know what it means for one person to give you a chicken leg?

It’s love.

As I glanced over at the clock, it was only then that I realized that it was already 7 o’clock. I handed over one more chicken wing to Blanc, then went up.

“Your Highness, I’m here!”

He might have heard me talking, but Albert didn’t take the tray from me this time.

Was he upset because of what happened a while ago? Did I run away too obviously?

As I walked over to the desk with a smile tugging at my lips, I saw that Albert’s expression was completely stiff.

Albert was staring into the air, his face completely devoid of emotion.

He swung the wand in the air. Then, he spoke in a low voice.

“Say that again.”

[ Rosteratu destroyed the fief where Your Highness stayed. All the people living there have passed away. ]

“……”

[ He set fire to the entire fief. People outside the fief think that it’s nothing more than a regrettable accident, but it isn’t. It’s clear that it was to remove traces of the people who support the Prince. ]

The voice coming from the cane was unfamiliar. It seemed like Albert was talking to one of his subordinates.

However, the story he was telling was unrealistic.

[ We’ll send the information to Your Highness. Please take a look. ]

As soon as he said that, light flowed out of the cane and became something like a projector.

“What in the world…”

Albert wasn’t the only one stunned. I almost dropped the bowl of chicken in my hands.

Before me, a scene that was so cruel that it was hard to keep looking was vividly depicted.

Bodies scattered on the street, leaving only ashes behind.

It was a scene of a merciless massacre.

My body froze, as though I was there on the scene itself. But I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen.

I gulped dryly.

The atrocities of King Impotent, which were not detailed very much in the novel, were beyond my imagination.

If it was to this extent, Albert simply killing him wouldn’t be enough.

“When did you come in?”

As he frowned, Albert stood up from his seat.

As I tried to make an excuse or explain with a smile, Albert covered my eyes. His hand was big enough to cover most of my face.

“…I’m fine. You were working.”

“I can tell just by looking at your face.”

“Prince, you can read me well, too. I used to hide my thoughts properly before.”

“Is that so? I think it’s easy to read you, and it’s saddening that you tried to hide your thoughts in the past. But how can you read me?”

Albert said this with a smile. At his words, I laughed.

Haha, the image was still similar even now.

My boss, who was noble and elegant, but whose heart was unreadable.

When Albert’s hand disappeared and no longer blocked my view, the terrible scene wasn’t there anymore. But the shock wouldn’t go away.

I took a deep, shaky breath and calmed my surprised heart.

“I didn’t even hear you come in because the meeting was extended for a bit.”

Placing the bowl of chicken down on the table, I sat facing him.

The chicken, which was still steaming, boasted its beautiful magnificence.

Albert seemed to have been bothered by my presence earlier.

“Were you surprised?”

“Yes… I didn’t know that the present King was such a son of a b*tch.”

“Son of a b*tch? Haha, it’s the first time I’m hearing you curse.”

“Even calling him that doesn’t do him justice. Dogs are cute. I can’t even call him trash. Prince, aren’t you angry?”

“It did cross my mind…”

He shook his head, his expression cold.

“Nothing would change even if I get angry here. I just need to use this time to increase my strength. The best revenge I could do is to get out of here, kill him, then become king.”

He was right, but I didn’t agree with everything he said.

Sure it wouldn’t change anything even if you get angry, but it was important to let off some steam. That’s the most important thing to me in the world.

“Either way, nothing changes either if you just keep it all inside.”

Suddenly, I remembered my friend Hye-in, who I had been close to before.

Unlike me, who acted friendly at work, Hye-in was like a bear.

She had a boss who gaslighted people as naturally as breathing, and Hye-in was someone who grew to have depression while keeping it all in that entire time.

She kept all her feelings locked up until the moment that her anger, which had piled up so high, finally reached its limit.

It was the first job she had, and during that time when it was hard to get a job, Hye-in thought that the best she could do was to endure it.

I remembered drinking with her.

The day Hye-in cried and let it all out.

The day she told me all about it, she left behind her usually impregnable walls due to the influence of alcohol.

If you just endure it, it becomes a disease. Mental illness was difficult to treat.

“Prince, if you hold it in like that, you’ll get sick. Do you know that?”

It was a disease that most office workers had.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Albert was at the highest position in the world, so I knew that I’m overstepping my grounds here by giving him advice. But that’s also something I would do.

It was a strange conversation, with a subordinate telling her superior to get angry. Even so, I meant it.

“Sick…”

“If you hold it in, you’ll get sick. Your Highness can curse in front of me. No, I can go first. That impotent bastard’s so greedy that I don’t think there’s any other punk in the world who could match him.”

I cursed at Rosteratu as much as I could. This was also the way office workers de-stressed.

There’s nothing better in the world than swearing at my boss at home to relieve my stress! You better clean your ears after this!

As if I was possessed by a rapper, I swore like a machine gun going off. It was refreshing.

And after that, Albert looked at me with a weird expression. The corners of his lips were trembling…

“Hahaha! Ha… hahaha! Just where did you learn how to curse like that?”

In the end, Albert laughed heartily.

——

t/n:

¹ Kyochon chicken