TDDCS

Chapter 85 - Grown man's grumbling

The more he learned about Lena, the more he couldn’t understand Lena.

80% of her past was filled with poverty, loneliness, wounds and labor. Although she was loved by her mother and the stable keeper family was close to her, she spent most of her time doing the labor that would have been daunting for her size, and on top of that she was smeared with slaps and shoves.

Her father was absent in the first place and she even lost her mother at a young age. She did not eat well and her sleeping area was not warm. She never had anything in abundance, and she had to sell her labour for a bargain, and she wasn’t even a slave, and she was almost sold to a perverted man.

‘But how can you smile like that?’

It was something he could never understand. Although Lena lived such a harsh life, she smiled brighter than anyone Kahel knew. If it was so hard, she should have dreamed of revenge on the humans who had hurt her, and if it was so poor, she would have coveted jewels or money. The only thing Lena wanted from the Duke was the safety of Theo and Sid. She even begged that she didn’t need any more jewels, so Kahel didn’t have much he could give Lena.

If he knew about Lena’s past, he might have figured out a way to win her heart, but it ended up making him even more gloomy.

Then someone knocked on the door of his office. At the knocking sound that was neat but not as strong as Arder’s, Kahel quickly recognized that it was Lena.

“Come in.”

Lena, dressed as the Duke’s residence’s maid, cautiously opened the door and entered. Now that she knew of the devilish curse, she may not like him but the good Lena still prepared his meal with a usual expression.

Kahel thanked Lena for not avoiding him blatantly, and headed to the dining room. Lena’s meal was still set at the far end of the table. In the past, it would have been nice to see Lena having a meal together even there, but now the sense of distance has bothered him.

“Lena.”

“Yes, Your Excellency!”

When he called Lena, he didn’t know what to say. Come and eat with me? Doesn’t it sound like a very childish grumbling? Besides, even now, Lena must have been very considerate of him, but asking her to come closer seemed too shameless. Kahel, who couldn’t utter many of the words he wanted to say, and only his lips twitched, eventually shook his head.

“It is nothing.”

Because of his heartache, his spirit was numb, so Kahel was not willing to touch the fork and knife, and his thirst for wine choked him.

“Your Highness…… Is it not to your liking?”

“No. I just have no appetite.”

Kahel smiled faintly at Lena. But what Lena felt from that smile made her ask again cautiously,

“Are you feeling down?”

Kahel, who didn’t even think about exactly how he felt himself, realized he was depressed only after Lena spoke.

“Looks like that. How did you know?”

“Probably…… It must be a little bit difficult to meet your family members and then eat alone again.”

In fact, he ate only with his father in Terra Luave, so it wasn’t crowded at mealtime, but Kahel couldn’t speak his mind, so he just nodded his head.

“I don’t know.”

Then, Lena hesitated again, and then asked,

“I…… I will be…… by your side……during meals…….”