“It’s fine. Just find your robe already.”
“Got it.”
She immediately took her robe from the spatial bag tied around her waist and wrapped it around herself. Unexpectedly, they both sat on a tree branch, facing forward. The sunset painting a red line across the horizon was visible.
The blend of scarlet and mysterious red stretched out long. The purple night sky following it was as mystical as the aurora. Sylvia opened her mouth in amazement as deep sunset hues fell over her face.
Felix watched her with a softened gaze. His heart, which had calmed down, started to throb again. Though it seemed calm, the palpable presence of his heartbeat made him flustered.
It was an emotion he had never felt before. The ticklish sensation made him impulsively tap the area around his heart. Though it was clearly his armor resonating, it felt as though it was his heart.
Sylvia thought it was incredible that just a sunset could create such a wondrous scene and smiled slightly. Watching her face naturally smile, he simply stared at her instead of the sunset with a dazed expression.
They sat on the tree until darkness fully settled.
★★42. Whelk is Chojang★★
Sylvia quickly constructed a makeshift treehouse as the night sky darkened, after enduring a long lecture from Hubert following Felix.
She hurried to prepare dinner, using water, fire, and wind magic simultaneously to clean the shellfish she had caught.
The shellfish were planned to be made into soup and steamed dishes. She prepared a broth with radish, onion, green onions, and garlic, boiling the shellfish in it, and steaming the rest with steam.
Thinking the kingdom’s people might be lacking nutrition without rice, she grilled beef. For side dishes, she made stir-fried mushrooms, potatoes, and a colorful stir-fry with peppers.
As Sylvia busily moved around, a red flower fell from the pocket of her robe.
“Huh?”
She lifted the falling petal with wind magic.
“Oh, right. Louis gave it to me earlier.”
Feeling guilty for having forgotten it amid her worries, she examined the flower on her palm. Its appearance was quite unique.
It had broad petals with another flower-like bud in the middle. The flower, lacking visible stamens and entirely red, was beautiful. Eryngium flew over and landed on the flower as Sylvia inspected it, feeling jealous that Sylvia admired another flower.
[That flower’s not pretty at all. Looks just like Poppy. The red color is ominous.]
Sylvia retorted to the fairy’s spiteful comment.
“Shush, don’t say things like that.”
[So, you think this flower is pretty?]
Eryngium, not getting the attention she wanted, grew even more sullen and jumped around on the red flower. She stomped her little feet and narrowed her eyes.
[I’m much more splendid than this flower!]
Sylvia sighed, finding it ridiculous she was jealous over such a thing. Eryngium, still displeased, jumped more vigorously, pressing down on the bud-like part of the flower.
“Why are you getting angry?”
Wondering how to soothe the fairy, Sylvia was startled as Eryngium jumped forcefully, causing the bud to burst open and shoot its contents.
“Ah! What’s this!”
Sylvia screamed as she involuntarily caught the flower’s contents on her face. Eryngium, shocked by her own actions and her scream, froze.
Fortunately, it seemed nothing got into her eyes, so she cautiously opened them. The contents that had landed on her face slid down her cheeks and into her mouth.
Caught with her mouth open, Sylvia inadvertently ingested the substance. Her eyes widened in surprise as she swallowed what had entered her mouth.
“What is this!”
Sylvia yelled again, prompting Eryngium to fly away in avoidance.
[So-sorry.]
Anticipating a scolding with a gloomy expression, Eryngium was met with Sylvia who, instead of scolding, laughed heartily and praised her.
“Eryngium! Well done!”
[Huh?]
Sylvia bounced excitedly, her face still smeared with red, recognizing the taste of what she had ingested.
“It’s chojang! It’s chojang!”
The substance expelled by the red flower was oddly identical in taste to chojang (Korean chili pepper paste sauce).
Sylvia scooped the remaining chojang from her face with her finger and tasted it again, continuing to laugh joyously at the familiar taste.
She had been longing for gochujang, promising herself repeatedly to make it, but who would have thought she’d discover it in such an unbelievable situation?
“How can there be a flower that tastes like chojang?”
She had thoughtlessly wished for chojang while boiling and steaming the shellfish, missing the taste compared to wasabi soy sauce.
Eryngium landed on Sylvia’s shoulder as she suddenly became serious.
[Sylvia, what’s wrong?]
Worried by her abrupt change from joy to seriousness, she touched her forehead to check for fever, concerned she might be unwell. Unaware of the fairy’s concern, Sylvia entertained a possibility.
Then, like a person suddenly coming to their senses, she rushed outside with the flower in hand.
Felix, having removed his armor to maintain his sword and armor while she prepared, noticed her dashing out. Before he could call out, Sylvia hurried towards the cave where the kingdom’s people resided.
Concerned about sending her off alone, he placed his armor and sword into the spatial bag and followed her. Unaware of his pursuit, Sylvia hastened her steps, calling out for Louis as she approached the cave.
“Louis? Could you come out for a moment, please?”
Louis and his parents, who were having a modest meal inside the cave, came out upon hearing her voice.
“Sister?”
Louis emerged, holding his mother’s hand, looking pleased to see her. Sylvia, holding the flower, urgently asked him.
“Louis, this flower, where did you get it?”
Louis pouted upon seeing the wilted flower he had given her.
“Don’t you like it?”
Startled by his sullen look, Sylvia hurriedly explained.
“No, no, it’s not that…”
Glancing around, she then asked Louis’s parents.
“Have you ever eaten this flower?”
“Ah… Is the flower poisonous? We were so hungry that we ate some petals. What should we do…”
Mistaking the chojang on Sylvia’s lips for blood, Louis’s mother trembled with fear. Sylvia frantically waved her hands, about to respond.
Then, a large hand emerged from behind her, snatching the flower from her hand. Felix, alarmed by the mention of poison, stuffed the flower into his mouth. If it were poison, he was well acquainted with detecting it.
“Why would you eat that?”
Sylvia yelled at Felix, who had followed unnoticed. Her yelling and his action caused everyone from the cave to emerge.
Louis and his parents were terrified, fearing the flower might pose a risk to everyone present. Felix felt no burning sensation in his throat, familiar with the sensation of ingesting poison.
He said with a much improved complexion.
“It’s okay, there’s no poison,”
Sylvia, about to scold him, closed her mouth at his response. His concerned gaze briefly stirred her emotions.
“Is that really all you can say?”
Why would you taste it to test it?
What if it had actually been poisonous? What were you planning to do by putting it directly in your mouth?
Do you think everything’s fine just because you’re the main character?
It doesn’t hurt if you don’t die, is that it? Don’t you feel pain?
Irritation surged through her.
Sylvia, her anger flaring, confronted him sharply.
“Why did you have to taste it to find out? There are plenty of other ways to check, so why shove it into your mouth? What are you, a silver spoon for testing poison? Huh? Why did you eat it?”
Tears welled up as she vented her frustration, leaving Felix perplexed and responding with a confused expression.
“It’s okay.”
“What do you mean, ‘it’s okay’?”
Felix tried to reassure her, but Sylvia became even more incensed.
“I can eat poison without dying. So, let’s just drop it…”
Before he could finish, Sylvia punched him in the chest. It didn’t hurt, but his heart felt a peculiar twinge.
“So, it’s all fine as long as you don’t die! You don’t even know if it hurts! Being hurt is still being hurt. Why would you foolishly put it in your mouth? Eat only what’s delicious, not things like that!”
Sylvia thought of him as he was portrayed in the novels. Even ascending to emperor and having the world’s delicacies at his disposal, he could not fully savor them. That future him in the novel…
Felix finally understood why she was angry. Even as her small fists continued to hit him, he couldn’t help but smile.
“Ha ha…”
“You’re laughing? Are you mad?”
Her continued fury made Louis, who had been watching, burst into tears.
“Waaaah!”
Only then did she realize everyone was present. She first consoled the child.
“Louis, don’t cry. Stop.”
While comforting him, Sylvia explained to Louis’s parents.
“It’s not because of any poison; it’s because the bud inside the flower has juice. I was trying to ask where the flower grows… I’m sorry, my explanation was insufficient.”
Realizing her abrupt questioning had caused a misunderstanding, Sylvia apologized. Louis’s mother, relieved, responded.
“Phew, that’s a relief. We were so desperate for food… I was terrified thinking we couldn’t even eat the flower.”
The villagers nodded weakly in the background. Sylvia took a deep breath before speaking up with a strong voice.
“I’ll be serving dinner, so please come to our tent in a little while.”
Unable to refuse due to their hunger, the people accepted her hospitality.
“Then we’ll go pick the flower.”
Louis’s mother pleaded with hopeful eyes, to which Sylvia nodded.
“Please do.”
She bowed and then grabbed Felix’s hand, pulling him aside.
“I need to talk to you…”
Though she intended to sound menacing, Felix’s face remained untroubled, smiling even as she dragged him along.
“It’s fine. Just find your robe already.”
“Got it.”
She immediately took her robe from the spatial bag tied around her waist and wrapped it around herself. Unexpectedly, they both sat on a tree branch, facing forward. The sunset painting a red line across the horizon was visible.
The blend of scarlet and mysterious red stretched out long. The purple night sky following it was as mystical as the aurora. Sylvia opened her mouth in amazement as deep sunset hues fell over her face.
Felix watched her with a softened gaze. His heart, which had calmed down, started to throb again. Though it seemed calm, the palpable presence of his heartbeat made him flustered.
It was an emotion he had never felt before. The ticklish sensation made him impulsively tap the area around his heart. Though it was clearly his armor resonating, it felt as though it was his heart.
Sylvia thought it was incredible that just a sunset could create such a wondrous scene and smiled slightly. Watching her face naturally smile, he simply stared at her instead of the sunset with a dazed expression.
They sat on the tree until darkness fully settled.
★★42. Whelk is Chojang★★
Sylvia quickly constructed a makeshift treehouse as the night sky darkened, after enduring a long lecture from Hubert following Felix.
She hurried to prepare dinner, using water, fire, and wind magic simultaneously to clean the shellfish she had caught.
The shellfish were planned to be made into soup and steamed dishes. She prepared a broth with radish, onion, green onions, and garlic, boiling the shellfish in it, and steaming the rest with steam.
Thinking the kingdom’s people might be lacking nutrition without rice, she grilled beef. For side dishes, she made stir-fried mushrooms, potatoes, and a colorful stir-fry with peppers.
As Sylvia busily moved around, a red flower fell from the pocket of her robe.
“Huh?”
She lifted the falling petal with wind magic.
“Oh, right. Louis gave it to me earlier.”
Feeling guilty for having forgotten it amid her worries, she examined the flower on her palm. Its appearance was quite unique.
It had broad petals with another flower-like bud in the middle. The flower, lacking visible stamens and entirely red, was beautiful. Eryngium flew over and landed on the flower as Sylvia inspected it, feeling jealous that Sylvia admired another flower.
[That flower’s not pretty at all. Looks just like Poppy. The red color is ominous.]
Sylvia retorted to the fairy’s spiteful comment.
“Shush, don’t say things like that.”
[So, you think this flower is pretty?]
Eryngium, not getting the attention she wanted, grew even more sullen and jumped around on the red flower. She stomped her little feet and narrowed her eyes.
[I’m much more splendid than this flower!]
Sylvia sighed, finding it ridiculous she was jealous over such a thing. Eryngium, still displeased, jumped more vigorously, pressing down on the bud-like part of the flower.
“Why are you getting angry?”
Wondering how to soothe the fairy, Sylvia was startled as Eryngium jumped forcefully, causing the bud to burst open and shoot its contents.
“Ah! What’s this!”
Sylvia screamed as she involuntarily caught the flower’s contents on her face. Eryngium, shocked by her own actions and her scream, froze.
Fortunately, it seemed nothing got into her eyes, so she cautiously opened them. The contents that had landed on her face slid down her cheeks and into her mouth.
Caught with her mouth open, Sylvia inadvertently ingested the substance. Her eyes widened in surprise as she swallowed what had entered her mouth.
“What is this!”
Sylvia yelled again, prompting Eryngium to fly away in avoidance.
[So-sorry.]
Anticipating a scolding with a gloomy expression, Eryngium was met with Sylvia who, instead of scolding, laughed heartily and praised her.
“Eryngium! Well done!”
[Huh?]
Sylvia bounced excitedly, her face still smeared with red, recognizing the taste of what she had ingested.
“It’s chojang! It’s chojang!”
The substance expelled by the red flower was oddly identical in taste to chojang (Korean chili pepper paste sauce).
Sylvia scooped the remaining chojang from her face with her finger and tasted it again, continuing to laugh joyously at the familiar taste.
She had been longing for gochujang, promising herself repeatedly to make it, but who would have thought she’d discover it in such an unbelievable situation?
“How can there be a flower that tastes like chojang?”
She had thoughtlessly wished for chojang while boiling and steaming the shellfish, missing the taste compared to wasabi soy sauce.
Eryngium landed on Sylvia’s shoulder as she suddenly became serious.
[Sylvia, what’s wrong?]
Worried by her abrupt change from joy to seriousness, she touched her forehead to check for fever, concerned she might be unwell. Unaware of the fairy’s concern, Sylvia entertained a possibility.
Then, like a person suddenly coming to their senses, she rushed outside with the flower in hand.
Felix, having removed his armor to maintain his sword and armor while she prepared, noticed her dashing out. Before he could call out, Sylvia hurried towards the cave where the kingdom’s people resided.
Concerned about sending her off alone, he placed his armor and sword into the spatial bag and followed her. Unaware of his pursuit, Sylvia hastened her steps, calling out for Louis as she approached the cave.
“Louis? Could you come out for a moment, please?”
Louis and his parents, who were having a modest meal inside the cave, came out upon hearing her voice.
“Sister?”
Louis emerged, holding his mother’s hand, looking pleased to see her. Sylvia, holding the flower, urgently asked him.
“Louis, this flower, where did you get it?”
Louis pouted upon seeing the wilted flower he had given her.
“Don’t you like it?”
Startled by his sullen look, Sylvia hurriedly explained.
“No, no, it’s not that…”
Glancing around, she then asked Louis’s parents.
“Have you ever eaten this flower?”
“Ah… Is the flower poisonous? We were so hungry that we ate some petals. What should we do…”
Mistaking the chojang on Sylvia’s lips for blood, Louis’s mother trembled with fear. Sylvia frantically waved her hands, about to respond.
Then, a large hand emerged from behind her, snatching the flower from her hand. Felix, alarmed by the mention of poison, stuffed the flower into his mouth. If it were poison, he was well acquainted with detecting it.
“Why would you eat that?”
Sylvia yelled at Felix, who had followed unnoticed. Her yelling and his action caused everyone from the cave to emerge.
Louis and his parents were terrified, fearing the flower might pose a risk to everyone present. Felix felt no burning sensation in his throat, familiar with the sensation of ingesting poison.
He said with a much improved complexion.
“It’s okay, there’s no poison,”
Sylvia, about to scold him, closed her mouth at his response. His concerned gaze briefly stirred her emotions.
“Is that really all you can say?”
Why would you taste it to test it?
What if it had actually been poisonous? What were you planning to do by putting it directly in your mouth?
Do you think everything’s fine just because you’re the main character?
It doesn’t hurt if you don’t die, is that it? Don’t you feel pain?
Irritation surged through her.
Sylvia, her anger flaring, confronted him sharply.
“Why did you have to taste it to find out? There are plenty of other ways to check, so why shove it into your mouth? What are you, a silver spoon for testing poison? Huh? Why did you eat it?”
Tears welled up as she vented her frustration, leaving Felix perplexed and responding with a confused expression.
“It’s okay.”
“What do you mean, ‘it’s okay’?”
Felix tried to reassure her, but Sylvia became even more incensed.
“I can eat poison without dying. So, let’s just drop it…”
Before he could finish, Sylvia punched him in the chest. It didn’t hurt, but his heart felt a peculiar twinge.
“So, it’s all fine as long as you don’t die! You don’t even know if it hurts! Being hurt is still being hurt. Why would you foolishly put it in your mouth? Eat only what’s delicious, not things like that!”
Sylvia thought of him as he was portrayed in the novels. Even ascending to emperor and having the world’s delicacies at his disposal, he could not fully savor them. That future him in the novel…
Felix finally understood why she was angry. Even as her small fists continued to hit him, he couldn’t help but smile.
“Ha ha…”
“You’re laughing? Are you mad?”
Her continued fury made Louis, who had been watching, burst into tears.
“Waaaah!”
Only then did she realize everyone was present. She first consoled the child.
“Louis, don’t cry. Stop.”
While comforting him, Sylvia explained to Louis’s parents.
“It’s not because of any poison; it’s because the bud inside the flower has juice. I was trying to ask where the flower grows… I’m sorry, my explanation was insufficient.”
Realizing her abrupt questioning had caused a misunderstanding, Sylvia apologized. Louis’s mother, relieved, responded.
“Phew, that’s a relief. We were so desperate for food… I was terrified thinking we couldn’t even eat the flower.”
The villagers nodded weakly in the background. Sylvia took a deep breath before speaking up with a strong voice.
“I’ll be serving dinner, so please come to our tent in a little while.”
Unable to refuse due to their hunger, the people accepted her hospitality.
“Then we’ll go pick the flower.”
Louis’s mother pleaded with hopeful eyes, to which Sylvia nodded.
“Please do.”
She bowed and then grabbed Felix’s hand, pulling him aside.
“I need to talk to you…”
Though she intended to sound menacing, Felix’s face remained untroubled, smiling even as she dragged him along.
