DKVM Ch 29

Chapter 29

That evening, what awaited me when I got home was a plate full of mushy bread made with who knows what.

“Here you go. Eat up, Vivi.”

The person who made it was Mr. Dias Hessen.

I alternated between looking at the strange bread in front of me and my dad with wide eyes and asked.

“What is this, Dad?”

“This? It’s our new menu item that Dad spent days and days developing.”

“No, I know it’s bread, but… what’s in it?”

What the heck did he put in the bread to make it blue…?

“I pick medicinal herbs in the summer to make it, but I thought plain bread was a little boring, so I added some coloring.”

…but why blue which looks so unappetizing?

“There are so many other colors, I thought it should be unique and become our signature.”

Why doesn’t he realize that there’s a reason no one else has made blue bread before now!

I raised my eyebrows at the strange food in front of me as my father looked at me expectantly.

‘Ughh. He’s really looking forward to me trying it, so I’ll just take one bite.’

I swallowed a sigh and popped the piece of bread Dad had cut into my mouth.

“Ummm…”

He said it was made with medicinal herbs, and it tasted super healthy…

“What do you think?”

I chewed the bread in my mouth and glanced at my dad, who was waiting expectantly.

A loose-fitting white shirt, a pink bunny apron, and a dazzling face that could pull off the pink bunny apron perfectly.

As I studied him objectively, I suddenly remembered what the duke had asked me today.

“Is there anything else your father likes to do then, that he’s got a talent for?”

I don’t know what my dad likes to do, but I think he has a skilled face.

‘Seeing as how you’ve been able to make a living from your bakery with this skill.’

I shook my head with a serious sigh as I finished sampling the new product and studying my dad’s face.

“You’re wrong. We can’t make a living with our bakery.”

“What?”

“You need to make a living with that face. Like a theater actor or something.”

“Vivi! What do you think you’re doing saying something so childish…!”

At my blunt assessment, he clutched his chest and looked hurt.

But our livelihood was much more important than my father’s wounded pride.

“So, whenever the ladies come over, you’re gonna smile all over the place, do you understand?”

I smiled, hoping my father would mimic my expression.

But he just sulked, as if he couldn’t accept the cold reality.

‘Hmm, but did I sound too cold?’

Feeling remorseful, I picked up another slice of yucky bread and tried to change the subject.

“Anyway, Dad. How about you work for the duke?”

“What do you mean by working for the duke?”

“Actually, today the duke said he would like to hire you as a servant for the duchy doing whatever kind of work you’re good at.”

“…the duke said that?”

“Yeah! What do you think, Dad?”

I waited for my dad’s answer, eyes wide with anticipation.

Of course, it’s not something to be taken lightly, so I didn’t expect a quick answer.

To my surprise, he answered immediately.

“I’m not working for the duke.”

Just like that, straight to the point.

I didn’t think it was a good idea to get him a job as an assistant to a duke’s chef, but I thought it would be good for him to work for the duke as a servant doing different tasks.

‘Dad may be bad at fighting and cooking, but he’s good at other chores.’

So of course I thought he’d take me up on the offer…but why?!

My jaw dropped at the unexpected answer.

“Why, why? If you were employed by the duke, you could make more money than you do now, and live in a big mansion.”

“But I don’t want to, because it’s so boring…it’s horrible to have your life dependent on someone else.”

Dad’s eyes seemed unusually sharp and distant as he answered.

But then he quickly composed himself and was back to his usual playful self.

“Dad prefers to live alone with my princess. Don’t you like it, Princess?”

“ Oh, huh?”

To be honest, the carriage ride every day to the villa was a bit of a hassle.

And if he was hired as a servant, that would mean Rahel and I would live under the same roof and get even closer.

‘But I already have a good relationship with Rahel.’

I don’t necessarily need to live at the duke’s residence.

And most of all…

‘If Dad is so against it, let’s not make a big deal out of it.’

Now, the only family he has left – the rest of his family, of course, he’s disowned – is his me, his daughter, so I wanted to respect his wishes.

“Ah, no. I’m all for living with you, too. I just…I asked about the duke earlier because I thought you were having a hard time.”

“Is that so? Oh, my baby girl. You’re already worried about me, you’re all grown up.”

He patted my head, thrilled with my answer.

“You didn’t eat dinner tonight, did you? I made soup, shall we have dinner now?”

“What’s for dinner?”

“I had some leftover medicinal herbs from the bread I made earlier, so I made some soup.”

Those medicinal herbs are in the food too…?

Dad set dinner on the table as if he had been waiting for me.

And, as ominously as expected, a bowl of herbal soup was placed in front of me.

I took a spoonful of the soup, unable to fight the anticipation in my dad’s eyes…

As expected, the soup was terrible.

‘But I am a decent person who knows how hard Dad worked to make it…’

I started eating, brainwashing myself that eating this would make me healthy.

My dad, who was looking at me with a smile on his face, suddenly asked me.

“What did you learn today?”

Ever since I started taking classes with Rahel, it’s been a regular question at dinner.

“I had history class today.”

“Hmm? My princess is so interested in history, you mentioned history class the other day.”

“Yeah, history is interesting! It’s stories about people from the past!”

Actually, because I have memories from my past life, and reading history books is like reading a novel.

“So what did you study? What’s the most memorable thing you learned today?”

“Umm…”

As I chewed the food in my mouth and replayed today’s lesson, a name popped into my head…

“Dane Rothweed!”

“Plaph!”

Dad suddenly spat out the water he was drinking.

“Gasp! Dad, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Cough, cough… I’m okay… Cough….”

“Drink water, water!”

I walked over to him as he coughed, patted him on the back, refilled his water, and held it out to him.

He took a long sip of water and finally calmed down.

“I got choked up all of a sudden. Ha, ha.”

“Are you okay now?”

“Yeah, thanks to you. But Dane…isn’t he from recent history? Are you already learning modern events?”

“I haven’t learned that far yet, but today the topic of demons came up, so the teacher talked about it for a while… By the way, do you know him?”

At my question, he stammered, avoiding my eyes for some reason.

“Huh? Uh… I know. He’s famous, you know.”