Chapter 11

After groaning all morning, I finally managed to get up from my bed.

Do prey animals that have encountered a predator’s ferocity feel like this?

It felt as if all my muscles had turned to jelly.

I barely managed to wash my face with the water the servants had brought and dragged my trembling legs to the dining hall.

It was a situation where I involuntarily started to shuffle like a dog.

One step forward, two steps to the side.

My head commanded me to move forward, but my body moved to the sides.

My body insisted that I needed to lie down a bit more, but I couldn’t just stay in bed.

After all, I had a guest, and now he was my patron, so I had to take good care of him.

That’s how human relationships work.

The patron relationship I had with the head of the Zhuge family was a one-sided structure. He was a high-ranking person, and I was just a basic resource.

No matter what method was used, this wouldn’t change.

Therefore, it had to be a one-sided relationship where he bestowed favors on me, but if I just accepted them without question, the relationship would inevitably become problematic.

For example, if I were a regular person working at a small company and my friend were the son of a businessman, and every time we met, he said, “Hey, I’ll pay, I know your situation, how can you eat what I buy for you?” and always paid for meals or such things?

At first, it would be appreciated, and the one giving would feel good, but if this continued for a long time:

One side might think, “Is he showing off his money?” and the other side might think, “He knows my situation, why can’t he even buy me a cup of coffee?” leading to a disastrous outcome.

So, in a relationship with such a disparity, the less fortunate side needs to put in extra effort.

It’s not a big deal.

By giving something in return to the friend who always gives, they, being always in the position of giving, are not used to receiving, and thus are deeply moved even by small things.

So, by giving small things within my means, I could maintain a good relationship.

In my current situation, it could be a delicious meal.

As I organized my thoughts, I arrived at the front of the dining hall and reached the side door.

When I stepped over the threshold with my trembling legs and entered, I was greeted with a surprising sight.

I had been thinking about how to clean up the mess in the inn’s dining hall, but when I entered, it was already spotlessly clean.

Thinking back to the chaos from yesterday, my worry about how to clean it up with my current condition seemed unnecessary.

The walls, stained with blood, were now clean, the broken chairs were gone, and suitable chairs and tables were neatly arranged.

The floor was polished clean, as if it had been washed with water.

My inn, perfectly tidied up.

“Eh?!”

A surprised exclamation involuntarily escaped my lips at the sight of the clean inn.

And as if sensing my voice, a servant wearing an apron wiped her wet hands and hurriedly came out to greet me.

It was a different servant from the one who had brought the tea.

“Did Young Master cough?”

‘Wow, Young Master. The treatment in this household is really something, isn’t it?’

Young Master is a term used to refer to an unmarried male in the household.

Although they called me family, the head of the household seemed to have chosen a term that felt more like family than a respectful title.

The term Young Master gave off a genuine family-like atmosphere.

I asked the servant if the cleaning was done by them.

“Ahem. The, the young ladies cleaned the dining hall, didn’t they?”

“Young Master, young ladies? That’s ridiculous. If you call us that when the elders are around, we’ll be in big trouble. Just use the lower form of address.”

“But...”

The servant, with a firm expression that said it was absolutely not acceptable, made me think of the phrase “pumpkin” for some reason.

However, with her eyes that seemed to be glaring like her master, I could only awkwardly respond.

“O-oh, I see. I understand.”

‘To be in a position where even a servant’s glare can make me feel inferior as a basic resource...’

Hearing my clear answer, the servant finally responded to my question.

“Yes, Young Master, we cleaned it.”

“Really, to clean it so thoroughly.”

“Well, it’s what we do every day, isn’t it?”

Indeed, servants are experts in organizing, cleaning, and household chores.

In my previous life, they would be like housekeeping assistants.

With professionals handling it, it had to be perfect.

I praised their efforts.

“You, you did a good job.”

However, perhaps because I had always been in a subordinate position in both my past and present lives, it felt very awkward to use a superior tone, and my awkward tone made the servant turn her head to suppress a burst of laughter, then quickly apologized.

“Haha... Ah, I’m sorry, Young Master. And no, it’s our job, isn’t it?”

Her words made the situation feel awkward. I needed to think of something to say, but the hierarchical relationship between us made it confusing.

As the awkwardness continued, I noticed her wiping her hands on my apron again.

“So, what were you doing inside?”

“I was making some snacks.”

Indeed, the servant was making some food. Since I had woken up around brunch time due to feeling unwell, and these people start their day very early, it was natural for them to be hungry.

It seemed she had been waiting for me and had gone to the kitchen to find something to eat.

Regardless of the reason, I felt apologetic as a guest.

“I must have woken up too late.”

As I said this, the servant quickly responded.

“No, it’s because you faced the elder’s ferocity... Anyway, Young Master, are you feeling better? It must still be difficult for you to get up, right?”

The servant, who seemed to know a lot, was worried about my poor condition.

To be honest, I felt like I was going to collapse.

But I couldn’t say that my legs were so weak that I was shuffling like a dog.

“I can move slowly. I came to prepare the meal, but...”

“No, Young Master, please rest a bit more. I’ll bring the meal in a moment.”

“But, I have a guest now. I can’t just be treated as a guest.”

“Guest? That’s ridiculous.”

As we argued back and forth, the servant thought for a moment and made a suggestion.

“If you’re uncomfortable, how about preparing the young lady’s meal? Only you know about her illness, so you were waiting for you to prepare the meal, as you didn’t know how to do it.”

Thinking about it, I had told her yesterday that she absolutely couldn’t eat peanuts.

I had also warned her to be careful with stir-fried or oily foods, so I was afraid to give her any food.

She hadn’t eaten anything since last night except for a few bites of noodles. Moreover, she had fainted from shock, so her body couldn’t be in a normal state.

“Since last night, she hasn’t eaten anything. I didn’t think about it. I was only thinking about myself. What a mess. Let’s hurry!”

“Oh!”

Covering her mouth, the servant, who seemed embarrassed, followed me into the kitchen.

“You did well to wait for me. As a servant who stays close to the young lady, remember well what I tell you while making the food, understand?”

“Yes, Young Master, I will remember.”

Peanut allergy can sometimes affect not just peanuts but also beans and other nuts, so caution was necessary.

Moreover, even indirect contact, such as using kitchen utensils that had been used to prepare foods she couldn’t eat, could be dangerous, so constant vigilance was required.

In my previous life, food labels often said, “This product is made in a facility that also processes peanuts and other nuts,” as a warning to those with allergies.

I instructed the servant while soaking the rice in water.

“All the food the young lady eats must be prepared directly. You must use separate knives, cutting boards, pots, bowls, spoons, and chopsticks. Under no circumstances should you use peanut oil, beans, or other nuts, or touch the young lady’s food with hands that have handled these items, understand?”

“Yes, Young Master!”

The servant listened to my explanation with bright eyes.

Perhaps because she was a servant in a high-ranking household, she seemed to have a strong sense of loyalty.

With her help, I ground the soaked rice in a mill and prepared a smooth congee.

The congee, made from rice ground three times, was boiling gently in the pot, more like a soup than a porridge.

Stirring the boiling congee, the servant said:

“I’ve never seen such finely ground congee.”

Feeding congee to a patient is usually to aid digestion, but in the young lady’s case, it was also to help with her swollen tongue and throat.

I explained the reason to the servant.

“The young lady’s tongue and throat are very swollen, so I prepared it very finely. I was worried she might have difficulty swallowing.”

“Oh, I see. How thoughtful.”

The servant, who seemed embarrassed, spoke.

Perhaps because she was used to serving high-ranking people, the servant didn’t understand, but a patron like the head of the Zhuge family would naturally become more affectionate.

Moreover, he was a doting father.

The more I treated his daughter well, the higher my evaluation would be.

It might seem a bit materialistic, but that’s how social life works.

***

On the fifth day of the Zhuge family’s stay at the inn, the young lady had recovered enough to get up and move around. I had also finally escaped the influence of the elder’s ferocity.

Although the young lady wasn’t seriously ill except for her allergic reaction, she had lacked proper meals due to fear, which made her look weak. Thanks to her father’s concern, her recovery was faster.

“Is there any way to recover faster?”

The head of the Zhuge family asked me, treating me like a doctor.

When I said that if we had ginseng, jujubes, and a chicken, I could prepare a nourishing dish, he used a lightness technique I had never seen before to quickly go to Qingtian and buy ginseng, jujubes, and a chicken.

The young lady had to eat samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) for four days straight.

The smell of chicken permeated the area.

And as she recovered, the time for farewell arrived.

Sitting around the table early in the morning, the head of the Zhuge family began to speak.

“I was originally heading to the Tangmen in Sichuan to treat my daughter’s strange illness. The current head of the Tangmen is an old friend from my martial arts training days, so I planned to seek his help. Thanks to you, we found the cause of the illness, so I don’t need his help anymore, but I promised to visit, so I need to go and show my face.”

“Ah, I see. They must be waiting for you. You should go soon.”

When I said this with a slightly regretful tone, he smiled kindly and said:

“I don’t have much to offer now, but take this.”

He took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to me.

I took it awkwardly and placed it on the table. It was a bill.

‘Let me see. Five... the next character is “b”... “baek”? Five hundred taels!?’

Indeed, the class was different.

The generous spending of a local top gangster. I felt very generous, but if I accepted it immediately, it might show my true intentions.

I quickly pushed the bill back to him and said:

“I, I can’t accept this. The amount is...”

Seeing my discomfort with the large sum, he started to talk about his reputation again. That reputation...

“Tsk! I have my reputation, so take it. I’ll send someone to help you prepare what you need. We’ll take care of the meals, understand?”

‘Meals?’ The head of the family said something strange.