Chapter 92

# 92

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As Lark picked up the sandwich, Navia suddenly said,

"This time, I checked the liver."

She had remembered his shocking evaluation from yesterday, where he said it was too sour, too salty, and too bland, and had worked hard to adjust the liver today.

Lark said with an exasperated look,

"So you’re telling me not to complain about the food now?"

'Ah, is that how it’s going to be?'

Navia replied sheepishly,

"…Not exactly."

"Not exactly? What do you mean?"

Lark retorted curtly and took a large bite of the sandwich.

He paused for a moment as the tangy dressing spread in his mouth.

'It’s definitely tangy.'

It wasn’t so bad that it was sour. In fact, it was good.

"You have some talent."

Navia, with her cheeks puffed out, chewed and swallowed the food properly before answering,

"You mean it’s good?"

Lark didn’t answer, only furrowed his brow.

Navia realized that his expression was actually positive.

'Really, he’s so dishonest.'

And he was being dishonest in a very obvious way.

'I’m not exactly honest either.'

Was this a common point between them?

Navia slightly moved her legs, which were dangling in the air because the chair was too high.

The time she spent with Lark was different from the time she spent with others.

Of course, his peculiarities contributed to this difference, but there was something more mysterious about it.

'For example, the cold, refreshing scent that only comes from the Duke is quite intriguing.'

It wasn’t a sharp, stinging smell. It was cold and harsh like winter, but there was a sense of calm and refinement within it.

Navia felt strangely calm from this scent.

Was it because she always felt safe and protected whenever she sensed this scent in dangerous situations?

Rustle.

As Navia was slowly eating the sandwich, she suddenly sensed a movement by the door and turned her gaze.

Lark had left the door wide open earlier, and Navia, in her hurry to come to his call, had forgotten to close it.

Through the open door, Schleman and Margaret were peeking in with excited expressions.

"Ah."

While Navia was surprised, Lark clicked his tongue and waved his hand.

Bang!

The door slammed shut as if to say, "Go away."

'Did he really have to be so unwelcoming…?'

It would have been fun to have breakfast together.

Navia thought this and smiled to herself.

The idea of Lark at a bustling dining table seemed both amusing and interesting.

Navia, lost in these pleasant thoughts, took a short deep breath while eating the sandwich.

'I’m already full.'

She hadn’t even finished half of the sandwich, but her stomach was already full.

Navia slowed down her eating and eventually put the sandwich back on the plate.

Lark, seeing that Navia had finished eating without eating much, asked with a displeased look,

"What, are you eating birdseed?"

"I’m full."

'Full after eating just that?'

Navia took a sip of the drink, but didn’t drink much of it either.

"Even a rabbit would eat more than you."

"It’s not that little."

"Have you seen a rabbit eat?"

Navia, at a loss for words at this childish retort, was suddenly interrupted as Lark picked up the leftover food.

Navia tried to stop him with a surprised look.

"That’s what I was eating, I can get a new one…!"

Lark quickly finished the remaining sandwich.

In the empire, while it was common to share food, it was not customary for someone to eat another person’s leftovers unless they were family.

Navia was so surprised that her mouth dropped open.

Even her adoptive mother, Nikan, had never touched her leftovers. Nikan had only eaten what Vivian refused to eat.

'But they are real family.'

As Navia struggled to hide her confusion, Lark drank the beverage and said,

"One sandwich isn’t enough to fill me up. Got a problem with that?"

"Ah… I see."

Navia, aware of her habit of saying "I see" in confusing situations, covered her mouth.

Lark narrowed his eyes and said,

"You’ve broken the taboo word again. We need to make a punishment for that."

"What? Where is that rule?"

"It’s up to me."

Navia, thinking Lark was terribly childish, had a dazed look and turned her head slightly.

She really tried to hold back, but…

Navia found it too hard to suppress her laughter.

"Did you know that your expression when trying to hold back laughter is even funnier?"

"…That’s too much."

Navia, trying to hold back her laughter, finally burst out laughing. She tried to suppress it, thinking it was impolite, and closed her eyes tightly.

Lark found it even funnier to see Navia, with tears in her eyes, trying to suppress her laughter.

Laughter filling this desolate space so early in the morning.

'Can the presence of one child change the atmosphere so much?'

At that moment, a sharp pain shot through his body.

Crack!

Lark clutched his chest.

'Damn crack!'

Fortunately, the crack was in a part that wasn’t visible.

He quickly got up to take his medicine.

Clatter!

The chair rolled backward, and Lark staggered.

"Duke!"

Navia, pale, rushed over.

Lark, half-closing his eyes due to dizziness, waved his hand in the air.

"Don’t come… ugh!"

Crack!

'No!'

He quickly covered his neck with his hand.

He could feel the crack spreading from his upper body to just below his ear.

Lark staggered backward and fell onto the bed.

The child’s small hand touched his sleeve.

'Don’t come.'

He felt warmth from that spot.

'Go away, please!'

The child was too close.

If this continued, he might reveal his grotesque appearance and see the fear in the child’s eyes.

"Are you in pain? Should I call Mina?"

"…Get out."

Navia hesitated at the faint, pained voice.

Their eyes met.

Lark roared fiercely,

"Get out now!"

Navia, startled, let go of Lark’s arm. She wasn’t scared, but her expression was unusually calm.

"…Yes."

As if she was used to such situations.

Navia stepped back, bowed deeply, and apologized.

"I’m sorry. Please forgive my rudeness, Duke."

Then, to avoid upsetting Lark further, she quickly left the bedroom.

She knew from long experience that showing her face in such situations would only make things worse.

Lark, once Navia was gone, finally let out a harsh breath.

"Damn!"

He collapsed on the floor and took his medicine haphazardly.

Clang!

The bottles shattered in his hands.

The table was kicked to the corner.

"Damn, damn!"

He found it pathetic and ridiculous to be living like this.

How pitiful to force himself to live day by day with this useless body!

'This life was supposed to be special for me.'

A woman and a child had entered this house for the first time.

'What are the chances that the woman will find this place again in her next life?'

Lark hadn’t found a way to return to when he was twenty, when the woman first came.

But it seemed time to wrap things up.

He didn’t want to prolong his life in this pitiful and disgusting state.

After waiting for nine years without her coming, perhaps she had definitely left and cut ties. He recalled this fact he didn’t want to admit and shuffled to the window.

I’ll just die and move on to the next cycle.

Click, he opened the window.

The sky was as gloomy as his mood.

Lark, with dead eyes, looked at the mansion’s front gate.

'But what if the woman comes back?'

He closed the window irritably and slid to the floor.

His head fell to the ground, and his black hair covered his face.

He clenched his fists so hard they turned white and pressed them to the floor.

"Damn…"

How pathetic, Lark.

He couldn’t do anything, as always.

#16.

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I’m here.