Chapter 11
‘Haa…’
The warm temperature made my body melt.
It felt like even the memories of the past few days were melting away with it.
The reason he was able to secure a mansion like this while practically broke was because of a book he had read in his previous life.
Twisted Sun.
As expected, this world was the same one from that novel he had received as a system reward.
He still remembered valuable knowledge he could sell at a high price to information brokers.
It contained content that completely rewrote the original storyline.
Originally, people who were supposed to die would survive instead.
It still felt unfamiliar, like stepping into a strange historical era, but since he had already read it in book form, adapting wasn’t too difficult.
‘Still… isn’t this a relatively peaceful world?’
At the very least, gates weren’t appearing nonstop like in his original world.
Alexis Myers.
He recalled his new name.
It felt unfamiliar, yet strangely familiar at the same time.
Especially when his so-called wife called him, it felt strange.
“Alex.”
“Alex?”
“Alex!”
“……”
For some reason, his chest ached—like a dull sting, like a long-lost yearning.
He didn’t know why he felt this way.
But if she learned the truth, how would she react?
At the center of this situation where her husband’s soul had changed, Alexis found himself conflicted.
Even if he suddenly said, “I’m not your husband,” no one would believe him.
‘But how long do I have to stay here?’
Somehow he was acting as the real Alexis, but he had no intention of staying with this fake family forever.
He couldn’t even abandon the name Alexis, but he also wasn’t confident he could treat these strangers as a real family.
He had never had a family in his past life.
And suddenly, being told to live as family with strangers…
‘…Well, I guess there’s no choice for now.’
Alex exhaled slowly through his nose and sank deeper into the bath.
At least until his living situation stabilized, he needed to observe the women of this household.
Besides, thanks to the poison incident, no one would suspect that he wasn’t the real Alexis for the time being.
“…From now on, no one will look down on you.”
“So let’s start over. Let’s survive.”
“……”
Shannon’s voice echoed in his mind.
While Alex was bathing and the rest of the household was choosing rooms, I prepared dinner.
Fortunately, the storage room was stocked with a decent amount of unopened food and root vegetables.
‘We won’t have to worry about meals for at least two weeks.’
For now, I cooked potatoes.
It felt like I was secretly living in someone else’s house and consuming their food—but this was our home now.
The kitchen also had an absurd amount of unfamiliar seasonings.
From exotic imported spices to powders I couldn’t even identify.
Compared to that, I only really knew salt, sugar, and pepper, so this kitchen was overwhelming.
“Wow, that smells really good.”
A sudden voice came from behind me.
It was the sister-in-law, holding a feather duster that didn’t suit her at all.
Her cheeks still had dried tear stains.
“What are you doing, sister? Looks tasty. So you do have some conscience—you’re actually cooking. Achoo!”
She sneezed, apparently having inhaled dust from somewhere in this spotless mansion.
Ignoring her, I turned back to the stove.
“Just steaming potatoes.”
“Huh?”
I began plating the boiled potatoes.
On luxurious silverware, I even added salt and set out individual plates.
After finishing the basic setup, I said to her:
“Can you take these to the dining room and call Alex and Mother?”
“What? That’s it?”
She looked back and forth between me and the table, dumbfounded.
“No soup? No meat? I want veau consommé!”
“……”
“We’ve been eating weird bread all this time!”
She looked like she might burst into tears.
Veau consommé.
Did she even know it took days to make veal stock?
It was annoying how childish she was—but also a little pitiful. I didn’t like that about myself either.
“Weird bread? They were all edible.”
“Brother just eats anything because he has no taste!”
“At least we’re lucky to have potatoes. Tomorrow I’ll fry them. Mashed potatoes would be good too.”
“……”
She didn’t respond immediately.
I glanced at her.
Her face turned red and blue, like she was about to cry.
‘You think I’ll care?’
No one is here to indulge your tantrums anymore.
No maids. No governess.
I hoped she would adjust to reality quickly.
“I… I…”
“……”
“I’m not eating!”
And with that, she ran out of the kitchen in tears.
Just as I expected.
She’d come back when she got hungry.
With a small sigh, I removed my apron and carried the food to the dining room.
Steam rose from the freshly boiled potatoes, along with a cup of warm water mixed with honey.
Looking at the simple, sweet meal made my heart feel strange.
‘Still, we can start over as a family.’
That was what I thought.
The mother-in-law chewed the potatoes like they were raw meat.
“If the ghost living in this house is a kind spirit, I hope it flies straight to the Emperor’s bedchamber tonight and rots his golden sheets.”
“……”
A heavy aura of resentment filled the dining room.
Odellia Myers Brent, Duchess of the Grand Duke’s house.
A woman who maintained flawless beauty and a size 44 figure with extreme discipline—she had once dreamed of becoming an opera singer.
But because she was a distant relative of the imperial line, she could not escape her noble fate.
She had tried to run away as a child, but was caught and forced into an arranged marriage, giving birth to Alex and Eloy.
Because of Alex’s condition, her marital life had been strained for a long time.
I silently thought—her fate wasn’t ordinary either.
As I cut a potato with a knife, I took a bite.
The salty, savory taste filled my mouth.
Then I drank the honey water, mixing sweetness with the remaining saltiness in a surprisingly pleasant way.
I had never eaten something like this in the ducal household.
It was simple—but delicious.
“I didn’t realize potato skins could taste this good.”
I murmured without thinking.
I felt Alex’s gaze on me.
The mother-in-law scolded me sharply.
“You’re so carefree, Louise. You always look so at ease—it’s enviable. I can’t even tell if I’m chewing rubber or potatoes.”
“But tomorrow Alex said he’ll catch a sheep.”
“What? Really, Alex?”
The two women turned to him.
The mother-in-law looked almost moved to tears.
“So you’re finally hunting now. You used to refuse to kill anything, saying it was sad even though you ate meat.”
“……”
“Good. If it’s difficult, I’ll help you. I saw a gun in the storage room.”
Alex, chewing potatoes, coughed.
While I moved a glass of honey water closer to him, he said:
“…It’s fine. A sheep isn’t that difficult to hunt.”
The mother-in-law’s eyes trembled with emotion again.
As if she had no regrets left in life after seeing that scene.
Then her gaze turned dark.
“If I could, I’d like to feed poison to the Emperor too.”
Suddenly, hatred flared in her eyes.
After all, her entire family had collapsed—how could I possibly understand her feelings?
“If I could just watch him die in agony, I’d have no further wishes.”
“……”
I fell silent.
When I glanced at my husband, he looked slightly serious as he stared at his mother.
