Shadow Queen

Chapter 55

Elena, who did not feel worthy of answering, ignored him and turned her eyes to Sian.

“Did you have anything to say?”

“…”

Instead of answering, Sian stared at Elena. As the silence became longer and awkward, Sian uttered words that had nothing to do with the point.

“I invite you. For dinner.”

“What?”

Khalif and Elena blinked at the unexpected suggestion, asking back reflexively. That’s how an early dinner for the three unplanned people was arranged.

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Elena and Khalif visited a detached dormitory where only direct royal family members could use it. It was similar in size to Elena’s detached dormitory, but it was poor to see the place where the crown prince who would lead the empire stay, and it felt strongly backward. Expensive paintings and decorations were nowhere to be seen, and the furniture looked old.

‘Now I’m here.’

Elena’s eyes deepened. Elena and Sian’s dormitories were across the street. If the tree did not block the view, it was close enough to expose life.

Elena’s interest in her past life had been focused only on Sian since she was in the academy. What Sian ate, how he slept, and how he lived was her world and everything. Maybe since then. The interest that started in Sian became favorable and turned into useless attachment and love.

“There’s nothing special, but eat it. It won’t taste bad.”

Khalif and Elena sat opposite each other, with the table between them based on Sian sitting at the top. The maid served the dishes in the kitchen. It was soup, salad, and steak, but compared to Elena’s usual diet, the level dropped a lot. It was the same with Khalif. He was looking forward to the meal invited by the crown prince, but the quality of the meat was not good at a glance.

“Listen.”

When Sian cut the meat first and ate it, Khalif and Elena grabbed the knife and fork. Khalid cut the meat to make it easier to eat and chewed the meat while greasy. As expected. It was edible, but it wasn’t really excellent in quality or juicy.

‘Was it this bad? The financial situation of the imperial family.’

Elena was personally supported by the Grand Duke during her time as empress. Otherwise, they couldn’t cover the luxury cost of maintaining dignity. Therefore, she was not interested in the royal family’s finances and thought it was always enough. However, the financial situation of the imperial family felt here seemed much worse than she thought.

“Does it taste good?”

“Of course! It’s so delicious. It’s chewy and soft-boiled, and every time the juices spread out, it’s so fascinating.”

Khalif even praised the chief, saying that he would be disappointed. Sian nodded his head indifferently and turned to Elena.

“What about you?”

Elena, who was asked, put down her fork and chewed the food in her mouth tightly and swallowed it. Then she picked up her napkin, wiped her mouth, and answered.

“It’s too much to say, but it’s definitely a delightful dish.”

“I see.”

Sian no longer asked about the taste. Instead, he paid attention to Elena’s eating. While eating a steak with poor meat, she did not make a single chewing sound, and more than eight forks and knives were used naturally to suit their purpose.

“You always show new looks.”

“Me?”

Elena looked up to see if she was talking about herself. Sian continued, staring at Elena with a peculiar indifferent look.

“Sometimes you look weak like a deer.”

“…”

“Sometimes you behave more gracefully than the imperial family.”

Elena missed it. She realized that the etiquette that had been implicitly infiltrated attracted Sian’s interest. She rebuked herself for her rashness, but the water had already spilled.

“Was your name Khalif?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“This year’s graduation class. So, have you thought about your career after graduation?”

To Sian’s question, Khalif answered clearly with a very nervous expression.

“Yes, I’ve found a job that suits my aptitude. I have to prepare my thesis, and I’m so into it that I’m worried if I can graduate on time.”

“It’s the right thing to do. I wonder what it is.”

“I’m doing work in art.”

Elena glared at Khalif, who answered politely. She was displeased with the act of amplifying Sian’s interest by talking about things that he didn’t have to say. There’s no way he didn’t know that, but Khalif ignored it and talked.

“Actually, Miss Lucia here recommended it to me. I don’t know if you know this, but I’m getting a lot of help because she has excellent knowledge and insight.”

Elena glared at Khalif as if to kill him for his constant stream of useless words.

‘Please, that mouth.’

However, Sian’s attention has already been paid to Elena.

“I knew you had a sense of art, but I didn’t know you had a good eye for it.”

“Your Highness, this is what Khalif said to lower himself. You don’t have to listen.”

Elena quickly praised Khalif and tried to pull herself out. She made a fierce eye contact with Khalif, warning him not to talk nonsense anymore.

“You’re so modest. I’m even more interested in the depth of your learning.”

Oh. Elena’s head was throbbing because she kept getting things tangled. Since Sian has already shown interest, there was anxiety that he might try to confirm it in some way.

“How do you feel? Let’s talk more about this.”

Sure enough, Elena’s prediction was right. This situation was uncomfortable because Elena did not want to be involved with Sian for a while.

“Your Highness, I am…”

As soon as Elena tried to express her refusal, Khalif stepped in.

“How can she refuse to do that, Your Grace? Lucia, are you okay? We’re free today.”

“Ah… ah.”

Elena, who was angry at the attitude of him accepting spontaneously because she wasn’t enough to cut off her words, bit her molar. Even though he certainly noticed, why on earth are was he so stupid today? The reason for the recklessness was not known, so she was even more feverish.

Eventually, the three moved to the drawing room. Elena elbowed Khalif in the waist as she walked behind Sian, who was ahead of her. Perhaps with emotion, there was quite a heavy force.

“Cough.”

Elena whispered softly to Khalif, who frowned in pain.

“What’s wrong with you today? Let’s go quietly when we’re done eating. What are you talking about!”

“Your Highness wants it. And you didn’t notice?”

Elena narrowed her eyes and glared at him and made remarks of warning.

“What do you think? When he asks, do it in moderation. I can’t stand it anymore.”

“Look at him. Don’t you think this is good for you?”

“So you’re trying to make me happy?”

Elena couldn’t hear the answer to the questioning. Because she arrived in the drawing room.

“Wow, look at the books. It’s like there are thousands.”

Khalif looked at the books filled with the walls of the drawing room and admired them. There seemed to be more than a thousand books, but considering that this is the reception room, not the library, he could see how much Sian lived with books. Three people sat relaxed on the spacious sofa. Then Sian looked at Elena and opened his mouth.

“When I see you, I think of it.”

“What?”

“Can you give me a cup of tea like that?”

“… Tea?”

Elena was quite embarrassed by Sian’s request. Give him a cup of tea. It was a sudden request that would be embarrassing for her as well. Sian was also embarrassed to bring up these words, so he gave a false cough.

“I can’t forget the scent and the deep taste.”

“…”

“Is it a difficult request?”

When Sian asked again, Elena, who had been half asleep for a moment, quickly came to her senses.

“No. If you can prepare tea leaves, tea, and hot water…”

“Hey.”

Sian told them to bring them out. The servants brought them in the blink of an eye whether they had been announced in advance or had already prepared them.

“Is there anything else you need?”

“No, that’s enough.”

Elena checked the tea leaves first by opening the sealed box.

‘The tea leaves of the second order.’

It is better compared to some products, but compared to the tea leaves, which are mostly used by the aristocrats, the scent and taste of the products were much lower.

‘Let’s not count the quality. The tea is more important.’

Elena carefully examined the tea leaves. Knowing the dryness of the leaves and the degree of fermentation, even the tea leaves of a heavy product could bring out the taste. The temperature of the hot water was appropriate, and the preparation was perfect. Furthermore, no matter how good the ingredients are, it is no exaggeration to say that the deep taste and deep fragrance of tea depends on the hands of the person who makes the tea. In that sense, Elena’s tea ceremony, which had been brewed dozens, no, hundreds of times with her heart for only one person, was close to perfection.

Gululu.

Elena recommended filling an empty cup with tea water.

“Of course.”

Sian, who tasted the first donation, exclaimed.

“Even with the same tea leaves, it has such a deep taste and aroma.”

Sian stopped talking. Using his sense of smell and taste, he focused on deeply savoring the tea Elena brewed.

“Wow, I think I know a little why people do tea ceremony.”

Unintentionally, Elena was amazed at the Khalif who drank the tea. He decided to cancel the idea of tea ceremony as a show-off ceremony for aristocrats. Elena, who stared at Sian enjoying tea, said to herself.

‘I hope this tea will be the last one today.’

For she didn’t want any more bad news. Elena had no choice but to smile sadly not to repeat her past mistakes.

“There’s so much I want to ask you today.”

“Do you know me?”

Sian openly pointed to Elena and asked.

“You said your father is the head of one of the continent’s leading commercial houses.”

“Yes.”

“How is it? In your view, the flow of money in the present Empire. Does it feel normal?”