Is It Easier If You Give Up? (2)

Ariel is a duke’s daughter. This is a point that can’t be emphasized enough. When people hear “noble lady,” and especially “duke’s daughter,” what do they think of first?

A life where they might never get their hands wet, the epitome of laziness where others do most things for them. Overflowing wealth, power that can control people’s lives with a single word, and so on. Some of this is true, some exaggerated, but people’s perception is generally like this.

And Ariel is precisely that duke’s daughter. She should have no connection with things like household chores.

‘Well, it was strange even with the cookies…’

Even if Ariel says it’s a hobby, it’s strange that she bakes cookies herself. Of course, a lower-ranking noble daughter might do it as a hobby. But Ariel is a duke’s daughter. Would those around her allow someone of her status to get flour on her hands, even if she herself was okay with it?

At first, Mari didn’t notice. She wasn’t relaxed enough to think about that. But now it’s different. Now that she knows a bit about Ariel, she’s starting to notice things she hadn’t before.

‘The room is clean.’

The dormitory that Ariel and Mari share is usually quite clean. Mari often cleans, and the maids who occasionally visit volunteer to clean too.

But today is different. It doesn’t look much different from usual, but if you look closely, there are traces of someone’s touch in the organization. And this organizing style is neither Mari’s nor the maids’. Which means?

‘No, surely not…’

Mari immediately dismissed the possibility that occurred to her. Even so, one should say things that make sense. The thought that the great Walpurgis lady is cleaning and cooking herself is so nonsensical that it might be blasphemous to even say out loud.

‘But no matter how I look at it, that appearance…’

Mari’s eyes kept shaking as she looked at Ariel’s profile, her long hair tied back neatly so it wouldn’t get in the way, wearing an apron and stirring a ladle. Even just this sight was so surreal that words failed her.

Of course, Ariel hadn’t set out to prepare an elaborate feast. The menu consisted of what looked like store-bought rye bread, strawberry jam, and soup that Mari had prepared the base for. Up to here, it’s not particularly difficult. Of course, there was also a somewhat impressive-looking pasta next to it, but Mari decided to deliberately ignore that.

“I’m sorry there isn’t much prepared.”

Objectively speaking, there was nothing strange about Ariel’s words. She had simply put out pasta, which was one of the few dishes she knew how to make, bread she had asked a maid to buy, and soup that Mari had made, after wondering what to serve for lunch. Strictly speaking, the only thing Ariel had made herself was the pasta, and even including that, the menu composition couldn’t be considered very substantial.

In fact, even this menu was something Ariel had put together after thinking about what to eat for lunch and recalling a menu she had eaten at school in her high school days. From Ariel’s perspective, one could criticize this as a meager meal without argument.

Originally, Ariel’s cooking skills weren’t just at this level. Although it wasn’t to the point where people would say she could make a living from cooking, she at least had better skills than just serving a single pasta dish as her cooking attempt. But that was only when Ariel wasn’t Ariel.

How often would Ariel Walpurgis, a duke’s daughter, have reason to enter the kitchen? Would she ever have occasion to hold a kitchen knife? Even baking cookies had caused such a fuss, let alone using a knife. It goes without saying.

As a result, Ariel’s cooking skills had fallen considerably compared to when she was a man. There had been times when she cooked secretly by herself, but even that was limited to boiling soup or grilling a little meat. Compared to before, it was barely enough skill to fill her stomach. It was embarrassing to serve.

“Ah, no! It’s plenty wonderful!”

But that was only from Ariel’s perspective. To Mari’s eyes, even just the menu was a sumptuous feast, and the fact that Ariel had made it herself made it beyond discussion.

A meal prepared by the duke’s daughter herself. Anyone who would refuse this either doesn’t value their life or is a fool who doesn’t recognize the fortune that has come their way.

“I-I’ll bring the dishes!”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

Mari’s eyes met Ariel’s as she went to get the dishes. Was it her imagination? Somehow, Ariel’s eyes seemed vacant.

Not in a strange way. It was just eyes that weren’t properly facing reality, like someone who had stopped thinking and was escaping reality, similar to herself right now.

Simply put, they were blank eyes.

‘No, surely not.’

Mari immediately closed off this possibility again. Even so, one should say things that make sense. Earlier and now, her thoughts seem to be flowing in a strange direction.

Perhaps she hadn’t gotten enough sleep… Certainly, she had been a bit short on sleep after getting up at dawn to prepare honey water and waiting for Ariel to wake up. But she didn’t expect it to come back like this.

‘Maybe I should take a nap…’

Considering a worry she would have dismissed as nonsense until just recently, Mari began to carry out the completed dishes.

In the end, Ariel’s cooking was very delicious even to Mari’s taste. Even the soup seemed to have gained a deeper overall flavor, as if Ariel had added something, compared to when Mari had made it, and the pasta was flawless. The bread and strawberry jam were cheats in themselves, so there was nothing to say about them.

Overall, it was a very delicious meal. Ariel muttered that it would have been better served for breakfast rather than lunch, but Mari thought this menu would work for all three meals.

‘There’s nothing Lady Ariel can’t do…’

She had been skeptical, but she didn’t know Ariel was even good at cooking. She might have been looking down on her as a noble lady in her heart. She had arbitrarily decided that even though she was a duke’s daughter, she couldn’t possibly do things like this.

But that wasn’t the case. Ariel was beyond Mari’s imagination. The image she had shown so far was already close to perfect, and now she was even good at housework!

Of course, it doesn’t mean much for a noble lady to be good at housework. Unless their rank is quite low, most would employ maids or servants.

Bluntly speaking, if a duke’s daughter is said to be good at housework, it’s not something to be praised for anywhere. At best, she might be treated as a strange person. It would be fortunate if she wasn’t ridiculed for having nothing better to do.

But such detailed circumstances didn’t matter to Mari. Being good at housework? From her perspective, it was an excellent plus point. Above all, Ariel looked prettier than imagined when cooking.

Glancing sideways, she saw Ariel eating pasta in a very elegant manner despite wearing an apron.

Even though she was eating the same menu as herself, Ariel’s manners were impeccable, as if she were enjoying high-class cuisine.

It must be thanks to the good education she received from childhood. When she usually saw nobles eating while putting on unnecessary airs, she would wonder why they lived so tiringly, but seeing Ariel, she felt somehow different from those people.

It’s not that her etiquette was wrong. The manners Ariel was observing weren’t much different from theirs when compared.

But perhaps because it was Ariel performing them, the feeling was completely different. Why, she wondered, did Ariel start to feel even more special compared to others? Was it because she was simply an object of admiration? Because she was a roommate in the same room?

If asked why, she couldn’t give a proper answer. But one thing was certain: Ariel had already become someone who had a great influence on Mari.

To stay by her side, she couldn’t continue like this. She needed to move forward more. Even if not right beside her, she should at least become someone who could support her from right behind. As she was now, she was far from enough.

Anything would do. Anything would do, she wanted to become someone Ariel could lean on.

‘I’ll work hard.’

Secretly clenching her fist, Mari once again steeled her resolve.

After the meal, Mari insisted on at least doing the dishes herself and collected all the plates. Ariel, unable to stop her that far, sat at the table blankly staring at the ceiling, forgetting even to take off her apron.

‘Where am I? Who is this?’

A question pondered many times throughout life. It’s nothing new, but this time too, the answer wasn’t much. She is Ariel Walpurgis, and this is her room.

Yes, it was a reality check with nothing new. And the conclusion was always the same.

‘My life is ruined…’

It’s a thought she always has. But this time, it’s on another level. She openly prepared lunch for Mari. She had been feeding her strange things under the guise of buying meals before, but this time it’s different.

Perhaps because she had lost her mind halfway through, she completely forgot that she was supposed to act like a villainess and treated Mari normally and well. Of course, the menu composition was modest, not even politely describable as substantial, but the problem is that she treated Mari kindly throughout the process without any filtering.

‘How dangerous it is when a person loses their mind…’

It’s over. It’s all over. Even if she tries to commit evil deeds now, Mari, with her characteristically kind nature, will accept it all gently. She’ll just think, “It must be a difficult day,” and that will be the end of it.

Thinking about this made Ariel feel like her world was crumbling. What a cursed life. Nothing goes as planned…

“Lady Walpurgis, are you there?”

At the sudden sound of knocking, Ariel’s head turned with a creak. Who could it be at this hour?

‘Wait, that voice is certainly…’

“This is Christina from the Imperial Knights.”

Why are you showing up there again? Ariel let out a silent scream.