Delicious Sacrifice - Chapter 13

Delicious Sacrifice - Chapter 13

He left the room and found the most shiny and small thing in a room that Miela had never been in. She liked the crude little jar of oil, so she might like it even more if it was shiny. Even the monster’s eyes could tell the difference between pretty things.

 “Here.” 

The monster proudly placed the item he had found in Miela’s hand. 

“Huh? What is this?” 

“I don’t know. You like small things.” 

Miela looked down at her palm with question marks in her eyes. 

“Yes…… Thank you for the pretty bottle cap.” 

It was definitely small and pretty, but she didn’t seem to be as happy as the hand oil. The monster ran out of the room again and came back. 

“Oh, a pincushion. I’ve never seen such a fancy pincushion before.” 

She couldn’t be happy about receiving an item related to her old job. Miela sensed what the monster was trying to do with its sudden actions, but it was difficult to force a smile. A faint smile was the best she could do. 

After that, the monster, who had been repeating the same thing several times, changed its mind. 

There was no point in giving anything to Miela. Jack had been watching her for a long time. He knew what Miela needed and what she liked, so he gave her just the right thing to make her happy. That would take time. But the monster wanted to catch up with that time. 

As the monster was thinking about how, a book flashed through his mind. It was said that all the stories were in the book. 

He had already memorized all the letters. If Jack knew how to read, he only had to learn the rules, so he would be able to read the book quickly. Learning how to read and finding out what Miela would like from the book could be a way to catch up with time. 

The monster headed to the library with shining eyes. 

“Wait a minute. I’ll study from the book.” 

“Huh? What?” 

“What you like.” 

Miela’s eyes widened.

The bottle opener, pincushion, button, socket, and candle holder that she had received without even knowing the purpose were meant for that. A smile welled up in her face. They were useless, but she didn’t feel bad about receiving them. She even felt better when she learned their meaning. 

In fact, she had received far more from the monster so far. 

Not things like this… Meals that she could eat as much as she wanted without worrying about what others thought, a comfortable bedroom where she didn’t have to worry about it collapsing at any moment, warmth that was always by her side so she wouldn’t be lonely. 

However, she nodded her head bashfully, pretending that it was nothing. 

“Yes, I’ll wait.” 

She was greedy, so she wanted to receive more. 

* * * (read on pink-grapes.blogspot.com) 

The monster was quite serious about his studies. 

Except for the times he was holding Miela, he spent most of his time without taking his eyes off his books. 

The desk he sat on or used to eat at also found its place. 

The sight of him sitting properly at the desk and chair and reading a book was quite believable. The monster’s sharp appearance was wrapped in fancy clothes, and he really looked like a duke who could be found somewhere in the capital. Moreover, he didn’t speak and just sat there moving his eyes, but his unique cold atmosphere flowed even stronger, making him look even more noble. 

While the monster was absorbed in the book, Miela mostly rested her chin on her hand and watched him. It was a sight that made her want to see it again and again. 

On the other hand, it was also amazing. 

The monster learned really quickly. He memorized the letters by writing them out a few times. At first, he read books with many pictures and large letters, but now he could read books with tiny letters. 

The monster, sensing Miella’s gaze, looked away from the book and faced her. When their eyes met, he smiled. 

The sunlight pouring in from the window behind him shattered on the monster’s head and shoulders. It was a dazzling smile that could not be defeated by the sunlight. 

At first, the monster didn’t even know what smiling meant, but now he was smiling the most beautifully of all the people she had ever seen. The monster and the human were becoming surprisingly similar.

Suddenly, she wondered what book the monster was reading, and approached him. The monster naturally opened his arms and put Miela, who was approaching, on his lap.

Miela looked at the front cover of the book the monster was reading, then flipped through the pages. She knew it was a cheese book because there were many pictures of cheese in the middle. Other than that, there were only unreadable letters everywhere. 

“Is it fun?” 

“Yeah.” 

“What does it say?” 

Miela opened the cheese page, which looked the most delicious among the pictures, and pointed to a random letter. 

“It says that patience is needed to make delicious cheese.” 

“Wow…… You’re really reading well now?” 

The monster shrugged its shoulders with a proud expression at Miela’s compliment. Miela rubbed her face against the back of the monster’s neck, finding the arrogant monster cute. 

“I want to read with you too. Teach me.” 

“If you put this letter and this letter together, it becomes ‘cheese.’” 

Surprisingly, the monster was good at teaching. 

When she tried to study the letters by herself, the writing that she had not been able to comprehend came into focus when the monster taught her. 

“Then this is to, tote, no tog, together! Right?” 

“Right!” 

When she managed to guess one word, the monster hugged Miela’s body tightly, rejoicing as if it was his own. 

Miela burst into a bright laugh and her eyes lit up. When she got one word right, she became really interested. 

“Oh, then Serian’s name is Se, re, an. Is that right?” 

The monster stared at the letters Miela had written for a long time. It was the first time he had ever seen his own name. 

The letters Miela had pressed down with charcoal were awkward and unskilled. However, it was also the first time that the word Serian was inscribed in the world.

The monster carefully traced his own name with his fingertips. 

“…… That’s right.” 

Miela, who was thrilled to have guessed correctly this time, wrote her own name next to Serian. 

‘Serian Miela’

It didn’t end there. She inserted a word she had learned from a book earlier into the name. 

‘Miela together Serian.’ 

“Hehe.” 

When Miela looked back, pleased, the monster pressed his lips to hers as if praising her. The corners of their lips that were touching each other rose pleasantly. 

The monster took the charcoal and added words he knew. 

‘Friendly,’ ‘close,’ ‘bright,’ ‘warm,’ ‘pretty.’ 

“Chi, ah. Clo, se. Ah. Close. Close…… um. Ah, close?” 

Miela’s face, which had been reading along with her mouth, unable to keep up with the monster’s writing speed, grew increasingly vivid. The unfiltered expressions toward herself and their relationship touched her heart. 

In the end, Miela accepted the charcoal after reading all of the monster’s words. After that, she wanted to write ‘love.’ However, writing that word was not as easy as she thought. Her hands froze several times and she just put the charcoal down. 

She could have asked the monster how to write it, but for some reason she wanted to find out how to write it first and teach it to him. 

“Don’t you want to write anymore?” 

“Next time. I’ll teach you some really good words next time.” 

“Okay.” 

Miela snuggled into the monster’s arms. Miela loved this warmth that never refused her and was always open to her. 

* * * (read on pink-grapes.blogspot.com) 

Jack came and went from the castle every other day. 

He wasn’t originally good at cooking, but it was different when he made it with utmost sincerity. On top of that, it had been so long since she had eaten proper food that everything tasted like honey to Miela. As if she had never thrown up even after smelling grilled meat for a while, she ate all the food that came out with appetite. 

The monster was on high alert whenever he saw Jack. He kept him from Miela, but the corners of his eyes naturally went up whenever he saw Jack.

No matter how much the monster studied, he couldn’t catch up with the years Jack spent with her and the culture of humans overnight. Jack quickly received a smile from Miela with even only a small word or a small kindness. 

The monster became jealous of that. In the end, Jack could only see Miela when he got reviews about the food and the next menu. 

Today, Jack stood by Miela’s side like a servant serving her food. While Miela was eating, he would fill her water and bring her new utensils when she dropped them. 

Miela enjoyed this so much that the monster couldn’t chase Jack away during mealtimes. 

“Ah, this reminds me of a mushroom sandwich.” 

“You really liked that.” 

“Yeah. I suddenly remembered it when the words came out of me. Can I eat that next time?” 

Jack, who usually nodded readily, looked embarrassed for some reason. 

“Ah…… That. I probably don’t have the ingredients.” 

“You can just tell Serian if you don’t have the ingredients.” 

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