The Nerd Turned Out To Be The Tyrant - Chapter 18

“If you go around saying that to anyone, you’ll be misunderstood, Rev?” 

 

It’s a bit of a disease—a severe illness. 

 

Rev, who pulled Luce up, just smiled.

 

As he wiped the snow, he stopped.

 

“You said you would grant any request, Luce.”

 

“What are you going to ask for?”

 

He smiled quietly again, this time and spoke briefly.

 

“Let’s have dinner together.”

 

“….”

 

Luce, who was silent, asked cautiously.

 

“Am I the one who cooks? That’s, my mom is good at cooking, but I can only boil eggs.”

 

Today, Rev laughs a lot. He must be in a good mood.

 

“No, I practiced. So I want to treat you even a little.”

 

“You practiced cooking? You?”

 

“Ung.”

 

Is Rev cooking? 

 

Luce was in a dazed mood. It was because he didn’t eat much at his house either. 

 

There were always a few plentiful foods, but they weren’t enough to eat.

 

The first is Luce’s favorite orange cookie. The cookie basket was always full, no matter where it came from.

 

Second, drinks. Coffee, cocoa, and tea leaves were stacked on wall shelves by type.

 

She doesn’t know why Rev lives alone, but there are several bottles of wine.

 

Third, fruits can be eaten whole or with thin skins.

 

That was all.

 

It is a house without the common cereal or oatmeal. 

 

‘I think it was just yesterday that I teased him because I don’t know if this was a herbivore house or a human house, but Rev is cooking?’ 

 

Wasn’t he just consuming the minimum number of calories to survive because he had a short mouth and lacked enthusiasm for food?

 

Luce entered the house with a tilted head and followed him quietly. 

 

Luce opened her mouth as she looked in the cupboard while standing on her tiptoes. 

 

“Wow. It’s the first time I’ve seen anything here, Rev.”

 

The empty cupboard was filled with eggs, meat, and vegetables.

 

He turned on the fire and raised his arm.

 

Unexpectedly, before she could be surprised by his muscular arm, he began to cut a little slowly but accurately.

 

“Whoa…”

 

Has he been hiding his cooking skills all this time?

 

The length of the cut asparagus was as if it were measured with a ruler. Luce looked at the cut vegetables’ length and was amazed.

 

Rev, who smiled lightly, beckoned.

 

“Go there and wait for a moment. I want to serve it warmly, so it will take a little while because I don’t cook it beforehand.”

 

“But it’s kind of weird to be playing alone. Is there anything I can do for you?”

 

“Oh, then can you break the egg?”

 

“…Are you teasing me because I said I can only boil eggs?”

 

“It’s not like that. I’d be happy if you could help me.”

 

Luce, giggling, did as he asked and cracked open the egg before heading into the living room.

 

‘I don’t need to interrupt you because you’ve made up your mind a long time ago. By the way, what’s with that all of sudden?’

 

He was serious.

 

Luce had never seen Rev cook and eat. Not even once. 

 

‘I always thought it was amazing that he grew up so tall even after eating a little bit. Hmm, did you finally feel the need for nutrients? The nagging is worth it.’

 

Luce, who was organizing the notebooks and books on the dining table and desk, paid attention to the books with bulging back covers. 

 

{Introduction to Basic Cooking}, {Food and Cooking Book}, {Recipe 101}….

 

They were all cooking books.

 

Is Rev interested in cooking this time?

 

Luce stopped looking through some pages of the book. There were notes everywhere.

 

‘Luce’s favorite dish.’

 

What Luce likes to eat, what Luce likes, what Luce said.

 

Luce, who was flipping through the book, knew that all the notes in the book were directed at one person, herself.

 

‘Then, don’t tell me—’

 

Luce shook her head.

 

“Luce.”

 

Luce could see Rev smiling brightly through the candlelight. 

 

“Happy birthday.”

 

His face was the first thing she saw before the sweet and fragrant cakes and delicious-looking food.

 

Rev even learned how to cook so he could celebrate her birthday, which Luce didn’t care about because she had forgotten about it.

 

Luce asked blankly.

 

“How did you know…?”

 

“There was a time when you said it as if you were passing by, and I remembered it after hearing it.”

 

She forgot about it, too.

 

She couldn’t believe he remembered that.

 

“You don’t even eat well….”

 

“Because you like it.”

 

One side of her heart tickled as if someone was scratching.

 

She felt like she was going to cry because her eyes were burning up. Luce, who was only bowing her head, slowly approached.

 

“Shall we blow out the candles first, Luce?”

 

“No.”

 

“Then, do you want to eat the steak first?

 

“No, I.”

 

“Ung, tell me.”

 

She knows that Rev is not curious enough to learn about something he is not interested in. 

 

Clothes did, cards did, cooking did.

 

Nevertheless, it was all for her that he decided to try cooking.

 

Luce, who had been fiddling with his band-aid hand, gently hugged Rev.

 

“I want to say thank you first.”

 

“…Luce.”

 

What’s the point of practicing? It even hurt him. 

 

Luce muttered, burying herself in his arms instead of playful finding fault and serious worries. 

 

“Thank you, Rev. It’s the best birthday of my life. It’s all thanks to you.”

 

She meant it. 

 

In the previous life, she was alone, and in this life, it was someone else’s birthday, so it was something she didn’t expect.

 

Chelsea was also naturally forgetful because they weren’t in the nature to take care of something cute like a birthday celebration. 

 

But, to be remembered by someone she never thought of, today is the most perfect birthday of all her life.

 

Luce, who pulled his hand firmly holding the air and put it on her shoulder, hugged Rev and patted him on the back. 

 

Rev’s hands are cold, but his arms are warm.

 

A low voice came from his body.

 

“Thank you too, Luce.”

 

“What are you thankful for?”

 

“Right.”

 

The sound of his heart in her ear was very loud.

 

Recalling the story of how people with cold hands have warm hearts, Luce patted him for a while and then swept him away.

 

*****

 

It was a really good meal, except the cake melted a little by the candles and the steak was a little cold. 

 

Even the dessert was perfect.

 

‘It’s the lemon sorbet that I like to eat!’

 

Luce, who emptied the plate with admiration, checked one after another. 

 

“Don’t just do this to me, you have to do it to yourself. It’s a promise.” 

 

“….”

 

“Don’t keep avoiding my eyes.”

 

Rev, who didn’t make any silly promises, awkwardly avoided Luce’s gaze.

 

She tried several times, but Rev didn’t even put his finger on it in the end.

 

It was sooner for Luce, who had been exhausted from eating too much, to give up.

 

Putting down her one-card bundle—Of course, Luce won overwhelmingly again—she leaned back on her chair and asked. 

 

“How did you come up with this, Rev?”

 

“I also like what you eat.”

 

Yes, I tend to eat all the cookies in this house. Luce readily agreed.

 

“I don’t think we’ve ever had a proper meal together until now.”

 

Is that so? 

 

Luce, who was recalling her memory, nodded slowly.

 

What they ate together was snacks like cookies and ice cream.

 

Chelsea’s food brought to Rev was also a bowl of soup or stew.

 

‘You were paying attention to that.’

 

“So I thought it would be good to prepare the first meal together. Because you always take care of me.”

 

Luce, who was slowly blinking, smiled.

 

“You’re the best, Rev.”

 

“Are you sleepy?”

 

“Yeah, I guess I ate too much thanks to you— ah, it smells sweet and sour. What’s this?”

 

“It’s a non-alcoholic warm wine. They said it’s a drink suitable for winter. Do you want to try it?” 

 

“Ung.”

 

She played in the snow all evening and ate a lot of delicious food, so it was strange if she wasn’t sleepy.

 

Rev, who looked cutely at Luce, who nodded at the word warm wine even with sleepy eyes, stood up. 

 

When he returned with two warm wines, Luce had already closed her eyes.

 

“Luce?”

 

When he calls her, she opens her eyes a little.

 

“Luce, I’ll take you home. Can you get up?

 

“Rev.”

 

As she tried to get up, Luce grabbed his hand. It was a hand with a band-aid.

 

“…Thank you so much. Thank you.”

 

“….”

 

“Still, I’m heartbroken that you got hurt. Don’t get hurt.”

 

And the hand fell off.

 

Rev, who was watching Luce for a while, lowered his body.

 

He said he didn’t know why he was thankful a while ago, but now he seems to understand why.

 

“Because you’re like this.”

 

Because she is in his life where he should have been alone all the time, he likes it. He was grateful for that.

 

Knowing that this is a luxury for an abandoned prince.

 

Rev, who had been looking at Luce, who had been sleeping for a while, moved her carefully. 

 

When he laid her down in the bedroom and covered her with a blanket, she opened her eyes, perhaps startled by the sight.

 

“Go sleep. I’ll talk to your mother.”

 

“Rev…when will your birthday be?”

 

He said briefly, covering her toes with the blanket. 

 

“I don’t know my birthday, Luce.”

 

“….”

 

“So you decide it for me.”

 

How about in the middle of summer, the day we first met?

 

Or, the day we went to see the festival together.

 

She thought that if it weren’t that, it would be fine if it was today. If that’s the case, they can spend our birthdays together every year.

 

It was when he left the room, wiping his face, who had been looking at Luce, who had fallen asleep.

 

“Aurelio.”

 

Rev took a long breath.

 

He hoped it wasn’t like today. At least as much as today.

 

There was a person in front of him who he never wanted to meet.

 

“I see Your Highness the Empress Consort.”

 

In an instant, Rev bowed with a feeling of falling.