Chapter 28. Two Lunches  

“Well… she’s in a state of severe malnutrition. On top of that, she’s overworked. It seems that’s why her wounds aren’t healing well.”

“Malnutrition? Overworked?”

Callon muttered in disbelief for a while.

“What about the wounds?”

“Most of the bruises are from beatings. The cuts seem to be from something sharp. Normally, they would heal over time, but given her current condition, they might leave scars for a long time. It’s crucial that she eats well for now.”

“……”

“And it’s best not to pry too much about the wounds. She likely feels very guilty about causing others to worry. I’ll be off now. I need to prepare some medicine.”

The doctor hurried away, and Callon looked at Ino.

“Ino.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll bring something easy to eat right away. I’ll also ask the kitchen to prepare a special meal.”

Ino quickly understood what Callon wanted and left the room.

Alone in the hallway, Callon paced irritably before knocking on the office door.

After a moment, Nisha’s voice invited him in.

When he entered, Ael was still fiddling with the collar of her shirt, her hat still on.

It seemed Nisha had been examining the wounds on her neck.

“Um…”

As Ael hesitated, unsure of what to say, Callon spoke first.

“I won’t ask any more about your wounds.”

At his words, Ael exhaled a small sigh of relief. Callon didn’t miss this reaction.

“I was informed that you inquired about the ancient language classes at the reception.”

“Yes. It’s been a while, but if you’re still looking…”

“Of course, we’re still looking!”

Nisha interjected into the conversation. Even though Callon signaled for her to let him talk, it was true—they were indeed still searching.

“Then… could I take on the job?”

“Absolutely! We’d be grateful if you could.”

Nisha’s words were filled with earnest sincerity.

The Ash Merchant Guild desperately needed someone proficient in ancient languages.

They had found a few people who could speak ancient languages, but even they struggled greatly with deciphering old documents.

It often took days to decipher a single page of the documents brought by nobles.

Moreover, those individuals, knowing how desperate the Ash Merchant Guild was, began demanding increasingly unreasonable fees and timelines.

So the guild decided to let them all go. Keeping them around would only expose their own desperate situation.

“Then how should I go about teaching ancient languages…”

Just then, Ino entered after a knock.

He was out of breath, having rushed, and placed the tray he was carrying on the table.

On the tray were several sandwiches, filled with butter, ham, cheese, and vegetables.

Callon subtly pushed the tray toward Ael and said,

“Before we get into that, how about having a simple meal first?”

“But haven’t you all already eaten?”

Lunchtime was long over.

Ael felt guilty, thinking they had prepared this just for her, but Callon looked at Nisha and Ino and said,

“No, we haven’t eaten yet because of meetings. Isn’t that right, Branch Manager, Deputy Branch Manager?”

Faced with Callon’s gaze, Nisha and Ino could only smile awkwardly.

Are we having two lunches today?

* * *

“That’s really enough now. Thank you.”

Ael declined the plate that kept being pushed toward her with a smile. Normally, it would have been a polite refusal, but today it was sincere.

She started eating hesitantly at first.

It had been so long since she had eaten with anyone other than Jenna, making it feel awkward.

Was the dining etiquette in the Empire the same as in Denertum? What if she made a mistake?

But those worries soon vanished. The food was so delicious that it erased all hesitation with the first bite.

The oval-shaped bread was crispy on the outside, yet soft and fluffy inside. Moreover, it was generously slathered with high-quality butter.

Just the well-baked bread with butter was a good meal, but the bread was stuffed so full with other ingredients that they seemed ready to burst out.

Ael had been cutting back on her meals due to financial issues. After all, she had no appetite, and if she ate less, Jenna and the other servants could eat more.

As those days continued, Ael began to think of herself as someone who barely ate…

‘Guess I was wrong.’

Looking at the crumbs left on her plate, Ael realized she had been mistaken.

It wasn’t a lack of appetite. There simply wasn’t anything she could eat.

Even after finishing one sandwich, her hunger didn’t seem to fade.

Still, she was happy that she had eaten something so delicious today, thinking it would help her last until tomorrow, when the guild’s cook brought in a cart.

The cook opened the lid of a dish beside Ael.

A savory aroma wafted through the air. The cook had brought cream stew and a dish made with finely chopped meat.

Before Ael could say anything, the food was placed in front of her. Naturally, it was also served to the others.

‘Do people from the Empire eat this much?’

She thought the meal would end with one sandwich, but it continued.

She glanced at Kyle, who was holding his utensils as if this amount of food was normal.

So Ael picked up a spoon without hesitation and tasted the stew in front of her.

There were so many ingredients that even a random scoop brought up various vegetables and a large chunk of meat.

Ael cautiously swallowed it. The warm, savory stew sliding down her throat nearly brought tears to her eyes.

‘It’s delicious.’

Just like the bread before, the stew was so flavorful that her jaw ached.

Her mouth, used to chewing on dry bread and boiled potato pieces, seemed surprised by the sudden burst of rich flavors.

The lunch stretched on for quite a while. Having been used to eating only small amounts for so long, Ael’s stomach struggled with the sudden intake of food, forcing her to eat slowly.

Callon looked at the plate in front of Ael with dissatisfaction.

‘She ate so little.’

Even after over an hour of eating, only half of it was gone.

He wanted to encourage her to eat more, but feared she might actually faint from the effort.

‘Well, there’s plenty of time.’

There was no need to push too hard on the first day.

He planned to gradually help her get accustomed to it over time.

After clearing the meal, they prepared only strong tea without any sweets for dessert.

Ael, as well as Nisha and Ino, who ended up having two lunches, seemed unable to eat any more, casting looks of reproach.

While sipping tea, Ael explained briefly why she had come back.

Her family had temporarily left for a friend’s villa, and there had been a fire at their house. She needed money to repair the damage.

Callon didn’t ask further. Not only would Ael likely not provide more details, but he could also guess what had happened.

What was clear was that Ael was in trouble and needed money, and she had come to them.

That was enough.

“…So if there’s still a position at the Ash Merchant Guild, I’d like to work.”

“Of course, there is a position. To be honest, thank you for coming to us. We’ve been searching for someone skilled in ancient languages but haven’t found anyone at the level we need.”

At the mention of ‘the level we need,’ Ael tensed slightly.

She only knew her proficiency in ancient languages to be decent. After all, she had been self-taught after lessons from a governess in her childhood.

Typically, male nobles would have their abilities assessed at an academy. For females, it was common to invite an academy professor to evaluate them.

Naturally, Ael couldn’t do either, so she wasn’t sure of her exact skill level.

“To be honest, we’re in more urgent need of someone for a different task than the position of the branch manager’s ancient language instructor.”

“A different task? I’m only skilled in ancient languages…”

“Oh, it’s still related to ancient languages. We have a lot of old documents among the papers our company needs to review. We’re urgently looking for someone who can decipher them.”