Life as a Tower Maid: Locked up with the Prince

As it became a daily routine to think about what to eat for the day, I lived every single day as though I was filming ‘Three M**ls a Day’.¹

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The day after we talked about what we’d do with our lives after leaving the tower, I decided to make chicken for Albert.

Then again, it takes quite a while to make chicken, and we have to eat breakfast first.

I contemplated what I could make with bread, and eventually, I settled on making casual French toast.

“What’re you maaaking…?”

Blanc came up next to me and tilted his head to the side.

I thought he spoke that way only because he was sleepy yesterday, but I guess it’s a habit of his to stretch his words like that.

My heart fluttered once more as I saw his innocent expression.

Blanc is so so so cute.

Is he really a dragon…? He was more like a kitty than a dragon because of his size and the way he slept all day.

I couldn’t even imagine him using magic or spewing fire out of his mouth!

While I was curious about why he looked so small, I thought of something.

Was this related to the reason why people who couldn’t wield mana saw him with a different appearance?

Blanc, you can’t be kidnapped by greedy people, okay? Something bad could happen.

Camouflaging his appearance seemed to be his first line of defense, but this was just my guess.

Come to think of it, Albert also described Blanc as a fledgling who isn’t a dragon yet.

Then what was needed to become a dragon?

Albert seemed to know more about Blanc, but I couldn’t ask yet.

Alright.
Let’s ask while we’re eating.

“What’s thiiis…?”

“It’s a simple bread dish, but it’s usually eaten during brunch.”

“What’s bruunch…?”

“It’s a meal you eat that combines breakfast and lunch.”

At this, Blanc opened his mouth excitedly and asked in an enthusiastic voice.

“Is it yuuummy like yesterday…?”

“Did you like the meat yesterday?”

“Yeah… It’s my first time eating something so yuuummy… even if it was hot inside my mouth… it was sooo yummy…”

It seemed to have been spicy even for Blanc.
Maybe I should tone it down next time.

Even though Albert didn’t care if he ate something spicy, the main character has a steel-like stamina buff, so I’m more worried about Blanc’s stomach.
He was so much like a child I need to take care of.

“I wanna watch you cooook…”

Blanc came up on the countertop and settled himself there.

Delighted by this, I smiled as I watched him lie down.
Just looking at him cheered me up.

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French toast was one of the few bread dishes I knew.

Rosé’s memories were gradually fading from my mind, so I couldn’t think of any other bread recipe.

Of course, when I first possessed her body, I didn’t have all of her memories.

I could only distinctly recall her negotiating the tower’s facilities with Rosteratu before entering this place and kissing Albert.

However, I could roughly guess the poor life of the orphaned maid who entered the palace for work.

I could understand her to some extent because we lived similar lives.

Then again, there wasn’t much about her in the novel.

The details mentioned about her were simple.

She was in love with Albert, and she fell for Rosteratu’s tempting offer.
In the end, she died after she pushed Albert too far.

Her memories, as they entered my mind the first moment I woke up in this body, gradually became blurry.
It’s as if I was forcibly recalling memories that someone else told me about.

Inside a bowl, I mixed some eggs and some milk, then stirred with a spoon.

There’s no whipped cream, or even syrup or fruits in the tower, so this isn’t exactly proper French toast.
Still, it’s worth making egg bread.

After the pan had been heated, I dipped the bread in the egg mixture.
Then, I put some oil on the pan and placed the bread there.

After being dipped in the egg mixture, the bread sizzled a bit and became golden brown as it was cooked.

I turned over the bread and cooked it evenly, then I placed it in a bowl.

Blanc’s eyes were sparkling as he watched me cook.

“Whoaaa… It’s amaaazing…”

“This is called ‘french toast’, Blanc.”

“French toast…”

I handed over the bowl with the French toast, and Blanc ate with a smile.

Watching him eat was such a pleasant sight.
Was this how mothers felt?

He really looked like a baby, but I suddenly wondered how old Blanc actually was.

“Blanc, how old are you?”

“Me? Hmm…”

Blanc counted while opening and closing his claws repeatedly.
I was sweating a little because his age seemed to be much older than I thought.

What the…? How long do you need for you to count your age…?

“I’m 499 years ooold… Just a little less than a year until my biiirthday…”

So you’re about the same age as my great-grandfather’s… grandfather’s… grandfather.

People should really stop judging other people by their appearance.
But wait, Blanc’s not a person.

“…Can I really speak to you casually and just call you Blanc without honorifics?”

Feeling my body slightly tremble, I asked carefully, but Blanc only smiled and nodded.

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“It’s okay because you’re giving me yummy food…”

You keep forgiving me because of food, Blanc.
I think we’re on the same wavelength.

Touched by this, I hugged Blanc.
He’s warmer than I thought.

“Now then, let’s go up and eat together.”

“Don’t wannaaa… I’ll eat heere…”

“Why? There’s a handsome prince upstairs.”

“The way he looks at me is wiieerd…”

What was he talking about? Sure, he’s scary when he’s angry, but most of the time he’s harmless.

“Let’s both go up now, okay?”

“I don’t wannaa… Go on aheeaad…”

Blanc was stubborn until the end, so I just left out his share of the french toast from the tray and went up by myself.

Of course, I didn’t forget to tell him not to eat the ingredients in the pantry.
As I climbed up, Albert saw me alone, so he asked.

“The dragon fledgling?”

“His name is Blanc.
I gave him that name.
Prince, please call him that, too!”

“…Where’s Blanc?”

“It seems like he’s scared of Your Highness.
He wants to eat downstairs.”

At this, Albert burst into laughter.

“He’s quick-witted.”

“…Did you tell him not to come up here?”

“Could I even talk to him without you around?”

“No, I guess not…”

There’s nothing wrong with what he said, but why does it feel like something’s amiss?

And Albert’s good mood was also strange.

Yet my suspicions couldn’t get resolved.

 

* * *

 

I sprinkled some sugar atop my French toast.
It was a luxury that I could enjoy this meal without craving dessert separately.

As the toast melted with sugar inside my mouth, I smiled happily.

But I felt Albert’s gaze on me, so I felt embarrassed.

“Prince, you should start eating, too.”

“You really show all your emotions on your face, Rosé.”

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“Haha.
I’ll take that as a compliment.”

If someone hid their emotions while eating, was that even a person?

Looking at him with slight resentment, I asked Albert a question that I’d been meaning to ask.

“Prince, why do you call Blanc a dragon fledgling? Is that different from a regular dragon?”

It was about Blanc’s identity.

“You can interpret it literally.
A dragon fledgling isn’t a dragon yet—a child who has yet to become an adult.”

“Then what’s the difference between a dragon and a dragon fledgling?”

Isn’t the fledgling eventually going to become a dragon anyway?

I remember Blanc telling me not to call him a dragon, and that made it seem like dragon fledglings were a completely different race from dragons.

“They’re not the same.
Dragons are all-powerful and omnipotent.
They can cause natural calamities and even cross time and space.
A fledgling can’t do any of that yet.”

Albert explained further.

Truthfully, many dragon fledglings are being born.
However, the young fledglings were weak and defenseless, so most of them died at an early age.

Eventually, the dragon fledglings who were born later started disguising themselves as a defense mechanism.

The transparent barrier around them was made of dragon mana, and so their real appearance could only be seen by mages or the fledglings’ contractors.

To become an adult dragon, the fledgling would have to endure 500 years first.

After that, they would undergo the ordeal of metamorphosis.

There are two options that a fledgling could choose between to get through this.

First, they could find a contractor.

A contract with a dragon was with one’s life on the line.

The person who’ll sign a contract with a dragon fledgling must give their life to the dragon, then they would start sharing the same lifespan.

And not only life—but also power.

But in return, the pain each would feel would be halved.

The problem here was that the process of undergoing the metamorphosis to become a full-fledged dragon was filled with excruciating pain.
In most cases, the contractor would die without being able to endure that pain.

Even if they would survive this process, the contractor often became unable to use the power of the dragon.

The dragon fledgling would be able to endure the pain, but the contractor could not.

Eventually, they would both die.

In history, most of the contractors who survived were mages.
They were able to endure the pain through training their mana to the limit.

After Albert explained like this, I asked a question.

“But why can’t dragons help out the dragon fledglings?”

“It’s not that they can’t.
It’s just that dragons are beings that don’t usually take care of other beings.”

I realized then that dragons were individualistic creatures.

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After Albert answered my question, he continued explaining.

The second way to become a dragon!

They could just endure the metamorphosis alone.

Depending on the strength and mana they’ve accumulated over the years, the fledgling could endure it alone.

But this method wasn’t used often because the dragon fledglings, just like humans, mostly died without being able to overcome the pain.

With a devastated expression, I summarized what Albert explained so far.

“So the final ending for everyone is just… death.”

“That’s right.
So if you’re not a genius mage, don’t even think about becoming a fledgling’s contractor.
That’s why people don’t really pay much attention to them.”

That’s why throughout history, successfully metamorphosed dragons could only be counted with one or two hands.

In fact, because the metamorphosis of a dragon is so difficult, they haven’t been well documented.

“As a joke, people say that being a dragon’s contractor is the most painful torture in the world.”

“Goodness…”

Isn’t that just like having a terminal illness?!

“So the fledgling that you brought in can’t be called a dragon, Rosé.”

“I understand…”

“A dragon is a creature that has larger horns, a huge body and could polymorph however they want.”

“I can’t believe dragons are such incredible beings.”

Albert continued speaking as he watched the amazed expression on my face.

“Don’t get too attached because you don’t know when he’ll die.
Even more so because he’s 499 years old now, so he has a little less than a year left to live.”

Blanc, who I believed was an all-powerful dragon, had a time limit on his life.

After hearing what Blanc would have to go through, I suddenly felt weak.

Wait, no.
How about giving him some special training?

While imagining an intense workout schedule for Blanc as though I’ve been possessed by a PT instructor, I heard Albert’s voice once more.

“Let him go.”

“…What?”

When I asked back, Albert had a cold look behind his eyes.

“I can see you becoming attached to him.
No, you’re already attached.
Just set him out into the wild again.”

At Albert’s sudden words, I could only stare blankly in return.

No, why should I do that?

——

t/n:
¹ ‘Three Meals a Day’ is a reality cooking show that aired on tvN back in 2014