The Morning Star Baby Wants a Family - Chapter 15

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 15
At those words, everyone in the kitchen’s eyes went wide as saucers.
“Work?”
“Us?”
“For the young lady?”
Incredulous questions flew at me like arrows, each one striking home.
Unlike in the Laundry Room, where there had been at least a hint of amusement, no one here was laughing.
“What, there isn’t any?”
“Of course there is!!”
One of the Servant Girls doing menial work bounced up excitedly as she spoke, and the other Cooks and Servants nodded in agreement.
Hae-na stood there bewildered, unsure what to make of them.
The Goat-bearded Cook, who had been boiling bracken alone at a distance, muttered something under his breath.
“Of course there is. What do you mean there isn’t?”
At his surprisingly loud voice, everyone’s attention turned toward him.
He continued boiling the bracken without concern and spoke again.
“All you lot do is fret about whether this suits her palate or that suits her palate. Now that you finally have a chance to actually feed her, you can’t think of anything? Tsk. Useless fools.”
“Uncle. Have you already lost your mind? That’s the same thing you complain about every single day while cooking, and you’re the worst about it….”
“Quiet, you fool! I’m swamped with work—are you here to help or not!”
One tactless Servant ventured a complaint but flinched at the sharp rebuke.
The others laughed at the sight of him.
“Well, that settles it then.”
“I’ve been wanting to know what she actually likes anyway. There’s always something left on the table when we clear it.”
“True enough—they say she eats everything, but who knows if they’re sneaking things away in the middle for their own benefit? Isn’t that right?”
At the question suddenly directed at me, Hae-na could only blink.
The Kitchen Servants giggled again, then scattered one by one, beginning to fetch things.
“There we are—you have a task now. Just taste these and tell us what suits your palate.”
“If something doesn’t suit you, just spit it right out. Understand?”
In their hands were small dishes.
Each dish was filled with all manner of foods.
“I noticed earlier you eat greens well. Have you ever tried butterbur?”
“This is tofu. Fresh and still warm. If it suits the young lady’s taste, we’ll serve it at dinner.”
“This is soy sauce aged ten years—though I wonder if a young girl would even appreciate such a flavor….”
“Auntie, Uncle, stop that! Young lady, here—try this sweet rice punch. Sweet rice punch is delicious too!”
All manner of foods were thrust toward Hae-na.
The Goat-bearded Man quickly seasoned the blanched bracken and slipped it to me as well.
“If it doesn’t suit you, just leave it.”
Fragrant dishes piled high before me.
Hae-na watched the Kitchen Servants resume their work with a bewildered expression.
‘This isn’t work by any definition….’
Just moments ago I had only sat and eaten. Now they were telling me to eat again.
“Well, you see, if I just keep eating like this, I feel terribly ashamed. Might I do something else instead… perhaps help carry the ingredients?”
“What are you saying right now?”
The Goat-bearded Man erupted at my hesitant words.
“There are plenty of people to haul carrots and onions around. But do you think there are many who can learn the master’s tastes here?”
The man gestured around the kitchen with a sweeping finger. The others laughed playfully and shook their heads.
“Not a chance.”
“Just look at Man-sik over there. That fellow would eat dirt if you let him.”
“Did you hear that?”
The Goat-bearded Man fixed me with sharp eyes.
“This is work only a young lady can do. If the dishes don’t satisfy or the taste seems off, then simply get up and leave!”
Intimidated by his forceful manner, I shook my head vigorously.
I’d thought it was nothing special, but hearing him speak of it that way made it sound tremendously important.
‘I must do my best.’
I picked up my spoon with determined resolve.
* * *
Half a day later, my belly had grown round as a country puppy’s as I set down my spoon.
‘So full, so very full.’
I had eaten more lavishly than ever before in my life.
Beyond serving me the meal, the kitchen staff called me over repeatedly for small tasks.
They showed me the rows of fermentation jars, or demonstrated how they made taffy, and so on.
I scurried about the kitchen at their beck and call, and each time they would slip me small portions of whatever they were working on.
Because I’d bustled about so eagerly, my appetite had only grown.
I couldn’t refuse and dutifully accepted everything they offered.
“Young lady, you should be going now. You’ll need to eat your lunch.”
“That’s right. You mustn’t skip a meal.”
Only after noon did the servants say such things.
Like that morning in the Laundry Room, I’d forgotten myself and wandered about excitedly, and their words brought me back to my senses.
‘Wait, just a moment.’
One of the servants scooped up my stiffened form and set me down beyond the kitchen threshold.
“You’ve played quite enough. Your aunt will scold you again.”
“Ha, indeed. Didn’t you see how she kept glancing over?”
It seemed I’d even been in the way. As I looked up at them with bewildered eyes, they grinned widely and delivered their parting blow.
“Come play again soon, young lady!”
“If there’s anything you’d like to eat, just say the word anytime!”
Thud. The door closed. My heart made a similar sound.
‘But I didn’t come here to play…’
I had played, though. My noticeably rounder belly was proof.
I waddled along, cradling my distended stomach. I was so full I didn’t think I could manage lunch at all.
‘Then Chung-yeon will be sad that the leftover food must be discarded…’
I hadn’t even accomplished any real work, so I couldn’t let that happen.
I headed to the garden with the intention of settling my stomach.
The garden remained unchanged from my previous visit—towering trees, vibrant summer blossoms, and a crystalline pond.
It was here that I’d been caught calling out to Seowan before.
I settled myself on a flat stone positioned at a safe distance from the pond.
I melted into the shade of the trees beneath the blazing early summer sun.
A cool breeze drifted up from near the water’s edge.
My eyelids drooped slowly as I stifled a small yawn.
My belly was full, and after bustling about since morning, drowsiness crept over me.
‘Yet I’ve accomplished nothing of substance.’
I bit my lower lip and tapped both cheeks sharply, then released a quiet sigh.
‘In the end, I haven’t managed a single proper task.’
Why was that? Was it because I was too small to inspire confidence?
I wanted to insist that I’d pulled my weight at the Yeon Family, but it felt wrong to mention work experience from a household erased by treason charges.
I stretched both hands out before me. Even to my own eyes, they looked like tiny maple leaves.
‘They’ll grow soon enough.’
They were small now, but when I’d started working at six years old, they’d been so tiny I could barely lift a single basket.
‘If I just asked them to wait two years….’
My small hands clenched into fists, then slowly uncurled.
I hadn’t managed anything even today. What reason would they have to wait two years?
I gazed at the pond with a dejected expression, then squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again. My gaze had hardened once more.
‘But I can’t give up.’
It was only the first day. There was still time to make amends.
I climbed down from the stone and was about to head back to the Separate Quarters.
The wind picked up, rustling the branches, and several leaves drifted down onto the pond.
Splash. At the sound of the water rippling, my gaze snapped toward the source.
I could see leaves floating on the clear surface.
They were positioned close enough to the ground that I could reach them if I stretched.
I hesitated. The servants who maintained the garden would eventually clean the leaves away. But….
‘The mistress said all the water in the Residence is connected to her.’
Remembering how I’d been caught calling out to her from this very spot before, it seemed this pond in particular was one Seowan held dear.
In the end, I turned my steps toward the pond. I wanted to clean it for her sake.
The wet leaves were fished out one by one. But the last remaining leaf wavered just beyond my grasp.
“Ugh….”
I stretched with all my might and stirred the water. The stubborn leaf drifted further away on the current I created.
Now stubbornness took hold. I set down the leaves I’d collected and rose onto my tiptoes, stretching my arm as far as it would go.
My trembling fingertips extended precariously.
After several failed attempts, my hand finally closed around the leaf.
‘Got it!’
And in that moment, my body tilted dangerously toward the pond.
Splash!

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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