Evil Duke, Please Be Gentle!

"Grrrrr" Evan held her stomach when it grumbled again. Skipping the meals in the past had been a general thing. But since the day she had started having her meals in the palace. They were served timely and much more delicious, so she had developed a habit of having all her meals. 

"I did not have both lunch and dinner today." and now she was not able to sleep because she was feeling hungry. She tossed and turned in bed for a while trying to sleep but in the end she sat with a defeated face. 

Wearing her sleepers, she stood up to find something in the kitchen. The knights gave a look to her but did not say a word when she walked out of the room with a small candle in her hands.

It was very late at night so, most of the staff was asleep except a few knights that were on night duty.

"You may leave. I am going to sleep soon and I will not run away like before." she replied awkwardly as she looked at the tired face of the knights who kept standing all day and night in front of her gate without any reason.

They looked at each other but then nodded and left silently. Recently their owner was trusting the woman a lot. So they were sure that he did not want to keep an eye on her like before.

She smiled when they finally left and then walked quietly towards the kitchen. When she reached the kitchen, she looked at the empty bowls and pans with surprise? Shouldn't a bit of food be left since a lot of members had not eaten their lunch and dinner? She even checked if something was left from lunch but none!

"Do you need any assistance, my lady?" Evan jumped on her place when she heard the voice suddenly before calming herself. 

The voice came from the corner of the kitchen where a maid was stirring from her sleep in the blanket. It was a cold night and she did not want to disturb the sleep of a maid who had done hard work all day so she shook her head.

"I am just trying to find the leftover lunch or dinner. Do you where the leftover food was kept?" the maid frowned when she heard the strange question.

"There is no leftover food in the palace my lady since everyone only eats fresh food, all the food that was not eaten is distributed among the staff so that it would not go to waste!" explained the maid and Evan nodded.

"Of course, what was I even thinking!" She shook her head as she contemplated whether she should cook or drink water and sleep when she heard the maid again.

"Perhaps you are hungry. Shall i cook something for you?" asked the maid as she finally stood up but Evan shook her head again.

"No! I am in the mood to cook. I will make food by myself. You do not need to worry about it." The maid took a breath of relief and nodded her head as she went back to her bed and slept again without asking twice. Her eyes were half closed and she was sure that she would not be able to cook well even if she forced herself to do so.

She rummaged through a few drawers and thanks to the cooking lunch, she found ingredients easily. She started cooking pasta while humming a tune, she enjoyed the peace she hardly got chance to have when she heard footsteps. 

Had she disturbed the maid again? With an apologetic face she turned to say sorry when her eyes met the glaring pair of haughty eyes.

"What are you doing here?" asked Aurora in an enquiring tone as if she was the owner of the palace.

There was a large tray in her hands filled with many kinds of exquisite dishes. Evan wondered where she got all this from. She hasn't found a single food grain in the whole kitchen. But that did not stop her stomach from grumbling again when the fragrance of food wafted into her nose.

"Grumble" 

Aurora raised a brow when she heard the loud voice coming from Evan's stomach. "Are you even qualified to call a lady? How could you be so loud?" she replied with a face full of disdain as she looked at the pasta Evan is making, "and what is this smell? Is it even worth eating? What will happen if anyone gets sick by eating the food you made? Will you be able to take responsibility?" 

She used enough pressure trying to scare the young girl as she looked at the tray in her hands with pride. It is filled with exquisite dishes that could make anyone salivate. 

"It is fine since I am the only one who is going to eat it. You do not need to worry about my health." Evan covered the pan with a lid and started cutting olives, avoiding the girl who was looking at the food with a foul face as if it was smelling badly.

"Better that you get sick then while Leo would enjoy the meal i had prepared especially for him." there was no remorse in her voice, if any a hint of excitement to get rid of Evan.

She turned and left with the tray in her hands when Evan's eyes fell on a small bowl that had a little bit of soup left.

She turned abruptly to check if the girl was still there but took a breath of relief when Aurora was not there. Without wasting a second, she took a spoon and tasted the exquisite looking soup. It was as Aurora had declared, one of the best soups Evan had drunk. 

But after having a few sips, her head started to turn heavy and she felt dizzy. Her eyes turned foggy and she felt heat rising in her body. Holding the kitchen counter she moved towards the sink and washed her face with cold water.

"Better that you get sick then while Leo would enjoy the meal i had prepared especially for him."