The Crown's Seduction
Chapter 267: See This Day Again

Chapter 267: See This Day Again

Dahlia didn’t know what she was doing when she began cooking that night. It had been a few hours since Zoran returned, and she was still abuzz with energy at the thought of meeting him. It was only unfortunate that it couldn’t happen sooner, but at the very least, he gave her just enough time to try and cook something for him like she normally did.

"Hopefully he still likes it..." she mumbled to herself. "Or maybe his tastes have changed since then?"

She shook her head at the thought. It had only been a few weeks since she last saw him, right? Surely, his favorite dishes hadn’t changed since.

"R-Right," she psyched herself up. "There’s no way that he wouldn’t like this anymore."

"Like what, Dahlia?"

She froze at the sudden voice coming from behind her. His breaths were hitting the back of her neck, and she couldn’t help but shiver even as she did her best not to show it.

"Z-Zoran?" she asked with a stutter. "Why are you here?"

"Is it not obvious?" he chuckled. "I’m here to see you. And you haven’t answered my question yet."

Dahlia was taken aback at his forwardness. Even now, she could feel his presence looming over her, his visage flashing in her mind even as the man himself stood right behind her just waiting for her to look at him.

"I-I’m cooking something for you," she replied, her eyes refusing to leave her work despite her heart wanting her to turn around. "I figured that you’d be hungry after everything that had happened."

"I... wouldn’t deny that. It’s already night, after all," he lightly chuckled as he finally backed away from her. "I haven’t eaten since I got here, and dragging that warlock all the way out here did leave me a bit famished."

Dahlia blushed as she heard his smooth voice. She didn’t know why, but just knowing that she’d finally see him again face to face was making her heart flutter.

"I’ll do my best then," she eagerly nodded, her cheeks blushing furiously despite not even having seen his face yet. "I’ll make sure to keep you-"

"Dahlia, why not tell me that to my face?"

She froze yet again. To her surprise, a hand landed on her shoulder, and she could only follow his lead as he turned her around. Finally, after having only seen him from afar earlier, her gaze finally took in Zoran’s handsome face.

"I haven’t seen you in what feels like forever, and yet you couldn’t even look at me," he chuckled despite the hurt tone in his voice. "What happened? I thought we... Do I have something on my face?"

"N-No! Absolutely not!" she quickly defended herself. "It’s just that... I have too many emotions rising up in my chest every time I see you..."

A terse silence passed, and Dahlia felt her blush intensify the longer the silence passed. Her own words lingered in the air, her unspoken feelings seemingly making themselves known as Zoran stared at her intently.

"I... see..." he tentatively hummed, a light blush also forming on his face. "In that case, I’ll just leave you to your work for now."

"W-Wha-"

"You need to focus on cooking, right?" he insisted as he turned around, using his face to cover his blush. "I’ll be waiting on a table somewhere."

Before Dahlia could even reply, Zoran had already left the kitchen.

"He... What?"

She could only blink at what just happened. She didn’t know how to respond, but somehow, she could tell that despite how awkward that interaction was, they still shared something between them. Something good... and warm.

"I... I should get things ready for him," she muttered to herself, the blushing smile forming on her face growing wider the longer she dwelled on her feelings. "He’s hungry, so I should do my best!"

With renewed resolve, Dahlia went to work making his favorite dish. While some might say that having vegetable stew as a favorite dish was bland and boring, she didn’t think otherwise. There was something hearty and comforting in a good stew, and she just knew that he’d appreciate the work she put into this particular batch.

Seeing that the food was ready, Dahlia readied two bowls, both for Zoran and herself before promptly making her way to the dining hall. There, she spotted him just sitting all on his own.

The moment their eyes met, another spark just seemed to echo from within her chest.

"Done already?" Zoran asked her with a smile. "And isn’t that a rather big bowl?"

"You said you were hungry, so I made sure to give you a bigger portion," Dahlia beamed as she sat down before him and set the food on the table. "I made your favorite vegetable stew. Some of the ingredients might not be as fresh as those you gave me back then, but I still hope that it’ll be alright."

"Dahlia, you did your best. I’m sure it’ll be alright," Zoran reassured her as he picked up a spoon. "Besides, if you’re the one that cooked it, then I’m sure it’ll still be just as delicious."

She smiled as she watched him take a sip of her stew. A second passed. Then another. For a brief moment, she almost thought that something was wrong as Zoran seemingly vibrated in his seat. But then...

"Z-Zoran? Are you crying?" she anxiously asked. "Is there something wrong with it?!"

"N-No... It’s just... I never thought I’d get to see this day again," he sobbed, his tears flowing down his cheeks even as his spoon kept moving to feed himself. "And it’s delicious too..."

Smiling, Dahlia couldn’t help but let a tear run down her own cheek as she leaned over the counter and wiped away some of his tears.

"I-I’m glad then," she beamed, her chest tightening as she watched him eat spoon after spoon of her stew. "At least I made you happy... Just like you did for me..."

As she watched him practically clean the bowl of her stew, Dahlia couldn’t help but feel blessed to have him back in her life again. Sure, there was that one vision... but she wouldn’t let that affect her anymore.

Come what may, she’ll take things as they come.

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