Welcome to the Demon’s Cabin - Chapter 19

“Mr. Idris, could you take a look at this shirt for a moment? What do you think of the pattern?”

Irene held up a navy shirt decorated with white embroidery. Among the clothes she had made for Idris, it was the only one where she had attempted a complex design.

At her voice, Idris, who had been organizing the dishes after washing them in the sink, turned around. He examined the shirt for a moment and gave a small smile.

“It looks clean and quite nice.”

“Is that so? That is a relief. I was worried it might look a bit too distracting.”

“There is no need to worry. Between the embroidery and your skill in making clothes, you would put most professional boutiques to shame.”

“It is not quite that much. Especially with men’s clothing, I am still very much a novice.”

“Are you not being too humble?”

Despite Idris’s sincere praise, Irene wore a subtly pouting expression. Internally, she thought he simply did not know how to judge clothing.

Is embroidery everything just because it is pretty? Because she had worked on it in a rush, the clumsy stitching was plain to see in the seams, so what does he mean by putting boutiques to shame? To produce such a result with linen this soft is nothing short of a waste of fabric. However, even if she did not like it, there was no helping it since she was short on time.

Idris, having finished tidying the dishes, lifted the pot. After moving the pot of soup to the dining table, he spoke up cautiously.

“By the way, Ms. Irene, I am asking this simply because I am curious……”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Is there a particular reason why you only eat this soup? I have no complaints whatsoever, I am simply, purely curious.”

“Uh……”

Irene stood with her mouth hanging open, wearing a blank expression. Come to think of it, from the moment she first met Idris until now, she had consistently boiled and served the exact same soup.

She had been completely unaware.

‘Goodness, he must be incredibly sick of it.’

It might not have mattered to her since she could not properly taste anything, but from Idris’s perspective, he must have wondered what on earth was going on. It must have been severe enough for him to express dissatisfaction, especially since he usually tried so hard to avoid saying anything negative.

She felt even more apologetic because it had not been intentional. She had truly intended to treat him well, but it felt as if she had unintentionally ended up bullying him.

“I am sorry. I suppose because I am unskilled at cooking, I unconsciously kept making the same food…… Tomorrow, no, starting with the very next meal today, I will try to give you something different.”

“No, that is not it. I am already in a position where I am imposing on you, so I cannot cause further trouble.”

“It is fine. Coincidentally, I was just starting to want to taste something different myself.”

Irene gave a sheepish smile. There was no lie in her words. The only problem was that the “different taste” could not possibly come from the human food she would prepare.

Regardless, she wanted to make a new dish for him immediately, but she knew almost no recipes. Even the soup she had been making was actually just something she threw together by instinct, and she was in a difficult spot without a single cookbook.

As if reading her mind, Idris made a polite suggestion.

“If it is alright with you, Ms. Irene, may I offer some help? I am not a great cook, but I can manage reasonably well.”

“Really? If you would do that, I would be so grateful!”

As she welcomed him with a bright smile, Idris responded with a faint one of his own.

“Then, while we are on the subject, shall we go look for ingredients?”

“Ingredients?”

“The only ingredients left in the cabin are the ones right next to you, Mr. Idris. We need to go to the storage sheds and find various things to bring back.”

“Ah, I see. Shall we leave right away?”

“Yes, that would be best.”

Irene, having roughly organized her needle and thread, folded the navy shirt neatly and stood up. As they stepped out of the cabin, the usual brilliant sunlight greeted them.

Irene led the way along the forest path surrounding the cabin. She could hear the sound of Idris’s footsteps following quietly beside her.

Just then, Irene turned her head at a sudden rustling sound. The source of the noise was a small squirrel that had popped out from the bushes. The squirrel, which had been holding a small fruit in both paws and bringing it to its mouth, jerked its head up and locked eyes with Irene. Then, it froze exactly as it was, mouth open mid-nibble. With a thud, the red fruit the squirrel dropped hit the ground, rolled away, and disappeared into the grass.

‘How cute……’

She was very happy to see such a tiny, adorable animal after so long. She leaned down as slowly as possible to avoid scaring the squirrel. The squirrel, baring its small front teeth, still did not move an inch.

Crack!

Turning her head reflexively at the loud sound, she saw Idris standing there with a flustered expression. A long branch was broken beneath his feet.