Chapter 30

Tap, tap, tap—

The rhythmic sound against the tree rang out like an alarm, yet it wasn’t unpleasant at all. Waking to the soothing vibration, Adrian pressed a kiss to the forehead of his son, who was still tucked tightly in his arms.

“Sleep a little longer.”

“Mmm…”

Raon mumbled in his sleep, nuzzling deeper into the embrace. Adrian smoothed down the boy’s messy bedhead with his fingers before sliding out of bed.

“Are you going to keep working?”

“Yes. It’s the only way Raon and his mother—and those gluttonous employees out there—can eat their fill.”

Adrian glanced toward the tree outside the window. By the time he finished washing his face, breakfast was already waiting on the table. Following his routine, he woke Raon, and they sat down to eat. Since today was his day off, Adrian moved about restlessly, determined to handle the housecleaning himself.

“You know, you wouldn’t have to do any of this if you just went back home,” Ramona remarked.

“I have no intention of leaving for the time being. I can work just as well here.”

“Oh, is that so? Then let’s get to work in earnest. Before it gets any colder.”

Before Adrian could even tilt his head in confusion, several massive earthenware jars were hauled out and placed before him.

“Wash these thoroughly, please.”

After scrubbing several heavy jars and finally trying to straighten his back, the next task was already waiting.

“Peel the garlic. Oh, and these too. Raon, show your father how to peel garlic and trim the green onions.”

The sheer volume was staggering—huge sacks of garlic and bundles upon bundles of green onions.

“Surely… not all of this?”

“Sometimes ‘surely’ catches up to a man,” she replied playfully.

The nuance was clear: Are you sure you don’t want to go home yet?

But Adrian remained steadfast. Following Raon’s instructions, he sat down and began the grueling task of peeling and trimming.

“Mom says peeling garlic is a man’s job. So you have to do it clean and neat,” Raon explained.

“Is… is that so?”

His hands began to sting from the garlic juices. But seeing Raon working away with his tiny hands, Adrian couldn’t bring himself to complain. If peeling garlic was a man’s duty, then peel he would.

While the father and son were occupied, Anna paid a visit.

“Sister, let me help. Where should I start?”

“Go pull the cabbages. And the radishes too.”

Knowing exactly what Ramona was preparing for, Anna rolled up her sleeves. Soon, even Brown, who was off duty, joined in. Despite the extra hands, the work couldn’t be finished in a single day. It took several days of constant labor to finally finish, and the results were carefully tucked into jars buried in the pits the Secret Knights had dug.

“Southern-style cooking requires so much labor. I feel like my body is breaking, but suddenly I feel a surge of energy,” Brown said, beaming as Ramona handed him a large bowl containing a portion of what they had spent the week making.

“Raon, go to the butcher with your father and buy some meat.”

“Yes! Should I get pork?”

Taking the money from Ramona, Raon headed out with Adrian.

“So, is the Young Duke really not going back?” Anna whispered. “That’s what he says. I even made him help with the grueling Southern-style Gimjang (winter kimchi prep) to scare him off, but he won’t budge.”

Even though she had made him prepare all the seasonings himself, Adrian hadn’t wavered. He had even stayed in his seat while chopping green onions, tears streaming down his face from the fumes. It was a strangely poignant sight.

“Talk about endurance.”

“Well, it’s good for us. We finished much earlier thanks to the extra labor,” Anna laughed, heading into the kitchen to scrub a large pot.

By the time she filled it with water and gathered the leftover vegetable scraps from the Gimjang, the father and son returned with the meat.

“Are you really going to boil this in water? Won’t the juices leak out and make it tasteless?” Adrian asked cautiously, trying not to offend her. He was used to the seasoned pork he’d been eating with layers of greens, so boiling a large slab of meat seemed like a waste of good ingredients.

“Hmm, why don’t you taste it for yourself later before you judge? Just don’t ask for seconds when it’s gone.”

Ramona sliced the thick slabs of pork into long pieces and tossed them into the boiling water along with the vegetable scraps. She added a generous scoop of the savory, salty soybean paste they had used for the soup before, then closed the lid. While the meat simmered, they scrubbed the house clean of the Gimjang chaos.

“Preparing the seasoning and cleaning up is definitely the hardest part of Gimjang,” Adrian noted.

“You’re right. And washing the salted vegetables in cold water over and over is no small feat either.”

Adrian recalled waking up in the freezing dawn, his breath turning into white mist, to wash the salted cabbage in ice-cold water. He had felt like his hands were splitting open. Now, Ramona was hand-tearing the kimchi, which was coated in the vibrant red seasoning they had worked so hard to create.

“The first kimchi of the season always tastes best when torn by hand. It’ll taste even better with the ‘flavor of your hands’ mixed in, Sister,” Anna teased.

“Is the meat done? It should be ready by now.”

Anna poked the meat with a chopstick and grinned. “It’s perfect. Oh, it smells wonderful!”

Using tongs, they pulled the pork out. The knife slid through it effortlessly, revealing succulent layers of lean meat and fat.

“Alright! Everyone worked so hard. Let’s eat this and get some rest. Adrian, eat as much as you like. I hope it suits your palate.”

Adrian placed a piece of freshly made kimchi over a slice of warm boiled pork and slid it into his mouth. Before he could even exclaim, it was gone. He had doubted boiled meat, but it was incredibly savory and clean-tasting. The harmony of the tender meat and fat was so perfect he gave two thumbs up.

“It… it is delicious. Truly.”

Moved by the taste, Adrian carefully wrapped a piece of meat in a long strip of kimchi and held it up to Ramona’s lips.

“Ah… th-thank you.”

The boiled meat and kimchi fed to her by Adrian was salty, yet it tasted as sweet as honey. Anna and Brown shared a silent, knowing smile.

“We shouldn’t eat something this good alone. Sir Rage, come down.”

At Ramona’s call, one of the hidden Secret Knights appeared. Brown looked on, bewildered. It was fascinating to see a Secret Knight—men who usually never showed themselves—descend just because Ramona spoke. He felt a silent respect for their “extreme occupation,” hiding and starving for the sake of a secret mission.

“This is amazing. I’ve never tasted anything like this,” Sir Rage said. Having grown accustomed to spicy food thanks to Ramona, he wolfed it down before quickly swapping places with his colleague.

A sense of happy satiety filled the room. Adrian was so impressed he finished two bowls of rice and even scraped the bottom of the rice cooker.

“Little Prince! Could you do me a favor?”

“Yes! I’ll be right back!”

Raon set off for the butcher shop, carrying half a head of kimchi and some boiled meat.

“Oho! My intuition was right! I’m glad I gave you the best cut,” the butcher laughed. He had become a fan of Ramona’s Southern cooking and happily accepted the trade.

Ramona continued to share the day’s bounty with other neighbors. Everyone received the food gladly and returned the baskets filled with whatever they had in their own homes.

“The big task of the year is finally over. I’m glad we finished before the snow came.”

The sky had been grey since morning, and just as the cleanup finished, white flakes began to drift down one by one. Watching the first snow of the year, Ramona let out a sigh of relief and pulled the warm Toto into her arms.

“On a day like this, rabbit fur must be very warm,” Adrian remarked, narrowing his eyes at his rival. He still felt a phantom pain in his forehead from the time Toto had kicked him awake on a morning he tried to sleep in.

Toto twitched his nose and burrowed deeper into Ramona’s arms. Watching the rabbit, who was more cunning than any other of his kind, Adrian let out a soft laugh.

“Thanks to you, winter preparations were much easier. Thank you. But… do you still have no intention of going home?”

She was openly telling him he’d done enough, yet Adrian merely shrugged. Even though she had intentionally made him chop wood for the entire winter and perform all sorts of chores, he remained unyielding.

“How could I go back alone when my son and his mother are right here?”

With a gentle smile, Adrian handed Ramona a cup of freshly brewed barley tea. Their fingers brushed as she reached for it. Ramona flinched slightly before taking the cup, while Adrian, his ears turning red, quickly turned his gaze out the window.

Together, they watched the first snow fall as they sipped the warm tea. It was a sight they had seen countless times, but today, the snow felt exceptionally cozy.

“You should go in and rest, Adrian. You aren’t used to this kind of work; it must be exhausting.”

“I’m fine. I’m a knight who survived the battlefields.”

He shrugged it off with confidence, but the next morning, Adrian found himself unable to get out of bed, struck down by a severe case of body aches. Groaning in pain, he came to a profound realization: a few days of Gimjang were far more grueling than years of war.