When Abigail finally stopped her flurry of attacks, panting for breath, Leon calmly said, “Alright, warm-up before the meal is over. Time to eat.”
“Oh.” Abigail came back to her senses, realizing Leon had been teasing her on purpose earlier.
But she couldn’t beat him in a fight, and she couldn’t win an argument with him either. What else could she do?
Now that Leon had given her an out, she could only swallow her pride and let it slide for the moment.
Since she couldn’t get back at Leon physically, Abigail decided to take an alternate route to punish him.
Like now—just as Leon brought out the main dish, a glossy, rich, and tender slab of braised pork belly, before he could even serve her rice, Abigail scooped up a large piece with a spoon.
Watching the piece of meat wobble on the spoon, she hesitated for a moment before stuffing the whole thing into her mouth.
It looked greasy, but if it meant Leon would get two fewer bites, Abigail thought it was worth it. Even if it made her gain weight, she wasn’t afraid.
“A sporty girl fears nothing,” she consoled herself.
“Mmm! So sweet and fragrant!” To her surprise, the big slab of pork belly, about seventy percent fat and thirty percent lean, wasn’t as greasy as she’d imagined.
Instead, the unique aroma of the sauce and the rich meat flavor, along with a faint sweetness—whether from the pork itself or the sugar—made her eyes light up.
“Sweet, huh?” Leon placed a plate of rice in front of her, then picked up a piece of the pork with his chopsticks and tasted it himself.
“It is a bit sweet,” he admitted. “But I’m surprised there’s barely any gamey smell, even without cooking wine or spices. John’s pigs are really high quality.”
The sweetness was within his acceptable range, but what really pleased him was how good the braised pork turned out despite lacking the usual seasonings. He hadn’t expected much, but clearly John’s pork had excellent texture.
He hadn’t noticed this before.
“What’s this dish called?” Abigail asked, scooping another piece onto her plate.
“Braised pork,” Leon replied, then added, “The real magic is using the sauce to mix with rice.”
“I’ll try that.”
Abigail set down her meat, scooped a spoonful of sauce over her steaming white rice, stirred it a little, then cut the big piece of pork into small chunks and mixed it in. She took a spoonful of the combination and popped it into her mouth.
“Mmm! So good!” Even with her mouth full, she couldn’t help but praise it.
“Then stop talking and just eat. If a grain of rice slips into your airway, it’s going to hurt,” Leon said, tapping her lightly on the head with the back of his chopsticks.
“Mm.” Abigail knew he was right—choking would be mortifying—so she nodded obediently and focused on enjoying this new dish. Her plan to steal Leon’s share had already vanished from her mind.
But while she’d forgotten her scheme, her greed for good food pushed her to eat faster. Leon’s own pace picked up, too—if he didn’t, the plate would be wiped clean by Abigail.
Fortunately, there was plenty of braised pork, and the richness eventually caught up with her. She put down her spoon in defeat, while Leon was about ninety percent full himself.
“Ahh… satisfied.” Abigail patted her slightly rounded belly and leaned back in her chair with a sigh.
“Don’t forget to wipe your mouth,” Leon said, frowning at the sauce and single grain of rice stuck at the corner of her lips.
“Oh.” Abigail absentmindedly wiped her mouth with her hand, making Leon’s blood pressure spike. He quickly fetched a napkin, handed it to her to clean her hands, and wiped the remaining sauce from her lips.
It could have been a romantic moment, but neither of them saw it that way.
Leon’s face held the helplessness of dealing with a troublesome kid, while Abigail’s was tinged with embarrassment at being caught in an unflattering state.
Luckily, both were easygoing. After Leon cleaned her up, he naturally took the plates to the kitchen sink to wash, while Abigail wordlessly began wiping down the table.
Once everything was done, Leon dried his hands and walked over to her. “Meal’s over. You’re not going home? Planning to help me out here?”
“Sure, what do you need me to do?” Abigail asked casually.
“Forget it. Talking to you in hints doesn’t work, so I’ll just say it—get going. I don’t need your help.”
Whether she truly didn’t catch his meaning or was just pretending not to, Leon decided bluntness was the best option.
“You’ve got nothing to do this afternoon?” Abigail asked, surprised. She’d been ready to help with the farm work, but it turned out Leon was trying to chase her away.
“Already finished what needed doing,” Leon replied. “Otherwise, how would I have had time to make such a complicated dish for lunch? I’d have just thrown something together.”
Abigail immediately slapped his shoulder and proposed, “Then let’s go play Prairie King’s Big Adventure! Let’s beat Sophia’s record!”
“Nope.” Leon shook his head and said disdainfully, “Ever heard of ‘being ruined by indulgence’? It’s a sunny spring day and you want to play video games? Don’t you think that’s wasting your youth?”
“Nope. Then what do you think I should do?” Abigail countered.
“Go for a walk in the countryside. Go traveling. Find your destined one,” Leon teased, a certain teacher’s famous line about spring and reproduction echoing in his head.
“Not interested. What about you? What are you going to do?” she asked.
“Take a nap, of course,” Leon said without hesitation. After hauling barrels all morning and eating a big lunch, a nap sounded perfect.
“Pfft. And you say I’m wasting time? Look who’s talking.” Abigail rolled her eyes at him.
“That’s because I’ve already passed the age for going out and wandering the world. You’re still young—you don’t understand. Be good, go have fun, and let me enjoy my nap.”
With that, Leon clasped his hands behind his back and strolled out of the kitchen toward the cabin, like a carefree retired old man.
If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider subscribing to me on (www./RomayStories)! Your support helps me dedicate more time to bringing you faster, higher-quality translations of this series.
Next Chapter >>>