82: Punishment

Punishment

One of the dishes, a large meaty fowl, roasted into golden brown perfection and drizzled with honey and spices, gave off a mouth-watering scent that made Oriana stupefied in place. Its appearance was so appetizing, the drooling young woman had an urge to reach out and take a small bite out of it.0

All the dishes looked so delicious and expensive that someone like her could not even afford to eat a single plate with her current wage.

"Pick the first tray and follow me," the Head Maid told Oriana, as the other servants began to grab their own trays to carry. Oriana picked the tray with the roasted fowl. 

Despite its silver food cover, she swore the aroma was overwhelming her senses and cursed in her mind, 'This is pure torture ahhh! Will I die if I get caught pinching the skin? Maybe no one will notice if I cut a small part of the underbelly…'

Janella silently guided their way towards the dining room of the residence. To Oriana's surprise, the person she was expecting was not inside. 

The servants all arranged the plates and bowls on the dining table as per Janella's instructions. 

"Orian," the Head Maid said after making sure the cutleries were in place, "you stay behind and wait for the Lord to arrive. Remove the food cover in order, starting from the one nearest the Lord's seat. Make sure to not make any mistake and serve him well."

"Yes, Miss Janella." 

When everyone departed, Oriana waited alone for Arlan's arrival. 

There was only one plate, with a set of silver cutlery composed of three forks, three knives and two spoons along with a table napkin. 

A spread meant for a single person.

'So much food for one man?  Tsk, I wonder if he can eat all these.'

Just then, she heard footsteps approaching and stood straight near the head of the table. 

'Seems like that brat is here.'

The tall handsome blue-eyed man, clad in a rather leisurely long-sleeved white shirt folded at the elbows, paired with black pants and boots, entered the dining hall by himself. The men who were following him were dismissed to have their own meal. 

Arlan walked toward the head of the table and gave Oriana the most angelic smile she had ever seen. It was so innocent that it looked suspicious. Goosebumps appeared on her skin.

'Why is he not moving?' Oriana wondered and realized that he was waiting for her to do something. She immediately pulled out the chair for him, and with a satisfied nod, the annoying brat sat on it. 

As Janella reminded her, Oriana removed the lids covering the freshly cooked dishes one by one. The delicious fragrance filled the dining room, causing her to inevitably gulp. She then returned to standing on one side of the table.

Another bout of silence filled the room. 

'What is he waiting for? Do I even have to spoonfeed him?'

His ocean blue eyes seemingly enjoyed her obvious ignorance.

She looked at the empty plate placed in front of him and decided to serve him food, urging  herself to imagine that Arlan was not a grown man but a little boy that Oriana needed to babysit like a nanny.

Starting from the dish nearest him, Oriana began cutting the food and serving it to his plate one by one. Arlan started to eat everything she put on his plate, with him simply lifting a hand to order her to move on to the next dish. 

The entire experience was torture for Oriana. She ate a loaf of soft white bread back in Rafal's residence, and to a poor person like her, white bread was already a luxury. Though it was barely enough to fill her tummy, it was common for servants to simply eat enough not to starve. On rare occasions, there were even times servants could not eat on time due to their workload.

Oriana could barely control her drool. Under the spell casted by the appetizing spread of food on this table, a commoner like her had poor resistance to their temptation.

'I wonder how other servants can act as if they are not affected. I already ate but seeing all these dishes, it's like I've been starving for days…'

She inevitably licked her lips seeing him eat the roasted fowl, his mouth biting onto that crispy golden brown skin layered with honey. 

'Look at this privileged brat enjoying an entire family's worth of food. It appears he will only eat less than a fourth of the prepared food. Will the rest be thrown away afterwards? Ugh, these nobles are too wasteful.'

Oriana did not even realize that Arlan stood up until he said, "You can finish the rest."

She blinked. "M-My Lord?"

He turned his head to look at her. "Wrong."

"What?"

"Your reaction is wrong." Oriana was confused, prompting Arlan to raise a brow at her. "Shouldn't you be thanking me for allowing you to eat the same food an esteemed person like me ate?"

She was too stumped to respond, but for some reason, his haughty face felt like it deserves a punch in the jaw.

"Why are you still not thanking me?  A peasant like you will never have the privilege to enjoy this kind of feast," he said. Arlan began walking in the direction of the door. "That food was not good at all. Seems like your presence made them taste bland."

"What?" she could not help but exclaim, "It's not my fault."

"Say that after wiping that drool from your mouth."

Oriana used her sleeve to wipe the drool that never existed. She scowled at his retreating figure. "My Lord, there is no drool—"

"If I say there is, there is. Your punishment is to finish all remaining food on the table, otherwise you won't be allowed to step out of this room," Arlan warned. 

Her face was painted with disbelief at the wrong accusation. 

After he departed from the dining room, Oriana's gaze moved towards the leftover food. Most of it was untouched, especially the roasted fowl. There was only a single slice taken from it.

There was silence for a while as Oriana felt puzzled. 'Is it my fault that he didn't eat? Is he so delicate that me secretly gulping at the side makes him lose his appetite?"

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