Helping The Wife To Eat

Ruby smiled brightly and wrote. "I am excited and looking forward to tomorrow, Your Majesty."

A few moments later, the servants served the food to the table. All the food served gives off a strong scent of spices, making Ruby's stomach rumble even more.

Ruby's eyes immediately fell on the butter prawns smothered in sweet and sour sauce. Then, some meats were stewed in broth until they were tender and savory, some were roasted until they turned brown, and one of the dishes that caught Ruby's attention the most was the grilled chicken that seemed to have been soaked in hot oil until the skin was crispy and crunchy.

[It's heaven!]

After Ruby thought about it further, all the food served in front of her was the kind of expensive food usually served at special banquets. While living with the Barnette Family, Ruby had never even eaten such a sumptuous meal.

It's not that the Barnettes can't afford expensive food ingredients, but because Ruby is only allowed to eat food for servants.

"You haven't eaten anything for two days, so I thought it might be better to serve you plenty of meat," Matthew spoke as he pushed the roasted meat in front of Ruby.

Ruby bit her lower lip. The inside of her mouth was already watering from the smell of roasted meat. Her hands couldn't wait to take the food in front of her.

However, Ruby remained sitting still before Matthew took the cutlery. The woman watched Matthew's every move, from picking up a glass, cutting food, or scooping soup out of a bowl.

Ruby did that hoping to emulate Matthew's noble eating etiquette without embarrassing herself.

"Why haven't you eaten yet, Milady? Is the food not to your taste?" Matthew asked in surprise. He almost called the servant to change the dish if Ruby didn't stop him.

"I like it, Your Majesty. I just wanted to wait for you to eat first because it feels impolite to precede the king."

Matthew, "What do you mean? Of course, you can eat with me. After all, soon you will become the queen, Milady."

Ruby wanted to ask about her coronation as queen. However, Matthew suddenly seized her notebook and demanded, "You have to eat, Milady. Important conversations can be postponed after you eat."

Because Matthew has fixed his gaze on Ruby, she can no longer procrastinate eating.

Based on Matthew's eating etiquette, Ruby tried hard to practice it directly. Even though she tried to remember Matthew's etiquette well, the practice was still challenging, especially since it was the first time Ruby had eaten in front of the king, so she was a little nervous.

Ruby even struggles to cut the roasted meat on the plate.

"Milady, did Marquess Barnette not give you a proper education when you lived with him?"

Ruby gasped and immediately looked at Matthew with wide eyes. Her two hands that were holding the fork and knife were shaking.

[Is my table manner that bad? Does he want to scold me?]

Ruby searched for the green color among Matthew's emotions, but no matter how hard she searched, it never appeared, even though Matthew had so many feelings.

Ruby sighed and calmed down, knowing Matthew wasn't disgusted with her.

Ruby wrote in the notebook with trembling hands after Matthew returned the book. "My father never taught me noble etiquette lessons, Your Majesty. Therefore, I would like to apologize if my behavior didn't reflect the nobility's etiquette and made you feel annoyed."

Matthew replied, "No. You did great, Milady. You can even imitate noble dining etiquette just by watching me."

Ruby blinked a few times. She didn't think that Matthew knew Ruby had used him as an example.

But if Ruby could imitate Matthew perfectly, how could he know that Marquess Barnette had never given Ruby a proper education?

Before Ruby could ask, Matthew had already spoken, "I purposely held the cutlery in the wrong way."

Matthew then took Ruby's hand and placed the correct cutlery in his wife's hand. "You must hold the knife with your right hand while your left hand holds the fork. You will have difficulty cutting the meat if you hold the knife with your left hand."

Matthew walked behind Ruby. He was holding the back of Ruby's hand, so the position looked like Matthew was hugging Ruby from behind.

Ruby's face turned red as Matthew rested his head on Ruby's shoulder and whispered beside her ear. "Milady, if you were having trouble, you should have said it from the beginning. I will help you."

Because Matthew held Ruby's hands, she couldn't reply to the man's words.

Matthew's hand felt like a warm fireplace when their skin touched each other, dissolving the cold temperature in Ruby's hand. He guided Ruby's hand and cut the roasted meat on the plate.

His movements are elegant, every cut is perfect, and the silver knife in Ruby's hand doesn't touch the surface of the plate at all, so it doesn't make any noise.

"See? You can cut meat easily if your hand is in the right position."

Matthew helped Ruby to pick up the meat using a fork, then shoved the piece of meat into Ruby's mouth.

[Oh, heaven! This meat tastes so delicious!]

Ruby closed her eyes and smiled happily. The piece of roasted meat melted in her mouth, giving off a sweet and savory taste.

"Is it tasty?" Matthew asked.

Ruby nodded quickly. She wasn't even trying to be polite in front of Matthew anymore when her mouth was full of food.

"Then you should eat again. The second slice usually tastes better."

Matthew guided Ruby's hand to shove another piece of meat into her mouth. This time, Ruby felt herself melting along with the taste of the meat she was eating.

"Here, try eating the meat again."

Piece by piece of meat entered Ruby's mouth. When she has swept away in the deliciousness of the beef, Ruby didn't realize that her hands had long been separated from Matthew, and the one who fed the meat into her mouth until there was nothing left on the plate was Matthew.

"Milady, you are eating well. Would you like something else to eat? How about sweet and sour prawns? It tastes good too." Matthew suggested.

When Ruby was about to reply, her hand holding the pen suddenly stopped when she realized that the person holding the fork was Matthew.

Ruby froze for a moment, then immediately lowered her head while writing something down. "I beg you pardon, Your Majesty! I've been presumptuous!"