The Young Male Protagonist Who is Destined for Ruin Fell for Me - Chapter 124 (Side Story 8)

“Ugh…”

Amel grimaced as she rose from her seat. As expected, the Chaeild family’s dinner came to an immediate halt, and Kyle moved to follow her—only to be stopped.

“Don’t come.”

“…”

Amel, struggling with nausea, finally managed to rinse her mouth after some time. It had already been a month since her morning sickness had begun. She nearly collapsed from exhaustion.

“Ah… Thank you, Kyle.”

Had her husband not been standing by, waiting patiently, she surely would have fallen. She reached out and lightly tapped his cheek, as if to assure him she was fine.

But she wasn’t. Having barely eaten, Amel looked noticeably pale. The lingering dizziness and nausea made everything harder.

Watching her struggle up close, Kyle felt his insides twist. There was nothing he could do except bring her tangy, sweet fruits to help ease the sickness.

“Some men supposedly experience their wives’ morning sickness on their behalf. Why am I not one of them?”

Amel, on the other hand, worried that she might be making him uncomfortable. But really, with her unable to even bear the smell of food, this was the last thing she should be concerned about.

If possible, Kyle wanted to tell Baby Chaeild, “Feel free to trouble your father all you want once you’re born, but for now, please go easy on your mother.”

He had no appetite himself, unwilling to eat while his wife suffered. Just as he was about to instruct the servants to clear the table, Amel’s voice reached him.

“Kyle, I’m sorry. I need to rest for a bit, so I’ll go up first. I’ll ask the servants later, so you must finish your meal.”

“I’ve already eaten enough. I’ll go up with you.”

“You can’t. You have to go to the palace early in the morning. You need a proper meal if you’re going to work.”

Leaving no room for argument, Amel firmly made her way upstairs. Kyle watched as the maids helped her up the stairs, then spoke softly.

“Hylde, I won’t be continuing dinner. Have it cleared away. Prepare my bath immediately.”

Hylde knew that his master typically bathed before bed. This was far too early. Though unsure of the reason, he bowed and complied.

After his bath, Kyle took a deep breath, sniffing the clothes the servants had brought him. The design was identical to what he had worn earlier, yet it was entirely scentless.

“From now on, do not perfume my clothes or belongings. My wife is sensitive to scents.”

With that brief command, the duke dressed and headed straight to Amel’s room, remembering to bring a plate of mashed potatoes and assorted fruits he had prepared in advance.

As expected, he found her sitting on the bed, hugging a pillow, looking miserable. Forcing a smile, he perched beside her.

“I thought you might be hungry. I finished my meal, so don’t worry. Here, open up.”

As if you really ate. She could still smell the soap on him. Amel chuckled softly but accepted the fruit he offered with a fork.

Though she hadn’t felt like eating, she slowly finished both the fruit and the mashed potatoes Kyle fed her. She was grateful for his kindness.

“I’m so lucky that you’re the father of my baby. What kind of husband spoon-feeds his wife like this?”

“And yet, you still refuse to lean on me.”

“…”

“You can get upset, you can complain, but I wish you’d rely on me more. As you said, I am the father of our child.”

“Kyle…”

“Sister, please understand. I just want to share even a little of what you’re going through. This child is the result of our love—it’s not right for only one of us to struggle.”

Amel clutched her chest, her heart aching in a way that wasn’t unpleasant. She wrapped her arms around him, her emotions suddenly overwhelming her. Gratitude, exhaustion, and something close to sorrow all came rushing out.

It was hard. So very hard.

Fear and anxiety over having a child weren’t even the issue. Those emotions were manageable, soothed by the abundance of love she had received.

But right now, as morning sickness drained her completely, there was one thing that brought her to tears as she leaned her forehead against her husband’s shoulder.

“…I want tteokbokki.”

Her soul food from her past life.

Kyle blinked at the unfamiliar word, looking utterly baffled, while just saying it made Amel’s mouth water.

“Never mind. Forget I said anything. I must’ve been reading too many magazines…”

“Is it a foreign dish?”

“In a way. But the ingredients would be too hard to find.”

No, impossible, really. Amel sighed, pressing her face into his shoulder. She didn’t feel sad—she had already spent days longing for tteokbokki.

The version she wanted was the kind made with wheat-based rice cakes and spicy red pepper flakes, the kind sold at small street vendors. The kind scooped up with a big metal ladle and packed into a plastic bag.

She craved it so much that the old lady who used to sell it to her even appeared in her dreams. She didn’t need sundae or tempura. Just tteokbokki.

“This is a novel written by a Korean author, so tteokbokki has to exist somewhere in this world, right? Damn it. The more I think about it, the worse it gets. I should just give up.”

Amel sighed softly as Kyle pressed gentle kisses against her forehead, stroking her hair. She could only hope that, with time, her craving for tteokbokki would pass.

That night, the servants of Chaeild Manor were abruptly summoned. The one who called them was none other than the Duke of Chaeild himself, and his request was… bizarre.

“Do any of you know what tteokbokki is?”

His tone was eerily similar to a street preacher grabbing people at the market and asking, “Have you heard of the Way?”

Most of the servants whispered among themselves, shaking their heads in confusion. However, a few who had served close to Amel recalled something.

“I believe it is a dish my lady is very fond of. I once overheard her explaining it to the young ladies in the carriage. We never managed to get it for her, though…”

“I think it’s a very spicy dish she enjoys. She said it has a slightly sweet taste, and it’s a bright, appetizing red color.”

More testimonies followed. Though it was already late, Kyle sent messengers to the noble ladies who often interacted with Amel, determined to gather every clue he could about this mysterious dish.

“Fortunately, it seems like it’s not an impossible dish to find.”

Before his financial ruin as a guarantor, Count Diane had been a renowned knight. It wasn’t surprising that he still remembered foreign dishes Amel had tasted as a child.

Kyle pictured Amel savoring a delicious meal, her face lighting up with happiness. If she got to eat what she was craving, her mood would surely improve. Baby Chaeild would like it, too.

“She trusted me, her husband, with such a difficult request. I have to make sure she gets her food.”

Before long, the messengers returned, relaying all the information they had gathered about tteokbokki. Like a detective piecing together clues, Kyle meticulously took notes.

“A dish made by simmering long, cylindrical rice cakes in a finely ground red pepper sauce… It also includes boiled eggs and battered, deep-fried fish cut into squares…”

Fortunately, deciphering the mysterious word tteok wasn’t too difficult. Owen Zhang, a native of the East, brightened as he explained.

“Rice cakes are one of my homeland’s delicacies. They’re made by steaming grain flour, then kneading and shaping it into different forms.”

“Owen, write down the detailed recipe and pass it to the kitchen.”

Kyle reviewed his notes again. Whether Amel had simply forgotten to mention it or whether it had never been part of the dish, tteokbokki didn’t seem to require any particularly exotic ingredients.

That meant the sauce was the key. Kyle studied the mention of red pepper powder and called for Hylde.

“Hylde, the time has finally come for the Amelia Botanical Garden to prove its worth.”

The Amelia Botanical Garden was a massive greenhouse Kyle had begun constructing the very night he learned of Amel’s pregnancy.

It had all started when he read books like For Expecting Wives and Prenatal Care for My Child. Those books explained that pregnant women often craved hard-to-find foods, especially fruits, late at night.

Since he had no way of knowing what his sister might suddenly crave, the best approach was to prepare for everything. Thus, he had started acquiring every edible plant from across the continent and even foreign lands.

“The Amelia Flower and Bonsai Garden isn’t ready yet, but…”

Regardless, thanks to hired Arethe users expediting the process, Amel remained unaware of the Amelia Fisheries and Amelia Ranch that stood alongside the botanical garden.

“Hylde, take the head chef and pick out the spiciest red fruits available. We don’t have much time if we need to process them into powder.”

Hylde and the kitchen staff responded with unwavering determination. There were around twenty varieties of spicy fruits available. Since they lacked an exact recipe, they would have to prepare at least a hundred variations of tteokbokki.

But for Lady Amel and Baby Chaeild, such an undertaking was nothing.

That evening, Amel, who had once again struggled to enjoy her meal, poked at the strawberries floating in her yogurt.

Once she had fixated on a particular craving, nothing else seemed appealing. Her body outright rejected other foods. Eating out of obligation wasn’t exactly enjoyable.

“I never thought I’d feel deprived in the Chaeild manor. I’m too full… way too full.”

Just as she sighed and reached for her spoon again, a loud commotion echoed from outside. A knock soon followed. When she opened the door, she was met with an unexpected sight.

Kyle, Hylde, Vanessa, and several others entered, their faces tense as if preparing for an exam.

Her gaze shifted past them to something far more intriguing—a massive tray, nearly as tall as a person, covered with a silver dome. It was clearly food, but the sheer number of dishes was astonishing.

“What is all this?”

“My lady, these are tteokbokki. Since we were uncertain of the exact recipe, we prepared multiple variations. Please taste each one and tell us which suits you best.”

“You made tteokbokki?”

“Indeed. Since the recipes and ingredients differ slightly, we even prepared a menu for you to choose from.”

At the head chef’s words, the domed lids were lifted in unison.

Instead of feeling nauseous, Amel’s mouth instantly watered at the sight of the vibrant red sauce. Her eyes sparkled as she grabbed a fork.

“How did they even figure out that fish cakes go into this? There are boiled eggs, too!”

Any questions were overshadowed by sheer excitement. Sampling each variation, all carefully prepared with different combinations, was an absolute delight.

There was tteokbokki made with peperoncino, another with red bell peppers, and even one using jalapeños.

Apparently, the world contained a staggering variety of spicy red ingredients.

**”I just mentioned it in passing… and yet they went this far. No matter how resourceful the Chaeild family is, there’s no way they managed to find cheongyang peppers—huh?”

Amel gasped as she bit into the next sample, utterly stunned.

For a brief moment, she envisioned the elderly woman who had run a tteokbokki stall in the same spot for twenty years.

As if in a trance, she popped a few more pieces into her mouth. The flavor was noticeably more refined than the street vendor version she remembered, but the resemblance was uncanny.

“Chef, how did you obtain these ingredients? It must not have been easy.”

“The spices and grains used for the sauce and rice cakes all came from Amelia Botanical Garden.”

Hearing her name attached to yet another place, Amel instinctively turned toward Kyle.

Noticing her look, he awkwardly averted his gaze and muttered,

“…I just didn’t want my wife to be upset at night because something she wanted wasn’t available.”

Kyle knew Amel didn’t particularly like frivolous spending. That was why he had made the excuse.

But in response, she looked happier than ever.

“Kyle… Kyle, you really are the best husband in the world!”

The servants discreetly looked away.

Amel threw herself into his arms, peppering his cheeks with rapid kisses like a woodpecker pecking at a tree.

The intensity of her reaction was far greater than when he had given her a gold mine or an entire island.

Kyle’s ears burned bright red.

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