Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 373

The next morning, Irene woke up to a delicious smell.

Awakened by the familiar scent of food she smelled every morning, Irene sat up, rubbing her eyes and muttering unconsciously.

“Michael?”

Calling his name out of habit, she soon came fully awake at the unfamiliar surroundings.

“Oh, right. Michael must have slept outside…”

She remembered his appearance last night, refusing even to look back when she’d offered him the blanket. Knowing his personality, he likely hadn’t stepped a single foot inside the house.

‘Could it be Chomp-chomp?’

But Chomp-chomp always only ate; it never made anything. So there was no way it could have used the oven…

Puzzled, Irene opened the door.

The first thing she saw was the dining table filled with food.

‘Did I return to our house by the sea?’

The table was so loaded with appetizing dishes that she worried the legs might break. They were the dishes Michael usually prepared for her.

Blinking in surprise, Irene quickly ran toward the kitchen when she heard a sound from there, calling out.

“Michael? Are you in there?”

Michael turned to look at her, holding a pot full of cream stew in his hands. As soon as their eyes met, he quickly turned his head away, stepped a few paces back, and then greeted her awkwardly.

“Good morning, Miss… Irene.”

“Yes…”

Irene’s shoulders slumped, realizing that his memories were still stuck in the past. But she soon cheered up. Just yesterday, Michael had acted as if he’d rather die than enter the house, yet now he was not only inside but had even prepared food.

“Michael, has your memory perhaps come back a little?”

Because otherwise, why would he have done all this?

Michael shook his head at Irene’s hopeful question and answered curtly.

“You said you were carrying a child. I just remembered you hadn’t had a proper meal all day yesterday.”

It was true. She’d been so overwhelmed by Michael’s state all day.

Avoiding any contact with Irene, Michael circled around to the table, placed the pot of cream stew in the center, and pulled out a chair for her, indicating she should sit. Once Irene sat down, he quickly stepped away again.

“Won’t you eat with me?”

“…I came inside only to prepare your meal. Besides, eating face-to-face with a woman… that kind of thing…”

Michael acted as if dining together was scandalous, blushing deeply and stepping back even further. It seemed as if he might retreat out of the house at any moment.

Afraid that saying anything more might actually make him leave, Irene simply thanked him and picked up her fork.

Now that she thought about it, she really hadn’t eaten properly. Perhaps because of that, the delicious scent of freshly baked bread and tempting dishes triggered an intense hunger within her.

She quickly placed the food in her mouth and found it excellent, as always. Soon, she was so absorbed that her hands moved without pause.

Meanwhile, Chomp-chomp quietly slithered out from under the table and tried to nibble at the salad on the table’s edge, but after Michael’s intense glare, it had no choice but to retreat.

Michael blankly watched Irene eat.

In truth, he had never really cooked before. At the temple, meals had always been provided, and when he left to conquer dungeons, he either survived on emergency rations or food offered by the villages he helped. Occasionally, when camping, he’d prepared meals, but that was just boiling water. You could hardly call it cooking, more like basic food preparation.

Thus, it was clear that he shouldn’t be able to cook properly.

Yet the moment he recalled Irene lying in the room, not having had a decent meal all day, his body had moved on its own.

At that moment, neither God nor prayer entered his mind. He had just one thought: Irene should have a proper meal when she woke up.

Before he realized it, he was cooking and baking bread with a skill that even he found astonishing.

‘Did I really… live with Irene?’

In fact, Michael still couldn’t fully believe Irene’s words. Marriage? Him, intimately involved with a woman?

It was something utterly unimaginable.

He had vowed before God to live his entire life chastely. He had always been certain nothing could ever break that resolve. Even when facing monsters with seductive powers, he had never once faltered. His unwavering devotion had even earned admiration from the other Holy Knights.