Chapter 54
I had wondered why Knight Isidore Dakiten, the Emperor’s direct investigator, had refused the welcome banquet.
“He said to do it later, but now he’s going ahead with it anyway. The new head chef is already preparing banquet dishes that can be stored for a long time.”
The head maidservant, who had been gearing up for a fight, said it was just as well. It was a good chance to give the butler a piece of her mind.
“Use all the silverware for the banquet. You’re in charge of counting every piece, Head Maidservant. Have Mari and Denise count with you.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Tell the head chef to consider dishes that use the silverware in as many varieties as possible.”
“Yes.”
“The budget should be fully secured by now, right?”
“That’s what I’ve been battling the butler over. He keeps making excuses that there’s no money, but even if it’s seeding season, it doesn’t make sense for Lüsenford to be out of funds.”
“You have to hold the line firmly. I’m on your side, and so is His Highness.”
“If both Your Highnesses are on my side, I can fight on without ever getting tired.”
Fabiola Sirenster, who had become the new head maidservant long after Kaella collapsed, was excluded from this meeting with the investigator.
Thanks to that, she could move about freely while the investigator was poking around the castle. But the butler was suffering greatly now that the investigator had begun focusing his scrutiny.
“That’s very reassuring.”
Now it was time to send her on her way. Fabiola must be just as busy as Isidore Dakiten, who had left moments ago.
“Um, Your Highness. Is there any dish you’d like to eat, by any chance?”
“……Pardon?”
Kaella didn’t catch it at first.
“The head chef has excluded all foods that Your Highness can’t eat, so for this banquet, he wants to make something Your Highness really wants to eat.”
“Me?”
“Yes, of course. There should be a few foods that Your Highness likes. If you tell me, we’ll consult with the physician and put it on the table today.”
Fabiola smiled at Kaella, who was young enough to be her daughter. The new head chef, her, and the three maids the Duchess had brought all agreed on one thing: the Duchess was far too thin.
After rushing through the wedding and the long journey to Lüsenford, it had nearly been the death of her from lack of food—how could she not want to eat now!
She had thought her meal portions were increasing a bit lately, but then she had a relapse and could barely eat, which was terribly worrisome.
“Is there really nothing that comes to mind?”
When no answer came, the head maidservant asked cautiously. It was impossible for someone who had been starving not to crave food. The relapses happened precisely because she ignored her set portions and tried to eat more.
But more than that, Kaella had never imagined someone in Lüsenford would warmly ask her if there was anything she wanted to eat. She hadn’t dreamed a day like this would come.
“Food……”
Her voice trembled, so Kaella quickly swallowed and cleared her throat.
“……There are so many. I’m not sure if they’re possible.”
“We’ll do our best to accommodate. You came from the south to marry into the north— you should at least eat what you want. It must be so lonely for you. His Highness the Grand Duke has repeatedly urged us to take good care of you.”
Her husband was one of the people looking out for her. Kaella clasped her hands tightly. It was happy news, but it made her anxious for no reason when they said Pheon was treating her well. After all, he was the one who had ultimately cast her aside.
“I’d like steamed fish, soft and tender. Mackerel or sea bream, anything like that. White-fleshed fish, and topped with a tangy sauce.”
“That sounds delicious! You mean a southern-style sauce, tangy and spicy? Anything else?”
“More……”
The cravings for food she had obsessively suppressed surged wildly. Kaella hesitated, trying to restrain herself, and named two or three dishes.
As Kaella’s expression brightened at the head maidservant’s cheerful “anything will do,” Knight Isidore Dakiten, leaving the Duchess’s office, caught sight of the Grand Duke signaling for his horse through a corridor window.
‘Why just one horse?’
If he was going to inspect near the border, shouldn’t he take at least five or six knights? Yet his cousin had called for a single sturdy warhorse and mounted it alone.
With such a massive rider atop the huge steed, he stood out even from above. Isidore thought for a moment, then hurried down the stairs toward the stables.
“Has His Highness already left?”
“Yes, he has.”
An investigator inevitably faced guarded, defensive attitudes wherever he went. Lüsenford’s unique insularity was especially intense.
This only made Isidore more worried about Kaella, who had come here alone. That’s why such an absurd, utterly impossible incident had occurred. Because this place was like this.
“He went alone, it seems. Shouldn’t he have an escort?”
“His Highness knows the terrain well. He chooses his paths carefully between the border and the Evil Dragon’s Domain. He knows the ways better than most locals.”
“That’s a relief.”
Isidore sighed in relief and nodded.
“Then I’ll head out too. Bring me a horse.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?”
“The Grand Duke is my cousin as well. He hasn’t been gone long, so I can catch up right away.”
“That’s not it— you never know what might jump out here. His Highness moves incredibly fast, so if you can’t find him, return immediately. In this thawing season, not only the Evil Dragon’s demons but bandit gangs are appearing everywhere.”
“Bandit gangs?”
“The ones living up there. From Bainland and Volga.”
“The barbarians, got it.”
“Please be careful! The demons are dancing about!”
The knight tending the horses handed one over with earnest warnings. Isidore set off alone after Pheon, who had gone out so casually. It was unheard of for a commander to roam the border alone without guards, where combat could erupt anytime.
‘Something’s off.’
It was strange. And as someone with the typical knight’s mindset that you never send your superior to check the border alone, Isidore hurried to find Pheon. Fortunately, he spotted the black horse’s rider far ahead.
Where was Pheon heading? Isidore spurred his horse, keeping a suitable distance without joining him, and quietly followed from behind.
*
That evening, the new head chef hurriedly showed off his skills with the budget the head maidservant had wrested—no, torn—from the butler after a massive fight.
The castle folk already knew how loudly she had argued with the butler that afternoon; even the outsider investigators had overheard the details.
It had started quite ordinarily, they said. The butler, exhausted from the head maidservant hounding him relentlessly since her appointment, had brushed her off curtly.
“It doesn’t make sense to say there’s no money.”
“It’s seeding season right now. The budget always runs dry around this time.”
“If Lüsenford’s budget runs dry, how do we handle emergencies? We can’t even afford a banquet now.”
“That new chef is demanding too much budget for his weird dishes! Frugality and thrift are Lüsenford virtues.”
“In front of people from Kline, frugality looks like poverty and stinginess.”
Viscount Rolf Anderson’s face flushed beet red in an instant.
“Madam! That’s too much!”
Stingy! Poor! How dare she say that, like some fat-bellied Kline bastard!
“It’s the truth.”
Fabiola Sirenster spoke coldly.
“We need to be as dignified as possible, but no money is a big problem. Her Highness already collapsed over the banquet food—if the banquet is subpar, we’ll look ridiculous.”
“Well, it’s partly because our Her Highness is picky about food and was raised delicately.”
Mrs. Sirenster’s eyes flashed dangerously.
“You’re saying something similar to those who were executed for forcing Her Highness to eat Ferenco loaded with Tour Berries?”
The head maidservant, more than just angry, shut the butler up on the spot.
“With the investigator here, you’d better be careful. I’m worried about unnecessary misunderstandings.”
The butler had no choice but to release more budget.
Of course, the head maidservant didn’t stop there; she made sure to spread what the butler had said. By the time the banquet began, the investigators eyed him appraisingly.
At the banquet of the wary, the secretive, the anxious, and the probing investigators, the only one who seemed truly pleased was Beatrice Lavalle, who had dragged her sick body there.
She looked more vibrant than when lying in bed. Not all Lüsenford nobles were present, so it wasn’t grand, but it was the first official banquet since Kaella’s collapse.
And at that banquet, the Grand Duke cared only about whether the Duchess was eating well. Even Beatrice, adept at leading high society, couldn’t change that as she steered the table’s mood.
“……Is it to your taste?”
From the appetizers to the southern-style steamed fish she had specially wanted, he watched her eat attentively.
Thanks to that gaze, Kaella barely held onto her reason and didn’t pounce on her plate; she finally nodded.
“Yes.”
Apparently, that wasn’t enough. Pheon was still gazing at her steadily.
He was a man carved like a statue, with an overall impression of cold detachment that made him seem unapproachable; his stare felt immensely heavy.
“It’s delicious.”
Her small response came almost like a whisper. Over the clink of cutlery and low murmurs, Pheon nodded upon hearing it.
‘Is he smiling?’
The man with almost no expression changes seemed to smile. His face looked gentle in the warm light. She couldn’t let herself be fooled by an illusion. Kaella quickly lowered her eyes.
“It’s so nice to gather like this after so long. Isn’t it, Isidore?”
Beatrice, who had been watching the two intently, narrowed her eyes and chimed in sharply.
“How did you get here, Sister?”
“His Imperial Majesty was worried and told me to come see. Pheon and I have always been close.”
“The one who collapsed wasn’t His Highness the Grand Duke, but Her Highness.”
Isidore retorted curtly. He was already frustrated from losing Pheon while tailing him today, and now Beatrice was interfering with the investigation.
What could be more irksome to an investigator than someone sent separately by the Emperor? Was she here to monitor if he was doing his job properly? He’d relaxed thinking she was bedridden, but seeing her hale made Isidore thoroughly irritated.
“I’m friends with Kaell…… no.”
Beatrice faltered, glanced at Pheon, then continued.
“Her Highness too. Right, Your Highness?”
Kaella looked up mid-bite. Was she friends with Beatrice? The woman who mocked her daily and treated her like a maid, barely held back by Kaella’s status—friends? The food stuck in her throat.
“Ah, since Her Highness calls you by name while you call the Grand Duke ‘Your Highness,’ I can tell who’s closer to whom.”
Why was she like that? Beatrice was already annoyed by Isidore subtly irking her over delaying the banquet, and now he was picking fights at the table; her eyes grew fierce.
“While we’re on the topic, count me out too.”
Even Pheon joined in with a quiet, chillingly cold voice.
“I don’t like needless misunderstandings. As a married man, it’s unpleasant.”
The table froze icy in an instant. At this table of the nobly born, the Grand Duke dominated just by sitting silently. This was why Isidore couldn’t stand up to his cousin.
Kaella, who had been eating quietly, stared at Pheon with wide eyes. He had barked so sharply that even Beatrice flinched, but when his eyes met his wife’s, he gave a faint smile.
“Eat more.”
Kaella, whose eyes were shaking wildly, finally swallowed the food she had been chewing thoroughly. Pheon nodded slightly as if to say it was fine.
The silence, masked as peace by the Grand Duke, stretched on quite long. Kaella quietly continued eating.
She didn’t know what to say. The atmosphere was so awkward that the only thing to look at was her plate filling and emptying before her eyes.
Then, after three plates had been cleared.
“My, Your Highness eats quite quickly.”
Beatrice spoke with a face full of venom. What was she about to say? As Kaella looked up warily, a honeyed barb flew.
“Your plate changes so fast alone—it’s worrisome. I know married women get lax in mind and belt, but eating so hastily might cause trouble.”
You’re eating like a pig, so greedily. You’ll get fat.
She had heard such sharp words too many times; better than direct insults. She knew exactly what they meant from repetition. Unthinkingly, Kaella set down her fork.
She wanted to eat. She wanted to eat so much. But she couldn’t. Mocking eyes raked her from head to toe. Her chest tightened. Her head hurt. She had to say something.
Or did she? Could she just do nothing and let it end?
“Is that so? I’ve been so focused on your eating that I urged you without thinking. My fault. Sorry, my dear.”
Before silence could settle, Pheon replied.
“I told you to eat more because you look good doing it, so don’t mind it.”
He spoke to Kaella with a gentleness markedly different from others.
“And no one knows your waist better than I do, so don’t mind that either.”
