Bon Appétit

Side Story 6: Sweet red bean bread

 

Legion said seriously.

“It’s the result of training. Would you like to join me next time?”

“hmm. Let me consider it first.”

Luana made an evasive statement. This was because she roughly knew how hard the official knights trained. She had never done proper exercise before, so if she followed suit, she might collapse.

“okay. Think about it.”

Legion obediently retreated.

After finishing their meal, the two jumped into the bed again.

“Oh, don’t we need to change the bed sheets?”

“Let me call the maid.”

The two agreed to go into the bathroom for a bit while the maid changed the sheets. It didn’t take long . The maid quickly changed the sheets and left, and the two decided to lie down on the bed and have fun again.

Luana was very satisfied with that.

 

***

 

As time passed, the world was changing. And among the things that changed was the prejudice of  witches being bad that had been passed down from mouth to mouth. It gradually improved. What had the greatest influence on this was the current emperor’s witch-friendly policy.

It was also thanks to the witches who actively helped change the world. Witches were no longer legendary. They were becoming friendly, kind, and slightly unusual neighbors.

“That’s why I feel a little strange.”

Sarah said, tapping her cheek with her finger. Although she was adapting to the rapidly changing world, she cannot help but feel strange feelings from time to time. She joined hands with Legion hoping for this, but she wondered if it was possible for things to change this much.

“Well, it’s not a bad thing.”

thud.

Luana, who was pounding the dough on a large board, was asked.

“ What were you making from earlier?”

“Bread. I suddenly wanted to eat sweet red bean bread. How delicious would it be if you eat it with cold milk?”

Red beans with just the right amount of sweetness permeating the fluffy and chewy bread. Just thinking about it made her mouth water. For how long did she wanted to eat this? If it wasn’t for the Empress’s work, it would have been made earlier. Looking at Luana like that, Sara asked seriously.

“Will I have anything to eat?”

“You will.”

Luana nodded and answered. And then she started to focus on dough again. The way she was working on the dough was so serious that Sarah watched her in fascination for a long time. Then, only later did she remember why she had come here.

“That’s right. Are you free this coming full moon?”

“is that 15 days later? Let’s see.”

Luana, who looked into the space for a moment to remember, soon answered.

“I guess I will be a bit free.”

So, she thought that she and Legion could have a picnic in the garden near his Palace then.

“Really? Then take this.”

“What is it?”

Luana shook off her flour-covered hands and accepted the envelope with wax seal.

“You’ll know when you open it.”

She tilted her head and carefully opened the envelope, and a card came out of it. There was a short phrase written on it in gold-tinged ink.

“You are invited to the witch’s party.”

An invitation? Luana looked at the card, but found nothing else other than that phrase.

“This is an invitation to the witches’ party that is held occasionally.”

“Is this different from the last meeting I went to?”

“It’s a little different, isn’t it? At that time it was a gathering to turn young witches into official witches, but this time it is just a party to have fun. Every year, fairies see the future and tell about it when it seems appropriate, so sometimes they don’t expose it for decades.”

Sarah continued her explanation.

“Each witch is given an invitation, and with that invitation they can invite races other than witches.”

“aha.So this is mine?”

“yes. With that, you can bring His Majesty the Emperor.”

‘Should I give it a try?’

She thought that way only for a moment. It was said that relations between witches and humans have improved now, but the imperial family used to hunt witches. Wouldn’t it only cause problems if she went? As she was thinking about it, Sarah spoke as if she had read her thoughts.

“It will be okay. Even the witches now recognize the importance for His Majesty the Emperor. Some may be dissatisfied, but they will not touch you if you promise to protect them in my name.”

“Still feeling anxious?”*

“Am I anxious? No, I am okay.”

*TL/N:she used formal speech here.

Sarah, who had been speaking informally the whole time, suddenly started using polite language.Luana heard that and realized that someone must have entered the kitchen. A person who makes Sarah no longer have to hide and makes her use respectful language towards Luana. It was Legion.

“You’re here again.”

Sara shrugged her shoulders at Legion’s words.

“This time, I came here because I had some business to do,Your Majesty.”

“Business?”

At those words, Luana waved the invitation.

“It’s an invitation to a witch’s party.”

“When is it?”

“After 15 days.”

“Do you want to go?”

“It’s just like any other party.”

“Then let’s go.”

Legion quickly changed the schedule after hearing Luana’s words. The Emperor, who is always firm and fearsome in everything, quickly pent down in front of the Empress. This was a fact that everyone in the imperial castle already knew.

“But what are you making?”

“Sweet red bean bread. Strangely, I kept wanting to eat it. In fact, it’s best to eat it with yogurt, but that will take a bit of work, so I’m going to eat it with milk.”

“Did you make me a share too?”

Legion asked the same thing Sarah asked.

“Of course, I did.”

And Luana gave a slightly different answer. When Sarah saw them, she barely suppressed the repulse to click her tongue.

‘I always said they were a good couple.’

Contrary to Galad’s worries, Luana was getting along well with Legion. No, on the contrary, they were so happy that she felt like cringing just by looking at them. From both of them, she felt the sweetness of drinking a whole jar of honey.

‘Get out of here.’

Legion walked closer to Luana and gave her a look that said just that, but Sarah  looked somewhere else and turned away. It was hard to watch the sweet relationship between the two, but she didn’t want to give up on eating the dessert for the first time. So all Sarah could do was to look elsewhere.

After barely holding on, Sarah finally got her hands on the sweet red bean bread. She put it in the preservation basket she always brings with her when she come here. She waited until it was made because she was afraid she wouldn’t get her share, but she didn’t have the confidence to eat it here.

“Okay then, let’s meet at the full moon.”*

*TL: she spoke formally here.

Sarah said to Luana as if she had never spoken informally before.

She did her greetings. Then she disappeared , holding the preservation basket with great care.

Luana waved at Sarah and took a bite of the finished red bean bread.

‘Yes, this is what it tastes like!’

If you eat it with milk, it goes down well. She made a big dent in it, finished one, and reached for the second one. This one too disappeared quickly, and before she knew it, she had a third piece of bread in her hand.

“Aren’t you eating too much?”

The third bread was quickly finished, and when she picked up the fourth bread, Legion stopped Luana. Although she usually eats well, she was currently eating almost as much as he could.

“Huh? I didn’t eat much?”

“This is the fourth one now.”

Luana laughed as if it was absurd and took a bite of the sweet red bean bread.

“Or at least eat slowly.”

“I’m eating slowly.”

Luana pouted her lips as she picked up the fifth piece of bread.

“Did you want to eat it that much?”

“Of course. I really wanted to eat it. I was having a hard time because all I could think about was this bread for several days.”

“If it’s not too difficult, why not teach the recipe to the chef? Then you will always be able to eat what you want.”

“Hmm, that’s a good idea!”

Why didn’t she think of that! Luana lamented and put the remaining piece of bread into her mouth. If possible, she thought it would be a good idea to also teach them how to make yogurt. After all, sweet red bean bread needs yogurt! Sticking to her beliefs, Luana picked up the next piece of bread.

Legion watched Luana with worried eyes and pushed the his share to her. Luana was so excited that she tried to eat more, but she couldn’t. This was because her stomach was already full a long time ago. Only then did Luana count the number of breads she had eaten and was surprised.

“Did I eat all of this?”

“That’s right.”

“really?”

“really.”

I didn’t normally eat this much, but I ate it until my throat was full. Still, my stomach felt empty. Now that I think about it, I felt that my body wanted something nutritious, but maybe that wasn’t the case? Luana’s complexion darkened. Is my body sick anywhere? In cases of diseases characterised by eating like this, it often turns out that something lives in the stomach!

Suddenly, she was worried.

“Let us consult Legislator first.”

“That would be nice.”

Legion immediately called a doctor, and he examined Luana in detail. Since the scary emperor, who was known to cherish the empress, was standing by his side, he had no choice but to do his best.

After a while, the doctor wiped away his sweat and informed them about Luana’s condition.

“she is pregnant.”

As soon as those words were heard, Luana’s eyes became round.

*****

TL/N:

Hello ~ feel free to comment about mistakes.

Next will be on Friday 30/12