“Oh, welcome. Duke Bardion. It’s such an honor to see you like this.”
The man bowed his head to Cardin.
“It’s an honor to meet you. Duke Bardion.”
Following that, the man’s family also greeted him with the same courtesy.
The man’s gaze reached me.
The man looked at me and Cardin alternately and greeted me.
“Oh, hello. Princess Bardion. And…….”
The man blurted out his words as he looked at Fay and Ad standing side by side next to me. They already knew about me, but the two were different. The man was busy rolling his head as if trying to guess their relationship with Cardin.
“Ahm, I’m sorry, but what kind of people did the princess bring with her?”
“They are my daughter’s friends.”
Fay and Ad were introduced as my friends.
In general, the friends of noble children should be equivalent to their status.
Simply put, it’s called just a playmate.
However, not all aristocratic children have a playmate by their side.
Only the children of the highest aristocrats in the Empire were able to use the children of other nobles as a playmate.
“Oh! I see. Please come in. Duke.”
The man, who noticed that my playmate was a fairly high-ranking child in the capital, greeted both of them with courtesy.
“Let’s go in.”
“Oh, yes! I’ve kept the precious people out for too long. Here, go ahead and come in.”
At Cardin’s words, the man hurried us into the mansion.
The man in front of me is the owner of the mansion, Baron Medgel, who had jurisdiction over the Pardo estate. He was a very ordinary man unlike the aristocrats I met in the capital.
“You must have had a hard time coming all the way here, so let’s get rid of your fatigue first. For dinner, I prepared a supper with special products from the Pardo estate.”
Baron Medgel was constantly moving his mouth, not taking his eyes off our side for a moment. It was a very cautious attitude, fearing that something might go wrong.
Well, that’s understandable.
It is rare for nobles on the outskirts to join the nobles from the capital during their lifetime.
Unless you have an unusually large contribution or have a connection with a capital nobles who supports you, you will spend your entire life in your jurisdiction.
Baron Medgel was a marginal noble.
As he meets Duke Bardion, a nobleman of the capital, and also the hero of the empire, this situation must be very nerve-wracking.
“Okay, this way.”
They showed us the rooms where we will be staying for a week. Baron Mergel gave us a whole floor of the mansion.
When I looked around the assigned room, all the furniture and bedding smelled new to the point where the baron’s intention was clearly revealed.
We each decided to warm up our tired bodies from moving long distances.
Two maids were assigned to my room.
If I had come with my nanny, I wouldn’t need a maid, but it was not easy to wash and groom myself as a child.
“Hello. Welcome to the Princess of Bardion! My name is Henny, a maid.”
“I’m a Bezel.”
The maids who will serve me, greeted me.
They must be quite nervous seeing how stiff they are and swallowing dry saliva several times.
“Yes, hello. Nice to meet you.”
They are going to take care of me for a week. I don’t want to have this kind of atmosphere.
I smiled as brightly as I could so the maids could relax.
“Oh, yes! Please take care of us.”
My carefree attitude seemed to have eased the maid
I asked them to prepare my bath right away. After sitting in the carriage for a long time, the muscles all over my body were quite stiff. With the help of Henney and Bezel, I could immediately warm myself in warm water.
Just as my eyes were about to close due to the warm air that’s making me drowsy, I shook my head and shook off my sleepiness.
This is because I have to go to the dining room where the dinner will be held.
A dinner prepared with specialties from Pardo…
Drip~
“Oh, my”
Unknowingly, my mouth was watering and saliva leaked slightly between my lips. Fortunately, Henney and Bezel were looking elsewhere, so I quickly wiped my mouth and destroyed the evidence.
It was because my hunger became stronger as the evening time came.
I quickly dressed up and left the room.
“Papa-”
I knock on the door of the next room where Cardin is. Soon after, the door opened.
“Are you ready already?”
Cardin in comfortable attire welcomed me.
As if he had been washing up a while ago, there was still water in his head.
“Ack!”
Henney and Bezel, who were coming out of my room after organizing, ran into Cardin. Henney and Bezel covered their mouths and gazed blankly at Cardin’s face. Their faces were red as if it were about to burst.
Cardin, you dangerous man!
Usually, Cardin has a scary appearance. The atmosphere around him is so cold that women find it hard to approach him. His moderately unbuttoned shirt and wet-hair had a very dangerous atmosphere.
At this rate you’re going to seduce all the maids in the mansion!
“Papa. Hurry up and go into the room.”
I slapped Cardin in the leg and pushed him into the room. I came into the room with him and quickly closed the door.
“No, Papa! What’s with the outfit? Why are you unraveling everything! Aren’t you ashamed? Fasten the buttons!”
“What…?”
In my words Cardin lowered his head and looked at his clothes.
“What… Are you not going to button it up?”
Cardin looked at his clothes and looked down at me with a confused face. It was because the only button that was unbutton was just below his neck.
“Button it!”
I shouted proudly.
This is because I just witnessed that even though it was just a button, it could have a huge ripple effect. Cardin looked dumbfounded by my untimely coercion, but he gently buttoned it to the neck.
“…….”
Actually, that was it.
Whether he buttoned it up or not, there was nothing much different from before.
That face suits anything…
“All right, just do as you please.”
“What’s up with you all of a sudden?”
Cardin said, looking down at me with his eyebrows raised.
“Papa. You look more handsome these days.”
I told the truth.
Cardin’s eyes opened wide at my words, and immediately he laughed.
“Why? don’t you like it?”
Yeah, it was that face.
Cardin, whose face has been relaxed these days, was receiving the attention of the people around him. Originally, numerous eyes were chasing after him, but it seems to have increased in recent years.
Cardin’s eyes were bent lightly. It was annoying for some reason. I looked into the playful Cardin’s eyes for a moment and turned my head and said,
“No. I prefer being ugly.”
“What?”
Cardin, who heard my answer, asked back with a dazed look, but I turned right away and opened the door.
It’s almost dinner time.
“Let’s go, Papa. I’m hungry.”
“Wait…!”
I turned around in a hurry and walked faster as I watched Cardin chasing me.
My little revenge seemed to have worked.
“Duke, princess. You’re already out.”
I turned around from Cardin and covered my ears, and just in time, Elvin came out and the situation ended.
Then Fay and Ad also came out of their room.
“Let’s go to the dining room right away.”
We all headed to the dining room where dinner was prepared.
As I got closer to the dining room, the smell of hunger became stronger.
Finally, when we entered the dining room, the baron and his children were talking while they were waiting.
“Oh, you’re here. Please have a seat over here.”
The baron found us first and welcomed us. The table at which the dinner was prepared had a large circular shape.
The chair was a little higher than my height, so Cardin, who noticed it quickly, carried me and made me sit next to him.
Cardin on the right, Elvin on the left.
It was the choice of a seat where you could freely eat food from afar.
The table which was filled with unfamiliar dishes caught my eye. Especially because it was close to the sea, there were many seafood-oriented dishes.
The view made my mouth water.
When is the most natural thing to eat?
Until now, I only experienced eating food freely inside the duchy so eating with other nobles is kind of awkward.
I looked around to see who would speak first, and my eyes met with the baroness.
As if she had waited, the baroness naturally smiled and spoke.
“Today’s dinner was carefully prepared mainly with seafood that can only be found in the waters of Pardo. The ingredients are freshly caught, so it will be very fresh.”
Unlike the baron, who looked at Cardin’s face all the time and seemed nervous, the baroness continued the conversation smoothly.
As the atmosphere became more and more muted due to the Baroness’ efforts, the Baron breathed briefly as if relieved.
At last the dinner began naturally.
Looking at the thick fish in front of me, I picked up the cutlery.
Usually, at the duchy they remove all the fish bones and cook them, but this place is cooked whole and put them on the table as they are.
I heard that there are slight differences in food culture in each region, I just realized it now.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen fish bones. I can do it well, right?
I tried to pick up the fish with a little worry, but it disappeared in a flash in front of my eyes.
“What?”
Following the traces of the fish’s disappearance, it was neatly placed in front of the Cardin.
Cardin sat in a straight posture and began to break up the fish with a clean knife.
I found out that the sword skills of a Magic swordsman can also be applied to fish bones.
Cardin, who perfectly separated the bones and flesh of the fish, put a plate with only white flesh in front of me.
“Oh.”
The Baroness, who saw it, covered her mouth and widened her eyes as if surprised.
