Beatrice Ravalley, the daughter of Duke Monde, didn’t particularly like Lusenford. To her, it was an embarrassing and shabby refuge.
When things got so bad that they had to demolish Monde Castle and sell off the building materials, the only place young Beatrice could go, separated from her mother who was hounded by creditors, was Lusenford.
The cold, barren place filled with tough people didn’t suit her nature at all.
“How is it, Miss? Does the food suit your taste?”
Above all, the people here knew Beatrice at her most miserable. They knew of her wretched times when she had to rely on her childhood friend, the Grand Duke, who was similarly abandoned in Lusenford, shivering with cold. They knew and pitied her for it.
Even now, the butler was asking her this because she was alone in the dining room. Though Beatrice was grinding her teeth inside, she smiled brightly on the outside.
“Of course. It’s always excellent. It was a nostalgic taste.”
“Actually, I was worried because the chef keeps changing, so it might not be the taste you remember, but I’m glad.”
“The Lusenford Castle kitchen maintains its flavor. No, in fact, it’s gotten even better.”
“Oh, is that so?”
The butler brightened. Beatrice, who needed to make a good impression here anyway, nodded. It was also the truth.
“Yes. The ingredients used are much more abundant and the flavors are more pronounced. The Lusenford Castle kitchen is progressing. It’s become more sophisticated.”
Honestly, the food here was so rustic that she didn’t want to come even for the food. But surprisingly, from the moment the appetizer came out, Beatrice couldn’t help but widen her eyes.
The shape and smell were different. The potato cream soup, which used to be unevenly mashed with lumps here and there, came out smooth and evenly blended with elegant garnishes on top. The taste wasn’t bad either.
The grilled flatfish caught in the cold sea that followed, and the beef dish simmered for a long time were also delicious. Beatrice had a fairly satisfying meal.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
The butler, more familiar with Beatrice, who had occasionally been raised with Peon since childhood, rather than the unfamiliar Grand Duchess, breathed a sigh of relief.
He had been quite displeased that the Grand Duchess still hadn’t decided on a head chef and kept changing them, but hearing her speak like this, it seemed the level of the temporary chefs was quite decent.
‘I guess I don’t need to worry about selecting a head chef.’
The butler completely erased the kitchen staff problem that had been bothering him among his many tasks. He couldn’t trust the Grand Duchess’s judgment, but if Beatrice Ravalley, the flower of Crania’s social circles, said so, it was enough.
“Why did you change the head chef?”
“Well, I’m not sure if you know, but there was an unfortunate incident.”
“Ah. If it’s that incident, it’s already spread throughout Crania.”
Spread throughout Crania! The butler immediately bowed his head deeply. How embarrassing. Could there be such embarrassment! He felt a surge of irritation and anger towards those who had forcibly pushed tour Berry onto the Grand Duchess. To tarnish Lusenford’s name like this!
“It’s a shameful thing. A very shameful and embarrassing affair. We can’t show our faces.”
“Is that why the head maid changed?”
“Yes. Because that woman was the main culprit…”
Beatrice frowned at the butler’s words. The butler thought she was simply expressing displeasure about the incident, but Beatrice was actually thinking that this was giving her a headache.
‘Doris was convenient.’
The former head maid, Doris Windgood, would do anything Beatrice said. She took great pride in knowing Beatrice since she was young, who had grown into a great lady dominating Crania’s social circles.
But the new head maid was someone Beatrice didn’t know at all, and in a situation where Peon wasn’t setting foot in the dining room at all today, her position could only become more precarious.
“Was it such a big deal? Is the Grand…Duchess very upset?”
Let’s be careful with words first. Seeing that the atmosphere was clearly not good, Beatrice decided to maintain what she considered politeness, even if reluctantly.
“The doctor said her whole body swelled up, blocking her airways. We thought we’d be holding a funeral as soon as she arrived. They say she still needs to be very careful.”
Beatrice inwardly scoffed. What’s there to be careful about when she’s walking around just fine?
It was infuriating that Peon was clearly avoiding her, and his excuse was the Grand Duchess. On top of that, to suffer such humiliation today. Even the butler’s pity for her was one of those humiliations.
‘Who does he think he is, daring to…’
She thought she had been carefully climbing the ladder, looking upwards. But somewhere, something went wrong and flipped. If so, she needed to correct it, as the Emperor had said when he sent her.
[Go and do what you do best.]
Sitting alone at the table, Beatrice chewed and swallowed her wounded pride and humiliation along with the crispy and sweet apple pie.
Apple pie! What a rustic and ugly cheap food! Beatrice inwardly sneered at the level of Lusenford and the Grand Duchess for serving this as dessert.
“Miss, would you like another slice?”
“Oh, yes.”
Well, it brings back memories. Even if it’s a bit provincial. Beatrice cleaned her second plate as well.
****
While Beatrice was grinding her teeth in the Lusenford Castle dining room, which was bare at best and desolate at worst, the Grand Duke and Duchess were sitting close together at their bedroom table for the first time, heads together, sharing food.
Peon enjoyed watching his wife eat and serving her a little more, urging her to eat more. The closer proximity allowed for more conversation.
“I think we’ll have to cancel the plan to finish counting the silver tableware today.”
“Yes. We need to be careful now that there are more eyes around.”
As expected, Kaela just nodded.
“How do you find the newly appointed head maid? Are you satisfied with her work?”
“Mrs. Silenster is a person of clear judgment and accurate decision-making.”
Though she had deliberately placed her based on her understanding of Lusenford’s political situation before her near-death experience, the new head maid worked competently while remaining humble.
“I’m just worried that she seems to be clashing a bit with the butler.”
“There’s no need to worry. That’s something we can put our heads together and figure out. Like this.”
Like this? Kaela looked at Peon, who was sitting very close, tapping the table where bread, soup, and meat dishes were haphazardly arranged, and smiling gently.
It was a table far from proper etiquette – if the Ostein family chef saw it, he would sigh at Her Highness’s freestyle dining again.
It was like when they were young, packing a picnic basket and spreading out a blanket, with Peon smiling as he cut small pieces of soft and crispy blueberry pie or ham and cheese croissants for young Kaela.
That’s right. That’s how it used to be.
“It’s like when we were young.”
Kaela looked up at Peon.
“We used to have picnics together often back then. You would only eat sandwiches if they were cut.”
Because larger bites would keep spilling out between the bread, making it hard to eat properly, she had to stick to small finger sandwiches made for teatime.
Even so, it was cute how she would glance longingly at the big sandwiches Peon and Beatrice were eating.
When she would just look, unable to ask for it, he would pretend to give in and cut his portion to share. He loved how Kaela’s face would light up as she accepted it.
“Ah…”
However, Kaela reacted awkwardly to his words.
Was it a memory she didn’t want to recall, treating him so stiffly as if she didn’t even remember they once played together happily, after maintaining distance even before marriage? Peon felt his heart sink belatedly.
