“Ah, Your Highness!”
“You’ve come?”
Everywhere they went, there were many people who welcomed Kaela rather than Peon. It was strange. She had driven out the head maid and even the butler – by now, Kaela should have been treated like a rolling stone trying to dislodge an embedded stone in Lusenford.
“What’s so fascinating?”
She hadn’t said anything and barely changed her expression. But Peon, who had been studying her expression, smirked.
“Why are these people so friendly? I haven’t done anything, why? That’s what your expression says.”
“Because of me, the head maid and butler were all driven out.”
As if she hadn’t done anything. She had deliberately done everything the people of Lusenford despised.
“Ah. That. There have been talks about it.”
In one corner of Lusenford, there were whispers about how the Grand Duke had dealt terribly with those including the former head maid and butler.
There were complaints that the Grand Duke had bent over backwards too quickly for Ostein’s gold.
“They say I’m too mindful of my father-in-law.”
Kaela looked up at the man who couldn’t possibly be like that.
“It’s obvious who’s saying such things.”
Those who wanted much from Peon. People who wanted to raise their voices more in this region. Despite that, they had ambitious dreams of visiting Crania and tried to establish connections there too. They were all the same.
Kaela recalled the nobles who had been specifically selected by Peon and died in battle when fighting against the barbarian alliance at Fueten fortress.
They were prime examples. They were the ones who had pretended not to be involved while actually forcing her to eat the ferenco when Kaela had collapsed after consuming it.
“But His Majesty was very pleased.”
This was news to her.
“So he said I handled the attempted poisoning of the Grand Duchess well and told me to handle the rest of the punishments as I see fit.”
So he had been lenient and quieted the complaints.
“So I confiscated their properties and stripped their titles.”
I see. Kaela was nodding quietly, but after taking two steps, her eyes widened and she quickly lifted her head. Wait, so those families not only lost their heads but also had their properties confiscated and titles stripped?
Peon, who had been waiting for her reaction, burst into laughter. As the clear laughter echoed through the castle, people instinctively turned their heads toward the sound.
The tall Grand Duke was holding the small Grand Duchess’s face and kissing her intensely… well, better not look. People smiled warmly and turned their heads away.
“Your Highness, people are watching…!”
“I’m big and you’re small. Everything’s hidden.”
Making an absurd – no, somewhat reasonable – statement, Peon kissed Kaela’s cheek once more. She was too pretty not to.
“You must maintain dignity.”
“What dignity for a bastard and mongrel.”
Kaela looked around at his crude words and lowered her voice further.
“Your father is here. Don’t say such things.”
“Ah. Is that a threat?”
“No.”
“Then will you help hide the fact that I have a father?”
The conversation wasn’t going anywhere. Was it because he was a dragon? Kaela felt her mouth getting a bit sore. Come to think of it, she had been talking with him far more than necessary since the day he came to apologize.
“We’re partners in crime.”
Peon pressed his forehead against Kaela’s, who had stopped responding, and smiled with inexplicable joy. He had never been like this.
Even with Beatrice whom he had loved so much, he had never shown such affection, never been close to any woman, and rarely talked much with anyone.
So the current Peon wasn’t in his right mind. That much was certain. Because he wasn’t in his right mind, he didn’t kill her. And he slaughtered the native nobles of Lusenford. Everything was rolling along strangely.
“Ah, you two have come out?”
Sir Renard, who had a knack for timely interruptions, approached them. Through the door he had closed, a delicious food aroma wafted through. It wasn’t even mealtime yet.
“Did you come to see the renovated kitchen? Ah, Your Highness hasn’t seen it yet. It’s very clean and splendid.”
Sir Renard smiled and went back the way he came. Come to think of it, the walls around here were new bricks, and the stairs were spacious.
Opening the door to the completely renovated kitchen from the entrance, they were met with busy sounds. In the kitchen visible from there, chefs were working, and on this side was a spacious dining hall.
Clean and sturdy tables lined the dining hall. Though most were empty, some knights could be seen having late meals. They were finally getting their meals after processing everything that had happened in Lusenford.
“Chop all the onions! Yes, that needs to be sautéed for a long time. Sauté until your arms fall off.”
The head chef with enormous forearms was giving instructions to the cooks in a booming voice. Meanwhile, he was even teaching a suspiciously young and thin girl how to peel onions.
“Do it slowly as I taught you. When you’re done peeling, wash your hands again. Don’t rub your eyes. They’ll sting.”
The gruff-speaking head chef’s eyes widened when he saw Sir Renard waving and the ducal couple behind him.
“My, what brings you here?”
He hurried over and bowed. The knights who had noticed them had already jumped to their feet mid-meal. Peon waved his hand dismissively.
“Since our Grand Duchess has recovered enough to come down to the kitchen, we came to show her the renovations. Don’t mind us and continue with your work.”
“She’s recovered significantly? That’s wonderful news!”
Kaela watched curiously as the giant man’s face lit up remarkably. His voice was so loud that even the cooks standing behind him, who had been awkwardly bowing, brightened up at his words.
“This is such wonderful news. You don’t know how worried everyone here has been, Your Highness.”
“Thank you.”
Though this kind of reaction was new and she wasn’t sure how to respond, Kaela answered as the lady of the house.
“Thank you for paying attention to the kitchen renovations. Thanks to Your Highness’s careful attention to every detail, we now have a proper kitchen. You’d be hard-pressed to find such a spacious and clean kitchen anywhere else in the empire.”
The head chef took the opportunity to show them around. Large windows were even installed in what used to be a poor, smelly, and poorly ventilated cramped kitchen.
The butler had apparently said it was wasteful to put windows in the kitchen and dining hall used by castle staff when they saw the blueprints. Of course, Sir Renard had told this to Kaela.
“They say Your Highness mentioned how important it is to eat in natural light. That’s absolutely right. When the weather gets warm, why would anyone need to pack lunch to go outside?”
Did she say such things? Kaela had never said that. As she tilted her head in confusion, her eyes met Peon’s. Standing a step away to let her freely explore the new kitchen facilities, he seemed to know something.
“It’s so wonderful to have immediate access to clean water. Since Your Highness said not to limit food purchases, we’ve fully stocked the storage room.”
“These days, every single dish that comes out of the kitchen is delicious, Your Highness.”
Sir Renard added. When the head chef changed, the previously unpalatable food completely transformed.
After the kitchen renovation and dining hall expansion were complete, everyone could eat their fill of fragrant, delicious, and wonderfully aromatic food in a pleasant environment. That was incredibly important to everyone.
When knights who had finished training buried their faces in their bowls and ate desperately, the generous head chef would laugh heartily and heap more food onto their plates, saying there was plenty more to eat.
And that wasn’t all. Unlike before when only three meals were served, now there were snacks, and anyone who was hungry could stop by the kitchen for a bite. Right next to the serving counter, large baskets were piled high with bread.
The girl peeling onions would occasionally steal glances at that bread. That bread wouldn’t be hard, but soft. It was clearly white bread made with plenty of butter.
Only the naval base in Ostein and the emperor’s knights were fed white bread. Indeed, Lusenford’s finances had become strangely abundant.
Furthermore, if knights needed to patrol or briefly visit an outer fortress, the head chef would always prepare and hand over packed meals in baskets.
“Your Highness specifically ordered us to feed the knights well.”
The head chef, who didn’t skimp on ingredients and used various ingredients and spices that the people of Lusenford Castle had never experienced, never failed to mention the Grand Duchess with a smile whenever he handed out lunch boxes.
“I don’t know how to repay Your Highness’s kindness from receiving those baskets…”
“Repay it with your life.”
As Kaela grew increasingly red at Sir Renard’s stream of half-joking, half-sincere praise, Peon cut him off appropriately.
“Ah, of course. Actually, I’m not the only one grateful in this castle.”
It wasn’t just about having proper meals. Darinka, appointed as the Grand Duchess’s physician, spent her spare time when not caring for the Grand Duchess making medicine and treating the sick, examining anyone who came.
In this place where doctors and medicine were scarce, even the children of poor laundresses and horse keepers received examinations. As a result, many people became healthier. The castle’s generosity meant everyone had more breathing room.
Though it hadn’t been long since the war with the barbarian alliance, and there had been another friction with the evil dragon, unlike before, everyone treated each other with smiling faces and generosity. If someone made a mistake, they would understand and let it pass.
With this abundance, even the eyes that had rejected the Ostein-born maids as outsiders and viewed the Grand Duchess became much softer. Above all, as everything from food to clothing to daily necessities became more plentiful, many people were grateful, attributing it all to Her Highness.
That’s why everyone they met on the way here had bowed their heads in gratitude.
“I didn’t do this, it was all the Grand Duke’s work.”
How would Kaela know, having been bedridden after drinking poison herself? Though she was involved in the early stages of construction, she knew nothing of its completion.
“I merely did as our Grand Duchess instructed.”
Peon simply passed the credit back to her when it was returned to him. Did as instructed? That hadn’t happened. Kaela looked at the gleaming faucets and baskets full of fresh ingredients.
This was the kitchen she had dreamed of before her regression. This was the image of the kitchen she had wanted to include in the expansion plans, actively expressing her opinions. Peon must have remembered that plan from then.
“Ah, just a moment.”
The head chef excused himself and approached the child who had already peeled five onions and washed her hands. He then cut some white bread and made a sandwich with ham, onions, and apple. The child began eating the sandwich ravenously.
“I apologize. She’s an orphan who was caught trying to steal food.”
“I heard about that.”
Peon nodded, speaking as if he knew about it.
“She lives outside the castle, but I felt we couldn’t just leave her like that, so I’m trying to teach her cooking. She needs an adult to teach her that hard work brings rewards.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“It’s all thanks to both Your Highnesses’ care. With that old kitchen and old budget, oh my, we couldn’t have even dreamed of this.”
The head chef, appointed after several replacements following Kaela’s collapse from the ferenco, shook his head remembering the fights over budget with the deceased butler and the terrible state of the old kitchen.
Still, he asked Kaela in detail if there were any special foods she wanted, and how the meals being sent up separately these days were. As Kaela said everything was fine, Peon added a word.
“I’ll be placing an order to Ostein soon, and I’ll make sure to include the food ingredients Your Highness wishes to have.”
“Ah, yes. I’ll definitely do that, Your Highness.”
The chef bowed his head, unable to hide the joy spread across his face.
After reluctantly mentioning a couple of dishes that came to mind, Kaela watched the child receiving milk while ravenously eating her sandwich, then left the kitchen.
“The expansion has also begun. Though the main work will start a bit later.”
Why is that? Is there a shortage of workers because it’s spring?
“Because I don’t want the noise to disturb your rest.”
Kaela stared at Peon intently, then looked at her reflection in the newly installed window.
The woman in the window was unpleasantly thin and stared back at her blankly. She looked unsightly and desolate. She couldn’t understand how he managed to guess her thoughts.
“By any chance…”
Sir Renard didn’t follow. The Grand Duchess didn’t need a knight escort now.
Because the strongest being in Lusenford—no, honestly, in the entire Crania Empire—was protecting her. That being bent down with a smile to match the rhythm of the Grand Duchess as she looked up at him and whispered softly.
“Yes?”
Peon wasn’t someone who smiled often. In fact, he rarely smiled because there was seldom anything to smile about. He only smiled occasionally when seeing his mother.
But in front of Kaela, he found himself grinning like someone with a loose screw. How could he not smile when she did nothing but adorable things?
“Can dragons read people’s minds too?”
“If that were true, would my father have been so openly deceived by the Emperor?”
Ah, so that happened. Kaela was about to nod and say “ah” when she suddenly stopped and widened her eyes again. See, that’s what makes her adorable.
“Then how do you know all my thoughts?”
Ah. I just want to drag her to bed. Peon momentarily suppressed the simmering heat inside him. Kaela was too cute, making him feel such violent impulses.
“Because I pay a lot of attention to you.”
And when he says such things, she meets his gaze with cooled eyes. Is it disbelief? Or reproach asking why he’s doing this now? Or perhaps disgust?
At first, Peon tried to search for something. Even knowing it wasn’t there, he couldn’t accept it and tried to look for it. He had thought that if it wasn’t there, he would plant it.
But now, instead of searching or planting, he simply kissed her forehead.
Kaela neither furrowed her brow nor resisted in displeasure. She just stayed still, as if thinking ‘I suppose that’s how it is.’
“Kaela.”
Peon instinctively knew. This woman would only drive him mad. Not as the Grand Duke of Lusenford, not as a dragon, but as a being consumed by madness.
“Let’s look around more.”
Even that was welcome. He wanted to be influenced by, swayed by, and stained by Kaela in whatever way possible, to be eternally mixed with her. After all, endless emptiness was all that remained for him.
