Published: September 4, 2025
※Correction of typos made on 2/11.
This is Satou. Back in my student days, there was a wonderful catchphrase in a commercial for a restaurant I frequented: "Food transcends ten thousand miles." It seems that not only does it transcend ten thousand miles, but it even crosses the world.
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How did it come to this?
“Noble lord, I’ve finished peeling the shrimp shells.”
“Oh, no, please sift this once more.”
“Are we really going to use leaves like these?”
“Yes, soak the perilla leaves in water.”
In the duke’s castle kitchen, Lulu and I found ourselves desperately making tempura alongside the duke family’s chefs.
That was just a few hours ago――.
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“Noble lord, a messenger from the duke has arrived.”
Shellna informed me with an expression as if she had just witnessed something heartwarming.
While being treated like a dress-up doll by Arisa and the others under the pretext of fitting ballroom attire in the sitting room, I was essentially their plaything.
“Did we have some kind of appointment?”
“No, today’s only scheduled event is the ball to be held at the castle in the evening.”
Pulling Arisa, who was poking at me during the fitting, away, I changed into the robe Lulu handed me. Liza showed me the mirror, and since my hair wasn’t disheveled, I headed straight to the room where the messenger waited.
Waiting there was not the assistant governor I had met in the duke’s castle recently, but rather a secretary-like man standing behind him. According to him, the duke wished to meet me secretly.
Secretly.
That could only mean one thing—it had to be about the incident with the prince yesterday.
Surely it wasn’t about Miss Sera. Even though Lady Ringlande had misunderstood and caused a fuss, she was a priestess of the Tenion Temple. Her name wasn’t Sera Ouyugok but simply “Sera,” implying she had entered the temple as a nun. Even if someone made advances toward her, marriage was impossible. Besides, I have no intention of making a move.
Just to be sure, I asked the messenger about the details, but he didn’t seem to know much.
For now, I set off for the castle with Arisa as my attendant.
“Arisa.”
“What? Doesn’t it suit me? Compliment me as much as you want~”
The maid outfit was nearly identical to the formal dress of the maids at Muno Castle. The blonde wig wasn’t just plain twin tails; it featured loose vertical curls. I guess the reason she had been pestering me to make a hair iron-like magical artifact the other day was so she could wear this.
“Ah, cute, cute. But since we’re going to the castle, take that off.”
I told Arisa to remove the Collar of Servitude she was deliberately wearing. She hadn’t been wearing it recently—what’s up with that?
“Doesn’t wearing it with the maid outfit raise the sense of taboo so much that you want to push me down?”
“No.”
She answered immediately, and with a disappointed “Geez,” removed the collar.
Really, I’m glad the messenger came in a different carriage.
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“I read in the letter from Leon that you excel not only at swordsmanship and magic but also at cooking.”
Who was Leon again?
Oh yes, he was the Baron of Muno. I wonder what he wrote in his letter.
The meeting with the duke was in the same room as last time. Today, not only were the hidden guards present, but Lady Ringlande was also in the room.
“Hmm, yesterday’s sword skills were impressive, but you can use magic as well. Next time, I want to teach you combined techniques of magic and swordsmanship—”
“Linn—”
“Oh, sorry, grandfather.”
According to Shellna, the duke is very indulgent toward his granddaughter, Lady Ringlande.
As an extra tidbit, the duke’s third son, who had the Wings of Freedom kidnap Sera, is currently confined under the guise of recuperation in one of the spires.
According to the map, all noble-born members of Wings of Freedom except for a few who fled outside the city are imprisoned in the castle’s dungeons. The rest are hiding at Count Bobino’s mansion.