Volume 1 Chapter 26 Just Like The Usual Proposal And Mr. Lucian's False Accusation
After a busy morning serving breakfast for 17 people, Mr. Leavis and Mr. Noctis competed to pay for the breakfasts of everyone from Saintwise and Leonsroar.
"Ms. Lydia, we'll come again. Our fairy. The savior of our lives. And, Sir Ciel's important friend. Saintwise stands with Ms. Lydia. Even a million soldiers would fight for Ms. Lydia."
Mr. Leavis said, bowing respectfully to me.
The people from Saintwise also said, "Seeing Ms. Lydia gives us strength," and "Ms. Lydia's charm makes us feel better than ever."
I think it's not because they saw my face, but because they ate the food.
There's no power in my face that can make someone feel better just by looking at it.
"Ms. Lydia. We from Leonsroar would face even ten million soldiers for you. After all, we are the Lydia Support Club!"
Mr. Noctis said, trying to compete with Mr. Leavis.
A loud cheer of "Ohh!" rose again from the people of Leonsroar.
I really don't want my cute restaurant to feel like a military camp before a battle.
"W-well, I'm not planning to rebel against the country... so you probably don't need to fight for me..."
"No, you never know, Lydia. Suddenly, everyone in the kingdom might become your enemy. It's important to always live with that sense of danger."
Mr. Lucian placed his hands on my shoulders and said something ominous.
"Why do you have to feel such a sense of crisis? I'm just a cook at a regular restaurant..."
"It's important to always think about the worst-case scenario, Lydia. If that happens, I will protect you. Even if the whole world becomes your enemy, I'm on your side."
"Y-You're too close! Why are you so close to my face...?!"
This is way too much.
I'm not a criminal thinking about overthrowing the country.
Mr. Lucian is looking at me seriously from such a close distance, and I trembled as I tried to escape from him.
I don't know if Mr. Lucian is aware of how good-looking he is, but normally, a girl would feel flustered in this situation. I don't, though.
"But if I'm going to protect you, I need to be with you all the time. Lydia, so please come to the knight's dormitory. Then, during expeditions, you can come with me..."
"I don't want to..."
"For that, Lydia, I need you to..."
"I-I can't be friends with Mr. Lucian...!"
"W-Why not, Lydia...? Ciel is a friend, so why can't I be one?"
"If I get close to Mr. Lucian, I might end up having a baby, so that's why...!"
The servants of the Rest priest family and the women in town often say that too.
It's not okay to do that when we haven't even promised to marry.
Besides, I don't even want to marry Mr. Lucian.
Just becoming friends and then having a child is not good.
"I thought the leader of Leonsroar was in heat, but it seems he's just a good-for-nothing."
"...Captain. That's really hard to defend."
"It's a misunderstanding! I didn't do anything...!"
Mr. Leavis and Mr. Noctis are giving Mr. Lucian a look that says a lot.
I quickly hid behind Mr. Leavis.
He keeps a steady distance from Mr. Lucian, which makes me feel safer.
After all, he's Sir Ciel's subordinate.
"Please go home soon, Mr. Lucian... You should get to work. Or are you off today?"
"No. Today... I'm guarding His Highness and Lady Francois. Honestly, it feels heavy."
"Guarding, huh..."
"Yeah. Lady Francois is going to visit the orphanage in the holy city. There might be more onlookers who want to see the power of relief. If there are more onlookers, the danger increases. It's an order from His Highness to guard her personally."
"I see... Please be careful and do your best."
"Yeah. I was feeling down, but seeing Lydia's face cheered me up. Thanks to the meal, I feel motivated. Thank you, Lydia."
"I won't be fooled, you know...! But, thank you..."
I looked away from Mr. Lucian's kind smile and said that.
I also added a small thank you.
I got money, after all.
And since he said the food was delicious, it's not good to be angry all the time.
"Lady Francois said she wanted to visit the orphanage in the south district, but they decided against it because the area isn't very safe. Today's inspection is only for the orphanage in the east district. I think it will be fine, but stay away from the east district."
"Y-yes... After this, I plan to go to the market to buy ingredients, make lunch, clean the shop, and then take a nice break, so I should be fine..."
"Ah, please do that. I feel like I could age ten years just today... Fighting monsters would be much better."
Mr. Lucian let out a deep sigh, looking unusually gloomy.
"Mr. Lucian, thank you for telling me. I'm already unrelated to the Rest priest family and His Highness... I don't want to meet them..."
"I think that's for the best. I also don't want to see Lydia get hurt."
Bowing slightly, I said this, and Mr. Lucian smiled a little, looking relieved.
Then he gently patted my head and left the shop with the knights.
"Uwaa...!"
Why did he have to pat my head?!
I was feeling a bit sorry for him until that point.
"Well then, Ms. Lydia. We will go check on Mr. Ciel. He said he would take a break to organize his new home, but... if we leave Mr. Ciel alone, he will only eat solid food and drink mostly water, so I'm a bit worried about leaving him by himself."
"Is that so... Well, I did give Sir Ciel the red demon king-like sausage. He said he would eat it..."
"Red demon king..."
"Y-yes. It's red and big, so it's a red demon king... It's about twice the size of Mr. Lucian's regular sausage."
"Very good."
Mr. Leavis, who always has a blank expression, looks really happy for some reason.
The people from Saintwise are nodding in satisfaction.
I don't really understand, but I'm glad.
As soon as Mr. Leavis and the others left the restaurant, it became quiet.
I finished cleaning up and checked the food supplies in the storage.
I hadn't gone shopping lately, so I felt a bit uneasy.
I had received gold coins from Sir Ciel the other day, and he paid extra today, so my wallet was warm, though.
I closed the shop and stepped outside. Bright sunlight was pouring down from the sky. A breeze with a hint of autumn made my skirt flutter.
"Since I've been eating a lot of meat lately, some fish would be nice for a change."
Fish. Crispy fried horse mackerel. Grilled salmon with salt. Rice.
Suddenly, I thought of Francois inspecting the orphanage with Sir Stefan.
Feeling a bit sad, I clutched the gem from Sir Ciel in my apron pocket.
"I wonder where Sir Ciel's new home is..."
I decided to stop thinking about Sir Stefan and Francois.
I wouldn't see them again. Shifting my mood, I headed to the market.
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