Volume 6 Chapter 13 Everyone's Friendly Seafood Tomato Stew
Oh right, it's almost lunchtime.
I took Sir Roxas to the Girard family's kitchen.
Sir Marx said, "Is Roxas going to help cook? I want to see too," and followed us. Lady Irfimia, who seemed to be peeking at us from outside the room, also said, "I want to join too!" so we all went together.
When the Girard family showed up in the kitchen, it surprised the cooks.
I felt a bit bad about it, but I took over the kitchen from the cooks. They lent me an apron so my fancy dress wouldn't get dirty.
I probably should have changed clothes, but I didn't bring any extra. My outfit got a tea stain, and they said they were washing it for me, so I had no choice.
"You can use all the ingredients here. I'll help with something too."
"Uh... okay..."
Sir Roxas said that, and I nodded.
The Girard family's kitchen was as nice as the palace kitchen.
The pantry was full of ingredients, and since Sir Marx likes seafood, there were fresh seafood options too.
The cooks were peeking in from outside the kitchen door, looking worried, while Sir Marx and Lady Irfimia watched us from the other side of the counter.
With so many eyes on us, I felt a bit nervous.
I put my hand on my chest to calm myself down.
I wish I had brought Eir-Eir with me. Just having Eir-Eir bouncing around the counter and sneaking bites, while Ms. Famine and Dad searched for a warm spot and curled up together, would make me feel better.
"Lydia, are you okay?"
"Y-yes, I'm fine. I just feel a bit nervous with everyone staring... It's normal to be watched while cooking, but... oh."
I suddenly remembered that I was Sir Roxas's fiancée.
"Thinking about my father and mother watching makes me nervous."
"Father..."
"Mother...!"
Sir Marx and Lady Irfimia looked at each other.
"...I never thought the day would come when Feldur's daughter would call me Father..."
"Ms. Lydia... you call me Mother. Thank you."
Seeing them so happy made me feel guilty. Sir Roxas had told me they were terrible people, so it felt wrong to be treated nicely like this.
If I didn't get in the way──if the real fiancée showed up, maybe Sir Roxas and hus parents would get along better, and there wouldn't be any problems at all.
But──
Sir Roxas next to me watched his parents with cold eyes and clicked his tongue softly.
"Sir Roxas..."
"Honestly, it's ridiculous. They're acting all nice just because Lydia is a saint. They only see people by their status. What foolish parents."
"Is that so...?"
While I rummaged through the pantry, Sir Roxas whispered softly.
I knew he had his reasons, but I thought maybe there aren't really any people who are just cold.
Even the people I used to dislike or fear had their own stories.
Sir Roxas's parents probably aren't just cold and mean either.
They came to the kitchen with us, so maybe they're trying to get closer to Sir Roxas and me.
I don't know, but I hope that's true.
Anyway, I'm going to cook.
If we all eat delicious food together, we might become friends. Plus, I want them to see that Sir Roxas's power isn't just for taking lives.
"Octopus, squid, white fish, clams, shrimp, and mussels."
"Seafood, huh?"
"Yes! I'll use all the seafood we have here."
Let's start by preparing our seafood. I take out some fresh ingredients from the pantry.
I soak Asari (a type of clam or shellfish) in a bowl of salt and water to get rid of any dirt. The octopus has thick legs, so I need to remove the yucky slime that's covering them.
I wash the mussels to make sure they're clean. And, I'll also clean the squid by removing any slimy bits.
"Squid and I are making eye contact... Sorry, squid."
I grab the squid's legs tightly and pull out the insides.
After washing the slimy insides off the squid, I squeeze the squid's legs in the water.
The small hard bits on the suckers come off when I rub them.
The water is cold this time of year, but the water from the magic stone isn't too cold, so it feels nice on my hands.
"What are you doing, Lydia? Are you washing it?"
Sir Roxas said, looking curiously at my hands squeezing the squid.
"I'm scrubbing the squid and removing the hard bits from the suckers. There are small, round, hard things inside the suckers. If I don't take them out before cooking, the texture will be bad..."
"Hard things inside the suckers..."
"Yes. They're really small."
"Preparing is important, huh? Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Sir Roxas... um..."
What should I do? I appreciate the offer, but he might accidentally spill the pot, cut himself with the knife, or break a wine bottle.
But asking Sir Roxas to just sit still feels wrong in front of his parents.
"...Sir Roxas, please stay by my side! If you watch me, I'll feel more at ease!"
"O-Okay..."
When I asked with all my heart, Sir Roxas quickly looked away from me.
I hope it didn't seem like I was being rude to him.
Feeling a bit anxious, I moved the cleaned squid to a strainer to drain the water.
Then, I boiled water in a big pot and added a lot of white wine.
I put in the fish scraps I had prepared, along with celery, onion peels, and herbs to simmer.
"Sir Roxas, can you give me some time to make fish soup?"
"Sure, no problem."
When I asked Sir Roxas, he held his hand over the pot.
"Soul Stealing (Dakkon)."
"Daikon..."
"It's Soul Stealing (Dakkon). Do you really want to say daikon radish, Lydia?"
"When I hear 'dakkon,' I just want to say daikon radish... it's a habit."
I imagined Sir Roxas surrounded by dancing daikon radishes holding hands.
Sir Roxas and the daikon radishes are good friends.
And octopus and daikon radish stew is delicious. I'll make it next time.
Thanks to Sir Roxas's magic, the soup made from fish scraps was ready quickly.
When I strained it, a clear soup full of fish flavor sparkled.
The fish fat mixed into the soup, and the smell was gone thanks to the aromatic veggies and wine.
I tossed in the octopus, squid, shrimp, clams, mussels, fish pieces, and chopped tomatoes into the soup.
There are a lot of ingredients, but it's easy since I just have to simmer them.
The seafood is fresh, and if I cook it too long, the octopus and shellfish will get tough──so I just need a little more time from Sir Roxas.
"It's done! It's a Tomato stew with all the friendly seafood!"
To finish, I added crispy buttered baguette, and it was ready.
Yum. It looks really delicious.
Lady Irfimia, who quietly watched me cooking with Sir Roxas, seemed to have tears in her eyes for some reason.
And Sir Marx looked very, very angry with deep wrinkles on his forehead.
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