Delicious Food and Troubles

「Mother, Rozemyne’s cooking was much tastier than I had imagined from Cornelius’ story.」

I said, lightly clutching my satisfied stomach, as I returned home from the temple. Mother lightly pressed her finger against her forehead.

「Lamprecht, you ate too much. You lacked a bit of decency. That might have affected the amount Rozemyne could pass to her servants.」

If there is a guest, the priority is to satisfy them. If they eat more food than expected, it would sacrifice what could be given to the servants. I was aware of that fact, but it was too good for me to resist.

「……I am terribly sorry. It was so delicious, and I don’t get many chances to eat it, so I couldn’t help myself.」

Today I had visited the temple under the guise of guarding Mother and a consultation regarding Wilfried-sama. However, the real reason for the visit was the cuisine.

Cornelius was bragging about his visit to an Italian restaurant supervised by Rozemyne. When he says that “Aub was so impressed that he made another temple” or “Father spent a lot of money to buy the recipe” or “Ferdinand-sama loves it,” it is only natural that I would be interested. In the first place, it is said that minors are not allowed to leave the noble town, but my younger brother went to the restaurant as a replacement for Eckhart as a family member.

……Both Father and Mother are being too soft on the youngest! No, I suppose Rozemyne was the youngest now.

Mother became the parent of Rozemyne, who was brought from the temple just before the baptism, and who is now the youngest of our siblings. In order to become the adopted daughter of archduke, as well as bring mana and new industry to the duchy, she undertook the baptism under Mother instead of the third wife, who is already deceased.

「Rozemyne, by the way, comes up with all kinds of interesting ideas. I’ve never heard of a ticket.」

「Yes, really. She said that it is not enough to collect donations as usual.」

Mother seems to be looking forward to the harspiel concert. Cornelius had told me that she had gotten a lot better since she took in Rozemyne, and she really looks a lot different than before.

「I will ask Father to mobilize the knights, as Rozemyne said.」

「Very well, but you must take charge of the security.」

「Why!? I am Wilfried-sama’s guard knight!」

This makes no sense. If Florencia-sama and Rozemyne’s tea party needs security, it is the two guard knights of those two who should be in charge. Not the guard knight of Wilfried-sama, who does not participate.

「The concert of Ferdinand-sama is a secret to Sylvester-sama. We barely managed to get Ferdinand-sama’s support, so I don’t want anyone to ruin it. He will find out immediately if we ask Karstedt-sama and Florencia-sama’s guard knights.」

Mother is determined to make the concert a success. She is willing to remove the archduke for that purpose, probably due to the influence of the picture that Rozemyne had shown her.

「Even if we cannot use Florencia-sama’s guard knights, we have Rozemyne’s guard knights. There is little likelihood that they will have anything to do with Sylvester-sama.」

Since their master Rozemyne is rarely in the castle, adult guard knights often go to the temple. The underage apprentice guard knights, who cannot go to the temple on duty, are basically in training and are unlikely to see the archduke.

「What are you saying? Damuel and Brigitte have priority at the Temple; Cornelius and Angelica are minors at the castle, so they are not fit to be in charge of security. You are the one who took Rozemyne’s offer in exchange for food at the Temple, abusing your position as her older brother, aren’t you? You should take responsibility as brother too.」

I wanted to hold my head in my hands when I was told to act in my capacity as Rozemyne’s brother, not as Wilfried-sama’s guard knight.

「It has not been long since Veronica-sama’s fall and there is still a lot of factional strife in the castle; if I stand as Rozemyne’s brother, it might be bad for me as Wilfried-sama’s guard knight.」

「Of course, the concert is part of factional warfare as well. That’s all there is to it.」

As for Mother, she wondered how Wilfried-sama’s supporters would like to move on this occasion, so she intends to make the most of the situation. All I wanted was a good meal at the temple, but unexpected trouble had descended on me. I desperately look for a way out.

「……If we need someone, I could ask Brother to do it for me…………」

「If you ask and Eckhart accepts, that’s fine too.」

Mother simply smiled happily.


「A harspiel concert by Ferdinand-sama!?」

「Yes, Mother told me that Rozemyne asked Ferdinand-sama to organize a concert to promote the new industry of printing and to raise money for it.」

At the mention of the concert, Eckhart gasped in surprise, his blue eyes shining with joy.

「Hoh, I didn’t expect her to be able to drag Ferdinand-sama, who is in the temple, to the tea party in the castle. Rozemyne has great potential.」

「…………To be more precise, it seems that Rihyarda’s encouragement is what got him to move.」

I hasten to correct myself: Brother always wondered if he could somehow bring Ferdinand-sama back into noble society after Veronica-sama had put him in the temple. But what can Rozemyne do when the archduke Sylvester-sama won’t budge, even if he is pinning his hopes on her?

「Rozemyne has asked to dispatch knights and provide security for the female audience members who might fall ill from excitement at the concert.」

「Hmmm… a wise decision. They may faint after hearing the harspiel of Ferdinand-sama. I understand completely.」

……………Eh? You understand?

Until I saw the way Mother looked at Ferdinand-sama’s portrait, I had thought the noble woman trained to suppress their emotions wouldn’t be affected by a mere musical performance, but Brother seemed to understand. At least this way I am sure that he would be able to take over the responsibility of security for Ferdinand-sama, so I patted my chest softly.

「I am Wilfried-sama’s guard knight, so I would like Brother to be in charge of security for Ferdinand-sama’s concert.」

「Not possible, I will guard Ferdinand-sama, never leaving his side, so I will be incapable of supervising the security of the entire event.」

Before I could even complete my request, I got turned down. But Brother was right: Ferdinand-sama was extraordinarily vigilant in the castle, so there are few people that can stay close to him.

「……That said, I will be on the lookout as well, I will take charge of the selection and deployment of people, and I will talk to the Knights. You’ll only have to take charge the day of the event.」

「But I am the guard knight of Wilfried-sama……」

「The master who you should be guarding is not there, so you are simply a family member who would not betray me or Mother. You are clearly the right man for the job. And it was you who took the job at Rozemyne’s request, wasn’t it?」

Brother and Mother are very much alike, not only in their words but also in their smiles. The position I had mentioned in order to avoid any trouble was, on the contrary, described as suitable for the job. I realized there was no escape.

Apparently taking my lowered head as an acceptance, Brother begins to talk about security in a good mood.

「I’d like to keep in touch, but you have a job to do, so how about having an assistant, Cornelius, to share information with him? He is too young to be in charge, but this will be a good lesson for him. You and Cornelius supervise the day of the event.」

Eckhart will be in charge of the basic security planning and arrangements, and I will be in charge on the day of the event, and he will also train Cornelius to be in charge in the future. I don’t want to be dragged to every tea party or concert, so I hope Cornelius can learn quickly.

「Then talk to the rest of the entourage and make sure you have time off the day before and the day of the concert.」

「Yes!」

I followed the order from Brother, who is in charge of training the new recruits of the Order, as a conditioned reflex. I could not escape from the person in charge of the concert.


「Oswald, I would like to take the next two days off.」

I do as Brother tells me and consult with Oswald, the head retainer of Wilfried-sama, to ask him to give me a day off. Oswald, who was originally a close associate of Veronica-sama, does not think well of Ferdinand-sama. I had been asked to keep the concert as secret as possible. Not knowing how much to explain, I told him it was not a concert but a tea party between Rozemyne and Mother.

「Why are you in charge of security for a tea party hosted by Rozemyne-sama and Elvira-sama? Did Rozemyne-sama not have enough guard knights?」

「Well, something like that. Rozemyne’s guard knights are few because they visit the temple, and the ones in the castle are all minors, so they are a little too weak to work with the knights. I have decided to help them out as her brother.」

Oswald raised his eyebrows a little. But I can’t explain it any better than that.

「We can’t have this happening in the future, so please ask Rozemyne-sama to increase the number of guard knights as soon as possible. And then there is the tension between the factions, so it is good to get information, but don’t get too deep into it. You are Wilfried-sama’s guard knight, after all.」

With a look of uncertainty on his face, Oswald gave me permission for a leave of absence. If I had not been granted leave, Brother and Oswald would have started an argument, and Sylvester-sama might have found out about it. I was relieved.


As long as my request for time off was approved, I had little to do with the preparations for the concert itself. I only visited the temple on my off time to see if things were going smoothly, and that was about it. As Oswald said, I was careful not to get too involved. I behaved simply as Wilfried-sama’s guard knight.

The day of the concert arrived.

It was a great success. The pictures of Ferdinand-sama made by the new printing technology sold like hotcakes, and Mother was in a good mood as she bought all kinds of them. Rozemyne was delighted to see them sold out.

Many women collapsed in excitement, but Rozemyne had expected this and was able to handle it with her knights at the ready. Unexpectedly, Sylvester-sama, who had gotten the information from somewhere, broke in, but Rozemyne’s tact succeeded in making it look like a staged event. The concert ended without any major problems. I was relieved to know that seeing how I was pushed into the troublesome role of handling security.


「Lamprecht, can I have a word?」

「Yes, Father?」

The next day after the concert, I was summoned to the Knight Commander’s office. The other knights were dismissed and we were left alone, with Father letting out a heavy sigh.

「……Think before you act. Rozemyne managed to save the day, but you were told to keep the concert a secret from Sylvester-sama, no?」

「……What did I do?」

Nothing I did should have reached Sylvester-sama. I didn’t talk with him, or even meet him before the concert. What was Father saying?

「You told Oswald about the concert, didn’t you?」

「What? I have no knowledge of that.」

「When you applied for a leave of absence.」

According to Father, Oswald suspected I was hiding something when I asked for leave. In fact, after checking to see if the Knights would be mobilized that day, Oswald asked Sylvester-sama, “Why would Rozemyne-sama’s tea party require the security of the Knights?” The inquiry revealed that it was no ordinary tea party, leading to the intrusion of Sylvester-sama.

「……Is it my fault?」

「You needed to ask for leave, yes, but you should have been more careful in the way you explained and the secrecy of the situation. In the first place, you should not have been lured by Rozemyne’s food to take on a job you weren’t fit to do. From now on, be careful about your position and skill level.」

I was simply stunned as Father patted me on the shoulder, his ice-blue eyes filled with indescribable pity.

「I have already bought Rozemyne’s recipe, and our head chef is now training in the castle. From now on, don’t make promises you can’t keep, no matter how good the food or pastries are.」

The strangely realistic voice reminded me that Father had been scolded for spending a large sum of money without Mother’s permission and sending the head chef away from our mansion. Father made the exact same mistake as me, being lured by Rozemyne’s food.

「……We both have to be more careful.」

「Mmm.」

I nodded to Father, who coughed, and I left the Knight Commander’s office.

The lesson learned, food may not be as delicious as it seems.

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