Volume 6, Chapter 23 – The Night at De Madura (2)

“Excuse me. I have brought your pasta.”

The waiter entered our private room.

The moment he did, Char—who until a second ago had been grinning with a bright red face—suddenly straightened up. She now possessed the poised air of a true noble daughter.

“Today’s pasta is Spaghettini with autumn eggplant, tomato, and minced meat.” (*)

Oh, it looks like a normal pasta.

The pasta was topped with bite-sized pieces of eggplant and minced meat, both richly coated in tomato sauce.

I twirled some of the freshly made, piping hot pasta around my fork and brought it to my mouth.

Immediately, the juices from the meat burst forth, blending with the acidity and sweetness of the tomato sauce to fill my mouth.

The aroma of basil and powdered cheese drifted through my nose, making me even hungrier.

The savory richness and saltiness of the meat, tomato, and cheese lingered in the aftertaste, tempting me to take another bite.

I then took a piece of eggplant.

Although it was cooked through, it still had a firm texture; when I bit into it, the moisture of the eggplant surged out.

Mixed with the tomato sauce clinging to it, the eggplant’s natural sweetness and umami blended with the juices from the minced meat, making me want another bite.

In no time at all, I had finished the entire plate.

“My, what a healthy appetite. I thought you were a light eater?”

“I am. But the food here is so delicious that I feel like I might accidentally overeat.”

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“It is my favorite restaurant, after all. It is only natural.”

Her expression was the perfect embodiment of the onomatopoeia doya (smug).

“As expected of Char-san.”

“I-it is only natural.”

Char’s face turned red again, and she instantly went all bashful.

“By the way, Char-san, when did you and Hugues-sama first meet?”

I steered the conversation back to the engagement between Char and Hugues-sama.

“Oh, do you wish to know?”

She said that, but her face practically screamed that she couldn’t wait to tell me.

“Of course. I’m curious about my friend’s love life, you know.”

“I suppose it cannot be helped. I shall tell you as a special favor, Fiene.”

“Please do.”

“Well, it was when I was six years old. The members of the Ernesos family came to visit the Gatirue estate. Hugues-sama was among them, and I fell in love at first sight with his gallant appearance.”

Whoa, she’d liked Hugues-sama since she was that young? I mean, isn’t first love at six years old a bit early?

“When I first greeted him, he praised me, saying I was very kind. Every other boy only ever called me ‘cute.’ And as for the recent social parties, they start with ‘you are beautiful,’ then ‘you are like a rose,’ or ‘even gold pales in comparison’—I honestly wonder how they can spout such lines so effortlessly while sober.”

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Ah, I feel like I’ve heard similar things.

Though in my case, I usually forget them immediately.

I could definitely relate. Words without any real sincerity just don’t stick with you.

“Moreover, Hugues-sama has been a dependable person since those days. He escorts me so wonderfully, and once, when I was a child and almost slipped into a river, he threw himself in to protect me. However, in exchange, Hugues-sama fell into the river himself and caught a cold.”

I see. Having someone do something like that can really make your heart flutter. Especially if it’s someone you already like.

“However, Hugues-sama is the second son of the Marquis Ernesos family, is he not? And since I have an older brother, I am not the one to inherit the Gatirue family headship. Because of that, everyone assumed marrying me would be difficult.”

I see. Since Char is also a noble, she was likely expected to be married off to another noble as part of a political marriage.

“Then, Hugues-sama declared that he would leave home and become a knight. He said that if he rose to the rank of Knight Commander, then there’d be no problem with him marrying me.”

“Wow, that’s incredibly cool.”

“It was, wasn’t it? And then, well, you know, there was the matter with Ange. I spent a long time training because I wanted to become a Saint and cure Ange, and then Hugues-sama was chosen by the Holy Sword Fringhornir. I had hoped that perhaps…”

“He didn’t choose you immediately?”

“Exactly. Hugues-sama had told me from the start that it might be me. Even so, he thought that if the Holy Sword was leading him to the Saint, then perhaps it meant he was supposed to search for someone other than me, and so he reportedly traveled to various regions for a while.”

“In the end, he never found anyone who felt right, huh?”

“Precisely. And so, Hugues-sama told me that after all, I was indeed the Saint.”

“Wow, that’s lovely. Wait… but if Hugues-sama became a Holy Knight, can he still become the Knight Commander?”

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“He cannot. However, I shall become a Saint Peerage. If Hugues-sama enters my family as a son-in-law, there will be no problem at all.”

“Ah, come to think of it, that’s right.”

“And the thing that finalized it was that incident with the Mummy Disease.”

“Ah, you really saved us back then, Char-san. But you really managed to get those nobles in line, didn’t you? I heard there were quite a few complaints to the Temple demanding they hurry up and burn… ahem, *purify* them.”

“Oh, I didn’t do anything that significant. I simply told those old schemers—the ones saying the slum dwellers didn’t matter and should be killed or burned immediately—that the Saint exists to save the weak, the poor, and the compassionate followers of God who reach out to others.”

“Uh… so why did the nobles suddenly fall in line?”

Unable to understand the meaning behind her words, I tilted my head and asked.

“Ah, Fiene, you aren’t used to this kind of exchange, are you? When nobles hear that, they interpret it as: ‘If you do not cooperate with me, I will not use my powers as a Saint to help you, and neither will the Temple that houses the Saint.'”

“Eeeeh…”

She’d just casually threatened them?

Man, noble society is terrifying.

“Fiene, you’ll be a noble once you marry, you know. Aren’t engagement requests still flying in from various nobles?”

“There are plenty of people trying to set me up with someone, but I’m doing okay for now.”

“My. Then, do you not have someone you love, Fiene?”

“Hmm, no, I don’t.”

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“My goodness. Then no romance on your travels? With looks like yours, weren’t there many men hitting on you?”

“Hmm? Oh, there was someone… er, I guess a Vampire… who proposed to me the moment we met.”

“Hah? Fiene, you were proposed to by a Vampire?”

“Yeah. Oh, actually, not just a Vampire, but a Higher Species, a Vampire Noble…”

“A Vampire Noble?! Y-you purified him properly, right?”

“No? I declined the proposal, but he didn’t harm me, and he promised not to do anything I dislike.”

“…Sigh. You really are far too kind-hearted.”

As she said this, Char whispered softly, “Well… I suppose that’s why I can be your friend.”

I heard her… but decided to pretend I hadn’t.

Then, there was another knock at the door.

Author Note

(*): Among thin-type pastas, those with a thickness of approximately 1.6 mm are called spaghettini.

Spaghetti is originally meant for those around 1.9 mm, but I feel that in Japan, all thin-type pastas are collectively called spaghetti.