Chapter 74

"It's not that you can't…."

She was thrown, but it didn't actually bother her, so the sentence trailed off.

"Lyssel."

"Yes, Iberin."

The corners of both their mouths tipped up, just a touch.

---

The early items had all gone to Iberin, but after that Lyssel stayed out of it, and the rest got split fairly among the nobles.

The jewelry set Iberin had submitted came near the end.

Small gasps went up around the room — the response was good, and it made her feel quietly proud.

The bidding started at 100 million gold.

"170 million!"

It was a tight contest, and it stayed close right down to the wire.

"170 million on the floor — anyone else? Going once, twice — last call!"

"190 million!"

"190 million!!! We have 190 million, ladies and gentlemen!!"

The host shouted it out, caught up in the excitement himself.

"Anyone else? Just look at that green, the dazzling shine on that stone — that cut is one of a kind."

"200 million."

"200 million! 200 million on the floor!"

In the end, the jewelry set from Lecashe sold for the highest price of the night.

A few more items moved, and then the auction wrapped up.

Once it was done, the nobles drifted back to their assigned rooms, looking forward to the party the next day.

Lyssel and Iberin were, of course, in the same room.

"……Oh."

You could tell the marquis had put real care into it, but somehow the room had a way of making a person flush.

It was the most openly suggestive setup she'd ever walked into, and even Iberin — who normally loved teasing Lyssel — found herself at a loss for words.

"Y-you want to wash up… first?"

Iberin asked, smiling awkwardly as she swept the various objects laid out on the bed into a drawer.

Even talking about it felt embarrassing somehow.

Lyssel nodded without answering and slipped straight into the bathroom.

A moment later, the rush of water came through the door.

Listening to the sound, Iberin quietly cracked the drawer open.

She'd gotten curious.

"…Guess this place is no different."

She glanced through a few of the items, muttered to herself, and shut the drawer.

She wouldn't be using them anyway, so it wasn't worth dwelling on.

---

A little later, after Lyssel finished washing up, Iberin took her turn in the bath.

The servants had offered to attend to them, but both of them had turned that down.

How am I supposed to walk out of here?

Once she'd finished washing, she found herself wondering how to make the exit less awkward.

Walk out naturally and just lie down on the bed?

Close her eyes first?

She agonized over it for a while, then realized how ridiculous it was to agonize at all, and just yanked the door open and walked out.

"Mommy!"

"Lady Iberin!"

The kids had come over.

"…Oh. You're here."

Some of the wind went out of her sails, but she quickly broke into a warm smile for them.

"Want to sleep with Mommy tonight?!"

"Huh? Really, we can?!"

"Last time the bed was small, but this one's huge. There's room for all of us."

"Yayyy! That's the best!"

Rozelia bounced on her feet, delighted. She promptly claimed a corner of the bed and lay down. Ether did the same.

And then they patted the space they'd left between them.

Iberin caught the signal and squeezed herself in.

The room turned chaotic in an instant.

Kal looked at the kids like he was over it, but he still claimed the spot next to Ether in record time.

"All right, quiet down, time to sleep. Lyssel, kill the lights and lie down."

Lyssel obediently turned off the lights and lay down too, and the room finally went quiet.

"Want me to tell you a scary story?"

But of course, it was Iberin who opened her mouth again.

So much for going to sleep.

"A scary story?"

"That's what people do at sleepovers."

"Ether doesn't know any of those…."

"Mommy'll tell one!"

"Rozelia isn't scared of stuff like that at all. Could we not?"

"You really are scared. For Rozelia's sake, I won't, then."

"I'm not scared! You can tell it!"

"…Fine, then I will."

Iberin launched into a long, scary tale.

"This happened at the academy."

"What's an academy?"

"It's the school you'll go to when you're a little older."

"Ohhh…."

"Well — there's a sad legend at this academy…. There was a kid who studied as hard as he could, but he was always stuck at number two. He wanted to be number one so badly that he did something he never should've done to the boy who was."

"Eeeek!"

"He slipped laxatives into the number one student's meal…. Right in the middle of exam week…!"

"That's so mean!"

Outraged protests erupted, and right then —

Iberin dropped her voice into something low and ominous.

The kids instinctively held their breath.

"And so the second-place boy took first place. But… one late night, the boy who was now the top of the class stayed behind alone, studying in the classroom…. Suddenly, way off in the distance, he heard the sound of a classroom door sliding open…. Then a voice, oh, not here? And the door shut again."

You could hear Rozelia swallow hard.

"The sound got closer. The second-place boy started getting scared. So he hid under his desk. Then it was his classroom's turn. Rrrr. The door slid open, and he squeezed his eyes shut, terrified.

He didn't hear anything, so he opened his eyes —"

"AHHHH!"

The story wasn't even finished and Rozelia shrieked, throwing herself into Iberin's arms.

"AAH!"

Ether, startled by Rozelia's scream, did the same.

Kal flinched too, and even Lyssel, trying not to show it, looked a little shaken — like he hadn't expected stories like this existed.

That was when —

Iberin turned to the Ether and Rozelia clinging to her and said,

"Do I still look like Iberin to you…?"

Rozelia looked genuinely shaken, her eyes filling with tears.

"…Eeek…?"

Ether shot upright and yanked himself away from her.

Apparently this kind of prank didn't exist in this world, because Rozelia burst into sobs.

"Sniff…."

"…Rozel, you're crying?"

"Waaah…"

Iberin was thrown — she didn't know what to do.

She wondered if she'd taken the joke too far with a kid this young.

She'd toned it down on purpose. She hadn't expected this kind of reaction.

"I'm sorry, I was joking."

Iberin patted Rozelia, her face crumpling with regret.

How much sweat she broke trying to calm the girl down, nobody outside that room would ever know.

---

The next day,

Rozelia and Ether, who'd cried themselves to sleep, woke up with puffy eyes.

But they were still curious how the story had ended — the moment they opened their eyes they asked.

"So what happened to the second-place boy…?"

"It was the security guard who'd opened the door! On the next exam he tried to slip in laxatives again, but he failed and ended up drinking them himself — and dropped to last in his class."

"Whoa…. Really…?"

"Really. After spending the whole day stuck on the toilet, the second-place boy finally regretted what he'd done."

"That's so good!"

"Right? So after that, he never did anything like that again."

"He knew it was wrong — did he apologize too?!!"

"Of course he did. He was truly sorry."

Only then did Ether and Rozelia break into bright smiles.

"I was sho scared of the academy I almost didn't want to go."

Ether mumbled and burrowed into Iberin's arms.

After an early start, the Lecashe party paid Marquis Bilson and headed out to sightsee for the morning.

The party wasn't until after lunch, so they had time.

Stepping outside, the square shone before them.

"Wow, it's so sparkly!"

"It's so bright…."

After always being in gloomy Lecashe, the light here was almost dazzling.

True to a wealthy family's territory, even the residents walking the streets had a certain shine about them.

Everyone looked comfortable and happy, and Iberin found herself wishing the people of Lecashe could wear that same expression every day.

But the sightseeing was short.

After the party they had to head back to Lecashe.

The Lecashe party stopped at one of Marquis Bilson territory's well-known restaurants.

Inland though they were, the place served fresh seafood brought in daily.

It was famous enough that there was a line of nobles waiting outside.

Lady Bilson had put in a word ahead of time, so they were able to walk straight in.

"This way, please!"

When the manager came out to welcome them, the nobles who recognized Lecashe started whispering.

There was no avoiding the stares wherever they went.

Iberin had reached the point where she could actually enjoy them now. She wasn't the type to wilt under attention to begin with.

Even Kal, who she'd worried about most, was holding his head up surprisingly well.

It had to be thanks to what she'd told him before they left.

When eyes met his, he even shot back a smile.

The manager led them up to the second floor — a VIP space, with private rooms instead of the open tables on the floor below.

"On Marquis Bilson's personal instructions, we've reserved our best room for you in advance. We'll do everything to make sure your meal is comfortable."

That said, the manager began running them through the day's menu.

The day's menu was a special offering not on the regular menu — most visitors to this restaurant ordered the day's menu, he explained.

After conferring, Lecashe decided to order the day's menu too.

"Then please give us just a moment. We've already started preparing, so it'll be out shortly."

The day's menu was grilled lobster and stir-fried seafood.

A stew made from eggs and tomatoes — both newly in circulation — simmered in a special sauce had become the restaurant's signature dish, and they would have that too, he added.

Iberin loved meat, but she loved seafood too, and the anticipation built.

Just then, there was a knock at the door, and a server rolled in a tray.

"Some light dishes to start."

What he brought was bread with cheese and a salad.

The tomato-egg soup the manager had described was there too.

"Wow, it's good!"

Rozelia exclaimed after one taste.

It seemed to suit everyone, because the dishes emptied fast.

This recipe was something the head chef had never made.

Iberin made a mental note to ask for it when they got back, and tucked in herself.

The dishes that followed were just as good.

It was her first time having seafood since coming to this world, which made it even better.

She picked the meat out and cut it into bites the kids could handle.

After his first bite Ether went round-eyed and said,

"I'm gonna want to come back just to eat this. It's a taste I never had before…."

"This is so good."

Rozelia, mouth packed with food, was busy chewing.

Both their cheeks were puffed out — adorable.

"Let's come back. Or — next time we could take a trip to the seaside instead."

"Yes! Yes!"

Ether bounced in his seat with a lobster claw in his hand.

"When are we going?"

"Sometime soon?"

"Yayyy."

"We've been traveling plenty this time, so we'll go after we rest a bit. Lyssel, does that work?"

"Of course."

The second the words left Lyssel's mouth, Ether shouted in delight.

Rozelia broke into a wide grin too.