CH 325

T/N: I call this chapter, “Margarete Finally Gets A Win.” It may have literally taken an army of conspirators and a meticulous secret operation costing a considerable sum of money and time, but it worked.

The morning snack seems to have been well received. At first, I thought it would be hard to get used to that sour taste, but everyone seemed to be fine even without adding anything. It was much more sour than the yogurt I was eating on Earth…

Well, there are some people who don’t mind sour foods, and I think Europe tends to prefer sour foods in the first place. I have an image that they love lemons, and the apples are sour, unlike Japanese sweet apples. Moreover, they think that such a sour apple is the best food in the world, so much so that it is said to be the fruit of wisdom…

In this area, which is similar to Europe on Earth, it may be better to think of it as Europe on Earth. If you think that, sour yogurt is fine… maybe?

Anyway, the morning snack is over, and I play with Eleonore again. Even if I say play, it feels like I’m just watching Eleonore play…

It’s quite difficult to take care of Eleonore, who is quite naughty even though she’s a princess. Now I know why the gentle Margarete always has a fire lit under her ass.

If it’s me, I can keep an eye on her, and even if she tries to escape, I can catch up, but Margarete, a duke’s daughter, probably won’t be able to. In fact, I only have the image of her chasing after Eleanore after she runs away.

That’s how I killed the time in the morning, and for some reason, I ended up eating lunch with the royal family. Goodness, I can’t relax. It seems that there is no one from the Second Queen, and besides Wilhelm, there’s Elisabeth, Eleonore, and for some reason, Dietrich as well.

Of course, Dietrich may be a relative of the royal family, but I don’t understand why the prime minister is eating with the king. No, it’s fine, isn’t it? It’s not something I’m going to say…

It’s just that I couldn’t understand why I was sitting here, and why Dietrich was also sitting here.

“What the…?” Dietrich muttered. “Isn’t the lunch supposed to be prepared by Princess Flora…?”

Hey, Dietrich… what do you think I am? I made a lot of sweets because I wanted to eat them, but I’m neither a chef nor a restaurant owner, you know?

……I make and reproduce various foods, but that’s that, this is this. I’m not a chef exclusively for the royal family, and I have no reason to prepare food for them.

I managed to survive the extremely stressful lunch of eating in front of royalty. I probably wouldn’t have made such a terrible mistake. There may have been some manners failures and mistakes, but I think I got a perfect score. I should have been able to do it as I learned from Olivia.

“So… Flora. Are you prepared?” Wilhelm asked after the meal was finished.

“………… Yes,” I said.

I can only nod. It goes without saying. That’s right… Wilhelm asked me if I was preparing the dessert after the meal. And if I was ready, I’d rather have it ready to go. I don’t know what they would have said if nothing had happened.

Today’s dessert is quite large, so I told the court chefs to keep lunch to a minimum. And the dessert is prepared by Caanza Trading Firm.

When I sent the signal, the Caanza servers entered and arranged the desserts in front of the kings.

“This is……”

“Interesting, isn’t it?”

“Puddin’!” Eleonore cried.

It seems that Eleonore can only see pudding… but of course, it’s not just any pudding. What I have prepared will be what is called pudding a la mode. No, I don’t know the exact definition, but do you?

Besides pudding, it’s a dessert with cream, fruit, and ice cream. I think that kind of thing is called pudding a la mode.

“This is pudding a la mode,” I said.

That’s why I already decide that this is pudding a la mode. There is no point in saying that the definition on Earth is like this, instead. That’s because, in this world, I decided this was pudding a la mode. No matter what anyone says, it’s because I decided it originally, so it is so!

“Pudding a la mode…”

“I know the pudding, the cream, and the fruits… but what is this round thing?” Dietrich asked.

He seemed to ask on behalf of everyone worried. Wilhelm would be embarrassed to ask directly, so it would be the role of someone like that to take the initiative at times like this.

“It’s called ice cream,” I said. “Let’s say it’s milk that’s been chilled, solidified, and mixed with crushed ice…”

Well, it’s not just milk that’s been cooled and solidified, but it’s also mixed with sugar, eggs, and cream… but it would be nice to know how to make it specifically. And crushed ice is mixed in to make the texture a little crunchier.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t have vanilla, so it’s bland compared to ice cream on Earth, just like pudding. It’s not vanilla ice cream because it doesn’t contain vanilla. I’m not sure what to call milk ice cream without vanilla… but I can’t deny that it’s imperfect compared to what’s on Earth.

Even so, in this world, like pudding, it is a dessert that has never existed before. In the first place, if you don’t generate ice with magic, you can’t even get the stuff. It’s cold season now, so I might be able to get some ice somewhere, but…

Or rather, why would you want ice cream in the cold season…? But I just thought of making pudding a la mode because it would be boring and lacking in artistic flair if it was just pudding.

In the end, I want vanilla… there are restrictions on what you can make. Vanilla was a staple in various places in modern Japan…

“A~hn… It’s cold!” Eleonore squeals as she eats the ice cream.

“Hawaa…” I swoon.

… So cute……. I will definitely take you home!

“What…”

“This is…

Everyone is saying something while eating pudding a la mode, but I can’t hear them. All my focus was poured into Eleonore.

After finishing lunch and taking a break, it was time for Eleonore to take a nap. When I look at Eleonore peacefully sleeping like this… how should I put it… I feel something welling up… I feel like my mother…

“Haa… I can watch you forever…” I said.

I feel like I can kill a lot of time just by looking at Eleonore’s sleeping face. But I can’t just stare here forever. That’s why I leave Eleonore’s room and clean up some paperwork. I’m glad I brought some because I thought I’d be able to do it at nap time.

I put away the papers appropriately, played with Eleonore again after her nap, finished the afternoon snack with cookies and tea, and finally finished my shift in the evening… I was asked to join them for dinner, but I refused. Why do I have to eat with such stiff shoulders twice?

However, if everything goes according to plan, it will take a little longer for Margarete and Ludwig to return. It’s easy to refuse if you’re going home and you’re going to eat at home, but it’s hard to say no if you’re still around. Even so, if you manage to refuse appropriately and pass the time…

“Ah……”

“–! Fl-Flora… I was… kuh!” Ludwig said, red-faced as he returned.

And as soon as he looked at my face, he averted his gaze and ran off. I know this, too. Something definitely happened with Margarete. And for the time being, he got embarrassed when he met me, who was a candidate for marriage, and ran away. It’s really easy to understand.

So Margarete did well. The fact that Ludwig is back meant Margarete is, too…

“Poh.”

“Uwah!”

When I turned around after seeing Ludwig run away, Margarete was standing right next to me. I launch into the air in surprise. No, I’m not joking, I really flew up to the ceiling. I was so shocked…

Margarete is poking around with a bright red face. This seems to have worked. Fufufufu.

“Margarete, did it go well?” I asked.

“Uu, I can’t believe it went so well …. KYAAAA!”

“Ow…” I said.

When I thought she finally reacted, she slapped my shoulders and ran away screaming. Yes, yes. It’s youth. But should we stop hitting people? It hurt a lot…

With Margarete and Ludwig’s return, I was relieved of my duties and decided to say goodbye to Eleonore and leave the royal castle and come back to the Carruthers Residence where the wives were waiting.

“And at that time, Prince Ludwig…… wait, Flora! Are you listening?”

“Yes, I heard. Did you touch each other at that time?”

“That’s right! And the two of us…”

I am now called to the royal castle and come to Margarete’s room. Or rather, I’ve been summoned to the royal castle many times lately and the same story is repeated. When I say I can’t go, Margarete comes to visit the Carruthers Residence and tells the same story. I wonder how many times I’ve heard this story…

I’m not really interested in how Margarete and Ludwig’s date went. If the two are doing well, that’s all there is to it, and I’m not asking for a detailed report. Moreover, it can’t be interesting to hear the same story over and over again.

Apparently, the plan worked, and on Margarete and Ludwig’s date, they even kissed.

At first, Ludwig seemed to think it was nothing more than going along with Margarete’s shopping. This is as expected, so there is no problem. Originally, the two of them seemed to go shopping from time to time, and up until that point Ludwig didn’t think much of Margarete as a woman he could be romantically involved with.

While going on a date together, they got involved in various “accidents” that we set up, holding hands, huddling shoulders, eating, and buying outside, and their relationship changed from usual. It seems to have been built properly.

And finally, Ludwig was conscious of Margarete as a woman and even found out that she was interested in him, and he responded to her feelings. Congratulations, we’re so happy for you.

“So then… wait, Flora! Are you listening?”

“I’m listening. That’s where your shoulders touched, right?”

“That’s right! Kyaa!”

Perhaps because she remembered it, Margarete was holding her face and screaming. How many times has this story been told? Did you memorize it long ago?

Ludwig notices Margarete’s gentleness and concern, and after the two of them have finished their dinner, he kisses Margarete while gazing at the beautiful night view!

So, since then, Margarete has been soaring, and Ludwig has often run away without making eye contact as if he had wronged me. It’s very good. However, it would be bad to leave Ludwig with a sense of guilt. Besides, it would be a shame to say that kissing Margarete was unacceptable.

If you were to say that to Margarete, who is now at the peak of her happiness, how terrible it would be.

So rather than dealing with this soaring Margarete, I have to do something about Ludwig. Ideally, it would be good to make her think that he really loves Margarete and have him marry her.

He kissed another woman even though he had a fiancée! No need to feel guilty. Rather, I would be in trouble if I felt more and more guilty for thinking that way.

I wanted to take the opportunity to convey to Ludwig that I was obediently coming to the royal castle. I wonder if I can somehow talk to Ludwig at the right time. When I thought so, an unexpected opportunity came.

When Margarete’s story was over and I was thinking about going home, I was walking down the corridor and just found Ludwig and Wilhelm. The two of them are talking about something. I’m going to step in, too.

“What happened when you two got together?” I asked Ludwig.

“Flora……”

“Umu…”

Even the King blurts out his words. But I could hear it. Ludwig had just consulted his father, the king, about the fact that he had kissed Margarete. That’s why they were here.

“Your Highness Ludwig, don’t worry about it. I have never wanted to marry you, nor have I ever thought of you as a candidate for marriage,” I said.

“Wha!?”

Ludwig was at a loss for words at my words. Wilhelm puts his hand on his forehead and says, “Achyaa.”

“This is a good opportunity,” I said. “Your Highness Ludwig, you should marry Lady Margarete, I think it would be a good idea. Since I have no intention of marrying you instead, you don’t need to feel guilty as if you’d wronged me, and if you decide to wait for me, that time will never come.”

“-!”

Again Ludwig ran off. I think he looked like he was about to cry, but I didn’t know that. It would be perfect if Margarete comforted him while he was like this.

“You’ve finally said it, huh…?” Wilhelm said.

“Ah……”

Come to think of it, Wilhelm was also here… well, OK, I had to say it to him anyway. And now would have been the perfect time. It’s much better than just slipping away like this and me becoming a candidate for marriage.

Now Ludwig is conscious of Margarete as a woman, and he does not hate her. I guess that’s why he kissed her. And now he’s broken up with me. Then you won’t be confused anymore. It would be nice to be tied up with a cute childhood friend who thinks of you so dearly.

After giving Wilhelm a suitable excuse and leaving, I was surrounded by a strange excitement as I finally said goodbye, boarded a carriage, and went home.