CH 95

Tea Party and Lorschel (9)

“Why are you even doing this, Your Majesty?”

When Heinez barely regained his composure and asked calmly, Kergel’s eyebrows started to quiver as well before he eventually opened his mouth after some hesitation.

“Do you know what ‘Lorschel’s Night’ is?”

“……Lorschel’s Night, you mean?”

Right at Kergel’s question, Heinez’s expression had altered strangely for a moment. Kergel noticed such a change fairly quickly due to their friendship and asked once more.

“Do you know that? What the hell is that?”

It did hurt his pride. As Roelin had said, Heinez was exactly the person to know. However, he couldn’t turn around with pride. He still waited for Heinez’s explanation while urging again and again.

But for some reason, Heinez did not answer that easily. He didn’t even criticize while saying something like; “don’t you even know that?”

It had just been a strange look—that was all.

“What’s with Lorschel’s Night and why do you look at me like that?”

“Well, where did you hear that? No, more than that…… Why are you asking that?”

Haines asked slowly as he chose his words. Kergel appeared disconcerted when a question that was something other than the answer to his question was returned. However, he was still forced to answer that question. It was him who had been disappointed.

“Roelin was reading a book and saw a brief mention of it. So, she asked me if I knew what it truly was.”

“Ah… it won’t be on the records much, so how did she even find it?”

Heinez was finally convinced of Kergel’s unexpected behavior and shook his head. Then, Kergel asked him once again in an impatient tone.

“Isn’t that not important? What the hell is Lorschel’s Night anyway?”

“……”

Despite Kergel’s constant urging, Heinez still did not answer that easily. Kergel raised an eyebrow as he was even showing signs of embarrassment that was unlike himself. Heinez sighed when he saw Kergel like that and slowly opened his mouth with an awkward expression.

“……it’s a custom to ask for the night. It has been a long time since it disappeared anyway.”

“Asking for the night? What does that mean?”

He was rather confused by Heinez’s answer. He also wondered why Heinez was doing this when he was not such a bad person to explain to in any case.

When Kergel asked again with a puzzled expression, Heinez started to cough a little and continued to explain a little bit more.

“What I do understand is that Lorschel’s Night was one of the traditional Seroifian customs, but it is almost gone now. Only those very few people who still wanted to keep the tradition knew how to make it. The particular way towards Lorschel’s Night is actually very tricky.”

“But?”

Kergel tilted his head while wondering if that was something to answer with such hesitation. Then, Heinez coughed repeatedly and proceeded in a slightly lower voice.

“The custom of making a snack by yourself and giving it to a lover whom you’d like to spend the night together with is ‘Lorschel’s Night’ in itself.”

“……to a lover whom you’d like to spend the night with?”

Kergel’s eyes shook while listening to Heinez. Heinez nodded as he watched the golden eyes trembled. Then, Kergel swept his face down with both hands and opened his mouth again.

“But why do you have to make snacks and give them as gifts? What is the relationship between ‘night’ and ‘sweets’ anyway?”

“Lorschel’s snacks’ shape is, well, embarrassing to say, but it looks like an engaged man and woman.”

“What?”

“Wait a moment, Your Majesty. Perhaps the book that was with that record is somewhere over there.”

Heinez stood up because he thought that it would be better to show it through a book rather than continuing the explanation in mere words. Then, he took out an old book from the bookshelf and returned.

“This is Lorschel.”

“Even so, what kind of snacks do you think they really look like……”

In a sour tone, Kergel lowered his head and looked at the book that Heinez had opened before he suddenly blurted the end of his words. Then, his face and neck began to turn bright red.

Heinez was right. He opened his mouth when he looked at the shape of Lorschel’s snacks in the book. Heinez said in an awkward tone right after confirming with Kergel’s reaction.

“So as I told you. They do look alike.”

“What kind of snack did the ancestors make in this shape anyway? Does this mean it already went down their throat?”

Kergel grumbled as he rubbed the back of his neck belatedly. At the same time, he couldn’t take his eyes off the Lorschel’s snacks that were drawn in the book.

Certainly the shape of the snack was very similar to that of the joining between a man and a woman. No, maybe it was because he had heard it before, but……

He unconsciously tried to incorporate himself and Roelin into the figure, but he immediately trembled and shook his head before turning around.

“Then, the meaning of asking for the night while giving this as a gift……”

“Yes, Your Majesty. It is to ask for such a night. It’s embarrassing to say it in person, so this is to say something like you are conveying your feelings instead.”

“Those old ancestors were also very, how should I say this……”

Kergel scratched his nose while muttering to himself and suddenly smirked in return. Then, as soon as he tried to shake his head while thinking that there were all sorts of customs, something had passed by his head.

‘Wait a minute… Come to think of it, we could use this as an opportunity, right?’

Kergel raised the corners of his mouth with his eyes gleaming straight away. At the same time, Heinez frowned as if it was utterly ominous to see his lips already rising in a line.

It was because he always remembered something would happen when he made that kind of expression.

“Hmm… You mean? Then, is there a book with the specific recipe on it?”

“It’s not here right now, but it’s probably back in the archives of old books in the Imperial Palace Library. But why are you asking that?”

Heinez answered Kergel with a quizzical expression before he further asked another question. Then, Kergel merely shook his hand which said something like it was no big deal and stood up from his seat at once.

“I’ve taken up too much time from your work. Well then, work hard.”

“……Your Majesty?”

Heinez was even more surprised at the sight of Kergel getting up in a hurry. But before he could ask anything more, Kergel had already hurried out of Heinez’s office.

“………This is making me anxious.”

Heinez murmured to himself while narrowing his brows.