CH 33

Because the meat was so delicious, on the way back to the royal castle, I let out a few small burps to release the air from my stomach so that Nikita wouldn’t notice. Suddenly, such a delicious food was a bit hard on my stomach. I blamed Korya’s big mouthfuls of guiropita for making me so hungry.

Anyway, I have a package of Calamarachia Tiganita in my hand. Wrapped in wax paper and then newspaper, it contains Thanasios’ favorite food. To keep it from getting cold, I walked a little faster and urged Nikita to hurry.

“Let’s hurry back. Thanasios-sama is waiting.”

“Yes, of course. Was the guiropita delicious?”

“…Very.”

I feel like I was implicitly pointed out that I took too long because I was nibbling on guiropita at the dining tavern. I think so too, but I won’t comment on that since I know I’m being teased.

Nikita stood out like a sore thumb in this capital city, where white and blue were the predominant colors, due to the fact that he was wearing all black. He looked like a suspicious character and was stopped twice by the patrolling guards. Both times, they were surprised to see the golden Styx emblem, which was the proof of Nikita’s identity as a member of the royal family. Nikita was grinning mischievously, so I think he did it on purpose. After passing through the main gate of the royal castle, Nikita led me to Thanasios’ office for the first time.

For a moment, I thought I had wandered into a temple somewhere, as the room was grand and spacious. The desk at the back was made of pure white marble, and all the bookshelves were also white. The reception sofa was adorned with intricate goldwork and white leather, and the table was much larger than me, with a rectangular shape and elegant metalwork legs plated in gold. The ceiling of the room was at least two stories high, with a glass half-circle container filled with glowing stones and water, which illuminated the entire room like sunlight.

Thanasios was surprised to see me and Nikita suddenly appear, and before he could scold me, I placed a package on his desk.

“Nikita-sama asked me to bring Thanasios-sama’s favorite dish, Calamarachia Tiganita.”

“Please open it,” I suggested to Thanasios. Without saying a word, he opened the package.

Then, the smell of fried food and olive oil reached my nose, followed by a scent I had never smelled before. Later, I learned that it was a small dish of fried squid called Calamarachia Tiganita. It was something that could never be seen in the Uranos Principality without the sea.

In other words, Calamarachia Tiganita was a small fried squid dish. In the Styx Kingdom, it was a main dish and sometimes enjoyed as a snack, eaten in bite-sized pieces. It had a crispy wheat-colored coating with white yogurt sauce called ‘Zaziki’ on top. It had a different kind of appetite-stimulating aroma than meat, more like a tantalizing scent. As someone who was not used to seafood, I felt it had a slightly strong taste.

Thanasios looked up from the package.

“Eleni, wait a moment. Nikita.”

Thanasios glared at Nikita, but Nikita remained completely unfazed. On the contrary, he took the initiative.

“What? I don’t think it’s fair that Prince Athanasios, who has been able to escape from the royal castle as much as he wants, is blaming Princess Eleni, who has only left the castle for the first time today.”

“…How dare you say such a thing.”

Sparks flew between the two. However, Thanasios didn’t intend to waste any more time and turned towards me.

“Eleni!”

“Yes?”

“Stop following suspicious people like that. They might be kidnappers.”

“Eh? Are Thanasios-sama’s subordinates kidnappers?”

“No! That’s not what I meant. Nikita just likes to tease people.”

“But Thanasios-sama has been teasing me a lot lately.”

I retaliated a little. Since Thanasios has been teasing me a lot lately, even if I do this, the god Styx won’t punish me.

Thanasios groaned. He looked up at the ceiling for a while, then seemed to give up and said:

“Okay, I guess I should say this to you. Eleni, thank you for going out of your way to buy Calamarachia Tiganita for me.”

I suddenly realized that my face was unconsciously smiling.

After all, this might be the first time Thanasios has ever said thank you to me.

I felt overwhelmed with emotion, thinking that I had done something for Thanasios. And I secretly felt relieved that I didn’t get scolded. It was a good thing.

Nikita watched my reaction and stifled a laugh.

“That’s great, Princess Eleni.”

“Yes!”

“By the way, Nikita, you can go back to work now. Your subordinates have been desperately looking for you.”

“Hahaha, excuse me then. Princess Eleni, let’s meet again.”

Nikita bowed dramatically and quickly left. He was probably concerned about me and Thanasios. And since he gave me money that is hard to come by in the royal castle, I should properly thank him when I see him next time.

Thanasios regained his composure and called for his secretary, Ioel, to procure forks. He asked if I needed one too, but I declined since I didn’t have the confidence to eat seafood and was already full. In fact, my stomach was starting to feel upset. Maybe it was because I ate something unfamiliar. The guiropita was revolutionary delicious, but I regretted it a little.

After receiving the golden fork, Thanasios finally took a bite of the Calamarachia Tiganita.

The sound of chewing could be heard faintly. Thanasios drank a sip of the cold water brought by Ioel and ate elegantly. Was it just my imagination or did his expression seem to relax a bit? But it would be inappropriate to pry too much. I should ask him something else.

“Is it delicious?”

“…Yeah, it’s delicious. The taste hasn’t changed since the old days.”

“I’m glad. If you tell me, I can always go to the dining tavern to buy it for you.”

“You don’t have to go out of your way.”

“I also want to do something for Thanasios-sama.”

It was the first and one of the few things I could do for Thanasios. It might be like running errands for a child, but everything starts with the first step. Besides, I didn’t want to worry Thanasios, so this was enough for now.

Thanasios looked a little troubled, then smiled.

“Let’s go buy it together next time. It’s annoying that Nikita beat me to it, but oh well.”

There was a few seconds of silence.

Going to buy it together. It took me some time to understand that.

Today, I went shopping with Nikita. But that was because he invited me and acted as my guide.

Next time, should I go with Thanasios?

Thanasios seemed to have noticed my confusion and added some words.

“Eleni, do you understand what I mean? I’m not telling you not to go, but I want to go with you. In other words, I want to go out with you as a couple. Oh, the more I think about it, the more I regret that Nikita beat me to it! I’m getting angry that he went out with you before me.”

As he said that, Thanasios stuffed fried food into his mouth.

After a few seconds, I thought about it and came up with this question.

“I’ve heard of it.”

“What?”

“That…in the secular world, yes.”

Yes, that is to say, it’s called a date.

I have that much knowledge too.

A date is when a couple in love go out together.

I never dreamed that the day would come when I could do that myself.

However, Thanasios gently pointed out.

“…I guess going to the Arche of Apeiron sanctuary wasn’t a date.”

“Is! Is that a date?!”

“Well, no, that’s different. It’s technically inside the royal castle, so yeah it’s okay, it’s different.”

That’s what it was.

I couldn’t help but smile with excitement.