CH 96

CHAPTER 96: LUNCH OF DOUBT

I weeded the garden with Natalia until noon, and then we lightly wiped off our sweat and had lunch.

Even though the air was still cool, it felt hot when weeding under the rays of the sun. I sweated so much my clothes clung to me, so I changed my clothes and put it out for laundry. Mary seemed nauseated taking it. After all, one certainly did want to hold the other people’s sweaty clothes.

And since a light lunch was requested, we simply made sandwiches.

It was filled with ham and vegetables. One could have a light meal with this.

Now that it was ready, I would be waking Wilhelm-sama up.

「Wilhelm-sama」

「Hm……」

「It is lunchtime……would you like to rest a little longer? 」

「No……」

Wilhelm-sama, who was sleeping in his bedroom, drowsily rose when I called out to him.

He heaved a sigh while pressing down on his eyes. There was a faint smell of alcohol, so its effect might have not subsided yet.

If he was not feeling too good, it was all right to rest a little longer.

「Sorry, Carol. I will get up now」

「If you are tired, you may rest a little longer……」

「No, it is fine. If I sleep too much on days off, I would not be able to sleep at night」

I see; I certainly understand that feeling.

If I kept on sleeping during the day, I would not be able to sleep at night. And sleepless nights were long.

Wilhelm-sama was in a busy position, so he had to sleep well at night.

「I understand. We have sandwiches for lunch」

「I see. I will head to the dining room as soon as I change my clothes. I will be there in a moment」

「All right. I will make tea」

Now then, time to make some tea.

It would not do to look at Wilhelm-sama changing his clothes, so I left the room first.

While it might be better to have Natalia prepare the tea, I would do it for today.

It was all right, Wilhelm-sama.

As Wilhelm-sama’s wife, Carol would be a suitable woman.

I went to the kitchen.

A teapot was there, which was normally left to Natalia to use.

Into that teapot, I put smoked herbal leaves. This was some leaves Julius-san gave me and taught me to make.

It seemed to be a personal mixture he learned from when he was still studying under a pharmacy teacher, and it apparently works.

「Fu~a……Pardon me, Carol」

「It is fine. Here is the tea」

「Yes……」

I poured tea into a teacup and served it to Wilhelm-sama.

It smelled nice. And it produced a stronger flavor the longer it was smoked.

However.

「—!? 」

It was extremely bitter.

Wilhelm-sama, who took a sip, opened his eyes wide and quickly set his cup down.

Amazing, he did not spit it out.

When I served this to Lilia before, she sprayed it out and was quite angry afterwards.

「Cough……! Cough……W-What on earth is this……? 」

「Yes, it is a tea made with smoked herbs. I learned that it works well for hangovers」

「A-At least…say something…first……」

It seemed to work well, though.

Once you get used to it, it seemed you could find it rather delicious. The pharmacy teacher who taught it grew used to drinking it every morning, because they often got a hangover.

He held his head and went aaah with a tired face.

Yes.

I merely served tea which worked well for hangovers.

It was not like I was angry.

「Good grief……But then, it certainly works」

「Um……Wilhelm-sama. Why were you out so late last night? 」

「Hm……Th-That, you see…」

Wilhelm-sama cleared his throat with a slight waver.

He likely went out for a drink, I understood that much. But why was he so late?

It was not like I would reproach him.

It was just that, I would be troubled if his days of returning late continue on like this.

「There was a little miscalculation last night」

「Miscalculation? 」

「Yes, I……cannot say I could have been early, but at least I could have returned before the day changed. However, there were a slightly sudden visitor. A merchant who wants to sell new armor and equipment in bulk came by……」

「Wilhelm-sama also handled such a person? 」

「Indeed. Basically, the equipment used by the Order are obtained from outside sources. But if each soldier makes their own preparations, there will be those who go to war with rather poor quality equipment. In the end, the weapons still have to be of the same quality as armor. So, we have the merchants maintain a certain quality of armor they sell……」

He lightly sighed.

I knew he does a wide variety of work, but he truly was busy.

「There is no new purveyor this time. If we have someone like that, we could determine the efficiency and price by comparing it with the armor we currently have in stock. The army has to cut costs, too……If they can provide something cheaper with the same quality, it would be better to purchase those instead. I was making arrangements about that until late at night」

「Is…that so……」

「In the end, I have settled with buying only leather armor belts for now……. If subsequent transactions go well, we may be able to expand the scope of our purchase a little more. After all, trust comes first in this line of work. You cannot just make a big transaction with someone on your first meeting」

「……」

It was a talk I could not understand well.

All I understood was that it was a necessary job for Wilhelm-sama. I am not jealous at all.

Yes.

I did not know who “Angelina-san” was, but I am not jealous.

「Then, the sake……? 」

「Hm……so there really was still a trace of it. I am off duty today, but there was a document that I wanted to check first thing in the morning. I decided to return after checking that, so I lightly drank in the office and took a nap. It may have been a little too much though」

He showed a self-deprecating smile which seemed to say, “I cannot hold my liquor”.

I see. Even though he was off duty, there would certainly still be urgent documents.

Very well.

Carol was a suitable wife for Wilhelm-sama.

I would not demand—”Is that the truth?”

「But for now, I have finished all my work. Do you want to go somewhere in the afternoon? 」

「Is that all right? If you are tired……」

「Now, I was left to sleep until noon. At the very least, I will accompany Carol in the afternoon」

「My! 」

Such wonderful words.

Then, I would like to spend time with Wilhelm-sama. It did not have to mean going out or eating anything. I just wanted us to be together.

Ah.

It was a rare opportunity, so why not he joins me instead?

「Then, Wilhelm-sama! 」

「Yes」

「Let us weed the garden together in the afternoon」

「……H-Hm? Weeding? 」

Thank goodness, we would make progress with this.

Half of it was yet to be done this morning. I had to have Natalia clean the manor in the afternoon, so this was good.

With this, we could finish by today.

「W-Weeding, huh……」

「We shall prepare after we are done with our meal」

「Y-Yes……」

Once the weeds are cleared away, we should grow a vegetable garden.

I would plant and grow some vegetables in my spare time. When the vegetables are ready, we could put them on the table.

It would make me happy if the vegetables I grew would bring satisfaction.

It was a large garden, so we could grow many things.

First, I would have the Ducal House’s gardener prepare seeds for something easy to plant.

There was still much more to look forward to!