Chapter 11
Chapter 11
“Thank you so much.”
The man repeatedly expressed his gratitude to Cassis and me.
His attire was quite lavish, yet emphasized practicality, making him look like a successful commoner.
Perhaps due to our rather simple outfits, he seemed unaware that we were nobility.
Then again, judging by clothes alone, this man was far more extravagantly dressed.
“I was so worried when my child suddenly disappeared. Thank you for protecting him.”
“Dad! The big sister and brother bought me lots of snacks!”
“Is that so?”
The man smiled affectionately at his child, then pulled out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Cassis and me.
“I’m Jack Baker. I run a restaurant on the Imperial Island.”
Jack Baker, restaurant, and on the Imperial Island, no less.
It was just an introduction, but my head started spinning.
Come to think of it, a quest notification had appeared earlier.
And if my experience of paying off Seike’s debt held true, things usually worked out well at times like this.
[Irina. Jack Baker is that person, isn’t he? Baker’s Shade, the biggest restaurant on the Imperial Island!]
‘Ah! Baker’s Shade!’
Now that you mention it, I remember.
Baker’s Shade is a restaurant started by a former sous chef from the Imperial Palace.
In the past five years, it has become the most famous restaurant on the Imperial Island.
They say those haughty high nobles rarely go there, but then again, they rarely go anywhere.
But now, that person is here in the South? With his son, no less?
“I’m Cassis Luwin.”
“…! Your Grace, Duke Luwin! Forgive my rudeness.”
“It’s quite alright.”
In this world, despite the class system, the boundary between nobility and commoners had blurred, perhaps due to the game-like nature of debt repayment.
Nevertheless, meeting a duke was still uncommon, and Jack Baker stood before Cassis with a flustered expression.
It seems I’m the only one who doesn’t see Cassis as a duke, but just as the male lead burdened with debt.
I lowered the hand that had unconsciously covered my mouth and smoothly positioned myself beside Cassis.
“Are you perhaps the chef of Baker’s Shade?”
“Ah, you know of it.”
I smiled slightly and promptly introduced myself.
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Irina Seike of Seike Wine.”
Jack Baker’s eyes widened in admiration.
“The owner of Seike Winery! It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Seike.”
“Please, feel free to call me Irina.”
“Thank you, Irina. Actually, I tried Seike wine for the first time at this festival, and it was quite good. I had been thinking I’d like to meet you, but I never imagined it would happen like this.”
It was good, he says? This could be a great opportunity.
I hope he’ll consider including Seike wine in his restaurant.
The mere fact of supplying wine to one of the most successful restaurants on the Imperial Island would be great publicity.
It might help increase our limited presence on the Imperial Island.
“If possible, I’d like to introduce Seike wine to our restaurant. What do you think?”
Of course!
“It would be a great honor for Seike to be featured at Baker’s Shade.”
“I’ll visit the Seike estate soon.”
“You’re welcome anytime.”
Ding-!
[SYSTEM | The ‘Debt Repayment’ quest has been completed. Subsequent rewards will be processed sequentially.]
[SYSTEM | As Cassis Luwin did not directly participate, the Luwin Duchy’s debt will not be reduced.]
It seems that since I’m not officially affiliated with the Luwin family, the payment will go to Seike instead of reducing the Luwin Duchy’s debt.
It’s a bit disappointing, but understandable.
This only strengthened my resolve to somehow get employed by the Luwin Duchy.
Still, I can’t believe things worked out like this.
I guess I’m pretty lucky.
So when Jack Baker left holding his son’s hand, I couldn’t hide my happy smile as I grabbed Cassis.
“Did you see that? Our wine might just find its place on the Imperial Island!”
“Is that such a big deal?”
“Of course it is! Baker’s Shade is the most up-and-coming restaurant on the Imperial Island recently.”
Cassis’s question probably meant, ‘Isn’t Baker’s Shade not targeting the upper class?’
By upper class, he means the nobility among nobles.
The imperial family, their relatives, and the few nobles currently running the empire.
Until just a few years ago, the Luwins were part of that group.
“Seike wine’s target isn’t the upper class. Our main customers are successful commoners and nobles who don’t belong to the upper society.”
“Then Baker’s Shade’s main customers overlap with Seike wine’s.”
“Yes.”
Cassis nodded at my answer.
“That’s good news for you, Irina. Congratulations.”
“Thank you!”
“Shall we head back now?”
“Yes!”
Cassis gave me a slight smile and matched his pace to mine.
By then, the sky had turned from bluish to almost purple, and the muggy daytime air was stirred by a cool breeze.
Cassis and I walked for a while without much conversation.
This moment of walking side by side felt a bit surreal to me.
The person next to me was the Violet Knight, largely unchanged from back then, who had helped me in my worst moments.
So I wanted to help him in his worst moments.
“…”
For me, every day had been the worst.
I looked up at Cassis and smiled slightly.
“How was today?”
“…It was enjoyable.”
“I’m glad. Is the North very different from the South?”
“…Yes. Very different.”
The North I knew from newspapers and rumors was a white and beautiful place.
But it was said to be as cruel as it was beautiful.
A place where one had to fight the bitter cold for all twelve months, and where even the brief spring was as harsh as the South’s winter.
That’s why people from the North were said to be big, cruel, ruthless, and without blood or tears, just to survive.
But Cassis Luwin beside me, who had been born and raised in the North all his life, was an incredibly kind person.
“I hope you like it here. It’s where I was born and raised.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. Oh? Ijin! Did you have fun? Did you enjoy yourself too, Roen?”
Before Cassis could answer, I saw my younger brother and the male lead’s aide in the distance. As I waved my hand, I saw Ijin running towards me.
As we walked together, Ijin chattered away about how many people loved our wine, what he ate, and what he did.
And beside him, Roen chimed in, keeping the conversation going.
“How was it for Your Grace?”
Cassis seemed to think for a moment before saying with a faint smile, “It was fun.”
“…Really?”
Roen looked a bit moved.
“Cassis said it was fun, why are you making such a fuss, Roen?”
“No, it’s just that you don’t understand, Lady Seike. For His Grace to say it was fun!”
“Roen.”
“…Anyway, as a servant, I’m grateful to Lady Seike that you enjoyed yourself.”
I laughed at Roen’s exaggerated bow.
“Our chef said he’d prepare tonight’s dinner with extra effort. You’ll join us, of course?”
“If you’re inviting us, we’d be honored.”
I winked at Cassis’s light joke.
“Save the honor of Luwin, please.”
“Should I?”
“Yes, instead, if you hire me, I’ll consider it an honor for Seike.”
Cassis laughed “Ha ha” as we walked through the slightly noisy streets where darkness was beginning to fall.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
No sooner had Cassis finished speaking that a ‘Ding!’ quest notification sounded.
[SYSTEM | The Duke’s trust level has reached 8. (8/13)]
I looked at the back of Cassis’s head, walking slightly ahead of me, at the trust level that had risen faster and easier than I expected.
His tall stature and sturdy build.
The dignity that couldn’t be hidden even by worn clothes.
His black, flowing hair swayed in the wind.
I let out a laugh close to a sigh and quickened my pace to catch up with Cassis.
“How about taking me with you when you go to your estate? Since there’s a lot of snow in the North, we could make ice treats a local specialty!”
“Good idea, thank you.”
“I’m telling you, I can really do well.”
Since I had expected the rejection, there was no impact at all.
I was just happy with Cassis’s somewhat relaxed response.
* * *
The banquet was very enjoyable.
They say the banquets of the Imperial Island or noble houses are much more lavish than Seike’s, but having never experienced them, I arbitrarily named today’s meal a banquet.
“The texture of the wood-fire roasted chicken was exquisite.”
“Our chef, Bread, is quite remarkable.”
He had been singing about slaughtering a chicken once the debt was paid off, and it seems he finally did it today, as a nicely roasted chicken was served at the banquet.
When you poked it with a fork, the tender meat came off without needing a knife.
The moist texture was delicious.
It seemed both Cassis and Roen were satisfied with the meal.
“Bread said his younger sibling is more talented, and asked if he could request a letter of recommendation later.”
“That kid hasn’t returned home yet, right?”
“It doesn’t seem so. I just get occasional letters from him.”
The food is delicious, the conversation partners are very enjoyable, and the wine goes down smoothly.
My only brother is growing up splendidly, and the Cassis in front of me is the Violet Knight.
It would be strange not to be happy at this moment.
“Please introduce him to Luwin later as well.”
“You’ll hire the chef, but not me?”
“…! That’s not what I meant.”
“Even I think Your Grace is being too harsh.”
“Roen, be quiet.”
We spent time chatting about these little things until it was time to wrap up, as Ijin and I could no longer postpone tallying up today’s festival results.
“Then we’ll greet you tomorrow.”
“Alright.”
I made sure Cassis and Roen were comfortably seated in the reception room before heading to the study.
And as I was calculating numbers and organizing responses in the study for a while, the system chimed again.
[SYSTEM | The Duke trusts Irina. +2 (10/13)]
[SYSTEM | The Duke trusts Irina. +1 (11/13)]
As I remained quiet despite the sudden system notifications, the god who had been silent all day suddenly spoke up.
[Is there a problem?]
[Irina is such an amazing person, why are you so down?]
‘…It’s nothing.’
Yeah.
Building trust should be a good thing, so why do I feel so bad?
[There’s no such thing as nothing.]
‘…Just because.’
I put down the documents I had been looking at and rested my chin on my hands, as if cradling my cheeks.
‘It’s just that… if trust builds up so easily from something like this, I can’t help but wonder how difficult things must have been in the past.’
