Chapter 129
Dozens of carriages moved along the roads of Duchy Reinhardt. At first glance, carriages were considered similar-looking means of transportation, but in fact, they were not. Each region also had its own characteristics or traditions.
So, the carriages didn’t seem to start from the same place to anyone’s eyes.
However, the road it passed was the same.
“Why are so many carriages coming from all over the country? What the hell is going on?”
Some citizens poked their heads out the windows curiously and watched.
The wheels were the moving to the pride of Duchy Reinhardt and the most splendid mansion among them… Duke Reinhardt’s residence.
“Move quickly. Please leave a space behind, other cooks keep coming in.”
The scenery inside the mansion was very different from usual.
Under the command of the knights of the Duchy, people wearing bread hats proving that they were cooks were standing in a long line heading inside the mansion. It was a spectacle that seemed to have shown that all the cooks from all over the country had gathered.
It was because Ian ordered a huge amount of food after Laritte had barely eaten for days.
The cooks were each holding their most confident dish. All sorts of dishes were placed on silver trays covered with lids. There was a roast of a lamb fed only with the finest grass, and there was a soup made with twenty of the world’s best ingredients.
At the end of the cooks’ long line was Laritte and Ian’s room.
“Next.”
Following Ian’s words, the cooks entered the dark room one by one.
There was Laritte sitting on a soft red chair and a table in front of her. And the dreaded Ian Reinhardt, feared by all, was standing beside her.
The cooks were weighed down by this atmosphere because they did not know that Laritte was pregnant.
‘Could it be that the Duke is crazy? Maybe that’s why he gathered all the top cooks in the country to kill them…?’
The atmosphere was gloomy and strange enough to really make them think that way. Ian brought all the dishes, but he was throwing them all away…
Standing next to Laritte, Ian gestured to the cook and they hesitantly followed the instructions before putting the tray on the table.
Ian thought.
‘It’s the forty-sixth cook.’
Wouldn’t there be some food that Laritte could eat this time?
“Laritte.”
He whispered to Laritte, who was sitting. She hadn’t eaten properly for several days, and it hurt him to see her weak.
Laritte was really powerless. Even though he was wasting a lot of money by her standards, she couldn’t stop it and only smelled the scent of the food. Her stomach rumbled again this time, so she shook her head.
After discarding this dish as well, Ian hurriedly ordered the next cook to come in.
“Tell them to move.”
The fact that Laritte was pregnant could not be disclosed to outsiders. This was because it was still a period of a high possibility of miscarriage.
So, the ignorant cooks couldn’t bring dishes suitable for pregnant women.
Sometimes, however, they were fortunate enough to bring suitable dishes. The next cook, a young and handsome man, brought out a sandwich that was so mild that even pregnant women with morning sickness who were sensitive to smells could eat it.
“Laritte.”
“….”
But, she again refused.
An hour later, Ian went out of the room himself after rejecting the hundredth cook. His heart was even heavier when he confirmed that the cook he had called remained only a little.
Nanny Ava was in the yard and then she walked over to Ian.
“You have already spent almost enough for a small mansion in the province. Are you still going to call another cook, though?”
“Of course. For every day Laritte skipped a meal, I will skip a week. Nanny, so get in touch with the other cooks right away.”
Ava realized that love could drive people this crazy. Still, Laritte’s inability to eat was just as painful for the old grandmother herself, so she hurried on.
Soon, Laritte called Ian from inside the room. She had not eaten anything and was gaunt.
Ian hastily spoke.
“Don’t worry. I’m calling in another cook right now, so one day, the food you can eat will definitely appear…”
It was then.
Laritte cut Ian off.
“I remembered what I wanted to eat. But since you have to do it yourself, I’m worried that you’ll be bothered.”
Ian knelt under her chair with a smile on his face as he asked eagerly.
“What is it? Just tell me. Whether it be a mountain or the sea, I will go even to the moon.”
“Do you remember the fish dish you cooked at the mansion? Fish butter Steak… I want to eat them.”
The body of a pregnant woman was very strange. Even though Laritte couldn’t eat anything else, it kept popping up in her mind.
“I will do it right away. Please wait a moment, wife.”
Saying so, he walked out the door with determined steps.
Ian Reinhardt had a sword he treasured, befitting one of the Empire’s greatest knights.
His beloved sword, named Levatein, was very sharp and did not break easily, befitting its grandiose name. Around the time the former Empress was alive, Ian went out in several battles risking his life according to the Emperor’s unreasonable orders.
The famous sword that he took out every time would be of great help to him today.
“Bring me Levatein. It will prepare the fish in its best condition.”
Ian was more serious than when he went to war.
“Bring a fish. The best and biggest fish available right now…!”
…And so, Ian’s war in the kitchen began.
Ian spent half an hour of his flesh-and-bone effort before he brought the fish butter steak to Laritte’s room. The moment he finally swelled up with the idea that Laritte could eat something, he happily grabbed the doorknob with his dark hand and opened it…
Ian saw Laritte, who was eating a basket full of tangerines.
“Oh, my.”
Laritte delivered a sincere apology in a dry voice.
“Sorry. Earlier, I definitely wanted to eat it, but now I don’t want it anymore… Instead, I thought the tangerine would be nice, so I asked the maid.”
“….”
Ian stood blankly, holding a steak that could be said to contain his essence as his gaze was fixed on the tangerine she had grabbed. Laritte thought that he was hurt by being rejected after he had gone this far.
“I’m so sorry… I had a sudden change of mind earlier and was about to tell you. I heard you told the others not to let anyone into the kitchen to focus on cooking? So, they couldn’t tell you.”
However, it was the other way around.
Ian was not angry.
On the contrary, he smiled brightly as Laritte was eating the tangerine. He spent the price of a mansion on buying food, but it was all to no avail. Ian even took out his favorite sword and made a fish butter steak with his own hands but was rejected again.
A normal person would feel bad about all these actions, but none of that mattered to Ian. The point was that Laritte finally started eating something.
Ian swore.
“I will bring all the tangerines in the world for you.”
It was real love.
A library was a good place to read a book. Because of the bookshelves, they could hide from others’ eyes, and the unique coziness used to give people a rest.
Ian sat Laritte comfortably in his arms and read to her.
“…So, the little princess said hello to the scarecrow.”
He was reading a children’s book, his low, solemn voice not fitting at all.
A few days after Laritte was able to eat tangerines, his essentials also became tangerines. He read a children’s book with Laritte on his lap and was peeling tangerines with both hands.
Laritte had been sleeping a lot since she was pregnant. Her body was clearly changing, even if her appearance wasn’t obvious yet. Before he knew it, as she listened to Ian’s voice, she fell asleep in his warm arms.
“Then, the princess spoke.”
Ian continued reading the storybook and brought a tangerine to Laritte’s lips. It was only then did he noticed that she was asleep when he saw that she was no longer accepting and eating the tangerines.
It was peaceful.
Everything in the past felt like a dream. Like when she went to the County to meet Laritte, a completely different woman appeared, saying that she was his wife.
For her, he would have had to distance himself…
He kissed Laritte’s cheek. Even then, he read the fairy tale for a while.
…Several months passed just like that, and Laritte’s little belly swelled up like a balloon.
—
Chapter 129
Dozens of carriages moved along the roads of Duchy Reinhardt. At first glance, carriages were considered similar-looking means of transportation, but in fact, they were not. Each region also had its own characteristics or traditions.
So, the carriages didn’t seem to start from the same place to anyone’s eyes.
However, the road it passed was the same.
“Why are so many carriages coming from all over the country? What the hell is going on?”
Some citizens poked their heads out the windows curiously and watched.
The wheels were the moving to the pride of Duchy Reinhardt and the most splendid mansion among them… Duke Reinhardt’s residence.
“Move quickly. Please leave a space behind, other cooks keep coming in.”
The scenery inside the mansion was very different from usual.
Under the command of the knights of the Duchy, people wearing bread hats proving that they were cooks were standing in a long line heading inside the mansion. It was a spectacle that seemed to have shown that all the cooks from all over the country had gathered.
It was because Ian ordered a huge amount of food after Laritte had barely eaten for days.
The cooks were each holding their most confident dish. All sorts of dishes were placed on silver trays covered with lids. There was a roast of a lamb fed only with the finest grass, and there was a soup made with twenty of the world’s best ingredients.
At the end of the cooks’ long line was Laritte and Ian’s room.
“Next.”
Following Ian’s words, the cooks entered the dark room one by one.
There was Laritte sitting on a soft red chair and a table in front of her. And the dreaded Ian Reinhardt, feared by all, was standing beside her.
The cooks were weighed down by this atmosphere because they did not know that Laritte was pregnant.
‘Could it be that the Duke is crazy? Maybe that’s why he gathered all the top cooks in the country to kill them…?’
The atmosphere was gloomy and strange enough to really make them think that way. Ian brought all the dishes, but he was throwing them all away…
Standing next to Laritte, Ian gestured to the cook and they hesitantly followed the instructions before putting the tray on the table.
Ian thought.
‘It’s the forty-sixth cook.’
Wouldn’t there be some food that Laritte could eat this time?
“Laritte.”
He whispered to Laritte, who was sitting. She hadn’t eaten properly for several days, and it hurt him to see her weak.
Laritte was really powerless. Even though he was wasting a lot of money by her standards, she couldn’t stop it and only smelled the scent of the food. Her stomach rumbled again this time, so she shook her head.
After discarding this dish as well, Ian hurriedly ordered the next cook to come in.
“Tell them to move.”
The fact that Laritte was pregnant could not be disclosed to outsiders. This was because it was still a period of a high possibility of miscarriage.
So, the ignorant cooks couldn’t bring dishes suitable for pregnant women.
Sometimes, however, they were fortunate enough to bring suitable dishes. The next cook, a young and handsome man, brought out a sandwich that was so mild that even pregnant women with morning sickness who were sensitive to smells could eat it.
“Laritte.”
“….”
But, she again refused.
An hour later, Ian went out of the room himself after rejecting the hundredth cook. His heart was even heavier when he confirmed that the cook he had called remained only a little.
Nanny Ava was in the yard and then she walked over to Ian.
“You have already spent almost enough for a small mansion in the province. Are you still going to call another cook, though?”
“Of course. For every day Laritte skipped a meal, I will skip a week. Nanny, so get in touch with the other cooks right away.”
Ava realized that love could drive people this crazy. Still, Laritte’s inability to eat was just as painful for the old grandmother herself, so she hurried on.
Soon, Laritte called Ian from inside the room. She had not eaten anything and was gaunt.
Ian hastily spoke.
“Don’t worry. I’m calling in another cook right now, so one day, the food you can eat will definitely appear…”
It was then.
Laritte cut Ian off.
“I remembered what I wanted to eat. But since you have to do it yourself, I’m worried that you’ll be bothered.”
Ian knelt under her chair with a smile on his face as he asked eagerly.
“What is it? Just tell me. Whether it be a mountain or the sea, I will go even to the moon.”
“Do you remember the fish dish you cooked at the mansion? Fish butter Steak… I want to eat them.”
The body of a pregnant woman was very strange. Even though Laritte couldn’t eat anything else, it kept popping up in her mind.
“I will do it right away. Please wait a moment, wife.”
Saying so, he walked out the door with determined steps.
Ian Reinhardt had a sword he treasured, befitting one of the Empire’s greatest knights.
His beloved sword, named Levatein, was very sharp and did not break easily, befitting its grandiose name. Around the time the former Empress was alive, Ian went out in several battles risking his life according to the Emperor’s unreasonable orders.
The famous sword that he took out every time would be of great help to him today.
“Bring me Levatein. It will prepare the fish in its best condition.”
Ian was more serious than when he went to war.
“Bring a fish. The best and biggest fish available right now…!”
…And so, Ian’s war in the kitchen began.
Ian spent half an hour of his flesh-and-bone effort before he brought the fish butter steak to Laritte’s room. The moment he finally swelled up with the idea that Laritte could eat something, he happily grabbed the doorknob with his dark hand and opened it…
Ian saw Laritte, who was eating a basket full of tangerines.
“Oh, my.”
Laritte delivered a sincere apology in a dry voice.
“Sorry. Earlier, I definitely wanted to eat it, but now I don’t want it anymore… Instead, I thought the tangerine would be nice, so I asked the maid.”
“….”
Ian stood blankly, holding a steak that could be said to contain his essence as his gaze was fixed on the tangerine she had grabbed. Laritte thought that he was hurt by being rejected after he had gone this far.
“I’m so sorry… I had a sudden change of mind earlier and was about to tell you. I heard you told the others not to let anyone into the kitchen to focus on cooking? So, they couldn’t tell you.”
However, it was the other way around.
Ian was not angry.
On the contrary, he smiled brightly as Laritte was eating the tangerine. He spent the price of a mansion on buying food, but it was all to no avail. Ian even took out his favorite sword and made a fish butter steak with his own hands but was rejected again.
A normal person would feel bad about all these actions, but none of that mattered to Ian. The point was that Laritte finally started eating something.
Ian swore.
“I will bring all the tangerines in the world for you.”
It was real love.
A library was a good place to read a book. Because of the bookshelves, they could hide from others’ eyes, and the unique coziness used to give people a rest.
Ian sat Laritte comfortably in his arms and read to her.
“…So, the little princess said hello to the scarecrow.”
He was reading a children’s book, his low, solemn voice not fitting at all.
A few days after Laritte was able to eat tangerines, his essentials also became tangerines. He read a children’s book with Laritte on his lap and was peeling tangerines with both hands.
Laritte had been sleeping a lot since she was pregnant. Her body was clearly changing, even if her appearance wasn’t obvious yet. Before he knew it, as she listened to Ian’s voice, she fell asleep in his warm arms.
“Then, the princess spoke.”
Ian continued reading the storybook and brought a tangerine to Laritte’s lips. It was only then did he noticed that she was asleep when he saw that she was no longer accepting and eating the tangerines.
It was peaceful.
Everything in the past felt like a dream. Like when she went to the County to meet Laritte, a completely different woman appeared, saying that she was his wife.
For her, he would have had to distance himself…
He kissed Laritte’s cheek. Even then, he read the fairy tale for a while.
…Several months passed just like that, and Laritte’s little belly swelled up like a balloon.
—
