Story 21: A Blissful Moment

—This probably takes place with the Kingdom Disturbance Arc—

“……Hey, Luthy. What’s going on?”

Nadia’s eyes widened at the beautiful sweets that filled the table.

If we’re not busy with official business, we have a tea parties once or twice a week…Even if we are busy, we always make sure to have tea at least once a month, adjusting our schedules together.

Nadia had tasted a lot of sweets made by Arthirea, sometimes as a taste tester for prototypes, but never before had there been such a large amount of sweets prepared for her.

“……There is nothing else?”

Arthirea giggled as she said this.

—No, her eyes aren’t smiling.

In other words, there was something going on.

Luthy makes a lot of sweets when there is something going on…

Arthirea is free to make snacks and other dishes for lunch and dinner, and etc., but I think it’s the sweets she likes to make the most.

……I think she’s probably the best at it.

She said that when she was happy, she wanted to make very elaborate sweets.

The sweets that Arthirea makes with Elda’s hands when something pleasant happens are always a beautiful work of art.

Tarts made with whole strawberries, tiny jellies with large grapes trapped in them, cookies with beautiful lace-like patterns painted on the surface with sugar, and cakes decorated with flowery cream…all of which were too good to be eaten…

And Nadia knows.

Even when she’s hungry or hazy, Arthirea makes sweets.

The sweets she makes in such cases are often the standard sweets I make

It is said that if I repeat the simple task, I will gradually get better and better.

“…….I can listen to your stories. So let me eat first.”

The sweets on the table looked so delicious, I felt a little sorry for them, but just looking at them made my heart rise.

“Of course…Would you like a cup of tea?”

“I brought some. It’s the Norris tea that has become my domain. It’s not very fragrant, so it’s not ideal for a special tea party, but it’s perfect for a casual drink.”

“Then let’s brew it up.”

“Yes, please.”

Nadia handed a small can to Arthirea’s hand.

***

“……By the way, Luthy. Did you and my brother get into a fight, by any chance?”

“No way.”

Arthirea shook her head.

“Nothing…this?”

On the table that Nadia indicated with her eyes, there are several types of pancake sandwiches, sweets, and a few cookies…oatmeal, nuts, and other chunky stuff, too. Then there’s even a seasonal fruit trifle and Horohoro cookie—the church’s exclusive recipe.

“Luthy often makes sweets when she’s hungry, but this time, it’s an unusually large amount.”

“……It’s not that I’m mad, I’m just a little bothered.”

“What’s bothering you?”

Nadia grabs a pancake sandwich.

I bite into it with the ease of a tea party with just the two of us, and the aroma of thick cream and sweet rum fills my mouth. I bit down with my back teeth, probably on a raisin.

Ah, rum raisins. That’s a winner.

Nadia’s mood improves upon her favorite flavor.

“……If you take your eyes off of Nigel-sama, he’ll skip a meal immediately!”

Arthirea said with a very serious look on her face.

…Oh, this is a story that will eventually just make them fall more in love.

Nadia kept a straight face and then smiled.

She was a little worried, but this was not something she needed to worry about at all.

“Originally, my brother was someone who could get away with just portable rations, wasn’t he? I don’t think there’s anything to worry about that much.”

“’Yes, but…”

You know, Luthy. My brother does that because he likes that you worry about him like that.

They weren’t half or blood related and they didn’t have that much interaction, but even Nadia could tell that much.

But she doesn’t say it out loud.

Nadia loves Arthirea and thinks she is a very important friend, but she also loves and respects her brother Nigel.

“…Why don’t you just send him a special delivery, as usual?”

“That’s right, but…I would like to have dinner with him if possible.”

Muffled, Arthirea’s mouth twitched.

…I really think Luthy’s really cute in this way, but it definitely wouldn’t be cute if I did it.

I envy her a little bit for that.

“Why don’t you just bring some food and eat it with him? That way, my brother will certainly eat and you will be able to eat with him, and you will be very happy.”

“Nadi, that’s it!”

Arthirea’s eyes sparkle.

“You’re a genius!”

“Compliments won’t get you anywhere…I’d rather get paid for my ideas.”

“Paid for your ideas…Do you the recipe for Lesterk’s favorite sandwich? I can also make one for Nadi.”

“……Huh?”

Nadia’s heart thudded with a single loud heartbeat at the name of Lesterk.

It was the name of Nadia’s recently promulgated fiancé.

If nothing else, Nadia would be the Duchess of Reefid by this time next year after a year of engagement.

“I don’t know when I’ll get a chance to make it, but I can make sandwiches for Nadia too.”

“……I’m not that dextrous, but can I make it?”

“I know. It’s all right. A sandwich is just a piece of bread with a filling. It’s a bit rude, but most sandwiches taste great with mayonnaise. I’ve given you the recipe for mayonnaise before, haven’t I?”

“………Yeah.”

That being said, Nadia wasn’t confident at all.

“Hey, Luthy……Can you make it with me sometime?”

After hesitating, Nadia asked with trepidation.

I know that Arthirea wouldn’t say no, but I always lose my confidence at times like this.

“Of course. Oh, then why don’t we each offer each of the sandwiches we made together?”

“What?”

“It’s okay…as long as you don’t think of starting with baking bread. You can’t go wrong if you used already baked bread.”

“No, it’s not that:…I’ve never really cooked before.”

“That’s fine. A sandwich is just a piece of bread with a filling of your choice. It’s not really cooking.”

Arthirea says so without a care in the world.

“Luthy, that’s what people say when they can cook. To me, even making a sandwich seems very difficult.”

“You’ll be surprised how easy it is to do once you try. The important thing is not to change the recipe without permission. And don’t hesitate to ask for help.”

“……Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Arthirea said with a cool face, then laughed a little with a strange expression.

“……Nadi, he’s yours as long as you can grab his stomach.”

She laughs happily.

“Luthy?”

I wasn’t quite sure of what Arthirea was saying, but I understood that she was confident.

“Let’s work together to come up with the perfect feeding plan!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Arthirea laughed so happily that Nadia nodded as if under pressure.

~~~~~***~~~~~

In the late Dardinian Kingdom, the one who became the first Duchess of Reefid was Princess Nadia Lilitia, the half-sister of His Majesty Nigel Elsebard, the king at the time of the annexation of Reefid.

At that time, it was considered natural for women of royalty and high nobility to take a cook with them when they get married. A skilled cook was essential for them to keep their households together.

But Princess Nadia did not take a single cook with her when she married the Duke of Reefid.

Instead, she learned to cook from Queen Arthirea, who was said to have revolutionized Dardinian cuisine, and often showed off her skills to her husband, the Duke.

In the “Private Cooking Selection” manuscript, one of the highlights of the exhibition, Queen Arthirea compiled a selection of her own secret recipes for Princess Nadia.

It was a gift from the queen on the occasion of Princess Nadia’s wedding in the 838th year of the kingdom, and had long been a family heirloom of the Dukes of Reefid, which was specially loaned for this exhibition.

More than half of the recipes are in Queen Arthirea’s handwriting, with the other half copied by various hands.

We know that the ‘Salted meat Pot-au-feu’ recipe was copied by His Majesty Nigel Elsebard, the ‘Chicken Stew’ recipe was copied by His Highness Prince Alfred, and the ‘Seasonal Berry Tart’ recipe was copied by His Eminence Shion, the then Archbishop of Gittice.

In addition, the handwriting of the Duchess of Grachie, who was the queen’s chief lady-in-waiting and secretary, and the Duchess of Alhane, also provides valuable information about the relationships of the royal family at that time.

The manuscript covers is tanned deerskin, dyed in the royal blue, decorated with the Dardinian royal coat of arms in gold leaf and mother-of-pearl inlays of thinly sliced southern fania shells.

A silver clasp with a rosephinia inlaid with a celestial stone and a bookmark with the same work of art, a luxurious piece of work typical of a royal family celebration.

The book is a work of art, and surprisingly, there are traces of actual kitchen use in the book.

There are traces of water and wine spilled on some of the pages of the book, which were opened during the cooking process, causing the sauce to splash.

It is also interesting to note that in several places, Princess Nadia has scratched out cooking tips in her own handwriting.

During the exhibition, visitors to the museum’s restaurant will be able to sample dishes made exactly according to the recipes in the manuscript.

Looking at the manuscript and thinking of the Princess Nadia who would have cooked for her husband, and tasting the secret recipes of Queen Arthirea, will surely be a pleasant experience.

(quoted from a feature article on the Imperial Museum’s special exhibition “The End of the Kingdom and Its Times” on the cultural page of the Teito Shimbun on XXX)

—End—

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T/N: I love how the author shows Luthia’s recipes literally going down in history, hahaha!

In any case, this is the last of the extra stories that the author has written as far as I know. However, I will be periodically checking to see if they write up any more chapters and work on translating them if I can (or people can message me if they notice any new chapters I haven’t translated)! Thank you so much for reading this story! If you’ve liked this one, or other romance/reincarnation type of genres, then feel free to check out the other novels I’ll be uploading as well

***4/24/21***I noticed that somebody else also started translating this series pretty recently. Feel free to check it out, however I believe they are still on part 1, a little over 90 chapters away. Some of their translations slightly differ from mine (names and translator notes, etc.) so if anyone plans to read a different version, I highly recommend starting from the beginning to read with the most consistency!

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