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~Chapter 9~
Before feeling embarrassed, Lily felt something new.
She never imagined she’d see a master and servants arguing like this before she died.
She had seen a maid lose her hair just for forgetting a fork.
In the capital, table manners were strange. Noble families even competed to have more forks and knives.
She’d once seen more than ten pairs on a single table.
‘Compared to that… this place is fun.’
Lily had survived the silent battlefield of high society.
She knew Blake’s place here very well:
He was the boss of everyone.
If he truly gave an order, everyone in the dukedom would follow it without question.
Even if it was dangerous, they wouldn’t complain.
‘Mr. Blake is a good person. He even forgives some rudeness if it’s from his own people.’
The maids knew that too. They were acting naughty, but only to a point.
So Lily gave up trying to stop them and just smiled.
“You’re all so cute.”
Blake had very good ears. He clearly heard Lily’s quiet words.
He was doing his best to fight with the maids, seriously.
But when he saw Lily just smiling sweetly instead of helping him, he couldn’t believe it.
The maids gathered around Lily.
Because she was small and they were big, it looked like a chick surrounded by hens.
“Miss Lily, please try some dried fruit. It’s rare up here, but we made it with care.”
“Wow, it’s so sweet—maybe all the care went in instead of the water.”
“Hahaha! How can you say things so beautifully?”
Blake rested his chin in his hand, glaring with sharp eyes and twirling his fork.
The fork looked tiny in his big hand.
All he could think was, ‘They’re all being ridiculous.’ Now, it was actually getting funny.
He grinned with a wolfish smile. Let’s see how far this goes.
“Miss Lily, we worked hard on this meal. In the capital, nobles eat in very complicated order, right? We tried to welcome you by making a breakfast like that.”
“Wow, you must have worked so hard.”
“And did you know? We heard you have to drink before eating! We thought nobles were all weak, but you’re pretty tough!”
Lily thought something was odd about that.
Who drinks strong alcohol to start a meal?
Normally, it’s just light wine or juice.
She sipped her champagne and was shocked by the strong taste.
“…!”
Who serves strong liquor as an appetizer?
A maid whispered in her ear.
“It’s wine with 70-degree brandy in it. How is it?”
“It’s… really good…”
Lily tried hard not to show her face.
The maids looked so proud.
‘They’re so happy. I don’t want to ruin their mood.’
Just then, across the table, Blake noticed Lily’s strange face.
He tasted the drink and his face changed too.
Blake was also a nobleman.
He’d been forced to learn all the party manners in the capital.
‘Wow, this brandy is ridiculous. For someone like Lily Hedwick, this must seem like child’s play.’
He watched Lily, seeing her try hard to keep up with the maids.
He felt something tickle deep inside his strong chest.
“Now we’ll bring the entrée—main dish! Chef, hurry up!”
Blake joked,
“I never thought I’d hear the word ‘entrée’ in the winter castle.”
Of course, they ignored him.
The chef, Alex, was a round old man who looked like a dwarf.
His white hat wobbled as he walked.
Alex was nervous.
He’d heard a pure Imperial lady was now living in the castle.
What if she threw a plate at his head like nobles in the capital?
‘Why did the maids ask an old man like me for fancy food all of a sudden?’
Good dishes need fancy ingredients.
But in this winter castle, most food was just what could be preserved.
Hanging venison.
Pickled cabbage.
Dried turnip, frozen candied carrots…
Alex sighed.
He worked harder than ever in his life, but he did his best.
What he held now was his best-looking grilled lamb with asparagus and egg sauce.
He walked over to Lily like a puppet.
In the capital, you had to introduce the dish in a long way.
“Um… the meat is lamb. The asparagus has an egg yolk sauce—um, what’s the name of that sauce again?”
He got nervous and forgot.
His wrinkled eyes looked at a cheat sheet in his palm.
But Lily answered for him.
“Hollandaise sauce?”
“Yes, hollandaise! Wait… Are you upset?”
The old man went pale.
“Please, even if you throw your plate, don’t hit my head! My face is already flat!”
He was known for being honest and having a big imagination.
He squeezed his eyes shut, imagining the worst.
“Throw a plate? What are you talking about?”
Alex peeked. For the first time, he really looked at Lily.
She smiled so sweetly.
She reminded him of a granddaughter he’d love.
“That’s enough explanation! Now I can really enjoy the food—thank you.”
Alex smiled wide, for real this time.
He even twirled his brown mustache, which had been brown when he was young.
“Anything for you. If you marry the master, I’ll make the biggest feast for your wedding!”
He was always that honest.
Blake put his hand to his forehead, looking fierce, but his heart beat faster.
“Chef, your mouth!”
He glanced at Lily. She just looked at Alex like a funny old grandpa.
Annoying.
What was even worse—he didn’t know why he was annoyed.
The pretend fancy meal continued.
Soon it was dessert time.
The maids were still cold to Blake, but finally stopped when Lily said it was enough.
“If Miss Lily says so, we’ll listen! We swear on a wolf’s heart!”
“No one cares about my feelings. Should I just hire new staff? Ones who don’t swear their wolf’s heart for an outsider?”
Then Blake noticed Lily was looking at him.
She was hiding a laugh with her small mouth.
“What are you looking at, Miss? Got a problem?”
He still sounded rough.
“No.”
“Hmph.”
Blake tried to stay annoyed, but after a short silence, he smiled a little too.
His strong cheek muscles moved nicely.
A look of happiness passed between them.
“It was a nice meal. Thank you.”
“For you, it must’ve been a joke. I know, so you don’t have to pretend to be polite.”
The maids looked shocked, thinking they’d made a perfect meal.
“Was something wrong?”
“Want me to list it? Like how you all acted silly? This isn’t even close to a noble meal. Want to hear more?”
Lily stopped him.
“Don’t say that! Really, it was wonderful.”
Manners in high society were strict.
You couldn’t put a knife in your mouth, or put your elbow on the table, or everyone would gossip about you.
Even things like
‘Put your soup spoon at 8 o’clock after you’re done.’
There were hundreds of rules!
Lily had even been hit by her etiquette teacher as a child.
Compared to that, this meal was like playing house—but she liked it.
This winter castle was the opposite of her old nightmares.
“I’m really happy now. I’ve never felt so warmly welcomed.”
She hugged Giana while still sitting.
She waved at Chef Alex to join too, and the three of them hugged together.
Other maids joined in, making a giant group hug.
“Mr. Blake, come on! You have to join us!”
Lily waved for Blake to come over.
Blake frowned.
