Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.9 - Chapter 3

The Farewell Dinner

I wrote a letter to Freida, conveying the date we were going to patronize the Italian restaurant. Our retainers were fighting among themselves behind the scenes, battling to see who would get to accompany us.

“I understand that you all wish to come with us,” I said, “but the Italian restaurant is in the lower city, so we cannot bring those who are underage and not permitted to go beyond the temple.”

“What?!” Judithe exclaimed.

Thus concluded the war between my retainers. Given how nonchalant they were about joining me in the temple, it was easy to forget that they couldn’t go any farther without the archduke’s express permission. Underage nobles couldn’t go to the lower city for work purposes; Cornelius had only accompanied me last time by masterfully exploiting his familial ties to Karstedt and Eckhart.

All of my underage retainers stared at me in silence—except for Leonore, who gave me a quizzical yet elegant look. “In that case, am I right to assume that you are bringing Cornelius, Hartmut, Angelica, and Damuel with you?” she asked. “Shall we call for Ottilie and Rihyarda to serve you as attendants?”

“There is no need,” I replied. “The Italian restaurant was made to serve rich commoners; it is not somewhere for nobles to attend in bulk. I need only two guard knights, who can take turns to eat, and Fran to serve me.”

“Please, Lady Rozemyne. Do not be so cold,” Hartmut said, completely taken aback.

I could tell from the others’ reactions that they felt the same way, but bringing so many noble retainers with me would only inconvenience the restaurant. My retainers weren’t guests themselves, so they would need to take turns eating in the room for attendants. The problem was that this room hadn’t been designed with nobles in mind—there were no dedicated servers, and it wasn’t particularly spacious, since nobody expected attendants to bring their own staff. Arriving with my own army of retainers would only sow the seeds of chaos.

“I am willing to refer you to the store if you wish to eat there, but you must attend as customers,” I explained. “None of you are used to eating without servers, so I do not believe you would survive in the room for attendants.”

“I do not need servers,” Damuel replied at once.

“Me neither, Lady Rozemyne,” Angelica added a beat later.

Thus, I elected to bring them as my guard knights. I already knew from Spring Prayer and the Harvest Festival that they would eat without complaining when Fran and the other attendants were busy... plus something told me that telling Damuel to attend as a guest and pay for his own food was much too cruel.

“I am afraid you were too slow, Cornelius. Your only option now is to invite Leonore and attend with her. Eheheh...” I punctuated my teasing with a very deliberate smirk, but Cornelius received the suggestion with a smile.

“That is an excellent idea,” he said, then gave Hartmut a scheming look. “Hartmut, what do you think about attending as a guest rather than as a retainer?”

“It sounds like a truly splendid idea. I would rather eat alongside Lady Rozemyne than in a separate room.”

This was bad. Hartmut and Cornelius both fully intended to come with us. I would need to write to Freida to inform her of the increase in attendees.

“And if we are going as guests rather than as guards, then we can enter the lower city without being of age, correct?” Cornelius asked. “Leonore, shall we go to the Italian restaurant?”

“Why, that sounds wonderful,” she replied.

All of a sudden, my little joke about them attending as guests seemed a lot less funny. I really wished that he would exercise some restraint too, since Damuel was now being forced to endure two lovebirds flirting right in front of him.

Have some sympathy. Geez.

“Well, if you are attending as guests, do you not need your guardians to go with you?” I asked.

Leonore paused for a moment in thought, then a huge, lovestruck smile spread across her face. “Cornelius is the one inviting me, so I am sure they will permit us to go alone.”

As the conversation turned to parental permission, Brunhilde chimed in as well. “Groschel must learn more about the lower city if we are to become a trade city. After all, my own knowledge of the lower city is almost nonexistent. I shall obtain Father’s permission.”

“And as your attendant, Lady Rozemyne, I must understand your sphere of influence,” Lieseleta noted. “I can also tell my parents that this will allow me to monitor my sister. They are bound to let me go then.”

It seemed that both Brunhilde and Lieseleta were set on coming with us as well. Philine watched as they came up with their desperate excuses, then suddenly shot her head up and raised a hand.

“You are my guardian, Lady Rozemyne. Please permit me to accompany you.”

“You are my guardian as well,” Roderick added. They were both looking at me with glimmering eyes—and, more importantly, they were both right. Now that they had distanced themselves from their parents, I was their guardian.

At this rate, I’m going to be bringing everyone...

It seemed that all of my retainers wanted to visit the Italian restaurant, and considering how hard they worked, treating them to a tasty meal sounded good to me. The issue was that this was meant to be my last proper meal with Ferdinand, and I wasn’t sure that all this was appropriate for such an occasion. As I started to ponder the matter, I noticed that Judithe was staring at me with tearful eyes.

“Lady Rozemyne, am I going to be the only one staying home?!” she exclaimed. She hadn’t been able to think of an excuse to get her own parents’ permission, but excluding her now seemed much too pitiful.

“I shall contact your parents and ask for them to give their permission,” I said.

“I thank you ever so much, Lady Rozemyne!”

Customers brought their own attendants to serve them in the Italian restaurant, which meant that Philine and Roderick would need people to serve them as well. They lived in the castle with me as their guardian, however, so they didn’t have any attendants to bring with them.

I gazed at my attendants in the High Bishop’s chambers for a moment, then said, “How about we have Fran serve me, Zahm serve Roderick, and Monika serve Philine? Rosina, I would also like for you to attend and play music for us.”

“Understood.”

After hearing my suggestion, Rosina and my temple attendants readily agreed to come.

“And so, we are all going to be eating together,” I said.

It was the day of our trip to the Italian restaurant, so Fran and the others had needed to leave early to prepare. After their departure, I had locked the High Bishop’s chambers and moved to the High Priest’s room, where I was now helping him with his work while waiting with my guard knights.

“Why are your retainers attending as guests?” Ferdinand asked. “Is there any point to having them join you?”

“Well, I’m not ‘having’ them join me; they asked to come of their own accord. I thought this would be a good way to reward them for working so hard. The restaurant will also benefit from having more noble customers, and my retainers’ presence means more profit. Although, of course, I’m going to be paying for everyone today.”

Since this was a farewell gift, I was paying for Ferdinand as well.

Ferdinand gave me a very perturbed frown. “Everyone? I would rather not have a student pay for my meal.”

“I invited you, and this is a farewell gift, so it’s only natural that I pay. The fact that my retainers are also going to be there is just incidental, since they’re always working so hard. You’re the main guest of the evening, Ferdinand.”

Our carriages arrived while we spoke. Damuel and Angelica rode with Ferdinand and me, while my other retainers were taking their own carriages from the castle or the Noble’s Quarter. Philine and Roderick were also coming from the castle, at my request.

“We are honored to receive your business,” Freida said when we arrived, kneeling alongside several of the restaurant’s servers.

We exchanged the usual greetings and then went inside, whereupon we were met with the strongest aroma of consommé, so thick that we could almost taste it. The smell alone was enough to assure us the dish was being made to perfection. I could also hear music coming from the dining room, indicating that Rosina was here already.

Freida smiled while guiding us down the hall. “Everyone else has already arrived. This is our first time welcoming so many nobles, so I must admit, things are quite tense.”

“My apologies for being so unreasonable,” I replied. “Unfortunately, this was our only opportunity to do this.”

The autumn harvest had just finished, and the market had more ingredients now than at any other point in the year. The livestock that had grown fat in preparation for winter was also starting to be slaughtered and turned into meat for the winter months. Compared to spring, when ingredients were hard to come by due to the recent snowstorms, and summer, when the restaurant was swamped with customers, this was the best time to bring a bunch of nobles.

“Not to mention, having my retainers stop by on their own would only inconvenience your other customers, would it not?” I asked. Most commoners wouldn’t want to eat anywhere near nobles. It couldn’t even be seen as an opportunity to make connections, since they weren’t actually allowed to speak on their own. There was no way they would enjoy their food while being so nervous about causing offense, which was why reserving the whole restaurant and finishing our business all at once was the best approach.

“I am beyond grateful for your consideration, Lady Rozemyne,” Freida replied. “You mentioned the other day that you were longing to eat Leise’s cooking, yes? She has been striving to meet your expectations.”

Everyone was smiling when we arrived at the dining hall; delicious food was enough to put anyone in a good mood. My hope was that Ferdinand would share in the merriment before leaving for Ahrensbach.

“Here, Lady Rozemyne.”

Fran pulled out a chair for me. He was wearing clothes prepared specially for today, and I could tell from the look on his face that he was just as excited as everyone else.

I took my seat, then listened as Freida ran us through the menu. Eckhart was standing behind Ferdinand as his guard knight, while Damuel was standing behind me. They were going to be eating second, after Justus and Angelica finished their meals.

After finishing her explanation, Freida took her leave—but not before offering us a very hospitable “Please enjoy.” In her place came various servers, all pushing trolleys covered with food. Fran brought over my plates, then Ferdinand—our main guest for the evening—was given his plates by his attendant. Everyone else was sitting in order of status, which was also the order in which they were served.

The first dish to be brought out was ham carpaccio, served with a turnip-like vegetable called zelbe. Both the ham and the zelbe were thinly sliced and arranged on the plate in a circle like a flower in full bloom. In the center was a small mountain of boiled zelbe leaves, which added a very nice splash of green. The stuff sprinkled all over it was likely rigar, the faux garlic, but crispy fried.

Decorating the delicious-looking carpaccio was some equally delicious-looking sauce, drawn across the plate in a gentle arc. They had used not just salt and citrus juice mixed with vegetable oil, as per my instructions before, but also minced mehrens and some herbs.

I took the first bite, partially to demonstrate that the food wasn’t poisoned. The saltiness of the dry-cured ham mixed well with the freshness of the zelbe, making me want to eat more. A great deal of thought had gone into the mouthfeel as well, as the crunchy rigar provided an exquisite contrast to the softness of the rest of the dish.

“The chef must have spent an extraordinarily long time on this. The sauce in particular is very different from what my own chef makes,” Ferdinand noted. He scooped up some of the sauce with his fork before bringing it to his mouth.

“Leise is dedicated to improving her craft,” I replied. “She is like you when you strive to make improved magic tools.”

Everyone seemed to be having a good time. I could hear cheery voices coming from near Philine, though she was seated so far away that I couldn’t tell what they were saying.

Our next course was the consommé that Ferdinand enjoyed so much. Making it was such a long and involved process that opportunities to eat it rarely came around. Ferdinand admired the color for a short while, then took his first spoonful.

“Is it as beautiful as ever?” I asked.

“Divine. I recall the shock I experienced the first time I tried it,” Ferdinand replied, then closed his eyes to better savor the flavor. I didn’t want to interrupt him, so I sought the opinions of the nearby archnobles.

“How is the double consommé?” I asked them.

“Your normal soup is delicious enough, but this is truly shocking. To think that soup like this even exists...” Brunhilde replied.

Leonore nodded along fervently. “The color is very dark, and despite it looking as though there is nothing of substance, the flavor is more profound than that of any soup I’ve eaten before. This dish is a baffling mystery, but I can say with all certainty that it is very delicious.”

“There is so much wondrousness compressed into this tiny vessel. In that sense, this consommé is just like you, Lady Rozemyne,” Hartmut added, flashing me a handsome smile. I could gather that he was pleased with the soup, but I didn’t understand what he meant—nor did I really want to.

Next was a freshly baked lasagna. It must have come straight from the oven, as the cheese was still bubbling and moving about. It had already been sliced, and Fran chose a small square piece for me.

In a way, the lasagna reminded me of mille crepes—layer upon layer of pasta generously filled with meat sauce and white sauce. The contents were practically spilling out, and no matter how much Fran struggled, strings of melted cheese clung to the cutlery he had used to serve it.

“This is very hot, so take care not to burn your mouths,” I said.

It seemed that my warning had come too late, as Roderick was already gulping down water. Judithe couldn’t help but giggle, and she very cautiously waited for her first bite to cool down before putting it in her mouth. She wasn’t quite so restrained with her second, however, and was clamoring for water herself moments later. Soon enough, both Roderick and Judithe were laughing together.

“This certainly is a lively meal,” Ferdinand observed.

“Doesn’t food taste better when it’s enjoyed with good company?”

“To me, meals have always been a necessary evil—a means to survive and nothing more.”

Ferdinand went on to tell me about his experiences as a child. Apparently, Veronica would tamper with his food whenever his father was absent from meals—either by lacing it with a slow-acting poison or subtly changing the ingredients so that it looked the same but tasted vile. Eating in the castle had consequently become one tense event after another, with his life always hanging in the balance.

“I quite liked breakfast and lunch, but that was simply because I could eat alone,” Ferdinand continued. “On no occasion did I enjoy the food itself.”

“Your childhood was far too cruel. I would have destroyed Lady Veronica if she had tried any of that stuff around me.”

“Fool. Had you so much as laid a hand on her when she was in power, the outcome would have been very much the opposite. The first wife of an archduke is not to be trifled with.”

Ferdinand was looking at me like I was stupid, but I wasn’t going to back down. “My safety is irrelevant; I would go in prepared to take her down with me. I might die, sure, but she would die too.”

“I see we think alike,” Eckhart said.

“To think you would share such a dangerous mindset... I am glad the two of you did not meet until after that woman was deposed,” Ferdinand said, realizing that Eckhart and I were cut from the same dangerous cloth.

Cornelius took this opportunity to express his sympathy for Ferdinand... only to receive some very shocking news in response.

“Do you not realize that this is your problem as well, Cornelius? Once I am gone, the duty of restraining Rozemyne, Hartmut, and even Clarissa of Dunkelfelger falls to you.”

“Please do not ask the impossible of me.”

Just as Cornelius put his head in his hands, a server arrived with today’s main dish: veal cutlets that had been breaded with fine breadcrumbs mixed with cheese, and cooked in butter until crispy, making them gleam like gold.

I was already close to being full, so Fran gave me only a small portion. I squeezed some zine juice over my cutlet, then dipped my first mouthful in Leise’s special sauce that was adorning the plate.

“The zine adds a certain sharpness to the already rich flavor,” Ferdinand remarked. It seemed that he preferred his cutlet with zine, while my still-growing retainers preferred theirs covered in sauce.

“How is this sauce made?” Lieseleta asked, staring it down with a completely serious expression. “I’ve never tasted anything like it before.”

Judithe nodded in agreement, saying that she wanted to share some with her family but that her family’s chefs would never be able to make it. Incidentally, I preferred the tang of the zine as well, although I would have been even happier if we could have added ponzu sauce with grated daikon.

Once everyone had eaten the main course, the guards exchanged places. Angelica and Justus entered, while Eckhart and Damuel went to start their meal.

“You seem satisfied, Angelica. Was the food to your liking?”

“Yes. The dessert was especially delicious,” she said, which sent a wave of excitement through everyone in the room. We were going to be having Mont Blancs, with cream made with tanieh which is similar to chestnuts.

Cornelius’s dark eyes lit up when he saw the dish. “I haven’t had taniehs in such a long time,” he said. “Mother is never pleased when I order them at home.”

Several years ago, I had given Cornelius the recipe for tanieh cream as a reward for his work in the Raise Angelica’s Grades Squadron. He loved the cream so much that he had ordered as many taniehs as he could the moment they were in season—so many that Elvira had ended up scolding him for it.

“It was on my third consecutive day of ordering the cream that Mother chastised me,” he revealed. “She said the chefs were struggling with how time-consuming it was to make, and that she didn’t want to eat the same thing every day.”

It seemed that Cornelius was the kind of guy who wanted to eat his favorite foods for every meal. We had known each other for a very long time now, so I was surprised to still be learning new things about him.

“Tanieh cream isn’t particularly sweet, so I imagine men are more likely to enjoy it,” I mused.

“Indeed. But will it not seem a tad lacking for the women?” Ferdinand asked, looking at Philine and Judithe in particular. Even with pound cake, they both preferred the sweeter honey option, so they didn’t seem too satisfied with the more understated flavor of the Mont Blancs.

“Don’t worry—Leise prepared for exactly this situation,” I said. And right on cue, another dessert was brought in: rafel pie.

Rafels were a fruit that felt like a cross between apples and the softer pears grown in Europe. Some dough-based sweets already used rafels as decoration on top, but my recipe proposed cooking them first with butter and sugar.

“This is fairly sweet, Ferdinand, so I suggest you take only an experimental portion.”

He was welcome to take more, of course, but after his first mouthful, he agreed that it was too sweet for him. “That one bite is enough for me, I think.” He did still compliment its taste, though.

As it turned out, the rafel pie was most popular with Lieseleta. It was hard to tell, since she ate her portions so quietly, but she ended up asking for seconds not once, but twice.