CH 22

When the main course arrived, there was a subtle change in the sensitive atmosphere.

The moment food’s scent wafted through the air, the people sitting at the dinner table heard nothing but the clinking of cutlery as the meat was sliced through. When the footmen opened the lids of the dishes in front of each person, a cooked fowl, which was too small compared to the lid, could be seen.

The birds had been fed only figs and grapes for a couple of months, and so their skin was fragrant. It was about five or six times as plump as a regular bird living in the wild. With their feathers plucked and their flesh gaining that much weight, they didn’t look like they’d be able to fly.

“Come to think of it, I heard that there’s a custom of wearing a headscarf whenever eating some Ortolan. Isn’t this kind of food considered to be a delicacy? What do you think, Miss Evans.”

“Y-Yes?”

This was the first time Raymond spoke to her. However, Isella couldn’t be pleased by this fact. Just a moment ago, she gave a speech about voracity. Of all things, why did the next dish be the representative dish of voracity.

“Will you need to use a scarf? So that God would not see your appetite.”

He said this with a smile, but his words had not an ounce of kindness. Seeing his daughter in a tight spot, Verdic stepped in for his daughter.

“Haha, Sir Raymond, please don’t tease her so much. Isn’t she still young?”

“Miss Evans already has enough insight and judgment that I respect her for it.”

“Mmh, indeed.”

After clearing his throat, Verdic continued speaking.

“You know, in fact, my daughter is worried about many things lately.”

“Huh, she really is your daughter, even with that businessman’s mindset. Rather than doing those things, my Carynne reads either scriptures or other pieces of literature that she wants to read. Isn’t that enough for a girl of their age?”

“What, no, it wasn’t something like that.”

As the fief lord suddenly spoke up, Verdic took this chance to bring something up with the fief lord.

“Then what is it?”

“Um, I heard that there was this one maid who committed a mistake towards my daughter.”

“Are you talking about Nancy?”

Verdic nodded right away.

“Your Lordship, you’ve heard about it, too?”

“There had been such a commotion after all.”

At the fief lord’s rebuke, Verdic gave his daughter a pointed look. However, Isella could hardly care about her father’s glare because she was looking closely at the fief lord’s mouth.

“She resigned not too long ago. She said she was still lacking in many ways, so she resigned for that reason.”

“…Is that so? I thought she was only enjoying her vacation.”

“It was after her vacation.”

And the fief lord shrugged and stabbed the fowl with a fork.

“She came back a few days ago and said that she couldn’t continue working, then she left.”

Crack, crack.

As he chewed a slice out of the fowl, there was an audible sound of bones being crushed.

* * *

Father, who did you see? Who was it you talked to? That person you saw, you talked to and sent away—she’s my dead maid. And it was a maid I killed with my own hands.

Carynne had so many questions. However, Carynne refrained from uttering the questions that lingered at the tip of her tongue. There was nothing amiss. Experience builds composure. Carynne continued to speak to her father as she normally would.

“Nancy just went like that… I’m a little disappointed.”

After gulping down, the fief lord patted his lips with a napkin and replied.

“What can we do? That’s just the nature of a wandering nomad.”

With a slight smile as though asking if the food’s alright, the fief lord glanced over to Verdic.

“What do you think, Mister Evans? Was my answer satisfactory?”

“Of course, Your Lordship. Rather than that, I’m excited to taste the food.”

“As the head of this house, I can proudly recommend it.”

The meal continued. One gypsy woman’s whereabouts was worth less than the food before them.

Verdic then took a slice of the fowl into his mouth. The sensible chef pre-cut sections around the neck, so it was easy to eat up. Verdic absolutely loved the wild fowl entrée, enough that he closed his eyes just to focus on its taste.

What his tongue tasted first was the butter and mashed potatoes slathered atop the meat, and the moment he took the slice into his mouth, it seemed to melt softly. As he chewed through the velvety bite, a sweet fruit scent was exuded as the oil that seeped out moistened his throat.

There was a hint of the rich flavor of wine that marinated the meat on his tongue. Adding to the pleasure of chewing was the sensation of crushing small bones, which were softened because the fowl had been cooked over high temperatures. And when the small lungs and heart of the bird burst as his teeth had ground over them, sweet juices overflowed his mouth.

‘Ohhh, this taste.’

At his parents’ house back then, he used to eat two or three of these, laughing at the supposed tradition of only eating one a day. It’s important to be meticulous for this dish that he was passionate about, and Evans loved everything about it.

Everyone at any place would consider roasted wild fowl to be a luxurious, high-quality dish that’s elevated. So while knowing the variety of spices and garnishes that would go well with this dish, Verdic was confident that he was a fanatic who knew everything about it.

‘What on earth was used here?’

The combination of the meat, garnish and wine was sweeter than anything else, but the delicacy also had a mix of bitterness and sourness to its taste. He had experienced adding a sour flavor atop a refreshing taste, but it was the first time he had encountered a subtle bitterness at the tip of his tongue with this dish. Though he was thinking hard about which ingredients were used, Verdic was surprised by the harmony that followed then after.

It was like a taste that would tease his tongue. The shock of this taste was enough that he was arrested by it. It wasn’t unpleasant as it used other flavors, but the combination itself made it even more mysterious.

‘I can’t put my finger on it. What is it, what fits?’

“Come back to us now, Mister Evans.”

Verdic’s eyes widened, and tears seemed to fill them a little. It was oh so sweet. It was a greater pleasure than sleeping with any beautiful woman. Verdic then felt a sense of duty to take over the Hare territory. Compared to a scholar’s research, this was even greater.

“This is just… Really, what was the reason that this wasn’t brought out until now… Ah, really, no—I can even imagine that I was born only to taste this dish today.”

At Verdic’s admiration, the fief lord stroked his beard in satisfaction. Raymond and Isella also took a bite, and just as expected, their expressions changed as well. However, younger people weren’t familiar with the subtleties in the flavor, so they could only give clichéd compliments.

Verdic was disappointed by this, as he was proud to be a true connoisseur. It’s unreasonable that the same serving was given to those who couldn’t even enjoy the dish properly.

“May I taste this dish again during our stay here?”

“Hoho, there’s none left now, so you’ll have to wait a long time to taste it again.”

“It’s a pity that I haven’t had this dish before this day.”

“Don’t be too disappointed. It’s just that there’s no good hunter living in our territory, so the fowls caught were limited.”

“Then please give me a chance to hire better hunters. I’ll pay as much as they want. Really, this is… Can the chef be called? I really can’t stop complimenting this.”

A moment later, a plump, middle-aged man stood in front of Verdic. He was wiping his sweat.

“You’re truly a praiseworthy man. I’ve not had a chance to admire the true value of your other dishes so far, but I can tell you right now that your hands are genuinely worthy of even more exquisite dishes.”

“Thank you very much, sir.”

“Just how did you make it taste like that?”

“I melted salt and butter with a one is to one ration over the potatoes and—”

“No, no. Rather than that, I’m curious about how you cooked the fowl.”

“It was in a high-temperature oven. The wild fowls were fed only figs and apples for a month, and then they were marinated in wine—”

“No, instead of that, um… I apologize.”

Coughing for a moment, Verdic grew conscious of his impatience, so he refined his tone.

“I can’t identify what kind of spices were used, so I’m curious about the mixture of the seasonings. I don’t think it’s any of the herbs that I know of.”

“Uh…”

The chef hesitated to speak.

“Please tell me. Is it a secret recipe? Your Lordship, I’ll pay a reasonable price. I don’t think I’ll be able to forget this taste.”

“Mm, it’s just as you said. Actually, the herbs…”

“…I was the one who had them put in.”

Dullan replied with a quiet voice.

“……”

“……”