Chapter 175

Something to tell me, what is it?

Curious, I asked carefully.

“What is it?”

“Well, it’s lunch time soon. We were all trying to ask if you like to eat in the dining room.”

At Maya’s words, I exclaimed vigorously as if I had waited.

“Of course I would!”

“Really? Then let’s go right now.”

Maya took my hand and walked out the door with a bright face.

We stopped by the other children’s rooms.

By the time we got to the dining room, all five of us were together.

‘Wow, it’s a bigger and more magnificent table than the one in the Marquisate’s dining room.’

I don’t know if I could call this a table, but it was long and spacious enough to dine with dozens of people.

Because of this, the faces of Jake and Cedric who were sitting opposite from me seemed far away.

Not long after I sat down, I saw attendants coming from afar with trays of pre-dinner soup.

“Wow, it smells good?”

In my admiration, Alice, who was sitting next to me, nodded her head.

“Miss Emir is right. It smells like fragrant chicken soup.”

It really was.

From tender, melt-in-your-mouth chicken soup, to oily fish dishes, fruit and vegetable puddings, and grilled turkey.

The table was filled with delicious dishes.

We were hungry because we had traveled a long way, so we ate our food in a hurry.

‘It’s really delicious! It’s similar to what we usually eat in the imperial capital, but it’s a little different, but I think it’s better because it has a strong seasoning.’

After the meal, a steaming hot rose tea was placed in front of us.

Then Maya laughed and explained.

“Since you are all my precious guests, I told them to prepare the meal better than usual.”

At the same time, Maya added with a sad face.

“If it had not snowed as much as it is today, we would have been able to taste spices and food brought in from other cities. Sorry.”

“No, Young Duke. I really enjoyed it!”

I gave a thumbs up to cheer up Maya, who seemed somewhat depressed.

On the other side, Cedric also agreed.

“Right. The grilled fish was great.”

“Then I’m glad. Really.”

Only then did Maya’s face turn bright.

* * *

After tea time was over, we thought about what to do.

Then, at Maya’s suggestion, we decided to take a look around the castle.

“After all, even inside the castle, the place where firewood was not burning was as cold as the outside. There isn’t much fun. So, let’s dress warmly and look around. I will guide you.”

It wasn’t a bad offer.

Anyway, my personal purpose was to solve the curse of this land, and to do that, it would be better to know a lot of information about this place.

‘Well, then why was he telling the attendant following us to bring a fishing rod?’

Apparently, Maya seemed to have a different interest than looking around.

And it was still so.

I thought he wanted to give a tour of the Duke’s cast;e greenhouse garden for a moment, but then Maya naturally turned around and went to the frozen river.

To stand on the ice in normal shoes was prone to slipping.

So we covered the shoes with something made of woven straw strings.

Then, I was able to walk as if I was walking on a flat ground.

“That one is a little dangerous, but fortunately this one has thick ice so it won’t break no matter how hard you hit it.”

Maya, who was standing on the ice and continuing to explain, seemed to have realized something important, turned around and looked at someone.

“What, what? Why are you looking at me all of a sudden?”

It was Cedric who received that gaze.

As everyone’s attention suddenly focused on him, Cedric froze in embarrassment.

After a while, Maya took a deep breath.

“It’s probably because we were a little nervous for Lord Cedric. If it’s the Lord , I think you’ll be able to break this ice.”

“…… Of course, I can break this much ice! What do you see me as?”

It seems that Cedric couldn’t understand Maya’s words properly because it was cold and his ears were frozen.

Maya nodded his head with a presumptuous look.

“Yes, my anxiety was right.”

Meanwhile, I kept worrying about Cedric’s crooked hat.

The protruding ear is red and frozen, and if something goes wrong, he may get frostbite and get sick.

I cautiously stepped back and gently pulled Cedric’s hat back into place.

“What are you doing?”

“I placed the hat back.”

I replied nonchalantly and returned to my place.

I could see Cedric rubbing his cheek and ear in embarrassment.

At the same time, Jake, who was standing next to me, pulled me slightly closer.

After a while, Maya advised Cedric again, ‘Never use too much force’.

“Sheesh, I know. I won’t.”

Cedric grunted, but he acted more cautiously, not wanting to fall into an ice river.