As Rensley lay on the bed, he found himself rolling around, recalling the smells from the kitchen— the aroma of cooking meat, the sizzling of oil, and the spicy fragrance of seasonings. The thought that he could satisfy his hunger brought a ray of comfort to his restless mind.
“I will bring it myself. Step back.”
The awaited voice echoed from outside the door. Rensley, as if awakening from a reverie, promptly stood up, politely folded his hands, and bowed his head as the Duke entered the room.
“Have you come?”
“There’s no need for formality every time.”
Although not mere empty words, considering Rensley’s position as a male duchess, the Duke had no reason to behave like a genuine lord committed to spending his life with him. Awkwardly smiling, Rensley approached him.
“Don’t trouble yourself; I will take it.”
“Please, have a seat.”
The Duke brushed past Rensley, placing a platter on the table. On the large tray were roasted goose legs, bread, cheese, and a red soup whose ingredients were unknown. The sweet aroma wafted from the teacups placed alongside. Seeing the tempting spread, a sense of regret intensified as saliva involuntarily swelled in Rensley’s mouth. Rather than honeyed tea on this platter, a glass of alcohol would have been the only thing to wish for. However, now wasn’t the time to reveal his preferences.
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
With a nod and a glance filled with a certain sincerity, the Duke responded. Rensley sat down to prepare his meal, feeling torn between the desire to devour the goose leg whole and maintaining the decorum expected in his current situation.
While lifting his knife and fork, the appetite that had surged gradually subsided.
‘If it’s alright with you, Your Grace, perhaps you could attend to other matters while I dine?’
Leaning against the opposite wall, Rensley wanted to ask the Duke, who was staring intently at him, but refrained from doing so and continued to act nonchalant. The first dish that caught his attention was, of course, the crisply roasted goose meat. The well-cooked goose emitted a unique fragrance, hinting at seasonings beyond just salt. Rensley appreciated spices, especially in meat dishes where the right blend of spices could enhance the flavor.
It had been almost a day since he had a proper meal. Slicing into the thick and tender flesh with his fork, a drop of oil dripped from the crispy skin as he lifted a piece. Opening his mouth, he pushed in the first morsel.
“Mmm!”
Rensley’s eyes widened at the first bite. Even through closed lips, an involuntary exclamation escaped. Startled, Rensley found himself glancing at the Duke without realizing it.
“Is it to your liking?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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It doesn’t taste good…
How could it be? It tasted disgustingly bland. If he had been this hungry before, his bones would have been exposed by now. Was his tongue temporarily malfunctioning due to nervousness?
Setting down the knife and fork, he cautiously tasted the soup. Surprisingly, it had a taste almost identical to the goose meat.
Suppressing the trembling in his hands and around his eyes, Rensley managed to control himself. Striving to maintain composure, he tasted the bread and cheese one by one. Thankfully, they tasted normal. Feeling a deep sense of relief, he sincerely thanked the Duke.
“It’s truly delicious. Thank you.”
There was no immediate response. Rensley briefly entertained the suspicion that the Duke might have tampered with the food to punish him for deceiving himself. However, he quickly dismissed the unwarranted thought. A person capable of such annoyance would likely detest such troublesome actions.
On the contrary, it was Rensley who wanted to ask. Does Your Grace find such dishes palatable? Of course, the tastes of Aldrantt and Cornian people may not be entirely similar…
“You must be busy with official duties; it’s fine if I dine alone.”
“Don’t worry about me; take your time.”
Even if he were not present, someone of the Duke’s stature would have made some disparaging remarks about the food if it lacked taste. Rensley nodded with a smiling face.
Nevertheless, he had to fill his empty stomach, and he had to finish the food personally flown in by the Duke. Rensley carefully tasted and analyzed each bite.
Excessive use of spices overwhelmed each dish. While the bread and cheese were fine as they were, the roasted meat and red soup were drenched in all sorts of spices. Properly used, spices enhance the flavor, but excessive use ruins the taste of the dish.
Pondering, Rensley speculated on why the cook at Aldrant Castle would prepare such dishes. Aldrant was quite distant from the imperial capital, as well as the central gathering place of other kingdoms on the continent. There was a possibility that the latest cooking methods might not have been properly transmitted.
Dishes loaded with plenty of spices were no longer in vogue, especially since Rensley was around twenty years old. Although there were occasional chefs who presented such dishes, even when Rensley was around fifteen years old, nobility’s chefs nowadays refrained from preparing such cuisine.
Even with expensive condiments, what meaning was there if all ingredients tasted the same? During a time when spices were highly valued, the fashion among nobles, who wanted to flaunt their wealth, still lingered in the remote Aldrant.
The quality of the goose meat itself was excellent, and it would have been delicious with just salt and pepper. Unable to pair such strong-flavored food with a glass of wine due to fasting, Rensley struggled to swallow each bite. Nevertheless, with the help of bread, cheese, and tea, he managed to finish both the goose dish and the soup bowl.
It was more like an ordeal than a meal, but eventually, the end arrived. Feeling a sense of accomplishment akin to someone who had accomplished a great feat, Rensley, after setting down the spoon, stood up and thanked the Duke.
“Thank you for the meal, Your Grace. Thanks to you, I survived.”
“Culinary culture is an aspect that cannot be learned from books alone.”
The Duke approached, looking at the empty plates. “Considering how far you’ve come, I worried that the food might not suit your palate. It seems my concern was unnecessary.”
“Don’t worry. I can eat anything.”
Better to eat something tasteless than to endure the taste of poison. Although he claimed to be the offspring of the royal family, living through various forms of punishment and boasting about it, Rensley couldn’t help but laugh at himself for complaining about the taste after going hungry for a day.
Lost in a brief self-reflection, Rensley was startled when the Duke extended his hand, seemingly to clear the table. He grabbed the Duke’s wrist in surprise, but then quickly withdrew his hand as if alarmed.
“I apologize.”
Until recently, it was Princess Ivet who was allowed to write on his palm with her fingers.
The pumpkin-colored eyes staring at him, like those of a judge, created a shadow over his conscience. Rensley avoided eye contact and pretended to be busy clearing the table.
“Your Grace, please, just leave it. I will take care of it.”
“Do you intend to leave this room in that attire?”
“Uh…”
The clattering sound of utensils ceased as there were not many plates. Instead of lifting the tray, the Duke looked at Rensley, lowered his voice, and spoke.
“The engagement will be decided soon. The priest said he would perform the ceremony before sunset today.”
Rensley couldn’t say anything and just blinked. Even though it was a decision already made, the reality of it becoming imminent made it hard for him to breathe. He couldn’t determine what emotion was most prominent on his face right now.
His eyes, reflexively searching for a place to go, landed on the long window behind the Duke. The wind was blowing through the inner wooden door, opened by the guards searching the room, allowing the outside scenery to be visible.
Several windows adorned the surrounding walls, along with portraits of Aldrant nobles who were probably the Duke’s parents or ancestors. Near the bed, opposite the fireplace, Rensley noticed a large mechanical clock resembling a person’s figure, a device he had seen before.
A merchant brought the latest invention from the imperial capital to the King of Cornia, claiming it was powered and moved to indicate the time. The king, very pleased with the item, adorned his hall with it. Later, he purchased another one to display at the central church in Celestine Square for commoners to use.
However, there were few people in Cornia who knew how to read the time with a metal rod rotating on a round disc. Rensley himself hadn’t learned it. Nevertheless, he could feel that Aldrant’s evenings were faster than Cornia’s, even without looking at the clock.
Not long after finishing lunch, the sky behind the Duke was already preparing for sunset. The sky, which had been mostly cloudy during the day, unexpectedly cleared up during the sunset, making the sun appear large and red.
Among the landscapes of Aldrant, mostly painted in shades of black and white, the sudden crimson sky seemed eerie and melancholic rather than beautiful. Flocks of large black birds could be seen flying away, getting smaller in the distance.
Rensley held his breath, gazing at the deepening red hue. Slowly, he looked back at the Duke. The Duke’s face, silhouetted against the setting sun, became slightly darker due to the backlight.
The silent time stretched for too long. When Rensley lowered his gaze, the Duke finally spoke.
“Are you all right?”
Even if he wasn’t, there was nothing he could do, and, in fact, he didn’t know his own state. Rensley forced his voice to answer.
“I’m fine. My decision remains the same, so please don’t worry.”
“The sun is setting. If I return to attend to my duties, the ceremony might already be decided.”
“Yes. I will… wait quietly here.”
Whether the message that he wouldn’t escape through the window anymore was properly conveyed or not, the Duke, whose large body had slightly leaned towards Rensley, straightened up. Holding the tray with one hand, the Duke effortlessly lifted it and, once again without turning back, left the bedroom.
As if he had been holding his breath, Rensley let out a small sigh and stood there, gazing outside in confusion before finally moving.
As evening approached, the temperature dropped rapidly. Rensley put on the thick fur cloak hanging by the bed and sat in the comfortable chair next to the fireplace. Come to think of it, when he brought lunch to the Duke’s basement, he found him sitting in front of the fireplace, reading a scroll in the same manner.
Staring at the roaring flames, Rensley, as if captivated, looked at the clock beside it. Even though there was no one who knew how to read it, the finely crafted thin metal rod silently maintained its speed, rotating on the disc.
In the kitchen, where food from twenty years ago was being prepared, and in the bedroom, a modern invention from the imperial capital was placed. Aldrant was as peculiar a country as its ruler. And Rensley Maelrosen, no matter how long it lasted, found himself in the relentless fate of becoming the strange Duke’s strange bride for the time being.
He slipped from the chair, almost lying on it as if sinking into it. The date of the engagement was conveyed only after the sky had completely darkened. Instead of coming in person, the Duke sent someone to deliver the news. Rensley allowed the door to be opened only after covering his face with a veil. It was Lady Samlet, the chief secretary.
In the letter, neatly written in elegant handwriting, there was a brief sentence along with a request not to disclose anything: “Whatever happens, do not reveal it under any circumstances.” The short sentence announced that the wedding date had been set for three days later, once the sky had turned completely black.
The way this is worded, it seems to imply that Rensley had deceived himself (Rensley), not the Duke. “Himself” should be simply “him”. Even if it looks clunky with two “him” close to each other, it means that the reference is correct. If you want to clarify without making it clunky, you could rephrase it as “He briefly entertained the suspicion that the Duke might have tampered with the food to punish Rensley for deceiving him.”
I am a bit confused but the fact that the food is described as both bland and tasteless and also as too heavily seasoned. Those two descriptions seem to contradict each other? Maybe the words used to describe the food should be just “disgusting” (without the “bland”) or maybe “awful” or simply “didn’t taste good”.
Thank you for the translation!
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