After finishing the morning training, Rensley stretched and headed to the kitchen. The official induction ceremony was yet to take place, but being the royal chef anyway, and with no busy tasks delaying his participation in training, Rensley had been diligently participating in training since the day after passing the exam.
Worried that the atmosphere within the entire Knight Order might be hostile due to the incident where he unexpectedly got ambushed by a fellow member during a practice duel, Rensley found that the majority of his fellow knights were ordinary and decent individuals. He had already become quite friendly with many members of the Knight Order.
“Reyna, I’ll follow you for two glasses of beer.”
“Drinking before lunchtime? Be careful not to ruin your reputation just because you’re young.”
“I’ll also cut some sausages.”
“Sure, go ahead. You should eat some snacks too. Here, have some potatoes with it.”
Playing the role of a kitchen worker, Rensley had become close to the head cook, Reyna. Despite her stern personality and tone, she had a warm heart. Although Reyna’s cooking still lacked flavor, the basic ingredients such as meat, sausages, bread, butter, and vegetables were of excellent quality, and Rensley had been resolving his meals using them lately.
Carrying two glasses of beer and a plate with hot sausages and mashed potatoes, Rensley and Reyna went out of the kitchen. At the entrance, their fellow knight, Stan, handed them beer glasses. The two of them exchanged a light toast and sipped the beer. Rensley raised an eyebrow, impressed.
“Why does the beer taste so good right after training? It’s not even cold at times like this.”
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.
“Be careful; if the commander finds out, you’ll be scolded.”
“Having a drink outside before sunset. As a member of the honorable Knight Order, always be mindful of your conduct and strive diligently.”
Rensley imitated the commander with a solemn expression, and Stan chuckled as he imitated the commander’s scolding tone. In the backyard, a large bonfire was burning, providing warmth even though they were outdoors.
While enjoying the warmth of the bonfire, Rensley and Stan engaged in casual conversation about today’s training. Suddenly, the voices of others pierced their ears like arrows.
“Really? Is that rumor true?”
“It seems so. You know how many times I’ve cleaned up the beds of the high-ranking ladies and gentlemen, right? Me and Gretel look the other way when we see them. Just looking at the state of the beds in the morning tells you whether they did something yesterday or not.”
On the other side of the wall, maids were gossiping loudly. Rensley and Stan exchanged glances and decided to eavesdrop on their conversation, maintaining silence.
“Even if you’re a high-ranking lady, you’re still a woman. I thought she might change a bit after becoming a lady, but… But really, does His Grace not care at all? Maybe…”
“Shh! Even though His Grace is lenient about the activities of those below him, you shouldn’t talk about such improper things casually. Still, fortunately, the two of them are young, so they’ll probably produce an heir eventually. Let’s stop talking about this and go back to work. We might get caught up in trouble at this rate.”
The busy footsteps of the maids gradually faded away. Raising his beer glass and eavesdropping on their conversation, Rensley let out a relieved sigh. Even if it was just a baseless rumor, as the person involved, it was a story that made his heart skip a beat. He had broken out in a cold sweat.
‘I didn’t expect such rumors to circulate within the castle walls.’
Unless you were a child of around six, you could easily guess what the ‘improper talk’ that the maids almost spilled was. Overwhelmed, Rensley tapped his cheek to snap out of it, and Stan glanced at him with a smile.
“How about you? Did you hear?”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“The conversation just now. About His Grace…”
“Oh, you mean the new one who came to Aldrant recently? I’m not sure since I’ve been here for a short time, but our current Lord seems a bit eccentric. It seems that the kings of Aldrant from generations past were often aggressive and hot-blooded, but our current Lord is the opposite. Well, isn’t that okay? It’s not a bad thing.”
“It’s not about personality, but the rumor I just heard.”
Trying to narrow down the vague topic, he scratched his nape and rolled his eyes.
“Well… Honestly, it’s a bit hard to understand. Young men aren’t usually that innocent. Rumors are circulating that, despite holding a wedding ceremony, the night was not properly celebrated. I can’t help but think there might be other reasons.”
His words were cautious, but Rensley almost dropped his beer glass in shock. He never dreamed that such baseless rumors would spread. Even if his late-night visits to his research lab, ignoring others’ eyes, might have sparked baseless rumors, it made him extremely uncomfortable.
Rensley couldn’t assert that it was absolutely not true. He, too, was ignorant about the sexual functions or night abilities of Grand Duke Gezell Jivendad. If it were among friends with no formalities, such rumors might occasionally arise. Still, Grand Duke Gezell was his superior. Now, as a member of the Knight Order who served him, it was even more inappropriate to pry into the private affairs of the ruler.
But recalling the way he had seen Grand Duke Gezell during the swordsmanship training… he might not be incompetent in nocturnal activities. Although it would be difficult to survive, Rensley had managed to snatch away some gold trinkets from the meager wedding gifts. If such rumors spread in the fiercely competitive Cornia, the succession issue might have been resolved long ago. As this worry slowly grew, Rensley asked one more thing.
“Besides Grand Duke, I also heard there is another direct heir to the throne, Princess Frida. If His Grace has been unable to find a successor for a long time, wouldn’t that be a problem?”
“Oh, Princess Frida? Yes, that’s true, but it doesn’t have to be a direct heir to become the next Grand Duke. Haven’t you heard during your induction exam preparation? Even the current Grand Duke is not the son of the previous Grand Duke but his nephew. In Aldrant, once the king designates the next successor, that’s it. We common folks don’t know the exact criteria or procedures for selection, but in any case, there hasn’t been much dispute over the throne for a long time.”
With those words, Rensley breathed a sigh of relief, but the uneasy feeling in his heart didn’t dissipate. Just because something hadn’t happened so far didn’t mean it wouldn’t happen in the future.
TL/N Volume 2’s Cover~
Nocturnal Activities 😂💀
Well Only Wife can clear Husband’s name . Rensley make people witness Duke’s prowess !!!
And Volume 2 Art is like depicting Nature’s Bloom. Blossoming Love.
These Nuances are fun to find.
Thanks for the quick update. Chapters are long , no easy task. Really appreciate your efforts 😇💫💫💫💙
Thank you for all the comments and encouragement QAQ
omg u sooo fast! thanks for the quick update!
Glad you enjoyed it! 💖
I feel the fact that the second Volume’s cover is alike a spring landscape so heartwarming since it means Rensley is finally finding a new home :3