Chapter 717

Feeling Unwell!?
The next morning.

After finishing my usual morning yoga, I headed to the kitchen, and breakfast preparations were mostly done.

This morning’s menu was dashimaki tamago, lightly salted grilled sharken, pickled summer vegetables, and miso soup.

Apparently, the tofu for the miso soup had been cut into cubes in the palm, hesitantly, but successfully.

“I must say, it was my first time placing such a soft ingredient on my hand to cut it,” the head chef said with a wry smile, though he seemed pleased to have learned something new (?).

Well, yeah. It’s totally different from peeling fruits or vegetables, bringing a blade down toward your palm for the first time is just plain scary.

And the knives in our house are specially made by Galvano Ojisan, they’re insanely sharp, so that makes it even scarier.

Though really, once you use one of his knives, you immediately understand that trying to force your way through something with a dull blade is far more dangerous.

The rice cooked in the earthen pot was transferred into a wooden container, then placed onto a cart along with the other dishes to be brought to the dining hall.

Mmm, wonderful.
A perfect Japanese-style breakfast set.

… Shame about the mismatched surroundings, but I can’t exactly afford to be picky about that.
Compromise is important, I nodded to myself as I headed to the dining hall.

Honestly, compared to when I first regained my memories from my previous life, this is incredible progress.
I almost want to praise myself for how far I’ve come.

That said, there’s no way I could’ve gotten this far without Otousama and Okaasama’s understanding.

Cooking and eating lars, what used to be livestock feed… fishing (?) in the port town… building a smoking workshop…

And beyond food, forming contracts with sacred beasts like Kurogane and Mashiro…
Even I have to admit, I’ve been pretty outrageous.

… Come to think of it, this might go beyond just “being understanding.”

But if you ask whether I can rein myself in going forward?
Yeah, no confidence at all.
… Rather, I only see a future where I don’t hold back.

I guess all I can do is have Otousama and the others accept me as this kind of daughter, and repay them with delicious food. Hahaha.

“Good morning.”

When I entered the dining hall, Otousama and Okaasama were already seated.

“Good morning, Cristea. At least on your days off, you needn’t go to the kitchen.”

“My apologies. I was curious about the progress of this morning’s tofu dishes.”

“Hm, well, in that case, it can’t be helped.”

“Good morning, Cristea. Really now, you shouldn’t need to go at all. As a noble lady, you ought to be told as much.”

“But considering her recent accomplishments, I don’t think being able to cook is a bad thing.”

“That may be so, but…”

Okaasama still didn’t look convinced, it’s not very ladylike, her expression seemed to say, so I apologized silently in my heart and took my seat.

At that moment, breakfast was served before us.

“How much rice would you like?”

“I’ll have a large serving.”

“I’ll have… a small portion.”

“Umm, I’ll take a regular serving, please.”

Since Otousama tends to ask for seconds quite often, the servers had a habit of serving too much from the start. So we introduced a system like a diner, large, regular, or small portions.

Anything left over gets passed down to the servants, so it’s better than piling it on and leaving food uneaten. Otousama approved it, too.

The servants adopted the system as well, and apparently it works nicely, good balance between growing youths and older folks with smaller appetites.

Mm, as someone who was strictly taught by my grandma in my previous life that leaving even a single grain of rice would bring punishment, I’m very happy about this.

The server confirmed everyone’s portions, then lifted the lid of the rice container to begin serving…

And that’s when it happened.

“… Ugh.”

Okaasama pressed a hand to her mouth, her brows knitting together.

“…? What’s wrong?”

Otousama noticed and asked, but Okaasama only shook her head.

“Okaasama?”

The moment I called out, worried, she stood up from her seat.

“… I’m sorry. I don’t feel very well. I know it’s improper, but I’ll return to my room.”

Forcing the words out, she left the table.

“Okaasama!?”

I instinctively moved to follow her, she looked deathly pale, but Otousama stopped me.

“Cristea, sit down. I’ll check on her later. You have plans today, do you not? Eat quickly and get ready.”

“But…”

“If we all crowd her now, it will only make her feel worse. Endure it.”

“… Yes.”

Reluctantly, I sat back down and ate, but my chopsticks barely moved.

Otousama, on the other hand, devoured his meal at incredible speed, refilling both his rice and miso soup, then left his seat quickly.

“Master, there is no need to worry. It is not an illness.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Cristea, it’s okay!”

Kurogane and Mashiro said that while receiving heaping second helpings of rice like something straight out of a manga.

“But she looked that unwell… Wait, huh? You can tell it’s not a sickness?”

“Indeed. It seems there is a little one in her womb. That would be the cause.”

“… Huh?”

“Yeah. It’s still tiny, but there’s a different kind of mana in her tummy.”

“… Huh? …Wait?”

“As long as she rests, there should be no issue.”

“Yep. Ah, Cristea~ you’re gonna be a big sister, huh?”

“EEEEEEEEEEEEH!?”

What do you think about this chapter?