As the sunset began to color the sky, Edelle returned to the Count’s residence in the Grand Duke’s carriage.

Butler Reynolds, who had tensed upon spotting the grand ducal crest engraved on the large carriage, welcomed Edelle as she disembarked alone.

“Welcome back, Miss.”

“Yes, what’s for dinner?”

“It’s being prepared. Gale says he’ll make a noodle dish with the perilla oil he pressed today, along with the meatballs prepared this morning.”

“Perilla oil sounds amazing!”

Edelle beamed, imagining the rich, nutty aroma. The thought alone made her mouth water.

‘If we crushed a few sheets of seasoned seaweed on top, it would be perfect cold buckwheat noodles.’

The Michelin residence’s garden cultivated various plants not native to the Empire. Perilla, discovered in the Eastern Continent, was among them. Edelle had initially enjoyed nibbling on the distinctively fragrant leaves before arranging to have the seeds harvested around this time and pressed into oil.

Freshly pressed perilla oil.

“Ah, I’m suddenly starving.”

Reynolds nodded in complete agreement. All the servants at the Michelin residence knew exactly how heavenly the aroma of perilla oil was.

He spoke to Edelle, who was hastily trying to remove her robe.

“Before dinner, perhaps you should visit the greenhouse, Miss.”

“The greenhouse? Why? Is there a problem?”

“Young Duke Flint has come to see you.”

“Lucas?”

She had bumped into Lucas earlier that day in the square and briefly discussed business matters. It was strange that he would visit the residence at a time when he should have returned home.

‘Is there an issue with the dishes?’

Putting her robe back on, Edelle hurried toward the greenhouse.

***

The Michelin residence’s greenhouse was filled with plants that emitted unique fragrances—exotic herbs and fruit trees that Edelle had collected from various parts of the continent.

Lucas was examining a reddening green fruit. He was so engrossed that he didn’t notice Edelle tiptoeing up beside him.

After waiting a moment, Edelle abruptly asked, 

“Want to try one? It’s not fully ripe yet, but it’s edible.”

“……No. I’m fine.”

Startled only briefly, Lucas declined with a suspicious look. Seeing his expression, Edelle laughed and said, 

“I’ll give you a few when they’re fully ripe.”

“Sure, do that.”

Edelle pulled over a stool from the side and sat down, asking, 

“Did you check the dishes?”

“Yes. No cracks, and the logo’s color is perfect all the way to the edges.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

Edelle smiled brightly, glad she had entrusted the work to Potano. However, despite her cheerful smile, Lucas’s expression remained dark.

By now, she was curious about why he had come.

“Did something else happen? Why do you look like that?”

“It’s not that……”

Lucas started to object but then pressed his lips shut. Since he wasn’t speaking, Edelle could only tilt her head in confusion.

“Lucas?”

“What about you?”

“Me?”

“How was your day?”

Edelle pondered the meaning behind Lucas’s question for a moment. Soon she realized he was asking about her appointment with the Grand Duke.

And her time with the Grand Duke, despite a minor commotion, had been quite a pleasant memory.

“It was good.”

“……You said it was good?”

“Yes. There was a bit of a commotion in the middle, but otherwise…”

“What commotion?”

Lucas immediately frowned. Edelle shrugged deliberately to reassure him.

“Someone chased after me asking for a ribbon.”

“What? Were you hurt?”

“I’m fine. The Grand Duke stepped in right away.”

“……Well, that’s good.”

Lucas muttered glumly before asking, 

“Wasn’t it unwise to reveal that you’re the one who gives out ribbons? There’s no guarantee there won’t be more people like that.”

“I was prepared for it.”

“Why would you……!”

Lucas was about to burst out asking why she would prepare for such a thing and whether she shouldn’t have gone with Liam, but he swallowed his words. Instead, he roughly ran his hand through his hair and changed the subject.

“Don’t do ribbons anymore. Our restaurant will be opening soon, so there’s no need to go through that trouble.”

“Come on, those are two different things.”

Edelle’s restaurant couldn’t offer all the menus from Fonete. Even if it somehow could, it wouldn’t be able to accommodate all the citizens of Fonete.

Besides, introducing great restaurants was Edelle’s precious hobby. It was something she did for her own happiness, separate from running the restaurant.

“And if I really focused only on the restaurant, you’d be in trouble too.”

“Me? Why?”

“Haven’t you heard that rumor?”

Edelle sighed heavily, as if she had expected this.

“Well, I suppose if you had heard it, you would have mentioned it to me.”

“What rumor are you talking about?”

“The rumor that you and I are engaged.”

Lucas’s shoulders twitched. However, Edelle didn’t notice and continued chattering.

“Ridiculous, right? I only heard about it the day before yesterday.”

“……You did?”

“Yes! I mean, how can a rumor spread throughout Fonete without the people involved knowing? Kyra knew about it but didn’t tell me!”

“Ha, I thought you knew about it.”

Lucas muttered dejectedly. Surprised that he also knew about the rumor, Edelle asked, 

“Wait. You knew about it too?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you say anything? It’s just a baseless rumor.”

Lucas let out a bitter laugh. Edelle clearly had no idea how hurtful her few words were to him.

Still, Lucas didn’t give up hope.

“You didn’t say anything, so I thought you were okay with it.”

“You and Kyra are exactly the same, I swear.”

Edelle waved her hand dismissively, saying they both disliked each other but acted the same way.

“What engagement between friends!”

“……Why not?”

“Huh?”

“My parents were betrothed from birth. And your parents were academy classmates.”

Count and Countess Michelin were famously rivals during their academy days. How they ended up married after graduating remained a mystery.

But Edelle couldn’t understand why he suddenly brought this up. She tilted her head to the side.

“So what?”

“Friends can get married too.”

Lucas stated firmly. His straight gaze pierced through Edelle.

Flustered, Edelle’s lips quivered before she finally managed to speak.

“It depends on the kind of friends!”

“……Yes, it depends on the kind of friends.”

In the end, the one who likes more is the one who loses. Sighing deeply, Lucas reached into his pocket and pulled out a package about the size of his fist.

“Just take this.”

“What is it?”

“Delilah gave it to me. The Marquis’s expedition has returned.”

Originally, the Atwood marquis family was responsible for the Empire’s spices and ingredients. It was natural for them to view the threatening Michelin family, who had successfully completed expeditions to the Eastern Continent, with displeasure.

For several years, they had sent out large expeditions promising to find something new to restore the marquis family’s prestige, and it seemed they had finally returned with something impressive.

“If Delilah gave it to you, is it okay to give it to me?”

“I don’t even know what it’s used for, so…”

“Still, it must be something you can’t find here……”

Edelle muttered perfunctorily as she cheerfully opened the package.

No sooner had she untied the tightly bound string than a subtle fragrance wafted up. The sweet yet pungent scent was definitely one Edelle remembered.

Edelle hastily flipped open the end of the package to check its contents. Inside were about a dozen hard seeds, each about the size of a walnut.

Immediately recognizing the seeds, Edelle murmured as if entranced,

“It’s nutmeg!”

“Nut…what?”

“What did Delilah call it?”

“Sweet pepper, I think.”

“Ah, right. Sweet pepper. That makes sense.”

Edelle picked up one nutmeg seed and examined it from all angles.

Nutmeg was a premium spice found only in certain tropical regions. It seemed the Atwood Marquis’s expedition had visited somewhere completely new, not the Eastern Continent.

“The Marquis’s knights must have had quite an adventure.”

Though the Atwoods would make considerable money from this rare spice, that was none of Edelle’s concern.

Looking at the generous amount of nutmeg, Edelle broke into a broad smile.

“This will last me months, no, a year!”

Seeing her smile, Lucas couldn’t help but smile along, as if he had no choice. Noticing her friend’s improved mood, Edelle had a good idea.

Sprinkling some nutmeg on the morning’s meatballs might completely lift Lucas’s spirits.

Edelle shook the nutmeg package and grinned.

“Lucas, want to stay for dinner?”