‘Why does he have to be so handsome……’

Edelle was feeling the insurmountable wall of his appearance, as imposing as his high rank, when the moment was interrupted.

“Forgive my late introduction. I am Monty Swift, in service to His Highness the Grand Duke. His Highness merely wishes to ask for an explanation of what situation occurred and what you experienced. Isn’t that right, Your Highness?”

Monty cleared his throat and gave the Grand Duke a meaningful look. It was a signal to cooperate so they could resolve the situation.

However, as the saying goes, even thieves need to be in sync.

“That woman might have been trying to steal the ribbon herself.”

“I wasn’t stealing anything. You just said so yourself.”

Sure enough, his stubborn reply came back. Monty gritted his teeth and gave another pointed look, but the response wasn’t much different.

“Those guys lying over there could say the same thing.”

“And please call her ‘lady.’ She’s clearly a noble daughter. What’s with this ‘that woman’ business?”

“What noble daughter wanders around in the middle of the night like this?”

“She can go where she wants. How should I know if she’s off to a secret rendezvous or whatever else?”

Monty turned completely toward the Grand Duke and began lecturing him. Though he was whispering, it was still loud enough for others to understand their conversation.

While watching the two men huddled together in disagreement, Edelle gently tugged at Liam’s sleeve.

“Ah……”

“Shh.”

Edelle quickly raised her index finger to stop Liam from speaking. Then she whispered resolutely to the wide-eyed Liam,

“Let’s run.”

***

The next day, at St. Heather’s Convent.

“So you just ran away like that?”

Loud laughter, ill-suited to the solemn convent, filled the cottage. Sister Hilda, who treated patients at Fonete’s only hospital, cackled so hard she nearly fell backward.

Edelle pouted her lips and grumbled at her.

“What if I had revealed my family name there? Would a noble as high-ranking as a Grand Duke have just let me go?”

“What if he didn’t let you go?”

Hilda smiled with interest as she asked. Though she seemed to be teasing, her expression showed genuine curiosity about Edelle’s answer.

“You know how it is, Master.”

Edelle rested her chin on her hand and added with a sigh,

“How much the nobles of Fonete despise fine dining.”

When the Forty Years’ War ended and Astère absorbed the Norton Kingdom to become an empire, the number of urban nobles in Fonete, the capital, increased.

Most were the Emperor’s subjects or influential wealthy individuals who received titles without territories, and occasionally there were bourgeois who had purchased titles from fallen noble families.

It was only natural that these sudden nobles, unfamiliar with aristocratic etiquette, dignity, and duties, would be scorned by the established territorial nobles.

They pointed fingers at the “fine dining” trend that had started because of Edelle, criticizing it as being controlled by base desires or claiming that only the uneducated would be so fixated on food.

“I still don’t understand. No matter how noble they are, they still need to eat, right?”

Edelle complained in an aggrieved voice.

“Since we have to eat anyway, what’s so vulgar about wanting to eat something more delicious?”

“For conservative territorial nobles, religious doctrine is still absolute, so it’s somewhat understandable.”

Riulism had been the state religion of Astère for two hundred years. Even though the church’s power had weakened under the Emperor’s rule, its doctrines remained embedded in Astère’s culture.

Edelle stared blankly at Hilda as if suddenly realizing something.

“When you talk like that, you actually sound like a nun.”

“I thought I should remind you since you seem to have forgotten.”

Hilda elegantly shrugged her shoulders, making her black veil flutter. She was playing along with Edelle’s not-quite-teasing remark.

Edelle laughed with a deflating sound and said,

“Eating is directly connected to living. At this rate, they’ll start saying that living itself is vulgar.”

“……Even a blind squirrel occasionally finds an acorn.”

“Pardon?”

Hilda swallowed her laughter as she watched Edelle’s lavender eyes grow round.

Perhaps it was because she was honest about the most basic human desires.

Edelle occasionally displayed sharp insight. And that was also why Hilda had accepted her as a disciple.

“Even the most perfect rules lose their original intent over time, leaving only empty formalities.”

“Just like not all nobles are truly noble.”

“Yes, humans are all like that. They forget what something was originally for and ultimately become obsessed with appearances.”

Hilda smiled gently as she refilled Edelle’s teacup. The fragrant scent of chamomile rose with the white steam.

Having calmed her upset feelings somewhat, Edelle slumped her shoulders.

“I hate the social scene.”

“The Grand Duke might be different.”

“He’s a Grand Duke, of all things!”

A Grand Duke was the highest-ranking person in the empire after the Emperor. Moreover, the current Grand Duke was still unmarried. He was truly a man standing at the pinnacle of society.

But Hilda thought differently.

“He’s been away from Fonete for a long time, so the Grand Duke must be quite distant from social circles.”

“But……”

“Who was it that said you have to taste something before you know?”

At Hilda’s voice tinged with amusement, Edelle pressed her lips together and rolled her eyes.

‘She’s using my own words against me.’

“Just taste it first” was Edelle’s most frequently used phrase. She muttered it habitually when recommending unfamiliar food to others and when challenging herself with new ingredients.

Hilda quietly gazed into Edelle’s sullen eyes. Stars still twinkled in those narrowed purple irises.

A meaningful smile deepened on Hilda’s lips.

“You might be surprisingly compatible.”

“Oh, come on, where in Fonete would I find someone like that? I’m perfectly content with you and Uncle Jo.”

“You have the nerve to visit your master after so long and demand herbs while talking big.”

Seeing Hilda snort, Edelle couldn’t help but smile sheepishly. She recalled her childhood when she had begged Hilda to become her master after falling in love with the herb garden full of various plants.

Seizing the opportunity, Hilda added her scolding,

“It’s been quite a while since you came to pray, hasn’t it? I doubt the Countess would let that slide……”

“That’s not the issue, Master.”

“Then what? Is the Grand Duke the problem?”

“That too, but…… a ribbon thief has appeared.”

Though she brought it up to change the subject, her concern about the ribbon thief being a bigger worry than encountering the Grand Duke was genuine. Edelle had originally come to seek herbs and advice from her master, Hilda.

“After all that trouble to prevent fake ribbons……”

“You made new ribbons then too, right?”

“Yes. Using fabric exclusively imported from the Eastern Continent and even adding lace made by a master craftsman. Do you know how much trouble that was? That’s why I started the 〈Michelin Survey〉 in the first place.”

Edelle shuddered at the memory. Creating new ribbons and publishing the guide had cost a lot.

Of course, it was a minor expense compared to the income of the Michelin family, who had a firm grip on the empire’s distribution networks.

“They scorn it as vulgar, yet they covet the ribbon. Why?”

“Because now the ribbon doesn’t just signify a good restaurant—it creates restaurants with lines out the door. Who doesn’t like money?”

“You don’t like money, Master.”

“Who says that?”

Hilda feigned innocence, opening her eyes wide. Edelle snorted just as Hilda had done earlier and retorted,

“Then would you prefer herb seedlings or a box of gold coins?”

“……What kind of herbs are we talking about?”

After hesitating for quite some time, Hilda cautiously asked.

Seeing her master become serious at the mention of herbs, Edelle burst into laughter, and eventually Hilda joined her disciple in cackling for a good while.

After finally calming her laughter with warm tea, Hilda slowly opened her mouth.

“There is a way to prevent people from stealing the ribbons.”

“What is it?”

“They keep making fakes and stealing them because they don’t know who the ribbon owner is.”

“But……”

The people of Fonete believed that Michelin Coach Builder employees hung the ribbons and produced the 〈Michelin Survey〉. If they knew it was the Count’s daughter doing it personally, they wouldn’t dare touch them so easily.

Seeing Edelle fall silent and deep in thought after starting to speak, Hilda added with a gentle smile,

“Perhaps you’re giving people an opportunity to commit sins.”