Chapter 53:
A Dinner with Saviz
RECENTLY, I’D HAD MORE FREE TIME than I knew what to do with. My only regular task was pouring mana into the roses at the royal castle garden. Cerulean took me off royal family guard duties, claiming I needed to be in tip-top shape this month and couldn’t risk getting hurt during work—but I was a knight! It was weird that I’d basically become a gardener! What was the purpose of all those etiquette lessons and dance classes I suffered through to become a brilliant knight worthy of the First Knight Brigade?!
With such complaints in mind, I made my way to my new “gardening job,” only to find the knights guarding the perimeter weirdly on edge. I cocked my head, but understanding dawned once I entered the rose garden and saw who waited inside: the commander of the knight brigades himself, Saviz.
“Good morning, Commander Saviz. Have you come to see the flowers?” I asked as I approached.
He raised an eyebrow at me. “Do I look like the type to have a taste for flowers?”
No, not in the slightest, I thought, but I couldn’t say such a thing, so instead I simply smiled. “I can’t presume to know you well enough to say.”
“What a shame. I should create opportunities for you to get to know me better then.” He didn’t crack a smile, so I couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not.
Hm, this was tough. Should I laugh and say, “Oh, you’re so funny,” or do I take the super serious route and say, “I would be honored, sir”?
In the end I went with the middle road and half smiled, but that only deepened his frown. Man, I just didn’t get him.
“Cerulean was supposed to treat you to a meal, but I hear he hasn’t fulfilled that obligation yet,” he said.
I vaguely recalled such a promise. “Oh, right, but I ate some of the royal castle’s cuisine instead, so it’s fine.”
Cerulean had planned to treat me to a luxurious dinner the day we went out disguised as jesters and a saint, but we ended up stopping by Earl Peiz’s place instead, derailing our dinner plans. We ate in Lloyd’s room in the royal castle afterward, which was close enough as far as I was concerned. Saviz didn’t seem pleased, however, and pursed his lips.
“The food you eat at the dining hall every day is also royal castle cuisine. He should be treating you to something new for once.”
He was technically correct, given that the food at the dining hall was served on castle grounds, and thus “royal castle cuisine,” but comparing the two was a stretch.
“The food served at the dining hall is just meat, meat, and more meat! And it’s all quantity over quality! It’s nothing like the refined and dainty portions of the royal castle. You can’t go around comparing food eaten with a knife and fork to that eaten with more fancy cutlery than you have fingers!”
In truth, I only used a single fork when I ate in Lloyd’s room, but Saviz didn’t need to know that. The food I ate in Lloyd’s room had the feel of fancy, dainty food that required all kinds of cutlery, and that was all that really mattered.
Saviz nodded at my zeal. “All right. Then why don’t you try royal castle cuisine that requires fancy cutlery once more? Come to the banquet hall at six tonight.”
“Huh?” My mouth dropped open at that reply. He had to be referring to that banquet hall, the glamorous one the royal family used. I was being invited to dine with none other than the knight brigades’ top dog.
“The king has business elsewhere, so it’ll just be you and me. I’ll overlook any poor dining etiquette, so please be at ease,” he said.
Poor dining etiquette? I’ll have you know I used to be a princess! I almost declined his offer before he went and challenged me. “Oho ho ho. You won’t find any breach in etiquette from me! My older sister trained me well.”
“Is that so? Then perhaps you can point out flaws in my etiquette instead. I’ll see you tonight. Wear something other than your uniform, as this isn’t part of your duties.”
Oh. Shoot. I missed my chance to turn him down, but it was already too late. He turned to walk away. Left with no other choice, I saluted.
“Yes, sir!”
Once he was out of sight, I let my shoulders droop and my head hang.
“Did he come to the rose garden just to invite me to dinner?” I wondered out loud.
If so, did he do it to fulfill the obligation Cerulean hadn’t? Perhaps he felt compelled to see it through since he’d suggested Cerulean treat me to a meal in the first place. But Saviz was an incredibly busy man. I kind of doubted he would care about something as trivial as this.
“How suspicious… But I feel like if the commander were plotting something, Captain Cyril would attend the dinner as well. Maybe he really was just trying to follow up on the obligation his older brother had failed to fulfill? Hmm… It’d be nice if there were an easy way to tell if he had something up his sleeve.”
As I thought out loud…
“Ack! I’ve really done it now!”
I snapped to my senses. I’d been on autopilot this whole time and started giving a rose my mana.
“Oh no! The effects of these rose petals change depending on what I’m thinking as I feed them my mana! Wh-what should I do? I probably just made a petal that causes you to dance if you’re thinking wicked thoughts!”
Cerulean would definitely be livid if I gave Colette tea made from such a petal. I refocused and earnestly thought about dispelling the sleep status effect for the rest of the mana-charging session.
Evening eventually rolled around.
I changed into the best clothes I had and entered the royal castle. The farther inside I went, the more dazzling my surroundings became, but perhaps I should have expected that from the royal family’s home. The polished floor was covered in a carpet so luxurious it felt wrong to step on it, and the pillars lining the corridor were made of some kind of shiny stone. Plinths placed evenly between them displayed vases and other old-looking decorations. I got the sense they were all super important too.
I gawked at my lavish surroundings, but the décor made sense, as Saviz was the king’s younger brother. Somehow, I was going to the banquet hall to eat with him—meaning I would partake in the same luxurious meal royalty ate! This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I probably should’ve requested something I specifically wanted to try.
“How could I be so silly! I missed my chance to ask for meat and cake!”
Meat and cake made by the royal family’s own chefs had to be out of this world. I didn’t know what I’d do with myself if neither appeared on the menu tonight.
Finally reaching the banquet hall door, I prayed, “Aaaah, please, please, please! Let there be meat and cake tonight!”