Apparently, saying it out loud was the last push Lord Kyros needed, and he started cracking up as well. He held his side as he rode out his unstoppable laughter.
I was still giggling too, but I pretended to be angry. “It’s not my fault if flower seeds are expensive! And fruits take a long time to grow! You can use herbs and vegetables for a wide variety of dishes! They’re practical and tasty!”
“Ha ha ha ha! That’s not the issue! Ha ha ha!”
“Stop laughing! We’re not done playing, are we? Wait, where were we again?”
“Tart, so ‘t.’”
“T… T… Tree sparrows!”
“Snack. I like snacks.”
I can’t. I’m going to laugh again! This man just can’t get his mind off food! I couldn’t help but think it was funny to hear a dignified count confidently throw out such simple words. On top of that, we weren’t just playing word chain, we were listing the things we liked—who wouldn’t laugh seeing such a handsome man profess a love of snacking?
Ah, but if I can’t pull myself together, it’ll be the end of the game… I had to find a word that started with “k.” Something I love…
“Kyro—um… K…”
“Hmm?”
I stopped speaking, and Lord Kyros glanced at me. He seemed to be in an excellent mood. “What were you about to say?” he asked. “I have a feeling it might end with an ‘s.’”
“K… Kiss! I was about to say ‘kiss’!”
I thought I’d cleverly gotten myself out of this one, but Lord Kyros grinned. “I see, I see. So, you like kissing.”
Aaaaaah!
“This is getting hard, though,” he continued. “I’m running out of ideas related to food. Let’s say…the sky, then.”
“Y-yam!”
“Marie.”
Aaaaah!!!
I was on the verge of fainting from embarrassment while Lord Kyros laughed. We continued on like this for quite a while, with plenty of embarrassment from me, copious incredulity at my vast assortment of “e” words from Lord Kyros, and oodles of roaring laughter from us both to keep the game going.
The two of us kept the chain going for so long that I completely lost track of time. It was getting late, and we were taking longer and longer to think of the next word, so Lord Kyros eventually concluded the game by calling me by my full name.
“Marie Chandelan.”
The last word I’d used didn’t end with an “m,” so he lost, but he’d clearly done it intentionally.
Just at that moment, Mio walked in. “You’re still at it? I’ve had the time to finish my meal and have seconds. Isn’t your tea cold by now?”
Lord Kyros and I both gasped. He quickly grabbed the upper teapot and poured the tea in a small glass. Apparently, you’d normally fill half of the glass with that, and the other half with hot water. However, the tea had turned so dark—and cold—that half a glass of hot water wasn’t enough to dilute it or warm it up properly. Lord Kyros tried it and frowned immediately.
“It steeped too long… It’s so bitter…” he said.
I was curious, so I asked to try it. He was right, it was horribly bitter.
“I suppose we have no choice but to cheat a little by adding milk and sugar,” he conceded.
He sent Mio to the kitchen, but she only came back with milk. I looked at her, puzzled, and she said with a tone as even as usual, “I’m afraid you’ll overdose on sweetness if I give you any more sugar tonight.”
Lord Kyros and I looked at one another. I had no idea what Mio meant, but he seemed to have understood, and he covered his face with his hands while groaning.