🎂🎂🎂
AFTER lunch the next day, on our last stop before we enter the capital, the fourth prince tries again, his expression serious.
We’ve just finished a bacon, mushroom, and vegetable quiche prepared by the previous night’s inn. Rodney heated it over a fire until it was warm and fluffy and delicious. He’s amazing: he can cook on an open flame without burning anything… Oh? He’s cooking something again… What’s that?!
“A-Are you listening, my lady?” the fourth prince prattles on. “Hey, my lady? …Oh, those are marshmallows.”
“I knew it!”
“Those are s’mores, Abby. They’ll be ready soon, so sit and wait.”
“Yes!”
Rodney twirls the marshmallows on twigs over the fire. Oh, oh, they’re turning brown! They’ll burn!
“My lady, Viscount Noel says that you can help us sort the Longhurst documents—once a week in his office at the military headquarters.”
“Only if she agrees, Your Highness.”
“Yes, so if you would allow me to convince you, my lady. Please, the marshmallows won’t burn, so won’t you listen?”
“They won’t burn because Rodney is amazing,” I say.
“That’s right. I know he’s a great butler,” agrees the fourth prince.
Rodney glances at me with a smile and our eyes meet. Oh! He’s sandwiching the grilled marshmallow skewers between crackers! Pressing on them just a little so the marshmallow sticks!
“My wife is always listening, Your Highness. You can speak without worry.”
“Can’t he just bring the documents to our home, my lord?” I ask.
“It won’t be good for my public image if I send my aides to your estate when the viscount isn’t around or frequently invite you to my personal office. The military headquarters is the best place, my lady,” the fourth prince explains.
“Public image?”
Although my lord husband is nodding, a deep frown creases his face. Rodney deposits the s’more onto a small plate on the table. I poke it and find that it isn’t hot, so I press harder, and the marshmallow begins to squeeze out from between the crackers.
“Wow…”
“What’s wrong?” My lord husband appears confused when I lift the s’more to his lips.
There, the frown is gone. I thought he was angry, but perhaps he’s not. That’s a relief. He breaks the s’more in half—oh, it’s stretching! Not as stringy as cheese, the marshmallow quickly snaps. He bites into one half and holds out the other to me. It’s delicious! Crispy and sticky and fluffy!
“Erm, if I may continue… Is it good?”
“Yes! You should have one, Your Highness!”
“S-Sure, thank you. So, I’d like you to meet with my aides in his office and teach them how to decipher the documents so they can take over in the future. Of course, he will be present at all times, and we’ll prioritize your health and well-being, my lady.”
I don’t know what he means by “deciphering documents,” but it sounds like work. In that case…
“But I’m already busy with my job as the viscountess,” I say.
“O-Of course… May I ask what you do, my lady?”
“First, I have to eat breakfast with my lord, then see him off at the door. Then I help Ethan.”
A mistress of the house reviews the accounts, I’m told. Longhurst’s records and reports were always full of mistakes, but Ethan is good at math, so he never gets anything wrong. Even so, he insists that I confirm that there are no errors.
“I see.”
“After that, I take a stroll in the garden and get cookies from the old grandfather.”
“Hmm?”
“Then I watch the cooks make lunch in the kitchen.”
“You do?”
“Yes, because I’m the mistress of the house. Then I eat lunch, read books in the library, take a nap, take another stroll, eat snacks, and watch them make dinner. After that—”
“As you can see, my wife is a very busy woman—”
“No, please stop, sir. It’s too much for me!” the fourth prince whines.
My lord husband breaks another s’more in half and feeds it to me. It’s still too big to finish in one bite, so I nibble the piece instead. Delicious. I pinch it between my fingers, feeling the marshmallow squish.
A s’more has just two crackers, so what I hold is all the dessert I’ll have for lunch. My mouth feels sticky, yet I won’t drink my tea until all the sweetness has gone.
“You will definitely not be working for free, my lady. You’ll be compensated handsomely, and if there’s anything else you’d like, please tell me.”
“Like a reward?” I ask, thinking of the kisses my lord husband gives me when I do well.
“Abby!” he blurts in shock.
“I don’t need rewards from Your Highness. I already get them from my lord.”
The fourth prince’s face twitches, and my lord husband appears relieved.
Later, as I sip my tea, I recall the cheese tart I ate at the royal palace. And I remember! Delicious cheese is made with delicious milk from amazing cows!
“Wait, I’d like something after all. I want a castle cow.”
“Huh? A cow?”
I initially considered asking for a cow with delicious cheeks, but because the fourth prince lives in the castle with cows that produce delicious milk, I decide on that instead.
Cheeks and milk! It’s great to have both!