Transmigrated Into A Tragic Romance Fantasy-Chapter 56: The Warmth of a Tipsy Night (2)

“...Ariel? Are you alright?”

After a few glasses of wine, Ariel Elrond hiccuped and giggled bashfully.

Her flushed face and dilated pupils were typical symptoms of drunkenness.

Then,

“Tehehe~ I’m finee? Like, Peerfectly fine?”

Of course, denying inebriation was also a typical reaction.

Normally here was the point where people would start to worry, but we were in Ariel’s personal residence.

Her servants and even some guards were on standby, so the fact she was getting intoxicated shouldn’t be a problem.

As the night deepened, so did the liveliness of our party.

From small talk to deeper, personal conversations. They all flowed naturally with the help of alcohol.

It was at this moment that Ariel broached a sudden subject.

“Hey Elden, do you have any thoughts on marriage?”

“Marriage?”

In this aristocratic society, a lady of 26 years was already well past her usual age for marriage.

Lumia’s case was an exceptional one, as she had to endure the curse cast on her and the Grand Ducal Betrothal.

As for the Elrond family, well...they seemed resigned(?) to support their bookworm’s daughter on her reading journeys, and Ariel herself was never someone who considered marriage something important enough to bring it up over drinks.

“Ah....This morning, my maid started to nag me about marriage. Telling me I should hurry up and meet someone and not waste ‘the prime of my life’.”

Aha.

So that’s why she brought it up.

Well, it’s a reasonable worry if someone wishes to pursue things, making the most of their youth.

Hmm.

Marriage.

It was something I had never considered.

No, for someone planning a Culinary Journey, this was something that shouldn’t be considered.

Marriage is for those seeking a stable life, while my Culinary Journey will be anything but stable, as I will probably battle a variety of monsters.

Of course, explaining this to anyone would reveal a critical dissonance from someone who ‘participated’ in the Grand Ducal Betrothal, so I opted for a softer approach.

“Well...If the opportunity arises, I’ll consider it. What about you?”

“Me? Hmm, I haven’t given it much thought either but... if I must, I’d like someone kind and caring, just like my father, without worrying too much about status.”

Count Elrond must be a good man.

When this free-spirited(?) woman considers him to be the standard for choosing a spouse, it speaks volumes of his character.

After answering me, Ariel quickly turned and looked at Rachel.

“What about you, Knight Rachel?”

All eyes turned to Rachel who till now had been quietly eating her food.

Cough-.

With a discreet cough, Rachel bowed her head as she wiped her mouth with a handkerchief.

“Were you asking me, Lady Ariel?”

“Yes! I’m curious about what [The Purple Knight] thinks about it, tehehe-.”

The Purple Knight, Rachel.

A woman who, after enduring countless hardships and suffering gained a moniker for her feats.

And a woman who seemingly had no interest in men.

No, that wasn’t quite right.

Rather, she had removed the concept of ‘marriage’ from her life, devoting herself to the role of a Noble’s escort.

A personal guard who has to spend 24 hours by their charge’s side hardly has any time to consider romance, let alone act on it.

While this ‘non-romance’ rule wasn’t officially enforced, Rachel had to dedicate the best years of her life to fulfill her contract that typically spans 10 years.

Especially since becoming a personal guard in a noble household above the Count Rank required at least a decade of training, so by the time they were ready to be employed and concluded the contract, one was usually nearly 40 years old, making marriage almost impractical.

Moreover, if there’s no breach of contract by the employer, it’s common for a personal guard to renew their terms.

Rachel’s case was a special example, mixed with grit, perseverance, and talent.

She was just 23 when she was employed by the wastrel named Elden Raphelion.

When the normal age of employment was 30.

Thus, after her contract ends, though a bit late, she would still be young enough to seek a marriage partner if she so wished.

The problem seemed to be that she had absolutely no interest in it.

So, I already had an idea of what she would answer.

But then,

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

“I’ve been thinking about it lately, I find this idea a bit intriguing.”

That response was unexpected.

Hmm.

Would she say goodbye to her employer after her contract ended?

Suddenly, this realization made me a bit sad.

**

“...Lately...?”

“Yes.”

When Ariel questioned her again, Rachel simply nodded at her while she took a sip from the glass.

Intrigued by her answer, I tried to press her a little bit.

“Oh? I thought you had no interest in men?”

“I simply have a higher standard than normal.”

“Is that so?”

Indeed, with Rachel’s beauty, it was clear that she would have been courted many times.

Humans naturally feel affection towards those with similar emotions and tastes.

A beautiful knight like Rachel, who stepped into the rough and tough world of men, certainly had enough allure to shake the hearts of many.

Among the countless arrows of Cupid thrown her way, surely one must have struck Rachel’s heart.

Perhaps here in the Northern duchy she had promised a future with the owner of one of those arrows.

A romantic promise to return once the contract period ends.

She must be speaking indirectly because it’s something she can’t speak of outright in front of those she serves.

After all, she could be unfairly blamed for being distracted.

Anyway, I had no intention of interfering with her future, and if she was opening her eyes to the new world of marriage, it was rightly something to support.

“This student shall support his master’s awakening to the world of romance.”

But then, Rachel stared directly at me.

Was there something on my face?

Just when I was about to ask her that...

“Thank you.”

Rachel nodded her head.

There was nothing to thank for.

I owed a lot to her and during my Culinary Journey, I would likely owe her a lot more.

So if she were to marry, I’d have to provide some dowry for her.

After all, it is only right to pay the debts owed.

“Elden?”

Ariel, who had also sipped her wine following Rachel, called out to me.

Her eyes were half-closed, and her cheeks were as rosy as if they had been dabbed with rouge.

“Yes?”

“If...You were to choose a woman...What would be your type?”

“My type?”

“Ahaha...I’m just curious...tehehe?”

My type of woman, huh?

If we were in my old world, I would simply point to an idol or celebrity, but here in the Medieval Era, I didn’t have anything to compare to.

Regrettably, Lee Jun-Woo was someone so insensitive to love that he’d put a Culinary Journey as something more important than a wholesome romance.

Jun-Woo’s life was simply too packed, he didn’t have the time or space to fit something like ‘love’ into his routine.

So it would be natural for a fellow transmigrator who suffered in their old world to ‘Chase a wholesome romance’ as compensation for their harsh lives. But a Culinary Journey was also a strong contender for compensation for Jun-Woo’s past sufferings.

And above all,

Romance isn’t something that happens just because you want it to.

Adding a sprinkle of romance to my Culinary Journey would be nice, but the absence of it wouldn’t diminish my enjoyment, so it wasn’t a topic I had really thought about.

All I could respond with was one belief that had persisted from my past life.

“Someone who cares for animals and plants?”

Although this type may appear to be different from what ‘Elden Raphelion’ would choose, I viewed those who cared for animals and plants favorably.

It seemed likely that this sort of person possessed a warm heart.

Besides, I have never seen a good person treat animals or plants carelessly, which probably reinforced my belief.

While it’s true that caring for animals or plants isn’t a guarantee that the person will have a good personality, at least in ‘my’ eyes, they seemed better than the majority.

Of course,

Excluding those who use such things as a method to indulge in their twisted love-hate feelings, boosting their shattered self-esteem.

A few seconds after I said this,

“Ah...I..I grow some flowers...!”

“I raised some birds when I was a child....”

Two passionate responses burst out at the same time.

But those heated bursts failed to reach my alcohol-soaked ears.

Moreover, the ensuing commotion soon made me forget about this altogether.

Clang!

“Kyaaa!”

A maid, carrying a monster meat dish tripped and the dish she was carrying landed on my thigh.

I read about this dish in my holy guide.

It was the grilled Giant Crimson Blue crab, a member of the crustaceans family.

Named for its red and blue shell, and even its flesh was red and blue.

A rare ingredient only found on the northwest coast, making it a delicacy in these northern lands.

The moment I realized this,

A single thought ran through my mind.

Save it.

I must save this dish.

At all costs.

The food mustn’t be wasted.

Snatching the crab from my thigh, I quickly placed it back on my plate on the table.

Mom used to say that,

If you pick food from the floor within 5 seconds, then it’s good to eat.

Since I’ve only eaten dishes made from land monsters, I truly wanted to demolish this one immediately, but the silence in the room made me stop for a moment.

Oh well,

Not that it matters.

**

Evian had been working for Elrond County as a maid for 16 years now.

“Evian, Maren, Liddel, you three will serve the dishes for the Lady’s party.”

So, it was natural to choose her as one of the servants for the party.

There were some minor worries, but Evian was confident that she could handle it well.

And if everything went well, she would earn a bonus.

However, it didn’t take long for her to realize how naive and foolish such confidence was.

Clang-!

“Kyaaa!”

Her hands trembled from the moment she faced the famous Wastrel, Elden Raphelion.

And because of it, an accident eventually unfolded.

The dish she was carrying toppled over the table, and some of the food spilled onto Lord Elden’s thigh.

As soon as this happened, Evian’s legs gave out and she collapsed onto the ground.

“P-Please forgive, My Lord! I...I’ve committed a sin worthy of death-!!”

Following this commotion, the steward who had been overseeing the party from the entrance hall hurried over and bowed deeply.

“Lord Elden, this was my fault. Please punish me instead...!”

The worst-case scenario unfolded, just as the bottles were being emptied and the Wastrel’s intoxication was beginning to rise.

Of course, this misstep wouldn’t actually lead to the maid’s death, but some sort of physical punishment was inevitable.

No,

The Wastrel known as Elden Raphelion would surely kick them instead of a mere slap.

However,

“......It’s fine. Stand up.”

Instead of kicking, Lord Elden personally helped the fallen maid to her feet.

The steward then assumed this was the prelude to a vicious punch.

But Lord Elden placed a silver coin in the maid’s upper pocket.

Now, the steward believed the Wastrel was giving the maid her dismissal pay.

But Lord Elden was actually consoling poor Evian.

It was something completely incredible and unthinkable.

“Here, because of this incident you might lose your bonus, so take this.”

“Y-Yes?”

“Everyone makes mistakes, so don’t be disheartened by this. Oh, and steward?”

“My Lord?”

“Don’t scold this maid too harshly. She must have been very nervous, wasn’t she? If this was caused by my presence then I share some of the blame as well. Rather than punishing her, I would ask you to provide her some help.”

“Pardon...? Ah....Understood, My Lord.”

An unbelievable scenario unfolded.

The rumors about Lord Elden painted him as someone unforgiving, claiming that he crippled many maids working at Raphelion County due to a single mistake.

The same story echoed wherever one went, suggesting that those were not empty rumors, yet the man standing before Evian now generously overlooked her mistake and even shared their burden.

It seemed that,

Lady Ariel’s efforts to spread the word of Lord Elden’s change weren’t based on a fake and naive belief.

“T-Thank you... My lord...”

Evian bowed her head towards Elden, and with that, the situation had been resolved.

What no one could have known, was that such a quick resolution had been prompted by a hungry gourmet, who was eager to try an exotic dish from a sea monster.

And,

His actions made the flame in Ariel’s eyes burn more fiercely as she had been moved by his kindness.

Also, the intense fervor in Rachel’s eyes grew as well, as the Female Knight watched her student grow.

As such,

When the party was nearing its end.

“Bring me the chef who cooked this monster dish.”

“M-My Lord if the food wasn’t to your liking I ask you to be lenient...!”

“Here, take these two silver coins. I’m sorry for granting you this little, but the meal was splendid.”

“......!!”

As the night waned, an unexpected proposal left the Gourmet’s lips.

“You, have you ever wanted to travel?”

“Pardon?”

“A Culinary Journey where we hunt monsters and cook their fresh meat on the spot.”

“Ah...M-My lord...I have a wife and children...”

“I see.”

Hm,

This isn’t going to be easy, will it?”