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The sound of a butcher knife hitting the cutting board echoed through the kitchen. The sharp blade magically shredded the fatty meat blocks one after another. Soon, a block of meat as big as a man’s arm was transformed into a bowlful of diced meat.

After the meat, leafy greens were next. The knife, which was also unreserved, cut the greens into bite-size pieces, making a crunching sound.

When the elderly female chef had finished chopping all the ingredients, she wiped the sweat from her forehead and checked the condition of the stove. The roaring red raging fire seemed to transmit its heat waves not only to the kitchen but even over the counter.

The female cook put a huge iron frying pan on top of it, which was heated to a boiling point, and threw a piece of pork fat into the pan without hesitation. When the fat had become absorbed into the frying pan, the female chef scooped up a pile of diced meat from the bowl with a ladle and threw it into the frying pan without hesitation.

As she did so, the high-pitched sound of the meat cooking and the charming sound of the fat seeping out from the heat spread throughout the kitchen. The savory aroma of the sizzling fat enveloped the kitchen in no time at all.

“This is way better than the meals at home.”

Yennis said, sitting at the counter. He puffed his nose widely and wiped away the drool from his mouth. The sound of sizzling meat filled the kitchen. Yennis’ gaze was glued to the back of the female chef as if he was watching the love of his life, while the chef dropped the meat stuck to the ladle into the pan.

“Young sir, you can’t eat in a public restaurant like this without permission. I’m sure that Lady Melia will be very angry if you neglect your meals at home because you are already full.”
“Hahaha. I can’t have you doubt my stomach. This much is nothing. Besides, I’ve come all the way down to the city, I might as well have a bit of fun.”
“B-But…”

The squire was flustered by Yennis’ uninhibited behavior.

And he has his schedule packed to the brim with training and study after this…

But as if to show the squire that his worry was not taken into account, the female chef brought a plate of meat and vegetables with a steamy garlic aroma and a goblet of wine before Yennis.

“It looks delicious! Thank you for the meal!”
“Young Sir, please wait! Wine is pushing it!”
“There’s no harm in having one glass, is there? I once opened a bottle of my father’s wine without his knowledge. So it’s all fine.”
“But, Young Sir!”

The squire looked downcast as Yennis slurped down a gulp of wine, as if trying to cheer him up.

The female chef smiled at the situation.

“Sir Yennis, is it really okay? The squire looks quite worried about the matter.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I know when I shouldn’t cross the line.”
“Fufu. In that case, okay. Oh, another thing…”

Before the female chef could finish her sentence, a group of people crowded into the small dining room. The men were all drunk, and their faces were bright red even though the sun was high in the sky.

When they recognized Yennis, their faces lit up.

“Whoa! If it isn’t Sir Yenny!”
“Young Sir, what are you up to today? Are you skipping practice again?”
“The squire here must have quite a hell of a time having to babysit the Young Sir.”
“Shoo, don’t come here. You reek of alcohol.”

Yennis retorted, shooing them away. yet the drunk soldiers only continued to pile up. It was evident that the wall between the commoners and the nobility was quite thin. This was greatly influenced by the fact that Duke Aldelight’s wife was Melia.

The land was ruled by Melia, who was originally a commoner, and Balged, who had a great fondness of Melia and was open to understanding the commoners. It was no surprise that the wall between them was thin.

…Well, the fact that Yennis was out on the town, interacting with the commoners without any kind of separation had a big role to play in all of this.

Besides, this group of drunks and this diner were familiar to him. The drunk group even forgot that he was the son of a nobleman and stroked Yennis’ head as if he were a relative’s child.

“Say, Sir Yenny. How’s Lady Seletina? She had her debut already, no? She should be able to come out to town like you do, no?”

One man whispered to Yennis, his tone oddly impassioned. Yennis was slightly startled by the unusual question.

“What? Seletina?”
“You probably wouldn’t know since you spend most of the time in the estate, but the whole town, no, scratch that, the whole Aldelight territory is infected with the Seletina Fever!”

The man exclaimed, completely oblivious to Yennis’ frowning face.

“He’s right! Tell us something about Lady Seletina!”

Other men crowded around Yennis, their gazes and tones strangely heated.

“Please Sir Yennis, I want to know as well!” Even the female chef chimed in, coming out to join the discussion.

Yennis was confused.

“W-What? Seletina Fever? Just what in the world is that?” Yennis asked, completely taken aback by the whole thing, but the men continued in their relentless pursuit.
“She may or may not have charmed all the men during her debut with her immense beauty.”
“I’ve heard rumors that the princes have been pressuring for marriage. Is it true?”
“I heard the bard of the stream singing that she fell in love with the Captain of the Royal Knights after he saved her from a tight spot!”
“Whatever it is, the common denominator of everyone’s rumors is that she’s unrealistically beautiful. Is your sis really that much of a beauty Young Sir?”
“Given that Lady Seletina has been out of the mansion, does that mean that we’ll get a chance to meet her?”
“Everywhere you go in town it’s all about Lady Seletina. We’d like to hear the truth from you, Young Sir.”

Fiction and truth descended upon Yennis. The whole thing was a mess of various rumors and fortunate contrasts that flowed down like a waterfall.

Yennis wanted to simply brush them all away, but…

“Hold your horses… I can’t believe the whole town is going wild over a bunch of lame rumors.”
“They’re not lame, Young Sir. It’s only normal that the Young Lady who’s never left the mansion and has never been seen by the people will become the talk of town after her debut. Besides, depending on how things unfold she might even become The Queen!”
“Well, you may be right. But to start such rumors without even knowing the person is a bit… Besides, who started those rumors?” Yennis responded, still uncertain about the source of the rumors.
“I heard Sir Balged talking about it loudly in the streets.”
“I’ve seen him as well… He comes into town and brags about his daughter all the time.”

So the culprit was right under my nose!

“That bear… Don’t come crying to me after your adorable daughter grows to hate you!”
“So, so, are they true, Sir Yenny?”
“Beats me! Ask Seletina after she comes back!”
“What a Scrooge!”
“What do you mean when she comes back? Has Seletina gone somewhere?” someone asked.

The men had been getting closer and closer to Yennis this whole time. Yennis pushed them away, looking depressed.

“She’s gone to the Empire!”
“The Empire?! To think she’d leave the Kingdom… What is she doing there?”
“What is she doing, huh… Beats me. I wish I knew what she was doing as well.”

I wonder if she got to meet Imitia.

Wishing the best for his younger sister, as any big brother would do, Yennis pondered on how he would distract the group before him.