The Girl Who Was Forced by Her Stepsister to Marry the Cursed Duke - CH 35

Chapter 35: How Does Uni Rice Bowl Tastes?

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I made three servings of uni rice bowl and clam soup and set aside one out of three three servings for the maid standing in front of me.

“Excuse me, this… Here you go.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve helped me a lot so please, feel free to have this.”

For those who had never seen seafood before, seafood might appear to be grotesque for them. Even though she did scream, she still tried her best in helping me. Not to mention, I didn’t see any other maid or cook other than her. She must be very loyal toward the Silver Coin-sama.

“Huh? W-Wait a moment….! But, this is Miltia-sama’s portion right?”

“No. I can eat this whenever I want after I return to the duke’s house…. Besides… It’s simply unthinkable to serve a food to His Highness without testing it for poison first….. Right?”

“I-I-It’s fine! I was close by and I properly kept on watch…”

Growlllll~

She shook her head frantically, trying to restrain herself but it seemed her body was more honest to her desire than her mind.

“Ah….”

The moment her stomach growled blatantly, the maid’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. She was trembling all over and her face was completely flushed. She was truly ashamed for showing something that was simply unbecoming for a lady.

As for me… Though she was a little bit older than me… Somehow… I find her kind of cute….

Since she was the crown prince’s personal maid, she must be at least the daughter of a count family. There were plenty of cases where a noble family sent their daughter to work in the royal castle to work on their mannerism. Maybe back in her home, she was a doted young lady….

“Just in time, it’s lunch time soon so please… The freshness of the food is the primary key here.”

“T-thank you very mush….”

She was so embarrassed that she failed to say ‘much’ properly. But she also knew if she tried to restrain herself anymore than this, it would be deemed as impolite.

With a serious expression on her face, she picked the spoon and carefully, she scooped a spoonful of uni rice bowl that I had seasoned with shoyu.  Her spoon was filled with plenty of uni with the okome resting beneath it. These two ingredients created the perfect harmony on her spoon. She then carried her spoon into her lovely mouth.

“Mmmhh!!”

It was clear to see her face was brimming with 『happiness』. After catching a sidelong glance at the beautiful maid’s happy face, I returned back to the parlour, where Maricle-sama and the crown prince had been waiting, with a tray of uni bowl and clam soup in my hand.

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“T-thank you for waiting!”

“Ah, Miltia. You’re finally done. Good work. Thank you very much.”

It seemed the two of them had been talking about something complicated… They quickly gathered the papers that had been scattering on top of the table to the side when I came.

Aaahh… I can’t believe someone like me is making both the duke and crown prince troubled!

If it were my step mother or my sister, they would’ve already lashed out at me, saying something like.

『It is common sense to check on our situations before you come bringing in snack and tea! You useless imbecile! 』

I felt guilty but at the same time, I could feel the corner of my eyes grow hot at Maricle-sama’s and Ars-sama’s kindness.

“T-Thank you for your kindness…! Umm… I don’t know if this dish will suit your palate but… Please feel free to have some.”

“Whoaaa! It’s like a big gold coin!!”

A big smile blossomed on his face as he brought a spoonful of uni rice bowl into his mouth. His smile was making Ars-sama look like the living and moving personification of prosperity itself.

The spoon arrived at its final destination, Ars-sama’s mouth. He began to chew and…

“….?!………..!!….!!!”

In an instant, his smile disappeared. Replaced by a serious expression on his face.

Suddenly, Ars-sama started to chomp down on the uni rice bowl vigorously. Though he was gulping through the uni rice bowl at high velocity, he still kept his speed in a way that wouldn’t break any etiquette rules.

Even though Ars-sama hadn’t said anything, I guess it should be safe to say he liked the food from how he kept moving his spoon rapidly?

On the other side, Maricle-sama beckoned for me to sit beside him.

“This… It tastes so rich and flavourful… It tastes so delicious…. By the way, Miltia, where’s your portion?”

“Yes. Ah… I can just make it again after we return to the estate.”

More importantly, I really wanted the two of them to taste how delicious fresh sea urchin was. Anyway, I had already taught the maid who served Ars-sama directly how to prepare sea urchin. Now that I had introduced the flavour of fresh sea urchin, if Ars-sama wanted to eat uni rice bowl again, I only needed to catch some from our small pond and send fresh sea urchin to Ars-sama.

But, the moment Maricle-sama heard my explanation, a cloud was casted over his face.

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T/N: Ars when he eat uni rice bowl