Chapter 57

As I was lost in thought about a new monster, the clock's hand clicked. I looked and saw it was the sixth hour. In the dining hall, the off-duty knights of the first shift would be starting their dinner about now.

"Melphi, shall we go to the dining hall soon?"

"Yes... ah, that..."

I looked up at the duke, who had changed into a simple but proper outfit. I, on the other hand, was still in my work clothes—a white shirt and a navy skirt. I had only changed out of my dirty dress, so it didn't seem appropriate for a duke's fiancée.

(I wonder if there's a dress I can put on by myself even now.)

I don't have many dresses. I tried to think of one that would be suitable for dinner and that I could put on by myself.

"You can call the bell without hesitation. It's my fault that we only have makeshift maids for now, but the three women Chaos gathered are his mother, Mylan's older sister, and the wife of the fifth gate commander."

Noticing my state, the duke entered my room from the bedroom door and rang the bell on the desk. The bell, which seemed to be enchanted, glowed faintly and emitted a clear "ring" sound throughout the room. Still, I was surprised to learn that those three women were such important figures. The stern-looking, oldest woman must be Mr. Chaos's mother. I recalled that she introduced herself as Laforgue. Mr. Chaos is also named Chaos Laforgue, so it's no mistake.

As I was thinking about this, Mrs. Laforgue knocked and quietly entered the room. Her black hair was tied up at the nape of her neck, and she wore a black, night-appropriate dress. Behind her stood three young female servants.

"Mrs. Laforgue, please prepare Melphiera for me. We're going down to the dining hall."

"Understood."

Mrs. Laforgue bowed deeply to the duke's instructions. Then, surprisingly, she swiftly took the chair the duke was about to sit on.

"Your Excellency, even if Lady Melphiera is your fiancée, it is improper for you to be present during a lady's dressing. Please wait in your room."

Mrs. Laforgue, with eyes as black as Mr. Chaos's, opened them wide, and her presence was even more imposing than his. The duke, with a strained face, said, "O-Okay," and left. Mrs. Laforgue, after seeing him off, turned around and smiled at me.

"Now, Lady Melphiera. Let's get you ready. This place is full of rough men, and it lacks elegance."

"It will take time, so I'll go with something simple like the duke."

"Oh, what a waste. When Lady Melphiera looks beautiful, it boosts the morale of the knights."

"Will it really?"

"Of course."

The excited Mrs. Laforgue had the servants open the wardrobe, which was filled with dresses that weren't mine. They were part of what the duke had prepared, and like the floral dress from this morning, they were all sophisticated.

They took out several dresses and exchanged opinions. The fashionable ones were too extravagant, the sleeves of this one were in the way, and the formal ones were inconvenient for the dining hall.

"The dining hall is full of knights. This one will be cute without the risk of stepping on the hem."

Mrs. Laforgue nodded in satisfaction. The chosen dress was a deep blue one with a loose fit around the waist.

Changing before dinner, it seems, is just like what Captain Blanche and Lillian said. I heard that nobles in the capital change clothes five or more times a day, but I would rather spend that time on research.

"Do I have to change like this every day?"

Thanks to the quick work of Mrs. Laforgue and the others, my preparations were completed in about half an hour. The duke, looking at me from head to toe, praised Mrs. Laforgue, saying, "Solid work. You are truly Chaos's mother."

"I think changing clothes is only necessary when they get dirty. However, I'm happy to see you dressed up so beautifully."

"Is that so?"

I had just checked myself in the full-length mirror. My hair was tied up high and secured with a dark blue ribbon with silver embroidery. The dress had sleeves that reached my elbows and gave a slender impression. I thought the duke was teasing me again, but he looked at me with narrowed eyes and nodded repeatedly.

"Was the first dress prepared by Mrs. Laforgue?"

"Yes. I received a sketch from the assistant and worked on it with Mrs. Serow."

"Sketch... I see. I thought the morning dress suited Melphi, but this one is also quite good. Yes, very good."

The duke's words were straightforward. I felt he truly meant them. Blushing at his sincere praise, the duke extended his hand to me.

"Well, shall we go?"

"Yes!"

I took the duke's hand and naturally leaned on him.

"So, Melphi, you made the dishes, right?"

"Yes! Since the duke said it was fine to use Berginion, I was enthusiastic about making them."

"If you were enthusiastic, I can expect good results. So, how about it? Can we use that from now on?"

"I'm considering processing the plucked feathers into products. The soup from the bones is rich and of high quality, and the meat is very elastic. Compared to the meat of four-legged carnivorous monsters, it has less of a gamey smell... but there's a problem with the skin."

Thinking of the black skin of the Berginion, I recalled that the kitchen staff had no resistance to tasting it, but what about ordinary people?

"Anyway, the skin is completely black, and some people might be hesitant to eat it just by looking at it. Renya and I came up with a unique idea."

"I like bird skin. I want to try that unique idea soon. By the way, have you become friends with the kitchen master's daughter?"

"Yes. When I observed the dining hall the other day, I thought we could become friends. I think her sincere attitude towards cooking is wonderful."

Renya, known as the "little kitchen master," is the kitchen master's daughter. She is shorter than me, but Renya, who works in the kitchen every day, is strong and has sturdy arms. Her efficiency in processing Berginion was so impressive that I was in awe. Of course, no one in the kitchen is frail. They are truly the knights of the kitchen, always preparing large amounts of food.

From Renya, I could feel a strong determination to support the knights of Galbreath with her cooking. That's why I took the opportunity to talk about monster food and offered to provide monsters as ingredients when Renya said she wanted to provide nutritious and delicious meals. Renya, who had already experienced the effectiveness of monster food, was particularly interested in plant-based monsters. She is always exploring ways to provide nutritious vegetables to the knights. I'm sure she will use them well. I plan to prepare the monster herbs and fruits I received from Ambry and Zeph this morning and give them to Renya for processing tomorrow. However, it will start with trial production, and it seems that a few knights will be involved in taste testing for a while.

The duke and I headed to the dining hall as we did yesterday.

"What? There are even more people here than usual at this time."

The dining hall was bustling with knights as it was yesterday. Large platters of steamed meat were placed on the tables, and the knights were cutting and eating as much as they liked. How about the soup and the bird skin fritters? I was anxious to know if the Berginion dishes were well-received. I was so focused on this that I barely noticed my own meal. The knights called out to me and the duke.

"Ah, Your Excellency, Lady, we've started eating!"

"Hurry up, or it'll be gone!"

"Clean up your area. Those who have finished should vacate their seats."

"Your Excellency, there's a seat open here!"

The knights greeted us one after another. On their plates were mounds of Berginion soup and bird skin fritters.

"How is the taste, everyone?"

When I tasted the meat earlier, I didn't notice any gamey smell. But how about the bird skin? A knight who had processed the Berginion stood up straight and reported.

"Processing the Berginion was a hassle, but it was worth it to make such a delicious dish!"

"I didn't particularly like bird skin, but I might eat it again if it's like this."

At the table where these knights were sitting, there were bird skin fritters and a special vegetable sauce made by Renya. The sauce was made by crushing a leafy vegetable called Manica, mixing it with goat's milk, and adding spices. One knight took a bite of the fritter and gulped down a glass of grain alcohol, while another enjoyed it with a generous amount of the vegetable sauce. It seemed that a lot of soup was also served, and the kitchen staff were busy running around.

"Wow, this meat is so satisfying, I could eat it anytime."

The knight who said this was holding a Berginion drumstick with herbs. This was something the knights had requested to try. The large piece of meat, which required both hands to eat, was being savagely devoured by the knight.

"Hey, you're being unfair!"

"Yeah, me too, I want to try it."

Indeed, it looked so delicious that I wanted to try it myself. As I watched him eat, my stomach growled softly.

"Well, let's eat. We both worked hard today, just like them."

"Yes, I'm so hungry I feel dizzy!"

The duke led me through the bustling dining hall to a seat the knights had reserved for us. Drinks were immediately brought to us, and a large, clearly male-sized cup of grain alcohol was placed in front of me.

"Ah, that..."

The cup was filled with grain alcohol, just like everyone else's. I was confused, thinking it was the duke's, but the knight who brought it asked, "Ah, would Lady prefer a barrel?"

After a moment of silence, the dining hall erupted in laughter. Even the duke was laughing, so I drank the cup in one go, feeling a bit annoyed.