NOVEL NEXT Chapter 97: A Fine Meal
She did not even remember how long she had been soaking herself in there.
At first, her mind was occupied, and she was ‘drowned’ in embarrassment and shame, but then she lost track of time and did not even realise that her body was heating up due to the warm water and lingering steam of the hot spring.
After drying her hair with Louiselle’s help, Irene came out wearing the dress prepared beforehand by the servants, and looked around for no specific reason, as if she was finding something.
“Did you enjoy the hot spring?”
Startled by the voice from behind her back, she turned her head.
“Noel?”
“I was afraid you were going to get sick, so I brought some cold water. Here.”
“Oh, thank you.”
After drinking the water he handed her, the temperature within her seemed to subside a little. Louiselle naturally took the cup since she had formed a routine of dedicating herself to serving Irene nonstop 24/7.
“Dinner is in another couple of hours, I think we should go back to our room to rest a little in the meantime, and then go to the dining hall when it’s time. Anyway, are you no longer feeling tired?”
When Noel asked anxiously, Irene nodded.
“Yes, I’m fine. Thanks to the hot spring, all my fatigue is gone now, and I’m looking forward to dinner.”
“That is fortunate, then let’s go back to our room.”
“Yes.”
Irene walking alongside Noel suddenly realised something, “Ah-” she turned her head to look back at her maid.
“Louiselle.”
“Yes.”
“Louiselle, you should stay.”
“Pardon? What do you mean by…?”
“I have Noel with me, and I will go back to my room right away, everything is fine. Louiselle must also be exhausted, so don’t worry anymore and get some rest. You can continue guarding me after a good rest.”
“But…”
“That’s right, Louiselle. Do as my wife says.”
When Noel echoed Irene, Louiselle had no choice but to bow her head reluctantly.
“...then I shall do as you say. Thank you for your consideration.”
“Yes, I will see you later.”
Irene, not forgetting to give Louiselle a reassuring smile, went back to her room with Noel.
After a while of standing still looking at those two as their figures grew further and smaller, Louiselle turned around with the intention of indulging herself in the hot spring bath. Standing in front of the cabinet, Louiselle began to undress herself. She took off the maid uniform, which was made exclusively for her, revealing the cold, heavy metal armour.
Subsequently, Louiselle started to take off the protection on each part of her body one by one. One could feel its weight by the sound made from above the cabinet every time she put down a piece of her metallic suit.
After taking off all her armour, she put on a robe and got into the hot spring bath. Her pink eyes dimmed. She felt her back sting when the hot water touched it.
As the wet robe clung to her skin and increased the weight of the water, she got up from her position to take it off. Standing under the glorious scarlet sunset, her back could be seen fully covered in scars in the form of bitten marks or scratches left by wild animals. The scar on her face was nothing compared to those horrific ones.
♔♔♔
“Welcome. The chef has paid extra attention to making this meal special for you two.”
When Irene and Noel entered the dining room, the head butler guided them to their table. The mercenaries and guards of the Ducal House had already settled in their seats.
“You all are going to work hard starting from tomorrow, so why not eat to your heart’s content and rest well today?”
Upon saying so, the butler sent a signal to the kitchen, and the cooks began serving the dishes one by one. All of them were luxurious.
To Noel and Irene, who usually ate meals like these back in the Dukedom, there was nothing unique about them, but the Ram mercenaries viewed things differently.
“Wow!”
“This is no joke!”
Each and every time the food was served, the cries of excitement became increasingly loud. At a certain point, the knights turned to look at the Ram mercenaries with distaste as they clicked their tongues.
“Their manners are so vulgar.”
“I know this is their first time seeing luxurious food, but shouldn’t they at least keep their dignity?”
Of course, the mercenaries could not have misheard it, they halted and glared back at the guards.
“Were you trying to tell us something just now?”
“You have good ears.”
“Excuse me?”
As the atmosphere became increasingly tense, Noel’s forehead crumpled. It was a dinner prepared to raise morale and reserve stamina for the upcoming investigation and subjugation of monsters, but on the contrary, it turned out to be a battleground for the mercenaries and the Duchy’s knights. Turning his head to Irene, Louiselle was feeding her delicious food, completely ignoring the whole unpleasant situation, and Mulliman’s assistant was still on guard, keeping an eye out for what was around him.
As Noel was about to say something himself to cease this ridiculous situation that was causing discomfort for everyone...
“It’s delicious.”
Irene’s voice popped out clearly. There truly did exist a nerve-wracking war roughly a few seconds ago, but the noise was low because they could not raise their voice openly, at least not in front of the ducal couple. That was why Irene’s voice sounded vivid, resonating across the dining hall.
Irene’s delightful exclamation, which did not match the atmosphere, rang out in the air, and soon the room fell into silence. As Noel’s attention once again returned to Irene, she smiled at him and spoke.
“It’s tasty. Noel, you should try it, too.”
“Oh...sure, tell the chef that my wife complimented his food.”
“Of course!”
One of the servants, who was wary of the bleak atmosphere, immediately ran back to the kitchen as soon as he received the signal from Noel, as if he was retreating to stay hidden until the storm passed by. The atmosphere gradually became more relaxed, and the mercenary corps and the guards got back to eating their meal, not paying any further attention to the other party. Irene’s lips drew a curve as the clinking sound of tableware colliding and intermittent exclamations for food could be heard once again.