Chapter 133
Dinner at House Balmuth was, how should I say it, exactly what I had expected.
Barely cooked, vividly bloody pieces of meat.
Dishes based on those meats came out as the meal.
But calling them dishes… honestly, they were basically raw-meat salads?
Well, things like that.
‘It was actually pretty good.’
Perhaps because they had developed such cuisine over a long time, it tasted quite alright even to an outsider like me.
And well, it wasn’t as if only raw-meat dishes were prepared.
‘Lisa’s father, Lisa’s uncle, and her maternal grandmother… since there were also people who weren’t from House Balmuth.’
Some people had come to this mansion through marriage with members of House Balmuth.
A lot of ordinary dishes were served for them as well.
“How is it, Gideon? Does it suit your palate?”
“Yes, it’s very delicious.”
“Haha, of course it is. Our head chef is well-known even in the Empire. Did you try this vegetable soup? This one is extremely good too.”
I continued my meal while sitting near Kafka.
I even chatted with members of House Balmuth about this and that…
“Gideon, eat this too.”
“Isn’t this an oyster?”
“Yeah. Mom said it’s good for men. Eat plenty.”
Lisa picked up an oyster and fed me.
As I chewed the oyster, a sudden question hit me.
“But Noona, did you hear what, exactly, oysters are good for in men?”
“Hm? No? I just heard they’re good for men in general. Why?”
“…Nothing.”
I glanced in Kafka’s direction.
Kafka, who had heard our conversation, was very obviously trying not to laugh.
I let out an awkward chuckle and moved on.
I figured I would tell Lisa after we graduated from the Academy.
“Oppa! Gideon-oppa!”
“Yes, Lady Lily.”
“Aah— try this too! This salmon is super good.”
Lily brought a piece of salmon toward my mouth.
It was so unexpected that I couldn’t help being flustered.
But before I could react in any way, Lisa moved first.
She pulled me toward herself and glared at Lily.
“That’s something only I can do.”
“Eh, sis, why? I just wanted Gideon-oppa to taste this delicious salmon…”
“Then give it here.”
“Ah?”
Lisa snatched the fork with the salmon from Lily and brought it straight to my mouth.
“Here, Gideon. Aah—”
“Oh, uh… mmph.”
I was practically force-fed the salmon by Lisa.
Well, it was definitely tasty.
“Wow, sis. I’m honestly moved. The sister who always gave way to me has finally, finally…”
“…Just be quiet and eat.”
Lisa sharply turned her head away from Lily.
Her face was slightly red.
The sight made me smile faintly, and I lightly held Lisa’s hand.
“Gideon?”
“The salmon’s good, Noona. Is there more?”
“W-wait just a moment.”
Lisa brought the whole salmon platter that was nearby.
Then she started feeding me again.
“Aah— yeah. How is it? Good?”
“It feels even better because you’re feeding me.”
While leaning my head on Lisa’s shoulder, I looked up at her.
Honestly, her reactions were so fun that I did it just to tease her.
But Lisa openly showed how happy she was in response.
Even though every member of House Balmuth was staring at us.
‘…Well, she looks happy, so I guess it’s fine?’
I had expected her to be embarrassed, but this wasn’t bad either.
Under everyone’s gaze, we continued our meal.
And after some time passed, when everyone was nearly done eating—
“Looks like each of you has met Gideon at least once now. Well then? What do you think? Lisa’s future husband—do you like him?”
At Kafka’s question, everyone laughed and nodded.
It didn’t seem like anyone disliked me.
“Good. Then I’ll take it as unanimous agreement… Now let’s think about how we’re going to hold our daughter’s engagement ceremony!”
“…Pardon?”
At the word ‘engagement ceremony’, I tilted my head.
At first, I thought Kafka was just speeding ahead on her own again.
But judging by everyone else’s reaction, the mood was different this time.
“It should be in winter, right?”
“Probably. Lisa has wanted to have the ceremony in winter since she was little.”
“What about the venue? Same place as always?”
“Let’s make it different this time. Come to think of it, Gideon’s territory is in the Serenus Region, right? How about we do it there this time?”
Everyone seriously—and quite constructively—discussed the engagement ceremony between Lisa and me.
I quietly looked at Lisa.
She averted her eyes with a blank expression.
I let out a small laugh.
“Engagement ceremony?”
“…Do you not like it?”
“No, it’s not that… But already? We’ve known each other for less than half a year.”
“R-right? Then maybe we should ask to delay…”
“Delay my foot. Just do it.”
Kafka, who had been listening, spoke up immediately.
“Hey, Gideon. You’re going to marry Lisa anyway. Aren’t you?”
“That is true, but…”
“Right? And Lisa—you don’t even have another option to begin with. The moment you drank Gideon’s blood, that was already decided.”
“…Mom’s right, but Gideon might feel a bit pressured having an engagement ceremony while still a student…”
“Pressured, my ass.”
Kafka laughed loudly while looking at her embarrassed daughter.
“Hey, I also had my engagement ceremony while attending the Academy. I met your dad when he entered as a freshman in my second year… and exactly a year later, when I was in my third year, we held the engagement ceremony. So you two are almost the same.”
“Mom, you held an engagement ceremony just a few months after you started dating Dad?”
“Me? Hmm… I dated your dad for a month, prepared the engagement the following month… and then held it three months later?”
“Gideon and I… have been together for about three months now.”
“That’s exactly the same. See? I told you you’re my daughter. Hey, considering what you’re like, you actually dated Gideon pretty normally. Right, Kale?”
At Kafka’s question, Kale—who was sitting beside her—nodded.
He wore a smile, the kind that seemed to hold many stories within it.
“Your mother and I… went through a lot. From the moment she followed me to the Library Club saying she liked me, things were wild.”
“Wait, wait, wait. What? Dad, Mom was in the Library Club?”
Instead of Kale, Kafka answered Lily’s question.
“Ahem, I fell for your dad at first sight. So I followed him into the Library Club to seduce him somehow and chased him around for months.”
“But Mom… you don’t read books.”
“Hey! Do I look that ignorant to you?!”
“I never said ignorant… but maybe you’re feeling guilty…?”
Lily looked like she had found a fun new toy.
Kafka shouted in a slightly trembling voice.
“S-shut it. I didn’t get held back thanks to your dad, who was always first in the school!”
“So that means your grades were bad enough that you would’ve been held back if not for Dad—”
“Lily Balmuth! Close your mouth!”
Hearing the mother and daughter argue, Lisa sighed beside me.
She looked genuinely embarrassed by her mother.
“Ahem, anyway, back to the story about your mom and me… At first, I avoided your mom for nearly a year. I couldn’t believe a duke’s daughter would want me… and honestly, I was a bit scared.”
“Right. Your dad put up such walls back then. But in the end, he opened his heart.”
“I realized it the day she was kidnapped and I fought almost a hundred people alone to save her.”
“How serious I was?”
“Yeah. That it wasn’t some joke… that it was real. That this person truly liked me.”
Kale smiled at Kafka, and Kafka… for some reason, smacked her lips as she smiled.
“Ah, seriously. We just ate, and you bring that up… you’re making me thirsty. Will you be able to handle me tonight?”
“Why? So we can make a little sibling for you?”
“Hmm, maybe it is time to make another one?”
“No. Three is enough. More importantly, weren’t we talking about our Lisa’s engagement ceremony?”
“Oh, right, right! We were! Okay, enough chit-chat. Let’s quickly decide how to handle our future head’s engagement ceremony!”
Until late in the evening, the people of House Balmuth passionately discussed how to hold Lisa’s and my engagement ceremony.
And time passed, and that night—
“Noona, am I really sleeping here?”
“Yeah, sleep next to me.”
“…If you say it that firmly, I guess I have no choice.”
I lay facing Lisa inside her room.
Her overly serious expression made me laugh.
“Come to think of it, when you first came to my room earlier, I forgot to ask… what do you think of my room?”
“Pretty much what I expected? Neat, tidy, not a flaw in sight?”
“…I know you’re not lying… but hmm… was I that boring of a person?”
“Don’t worry about things like that.”
I hugged her as I spoke.
“Whether you’re boring or not, I like you just the same.”
“That really means a lot but… am I boring?”
“…Sometimes?”
“……”
“…Sorry.”
Feeling guilty, I apologized before I even realized it.
But Lisa quickly shook her head.
“W-why are you apologizing? A-anyway… should I change my personality a bit?”
“There’s no need for that. Forget it—more importantly… so we’re doing the engagement ceremony in winter?”
“Yeah. Probably during winter break? If my mom said it, there’s a high chance it’ll happen.”
“True. Lady Kafka’s drive is famous.”
If it were about sheer momentum, she was probably unmatched in the entire Empire.
Since she decided our engagement ceremony… it would probably happen exactly as she wanted.
“Will the engagement ceremony be held here?”
“Well, everyone seemed to want to hold it outside the cave this time. Wouldn’t it be nice to do it outside on a snowy winter day?”
“If we do it outside on a snowy day, it’ll be freezing.”
“But wouldn’t it be romantic?”
“They’ll all freeze to death looking for romance.”
“So considerate, aren’t you?”
Lisa smiled faintly and lightly bit the nape of my neck.
After a moment of affectionate teasing—
“By the way, Nia-unni contacted me earlier.”
“Oh, really? What did she say?”
“She said we can come next week. I know her house location, so we can go together.”
“Next week… okay, got it. Ah, right. Noona, when you have time later, could you ask if Roy will also be at the mansion then?”
Lisa tilted her head.
“Roy? Ah, Nia’s little brother. Sure, I can ask, but why him?”
“There’s something I want to ask Lord Roy separately.”
Among my acquaintances, Roy was probably the only one who could answer it.