Prologue: Invitation from The Ducal House

Volume 3: Pride and Jet Black Imperial Torte

Note:

Turning Marquis Fernandes into Margrave Fernande.

After our journey to save the spirit village from the disease, we finally arrived home. It didnt even take a week, but I gained a bountiful harvest from the journey to the spirit village.

Soon, itll be Kurts village, right?

Right, our village. I was only absent for a short time, but I feel nostalgic already.

The greatest boon that I gained from the spirit village is this girl. Shes Chloe. a young blonde haired female elf who lived in the spirit village. She has a pleasant personality and rich knowledge about fruits that she gained from growing fruits in the spirit village. She could also use water magic arte.

Using water magic arte in agriculture will definitely be very helpful.

Besides her, there are other elves and lunars coming with us. Colt, the spirit village head, said that they all could use elemental magic arte.

Kurt, thank you so much. If you didnt come, it wouldve been the end of the spirit village.

Chloe hugged my left arm. I could feel her chest against my arm.

Chloe, youre sticking too close.

Tina, who saw it. the pretty girl with silver hair and fox ears opens her mouth. Shes my precious partner.

Isnt it fine? Its not like hell lose something.

He will. A girls chasteness or Kurt-samas reasoning power. Many things!

Looking unimpressed, Tina tugs my left arm and pulls it away. Perhaps she thought that Id be taken away by Chloe. Even though theres no reason for her to be worried at all.

Be careful, you two. We have a lot of luggage right now.

Uuu, Im sorry, Kurt-sama.

Eek, hes angry.

I did a dekopin to their foreheads, lightly to Tina and harsh flick to Chloe.

Dont make fun of Tina too much.

Chloe rubs her forehead, looking slightly dejected.

Uuu, I understand.

Tina snorts in a better mood.

Upon our antics, the elves and fox kins walking behind us are snickering. They are helping us to carry the fruits that I obtained from the spirit village. The fruits that I got from the spirit village are incredibly delicious. Ill be receiving a tenth of the spirit villages agricultural products every year. We cant carry them by ourselves, so we receive a lend of hands. Ultimately, theyre only borrowed hands, so I let them know that they can go whenever they have to.

I cant wait to make pastries from the spirit village fruits from now on.

After walking for a while, we arrived at my village. Of course I couldnt notice if theres any significant changes in one week. While walking in my houses direction, my eyes met with Volgs.

Hes a butler who belongs to Faruno, my fiancee, the dearly beloved daughter of the n.o.ble who is responsible for this whole territory, Margrave Fernande. While serving as Farunos guard, hes also my coach who possesses extraordinary skills.

Kurt-sama, youve returned at last.

Yeah, Im home. Why are you so fl.u.s.tered?

Its rare for Volg to lose his composure. To be exact, its the first time Ive ever seen him like this.

A grave situation has occurred. Now, as soon as possible, will you go to our mansion? If its handled imprudently, the Baronet house of Arnold might fall into ruin. Even Margrave Fernande himself will fall into an unfavorable situation.

That sounds bad

I cant really imagine what matter could be that urgent. Faruno definitely knows the full details of this matter. Firstly, if I dont try to ask, I cant do anything.

Tina, Ill be heading over to Farunos place now. Please let Salt know about our arrival and show Chloe to an empty house. After that, please make the fruit carrying helpers feel at home.

I understand. Kurt-sama, please let me know about the conversation later on.

Of course.

With that, I leave the matter of Chloe and the rest to Tina, while I walk alongside Volg in Farunos mansions direction.

With Salt, the leader of the pioneering village, and Tina, Chloe and the company will be handled well.

Farunos mansion is located in my village. She recently had it built for her the moment we got engaged. All of the materials were imported from Margrave Fernandes territory; it was an outstanding building that didnt seem to fit in a poor pioneering village.

I enter the mansion and the servants come to greet us. They are all hired not by me, but by Margrave Fernande.

Welcome, Master. We will inform Faruno-sama about your arrival in haste, so please wait shortly.

The servants call me Master. Its a bit too soon. They hasted to go inside and returned in no time.

We apologize for the wait. Kurt-sama, this way please.

With that, I was led into Farunos waiting parlor.

Welcome back, Kurt-sama.

Im back, Faruno.

Faruno welcomes me with a smile on her face. She is my fiancee. Shes 16 years old, with fluffy pink hair and giving off a gentle impression. Her body is exuding her feminine charm.

From the look on your face, the matter of the spirit villages disease seems to have concluded well. As expected from my future husband.

It was unexpectedly a disease that I recognized. I could make the cure with the materials that I possessed.

Without telling the truth, I let her know the official explanation. Its not like I dont trust Faruno, but shes still a Fernande. I cant tell her about my true weakness, my Magic.

Im glad that you could come home without missing a single thing.

Faruno rubbed her chest while looking relieved. It seems that Ive truly made her worry. Im grateful for that feeling.

Im glad to be able to see your face too, Faruno.

We look at each other and laugh. Its the gentle pa.s.sing of time.

And then, Faruno clears her throat.

I apologize for mentioning this when you have just arrived, Kurt-sama. An urgent matter has occurred.

I heard about that. What had happened, exactly?

Let alone Arnold, its even dangerous for Fernandes.

About that. Kurt-samas present for d.u.c.h.ess Renalier, the rose cookies, have become a problem.

Theres an ugly feeling in my heart. Before, Margrave Fernande recommended my pastry as the present that he would send over to d.u.c.h.ess Renalier. When I heard that d.u.c.h.ess Renalier dearly loved roses, I made rose cookies that would let her enjoy the roses fragrance, flavor, as well as appearance.

Was d.u.c.h.ess Renalier dissatisfied with my cookies?

Did it leave an impression so bad that she would destroy the Arnolds to take responsibility and even make Margrave Fernande lose face? If I earned a Dukes ire, such a thing is not impossible.

My pastry didnt pa.s.s her favor, did it? Ive brought trouble to Margrave Fernande. And to you as well, Faruno. Im really sorry, I say with trembling voice. I grip my hands so tight that I draw blood.

Im confident in my pastries. However, after all, getting a favorable impression in being good enough in a rural area wont bring enough standard of luxury for a d.u.c.h.ess

However, Faruno firmly shakes her head.

Uhm, Kurt-sama. Youre misunderstanding the situation.

What was it?

That, d.u.c.h.ess Renalier has fallen in love with your rose cookies, saying that it was the first time in her life she tasted that kind of pastry. Not only loving it, in the traditional banquet of the empires four Dukes, she wanted to display the rose cookies. I heard that she was said to exclaim that she had founded the territories that could produce such a wonderful cookies.

I see, its not because my pastry wasnt well received.

To be able to make her delighted to that extent, even my father became really proud.

For the present, it made me feel relieved. However, that relief is short-lived. With how things progressed so far, I can sense where the talk is headed to. Its really bad, isnt it?

However, she liked it too much. It presented an excessive appeal to her, as she didnt only express her pride, but also disparaged the pastry of the host of the present banquet, d.u.c.h.ess La.n.a.letta, in the same place. It seemed that she even said that the rose cookies are only one among other more wonderful pastries that could be made.

My head throbbed. That was a posturing n.o.ble.

Well, being a posturing n.o.ble might bring its own benefits. By finding out about the height of the cultural standard in their own fief, they can constrain the moves of their opponents and possesses an influential pose. The four Grand Dukes will intensify the rivaling disposition between them all the more.

For a regular banquet, to be attended by the four Grand Dukes, most likely it was a battle of stomach exploration rather than the usual armed force. Also, a part of the actual strength of the rose cookies lies not in its suitability. If its a ptissier who could make the rose cookies, of course he will earn others trust that hes able to make even better pastries.

Faruno, Margrave Fernande received a request, didnt he?

As I thought, you would catch on to it An envoy came to my fathers place. The pastry chef who made the rose cookies himself was invited to the castle. Just in case, Otousama told the envoy that Kurt-sama was the single person responsible for the whole fief and would not be able to leave his territory for a long period of time. However the appeal was not granted.

Well, its not possible. When the other party is a d.u.c.h.ess, its impossible to refuse.

In the whole empire we live in, the emperor stands at the top, while those who are connected by blood to the royal family are the Grand Dukes. After that, from the top to bottom, there are Dukes, Margraves, Marquess, Counts, Viscounts, and Barons. With the exception of the royal family, the d.u.c.h.ess hold the highest authority.

Margrave Fernande handles the commercial capital city and possess a vast territory, so he holds the advantage of economic and military strength even compared to an ordinary ducal house, but hes far from being their match in political strength.

Of course, sorry about that even when we just met.

Yes, it seems that d.u.c.h.ess Renalier will be the host for the next regular banquet, and she wishes to host the best banquet for the four Dukes. Kurt-sama, you will display the best of your skills in that event. Delicious isnt sufficient, dishes so strange they have never been experienced before among the Dukes must be presented as the full experience. If it can be provided, there will be an enormous reward awaiting.

Dishes they never experienced. Well, it should be a given. After becoming a d.u.c.h.ess, eating all the delicious things is so common its boring. Besides, if I want to show my cultural power to the other Dukes, their inexperience is required. The d.u.c.h.ess has even said shell provide an amazing reward, so it should be fine to antic.i.p.ate that, right?

However, still

What if I betray their expectations?

She will suffer disgrace in front of the four Dukes. It will be a miracle to keep your life and the Arnold fief from ruin.

The answer is just as I expected.

Thats what it means when the other party is a d.u.c.h.ess. However, Im excited for it.

I can eat various gourmet dishes of this country, and my cooking will circulate among a group of Dukes.

My blood is boiling up.

I understand the situation. Either way, I dont have the right to choose. So Ill go. To d.u.c.h.ess Renaliers territory.

With that, I decided my new target.

The risk is unprecedentedly high, but the rewards will also be incomparably huge. Both the fact that Ill be able to receive the prize from a d.u.c.h.ess, and that my name will be well known among the four Dukes.

Credits:

Raws

Dekopin anime gif from Myriad Colors Phantom World anime

Isecais Notes:

Both Faruno and the servants in her house call Kurt

dannasama

, but when spoken by a wife, it means husband, and spoken by the subordinates, it means master. j.a.panese is weird.

Wikipedia seems to position the marquis and margrave equally and interchangeably, so when the Fernande dad appeared in the series for the first time, although the direct translation in jisho shows that hes a margrave, I gave him the Marquis t.i.tle instead. So now that both the Fernandes t.i.tle and another marquess (as mentioned in Farunos engagement party as well) have their own hierarchy, I have to change it. It makes more sense too because the Margrave seems to be expanding the empires territory by doing all the reclamation, and a margrave does defend/expand an empires boundaries. b

Also changing Fernandes because it doesnt sound too German, whereas margrave is. o)( Im doomed, so many chapters to edit out //cries. (Ill edit them once this chapter is published.)

Anyhow, my interpretation so far is that there are four Grand Dukes who hold regular banquet in ducal houses in rotation. Free food in exchange with prestige for hosting the grands, I think. If the details reveal something different in the future, Ill go back and edit this chapter //cries.