“Oh, is that so…?”
After answering, Celes was surprised at how dejected she felt, more than she expected.
What was the point of coming all the way from La Parisia? She was all set for fried food, and now her plans were completely ruined.
However, this was no time to be discouraged.
Although her maid was holding the fort, her escape would eventually be discovered. Before that happened, she needed to eat something delicious.
But what should she order? Jean-Francois’s report mentioned that the salads were also delicious, but it felt like a defeat to come all this way and only eat salad. If she was going to eat, she wanted something memorable.
“Shinobu-chan, please serve this young lady the same thing.”
The silver-haired woman sitting next to her called out to the waitress. It was hard to tell her age, but the atmosphere she exuded was somehow reminiscent of a witch from a knightly tale. She was holding what looked like some kind of pie.
“Yes, as an apology,” Shinobu muttered, and retrieved a plate with pie from the kitchen.
“We cannot offer you kushikatsu, so please accept this pie as an apology.”
“Oh, but, I…”
Celes feigned hesitation, but her gaze was fixed on the pie. On the journey to the old capital, she had been fed potatoes, sauerkraut, and sausages to the point of boredom. She hadn’t tasted anything sweet since leaving La Parisea.
“Please don’t hesitate. It’s our apology. There’s no charge.”
Celes’s brain analyzed the situation at high speed. If she refused now, wouldn’t she arouse the suspicion of the staff and customers? The old man in the shape of a monk drinking at the back of the counter might not be a problem, but this silver-haired woman seemed to have quite sharp eyes.
The fact that Princess Regent Celestine de Oiria was visiting the old capital was a top-secret, but there were probably people who already had an inkling. Therefore, wouldn’t it be best to accept the pie as the town girl, Celes? Yes, it would be. This wasn’t succumbing to a base desire for food; it was the result of careful political consideration. Accepting the pie was the only, best, and most optimal choice, born out of a sophisticated political strategy.
Suppressing the urge to swallow her saliva, Celes smiled at Shinobu.
“If that’s the case, I’ll gladly accept your offer.”
“Then please enjoy. It’s apple pie. I hope it suits your taste.”
The pie placed on the plate before her with a soft kotori sound had a glossy sheen on its surface.
Pie was a cooking method that had recently become popular in La Parisea as well. Many pastry chefs were inventing new sweets, competing in their skills with pastries using pie dough. The sweets that graced the parties of discerning nobles were now indispensable in high society.
When she thought of apple pie, she remembered Jarsy.
It was a masterpiece where stewed apples were arranged on a tart base, enclosed with pie dough, and baked. It was said that no noblewoman in the Eastern Kingdom would dislike it.
However, this apple pie in front of her seemed a little different.
The faint scent of wine emanating from the apples encased in the pie crust tickled her nostrils. So, it was stewed in wine instead of apple juice. It seemed they intended to present it not as a sweet for women and children, but as a refined dessert that adults could also enjoy.
She cut into the pie with her fork, enjoying the crispy texture. As expected, the apples were moist, but the aroma was sweeter than she anticipated.
This meant that not only wine but also a generous amount of sugar was used. The Eastern Kingdom should currently control most of the sugar production areas and trade routes, but where did this tavern get it from?
No, no, Celes scolded herself.
Right now, she wasn’t Celestine de Oiria, but simply Celes. A town girl wouldn’t think about the trade routes and merchant guilds connected to the old capital. Right now, she should just focus on the apple pie in front of her. That’s what a maiden should do.
“…First, a bite.”
Tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear with her pinky finger, she took a large bite of the pie. It would never be allowed at the royal castle, but since she was a town girl now, eating a bit roughly was actually the proper etiquette.
“So sweeeet!”
She involuntarily placed her hand on her cheek and raised her voice, not caring about the eyes of those around her.
As expected, the apples were a component stewed with plenty of sugar and wine, but the glossy surface of the crust was also coated with a syrup made from stewed fruit.
Sweet. Destructively sweet. But it wasn’t a simple sweetness; it was a sweetness accompanied by umami.
The texture was also wonderful. The crispy texture of the still-warm pie crust was followed by the gentle softness of the stewed apples.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes, it’s very delicious!”
Shinobu, the cook, the silver-haired woman, and the old man shaped like a monk all smiled meaningfully at her heartfelt praise.
“…Shinobu-chan, isn’t it time for that?”
“…I suppose so.”
Shinobu’s lips curved into an alluringly distorted smile. A malicious smile peeked out from the bottom of her simple smile. What on earth was about to happen? As she braced herself, a white lump was placed on top of the apple pie with a pon sound.
“Please eat it quickly while it’s cold.”
Cold? The apple pie was supposed to be warm, but the white thing in front of her began to melt like a lump of snow dropped into a river.
Ice cream!
It was a supreme delicacy that even Celestine de Oiria, Princess Regent of the Eastern Kingdom, had only eaten once in her lifetime. She thought there was no way it could be here, but she switched to a slender spoon and quickly brought it to her mouth.
At that moment, a taste of happiness melted in her mouth.
How could this ultimate sweet, said to be obtained by chilling dairy in a special way, be here? She wouldn’t ask. She just wanted to be grateful for this encounter. She hadn’t realized that something delicious could make her so happy.
Thinking about it, it might have been a good thing that there was no kushikatsu. If there had been, she wouldn’t have gotten to have ice cream.
While she was lost in thought, the white lump of happiness was gradually changing its form. No good. She had to eat it quickly. But why did Shinobu put the precious ice cream on top of the apple pie?
In an instant, a bolt of lightning ran through Celes’s brain.
She switched back from the spoon to the fork, and…
“This means I should eat them together, right?”
The four people around her nodded with grins.
Scraping the ice cream, she somewhat roughly cut into the pie crust and the apples below.
Pakuri
Melty-crispy-sweet-moist-delicious!
Celes, who had received an elite education since childhood, believed she was proficient in the languages of many countries, but she didn’t know a word that could succinctly express this current taste.
She took two, three more bites, and in no time, the plate was completely empty.
A mixture of satisfaction and loneliness welled up, and emerged as words.
“…It was delicious.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Celes thanked the smiling Shinobu and quietly stood up.
“Are you leaving already?”
“Yes, if I stay too long, my resolve might weaken.”
With that, Celes took off her glasses and opened the glass door. On the now-darkened Coachman’s Lodge street, several guards in disguise, so as not to be recognized, were standing.
Celes called out to the most senior of the knights.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“No. We are the ones who should apologize for taking so long to find you.”
“Don’t blame the maid. It was all my order.”
“Understood.”
She wondered how they had found this place, but someone must have realized that since she was in the old capital, she would go to the shop in the report. The bureaucrats she had left behind in the royal capital were excellent, but the ones she had brought with her were also excellent. Count La Catan, a secret admirer of Jean-Francois’s report like Celestine, might be stomping his feet in frustration right now.
“Let’s go back. We have a mountain of things to do.”
“Have you had enough of a diversion? If you wish, Lord La Catan has instructed us to turn a blind eye to two or three more establishments.”
“I’ve had enough. More than that, time is precious now.”
“Understood.”
They walked along the darkened road, stepping on the snow.
The sweet, melting days ended today. The maiden Celes was deeply grateful to the female moon for being able to eat such a thing at the end.