zChapter 52 - Interlude Raised in the Capital vs Raised in Meissen (1/2)

“It’s milk, milk.”

“What the heck is that? ‘Meelk’…”

“I’m talking about milk, you know, from a cow.”

“Cow…?”

“There’s no way it could be possible that… you don’t know what cows are?”

“Targes. There is no record of cows having ever been brought to Meissen fief. Cows are creatures which resemble horses. A cow is wider than a horse, and the sound of its call is also different.”

“It’s ‘cause you never went outside of Meissen that you don’t know such a thing. When I went out of Meissen to go work, I saw tons and tons of cows.”

“I see; if you don’t leave Meissen, then you won’t know what cows are… So that’s how it is. You won’t be able to cross that Linz Valley while carrying a calf on your back, either.”

“Similarly, it’s also difficult to bring any cross the Bastelis River.”

“How come? There’re boats ‘n stuff, right?”

“Quite so. Ships are able to cross the Bastelis River two times a year. The only problem is that there are no cows in the Caprix fief in Lux Kingdom, either. If someone wanted to bring cows to Meissen, they would have to go as far as the Dies fief in Lux Kingdom.

“Speaking of, how far way is Dies fief?”

“Humm. I would say 20 days of walking on foot. Lux Kingdom is not a particularly agricultural country, so they do not raise many cows or sheep there.”

“That’s… that’s so far away, it’d be better to just give up.”

“Yeah, agreed.”

“Then, Captain, that meel… that thing, what can you do with it?”

“It’s milk. Well, if you have milk, then I think you should be able to make cheese.”

“Chee…?”

“It is a type of food processed from milk. The flavor is good on its own, but it is better accompanied by wine.”

“Aah, I agree. It’s good like that, too. On my end, I also enjoy adding it to stew.”

“Humm. So it can be done that way, as well.”

“I wonder if there is anything that Lord Ernst prefers not to eat?”

“I suppose there might be, but I had been taught to stay quiet and eat whatever had been presented to me.”

“Aah… I suppose that might be for the best. If Lord Ernst had ever asked any questions about his meals, all hell might have broken loose within the royal palace.”

“…Why would something like that happen if Lord Ernst asked anything?”

“You, all you’d have to do is think about it to understand. The person who carries the meals to present before the Esteemed Crown Prince is a maid, right? But that maid doesn’t know a single thing about the dish she’s carrying. When the chefs plate up the food, they put a lid over it. The maids can only see that silver lid while they carry the dish. Then, the inner palace maid delivers this dish, and she respectfully presents it to the Esteemed Crown Prince. As she does that, she lowers her head, then quietly retreats to stand and wait beside the wall. After checking that the maid has placed her back to the wall, the head butler will silently remove the cover from the plate.”

“That is exactly how it goes. Targes knows quite well, it seems.”

“Eh? Is that, truly what happens? I had only spoken that earlier from my imagination…”

“What’s the point in doing somethin’ so troublesome? I feel like it’d be fine if the maid who brought your food just put it in front of you normally.”

“Humm. Although I also don’t quite know why, that is simply how the rules are.”

“Exactly. In the royal palace, there are tons of rules and regulations that can’t be easily understood. If you guys were working there, you wouldn’t even last half a day. You’d commit some kind of discourteous or insolent behavior and get punished straight away.”

“We’d be fine. After all, the Captain got out alive.”

“…The hell do you mean by that.”

“But even then, how’s that supposed to explain why everyone’d go crazy?”

“Alright then, listen up and I’ll explain. Let’s say Lord Ernst asks what the ingredients in his meal were. From there, the head butler will communicate this to the inner palace maid, who will tell this to the outer palace maid, who will finally deliver this message to the chef. But at the same time, speculation will start flying about how they had sent in something that had displeased the Crown Prince.”

“Aah, I understand that. Back when I had lived as a servant in a wealthy merchant’s mansion, there was a time where I was nearly beaten because there had been a bug in the food we served him, or something. But it wasn’t even a bug, it was just a seed, though.”

“It isn’t just the wealthy merchants. The nobles are also the same way. As for me, I got told that he didn’t like the color of the coat I had brought out, so I got punished by having my meals taken away.”

“For me, I heard from the women of my village, y’know, that if the peasants who served at their employer’s place got told that the food they made was bad, they’d get hit with a bunch of hot soup, yeah?”

“Of course that would happen. That’s ‘cause the peasants are all stuck-up. They’re not like us at all.”

“I guess that’s true, but I’m talkin’ about the peasants from Rimied fief.”

“Whoaa! No way, that’s amazin’! You can set a high price for serving in Rimied fief, right?”

“The peasants there’re completely different from Meissen’s. Even if they’re still called peasants, the houses they live in are made outta brick.”

“Ooooh! That’s a frickin’ mansion, ain’t it. That’s even fancier than our Lord’s estate, right?”

“And on top of that, the cutlery they use is different. It’s made outta silver, y’know? Silver!”

“Ooooh! That’s frickin’ amazing! Doesn’t our Lord only use dishes made outta wood?”

“It’s ‘cause Lord Ernst sold ‘em all off.”