Chapter 5: At the Breakfast Table

Author’s Note:

Viola comes from a poor family, so she has no experience with luxury☆.

I arrive at the Duke mansion’s main dining room, led by Dahlia and Mimosa.

The room contained a table so very large that it made me want to ask just how many people would fit around it. There were a giant number of dishes pushed together on the table, enough to make me wonder, “This is breakfast for how many people? Huh? Was this actually a buffet?” Honestly though, it’s not possible to eat all this food for breakfast. No, seriously.

Lotus, who had been waiting here in advance, draws back a seat for me. I sit down on it.

An overwhelming display… or not. There’s no way this is just for one person.

“Um, Lotus? How many people is this for?” I ask Lotus, who stands attentively next to me, as I gaze intently at all the dishes.

“Naturally, it is for you alone, Mistress. As we did not yet know your preferences, we prepared a large variety of dishes, but are they not to your taste?” Lotus replies nonchalantly, as if it’s no big deal.

However.

Even just looking at the salads alone, there’s a plain salad made from uncooked vegetables, a potato salad, a Chinese-style salad, and a Nice-style salad. The soup seems to be a potage. For egg dishes, there’s bacon and eggs, ham and eggs, scrambled eggs, and rolled omelets. Not to mention boiled sausages and steamed chicken… as well as fruits and yogurt. There’s even all sorts of bread. Seriously, how many people is this for!?

I’m not proud of it, but back home all we ever had was bread and soup that had a few vegetables in it. And we never ate this much first thing in the morning. My stomach is sure to put up a fight at this sudden feast (though it’s still just breakfast ☆.)

“Does my husband eat meals like this as well?” I ask, my eyes still narrowed at the food.

“Yes. The Duke’s tastes change every day, after all.”

A shocking truth is revealed.

His tastes change every day!?

“My, is that so. But you’d definitely get leftovers, wouldn’t cha!?”

What extravagances you indulge in, my husband. Someone like him should go get cursed by that ghost who hates waste!

“Yes, well that’s…” Lotus trails off, despite having been so eloquent earlier.

“That is wasteful. You do not need to prepare all this for me as well, so from tomorrow onwards, all I would like is a single piece of bread, potage soup, and that Nice-style salad because it looks good,” I say frankly.

“You will not eat the rest?” asks Lotus, somewhat bewildered.

“Yes, as I cannot eat this much. Please save the leftovers for lunch or dinner,” I say, piling the plate in front of me with food from the dishes around me.

In an instant, I’ve finished preparing my meal! All I need now is milk tea and it’ll be perfect! Fresh juice is an extravagance. Extravagance is the enemy! (That’s a saying from back home ☆.)

I look at my plate with an expression of satisfaction.

“We cannot do that. We will properly make you both lunch and dinner,” Lotus says hurriedly, seeming flustered.

But really, it’s much too wasteful to throw away all this food. Even I’d get cursed by that ghost who hates waste. I don’t want to do this. I don’t like it.

“I’m fine with eating it cold, you know?”

“That is not the issue!”

“Then what is the issue?”

“The issue is that if the prestigious House of Physalis was discovered being stingy with their Duchess’ food by serving her cold meals, they would completely lose face!”

Lotus’ expression has completely changed.

“But that’s not the way it would be…”

“Yes it would!”

“Then, could you use these dishes for something else?”

“… I understand. I will have the servants re-cook them and eat them themselves.”

Lotus finally gave in at my persistence. But I do feel bad making the servants eat my leftovers, even if I didn’t touch them.

Wait, I might actually want to eat that re-cooked food…

“Then, could I have those re-cooked meals for lunch?”

“What?”

“As I honestly cannot eat this much, I am fine with bread, salad, and an egg dish for lunch. For dinner, I would be fine with steamed chicken and sausages as the main dish with salad, potage soup, and bread as sides. Oh, in small quantities, naturally.”

I tried making a menu based on the dishes in front of me. The sad truth is that it’s more luxurious than my meals back home despite being made from leftovers.

Still, Lotus is a bit flustered.

“M – Mistress…”

“I seriously don’t need this much fancy food. Hey, please?”

Though I’m average in looks, I can look pretty cute when I beg for things. And I end up naturally gazing up at Lotus since I’m sitting. It’s probably even better if I make my eyes a bit teary.

“… I understand.”

Lotus gives in completely again.

T/N:

The “ghost that hates waste” is a reference to an old Japanese commercial that ran in the 1980s, teaching people (kids, based on the contents of the commercial) not to waste food.

Viola’s speech is somewhat amusing. She sometimes goes from super duper formal to super duper casual in the same line. I try to demonstrate that by increasing the amount of slang and contractions, like “gonna” or “dontcha”.