Chapter 259: Memories of the Past
Even though everyone at the dinner table, except the one actual child, had their own thoughts, thankfully, none of it came from bad intentions. Everyone just wanted to do something for someone else, as a friend. Some were even just teasing others to lighten the mood.
Dinner was always the best time for conversation. Even though etiquette said chatting during meals wasn’t polite, luckily, none of the people here were nobles. So they didn’t care about those silly rules made up by high society.
“Armand used to eat way more than this,” Carle said with a chuckle, watching Armand, who was only barely managing to eat some of Evelia’s tomato-heavy cooking thanks to her encouragement.
“Well, I was still growing at the time… Eating a lot was normal. I was still pretty young back then—hmm, not even 20? Eating more made sense,” Armand replied with a helpless smile, already guessing where Carle was going with this.
It suddenly hit him how fast time had passed. Back then, he hadn’t even turned twenty, but now he was almost thirty. Maybe when he was younger, he’d still wondered what his future might look like… but now? The future felt far less certain.
“Even so, back then you were either eating or on your way to get food. No wonder you grew so tall.”
That’s what brothers were for, exposing each other’s embarrassing pasts. If Evelia really did become Armand’s wife one day, Carle figured she should at least hear a few stories that helped her understand the man sitting beside her.
And more importantly, when Carle and Melian were still dating, right before their engagement party, Armand had come to their house for dinner and spilled all of Carle’s most embarrassing stories from their time in the military. It had been a full performance, one embarrassing tale after another, like a comedy routine.
Even now, Melian sometimes brought those stories up just to tease Carle. Who knows? Maybe one day she’d even tell their daughter, Salana.
As the saying goes, “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” It was finally Carle’s turn to get back at Armand.
“You probably wouldn’t believe this, Miss Evelia, but the first time I met Armand was actually because he was sneaking around our kitchen at night looking for a midnight snack.”
“...Oh no...” Armand sighed, already embarrassed.
Evelia’s eyes widened in surprise. Her expression practically screamed ‘no way!’
In her experience, Armand barely ate, he had an appetite like a cat. Calling him someone who “ate too much” was hard to imagine. In fact, Evelia herself probably ate more than he did now.
“Back then, he could eat at least three times more than a normal person. The food I made was never enough for him.”
Carle wanted to make Armand look bad, just like Armand had done to him years ago, but he held back a bit. After all, back then he and Melian were already close to engagement, so no matter what he said, it wouldn’t change anything. But right now, Armand and Evelia’s relationship wasn’t official yet. So Carle figured he’d leave the really embarrassing stories for later, maybe when they actually got engaged.
To be honest, Carle’s story wasn’t even completely true.
The first time he met Armand wasn’t just in the kitchen, it was beside the trash bins behind the kitchen.
Back when Carle had passed the knight exam, he was assigned straight into the mess hall because of his family background. He had wanted to be a front-line knight, but since his superiors thought he was more useful in the kitchen, he didn’t resist. He figured he could prove himself and get promoted later.
Carle was four years older than Armand and had joined earlier. He was always looking for chances to move up in the ranks, but opportunities were scarce, until he met Armand.
Even though Armand had entered the order as a regular soldier, Carle quickly noticed there was something different about him. He also seemed to have some kind of subtle connection to the Crown Prince.
As a merchant’s son, Carle naturally wanted to form ties with someone valuable like that. So he tried to get close to Armand, who had just joined the order.
But Armand was a hard nut to crack. He followed a super strict daily routine, like everything in his life was scheduled to the minute. He seemed like the serious, stubborn type who never bent the rules, and honestly, Carle found that kind of guy really frustrating.
People who were all rules and no fun were hard to approach. Carle couldn’t find any shared interests or hobbies to start a conversation.
Just when he was about to give up, he ran into Armand late at night, digging through the leftover bins behind the kitchen.
To be more accurate, Armand was very skilled at rummaging through the food trash. Clearly, it wasn’t his first time.
Every part of the knight order had night patrols, including the kitchen. On this particular night, it was Carle’s turn to be on duty. He had brought some ingredients with him, planning to store them in the kitchen’s pantry for later use. So, he headed over to the storage area, and that’s when he happened to see a shadow rummaging through the leftover food.
At first, Carle thought it was a stray dog. But when the figure noticed him approaching and stood up, he realized it was a person. And looking closer, it was Armand with oil stains on his clothes.
If it had been anyone else, they probably would’ve run away before their face was clearly seen. But Armand didn’t move.
He had this look on his face that said, “Well, since I’ve been caught, there’s nothing I can do.” He just stood there, quietly facing Carle, like he was waiting to be punished.
He looked incredibly stubborn, so much so that it felt like he was trapped by too many rules and didn’t know how to bend them even a little.
Carle was totally confused. He didn’t even know where to begin with the questions in his mind.
After taking a moment to collect himself, he started asking Armand what was going on. Armand answered quickly and directly, and in just a few minutes, Carle understood the situation.
Armand didn’t have some weird habit, he was just plain hungry and didn’t know where else to get food. That’s why he had come to dig through the trash. And it wasn’t his first time. Ever since he had figured out the knight order’s night patrol routes, he’d been sneaking in every night, cleaning up after himself each time so there was no trace of anyone breaking in.
The way Armand handled things made it clear he wasn’t just some random rookie knight. But Carle didn’t ask much. He simply thought, If this guy can sneak past patrols and make it to the kitchen without getting caught, then he must be pretty capable.
Since you weren’t allowed to light stoves in the kitchen at night, Carle grabbed some fresh vegetables from his personal pantry, ones you could eat raw, and gave them to Armand.
Armand didn’t touch them until Carle reassured him, “Go ahead and eat. It’s fine. This stuff is mine. You don’t have to report it to anyone.”
Only then did Armand quietly eat it all, like he needed someone else’s permission before he could act. It was as if without a clear command, he didn’t know if it was okay to do anything.
When Carle politely asked, “Are you full?”
He could tell just by the look in Armand’s eyes, he definitely wasn’t.
Armand’s answer was the same as it is now, “I’m still growing.”
But to Carle, it looked more like this guy hadn’t had a proper meal in a very long time. He reminded Carle of a family dog, one that would only eat when the master said it was okay.
Carle himself had the skills to sneak into the kitchen without getting caught, so from then on, the kitchen became their secret late-night meeting place, where Carle would cook just for Armand.
Back then, Armand wasn’t much of a talker. But over time, the two of them grew closer and started talking more. Still, because of Armand’s past, he didn’t dare use the word “friend”, afraid he might break that bond and hurt someone he wanted to protect.
Later, Carle gave Armand a horse named “Luna” as a gift. That really touched Armand’s heart. And Carle even said to him directly.
“If you don’t want to call it friendship, then just think of it as a partnership. I did have a reason for getting close to you, just take advantage of me if you want. It’s fine.”
That was the moment Armand slowly started to accept Carle’s kindness.
Then they went to war together, facing life-or-death battles. That kind of bond, fighting side by side, turned them into true best friends.
Armand had changed a lot over the years. So much so that Carle sometimes wondered, ‘Is this the real him? Or did he just reinvent himself completely?’
If Carle had to sum it up, he’d probably say, “He went from a blockhead to a lovable fool.”
“Too bad you’ve got stomach problems now,” Carle shrugged. “People will never know how much you used to eat. If they did, your family’s chefs would probably go broke trying to keep up. And if Miss Evelia is the one handling your meals—hoo boy, she’s in for some work.”
“Haha, maybe I ate too much back then, and that’s why my stomach’s messed up now. But it’s fine. At least I’m not a burden to anyone.”
“Yeah… maybe it was all that random stuff you used to eat that wrecked your stomach.”
Carle was mostly teasing, but Armand gave a helpless shake of his head.
Yeah… he really did eat himself into stomach issues.
Maybe that was just part of his fate.
Actually, there were things Armand didn’t like to eat in the past.
One time, when they were going through the pantry, Carle found a box of assorted fruit. Some were super sour, and Armand had made such a twisted, painful expression after biting into one that Carle never forgot it.
From that moment on, he knew Armand absolutely hated sour food.
But now, seeing Armand quietly eating bite after bite of Evelia’s tomato-loaded dishes, and smelling that strong sour scent coming off the plate, Carle couldn’t help but wonder.
Maybe… Armand doesn’t hate sour food as much as he used to.