Chapter 290: What Should We Eat?
“You mean the wedding banquet? Haah… Armand, do you think I’m the type to make life hard for other chefs?”
“Not really, it’s just… our chefs get super nervous when they see you. You’re basically the top name in the food industry.”
Armand was lying on the sofa, holding a piece of white paper with a list of dishes written on it. Since this wedding banquet was more like a gathering between friends, he thought it would be better to ask what Carle and his family liked to eat instead of making some fancy and complicated dishes.
But Armand was still having a hard time deciding. After all, Carle came from a very wealthy and powerful family. Last time, just making a simple dinner for Morr family to casually come over had already scared the chefs at Armand’s estate. Now that it was a real engagement banquet, Armand could only imagine how stressed the kitchen would be.
“Don’t make me sound like I’m some mob boss or something. What’s there to be nervous about?”
“Then what do you want to eat?”
“Food is food, anything is fine.”
“You saying that is actually making things harder for me…”
“Alright, let’s just check out the cafeteria.”
Carle smiled helplessly, patted Armand on the shoulder, folded the paper with all the dishes written on it, tucked it into the pen holder, and shoved it into Armand’s pocket.
“The food in the cafeteria is pretty good. You can use it as a reference to get an idea of what I like.”
“Okay, yeah… that makes sense.”
Hearing that, Armand quickly sat up and followed Carle to the door, where they grabbed their coats off the hanger and threw them on.
It was already late autumn. In a few more weeks, it would be winter. The knights had started switching to their winter uniforms, and Carle and Armand were no exception. Since Armand was more sensitive to the cold, he wore extra layers, worried that the chilly autumn wind might get into his bones.
Maybe it was because he had been spending a lot of time close to Evelia lately, but Armand’s clothes still carried her faint scent. That soft smell surrounded him, giving him a warm and comforting feeling, like his beloved was still right by his side.
“Yawn…”
Even with the cold wind blowing outside, Armand couldn’t help but let out a tired yawn. He followed beside Carle, still thinking about what kind of banquet would make everyone happy.
“The food doesn’t need to be too fancy. You know me, I’m not picky when it comes to meals. Food is just to fill your stomach, nothing more.”
“Mm…”
Armand replied simply, sounding like his mind was elsewhere.
“Melian and my daughter are the same. Neither of them is picky about food, so don’t stress about it. Just tell the chefs to make the dishes they’re good at. Making too much and having leftovers would be a waste.”
“Ah, yeah…”
Again, Armand gave a half-hearted reply.
They hadn’t walked very far when Armand felt a wave of drowsiness washing over his head. He hadn’t used to feel sleepy this often, but lately, he always felt like he was getting more and more tired.
No, that wasn’t quite it. It wasn’t that he felt physically tired. His body didn’t feel sore or worn out, but he still felt so sleepy.
Step by step, Armand walked beside Carle, but little by little, he began to fall behind.
Carle was still thinking about Armand’s wedding banquet, so he didn’t notice the growing gap between them.
But then—
Thud.
A sudden sound came from behind.
“Armand?”
Carle turned around, and saw Armand lying face down on the ground, completely still.
“… need to… something…”
“… if we… must…”
“You’re saying… right now he’s…”
Inside Armand’s mind, everything was a blur. He could hear voices, but they were fuzzy and unclear.
It felt like being stuck in a boring meeting. He didn’t want to fall asleep, but the drowsiness kept coming. At some point, he must have dozed off for a while.
“… then… yeah…”
“He is…”
“I know… outsiders… say…”
“… follow orders…”
The voices, a man and a woman. They sounded… familiar.
They seemed to be talking about something serious. Their voices sounded very tense.
What was it about? He couldn’t hear clearly…
It felt like he was trapped in a confusing dream. His brain was making up things based on the little bits he could hear. Things he couldn’t understand or remember.
He wanted to leave this strange dream, but he didn’t know how.
In the dream, he kept walking in circles, trapped in an unsettling and weird place.
But something felt strange.
If he hadn’t heard those voices from outside, he wouldn’t have even realized he was dreaming.
So many unrealistic things were blurry and floating in front of him… but it wasn’t until now that he realized, this is a dream.
Still, that’s not too surprising, right?
After all, when someone falls into a deep dream, it’s rare for them to realize they’re not in the real world.
That deep, immersive feeling can feel comforting. But once you know it’s a dream you can’t wake up from, that comfort quickly turns into fear.
He had to wake up and open his eyes right now.
“Cap…tain…”
“—Captain Armand?”
“—!”
It was like he had suddenly found the door out of the dream.
Armand finally saw the way out. He ran toward the voice calling him, chasing it back to the real world.
Bright light hit his eyes, making him squint.
“Captain Armand, you’re awake.”
The voice belonged to a woman. Armand blinked and looked more carefully. It was one of the medics from the knights’ headquarters.
And the place he was in? It was the knights’ medical room.
The knights trained often, so injuries were common. That’s why the medical center here was big, and after the cafeteria, it was usually one of the busiest places.
But today felt different. The place was unusually quiet, almost empty.
You could still hear voices from the other parts of the building, but the section where Armand was felt as silent as a real hospital.
“…Did I fall asleep?”
He rubbed his eyes and sat up from the white hospital bed. When he looked up at the female medic, he also noticed another familiar figure standing next to her.
“To be exact, you fainted outside,” the person said.
That familiar figure was Carle.
He was looking at Armand with concern, and only after making sure Armand was fully awake and could speak normally did he finally breathe a little easier.
“Fainted? What happened?”
Armand clearly didn’t understand what was going on. He glanced at the female medic beside him.
Carle understood the look and waved his hand to signal the medic to leave. After all, Armand had once said very clearly. No matter what happens, don’t call a doctor for him.
It just so happened that this time, Armand collapsed right next to the medical center. A medic who had stepped outside to pick up some medicine saw him and helped Carle carry Armand through the back door.
Luckily, all the knights were very disciplined and kept their mouths shut. There was no need to worry about word getting out.
And even though the medical staff couldn’t fully figure out what was wrong with Armand in such a short time. They ended up giving a simple diagnosis, overwork and lack of sleep.
But Carle knew clearly that wasn’t it.
“Armand, are you still not feeling better?”
“Hmm?”
Armand raised an eyebrow, still looking confused.
“Look at yourself.”
Carle grabbed a small mirror from the nearby table and handed it to Armand.
“Huh? I—”
Armand took the mirror, still dazed. He was about to say something. But the moment he saw his reflection…
His forehead was clearly bruised. And then—
“…?!”
When he carefully pulled away the tissue from under his nose, bright red blood started dripping down onto the collar of his white shirt.