Chapter 100: What Is Peiya Going to Eat Today
“What kind of answer is that?”
Peiya’s hand stopped in the air for a moment. She felt like Elise was hinting at something.
“Every day is not enough. You’re too greedy.”
“Not enough.”
Elise repeated the same words like a broken record.
“I think you’re just trying to act cute on purpose with me.”
“No. Can stating facts count as acting cute?”
Elise stood up from the garden chair.
She didn’t blush or show any embarrassment at all, which made Peiya even more confused. So Peiya looked up at the sky instead to distract herself.
Her eyes passed over the position of the sun, and she realized it was already noon. She turned and asked,
“Aren’t you going to eat lunch?”
“I was waiting for you. Let’s go together.”
“I’ll pass.”
“There is cream cake.”
“I’ll go for a bit… it’s not completely impossible.”
Peiya immediately changed her answer, which made Elise laugh.
“Do you really have no control when it comes to sweets?”
“Is that not allowed?”
Peiya didn’t think liking sweets was a bad habit that needed fixing. Having a hobby like that was normal, right? At least it was better than staying locked in a room all day.
“I just mean it’s nice to have food you like. Unlike you, I actually forget what food I like. I usually just take one bite and stop.”
Peiya tilted her head.
“But I saw you really enjoyed sweets last time. I even brought you some.”
“Did I?” Elise touched her lips with her finger, as if trying to search her memory.
“Yes. Your memory is bad too. Didn’t you notice your maid always prepares matcha-flavored desserts for you?”
“The most you ate last time was matcha flavor. You just like reading newspapers while eating, so you don’t remember how much you actually ate.”
After saying that, Peiya stopped in the middle of the garden and placed the flower pots in a slightly shaded area.
The seeds just planted should not be placed in strong heat. It would dry the soil and make it hard, which is bad for new roots.
“So that’s how it is? You really observe things closely.”
“Tch. Maybe someone is just careless.”
Peiya squatted down, finished arranging the pots, then stood up and brushed the dust off her hands.
Elise, who was watching from a distance, stepped back slightly. She felt that this scene was very beautiful.
For a moment, she thought Peiya gave off a very “perfect” feeling, but then she felt that thinking that way might be a bit rude.
More accurately, Peiya was a careful person who noticed small details and understood others well.
Simple labels like “good at housework” didn’t fit her at all. And Elise herself couldn’t say such words out loud anyway. In fact, Peiya often acted like she didn’t care about anything.
Elise then remembered the “Peiya interaction guide” she once made. She realized that recently, those three common behaviors from Peiya were happening less and less.
Was she changing?
“I placed the flower pots. But… the one with the handprint seed, are you really going to put that outside?”
Elise shook her head.
“Put that one in my room. I think there is still space on the windowsill. Go check?”
“Okay.”
Peiya carried the flower pot back to Elise’s room. She indeed found an empty spot on the balcony.
Looking at the leftover soil marks, she guessed there used to be flowers there before.
She placed the two pots in the right spots, then went back downstairs. While walking, she imagined what lunch would be like. Come to think of it, she had never seen what Elise’s dining room looked like.
Most of the time she came here, it was for tea, afternoon tea or morning tea.
Elise liked eating in the back garden. As for proper meals, Peiya had never really seen them.
“The dining room is on the left. There aren’t many dishes, but if you want something, you can tell the head maid. She can cook it.”
“As long as it’s food, I’m fine. No need to be picky.”
Peiya walked down a long hallway, pushed open a slightly open door, and saw a very elegant and carefully decorated room.
At the main entrance, there was a silver food cart. On it were scattered cooking tools. Next to the cart, a few maids were cleaning the floor.
When they saw someone coming, they quickly stood up. In just a few seconds, a long wooden dining table in the distance was filled with many dishes by the maids at great speed.
So fast that Peiya couldn’t even count how many of them there were.
“They are really fast,” Peiya said.
“Of course. These maids basically grew up with me, so they are used to the life rhythm of this mansion. But they weren’t always this skilled. They were originally the lower-ranked ones who failed selection.”
“Because of your sister again?”
“Yes. They were maids who were rejected by my sister. She has very high standards for servants. These people had nowhere else to go, so they followed me out of that house. Later, they even went with me to the battlefield without hesitation. So instead of just maids, they are more like a support unit in maid uniforms. Being fast is normal for them. If you ever see them in their combat uniforms, you definitely won’t think they are just maids.”
Combat uniforms…
Peiya imagined it for a moment: maids running around carrying supplies, and a support team of maids moving quickly on the battlefield.
It felt a bit unbelievable.
Then she imagined herself as one of them. After all, she also used to live and work with maids.
With her old habit of throwing alchemy potions on the battlefield, her style would probably be like: jumping out of a dirt pit, sliding into position, throwing a potion, then rolling back into a trench.
Hmm… that sounds like artillery support.
“What are you daydreaming about? Sit down and eat. Today’s food is good, it smells like beef.”
Before Peiya could respond, a strong smell of roasted fat mixed with rosemary filled the air.
“Oh… okay.”
Like a puppet on strings, Peiya sat down at the table. She held a fork and looked at the elegant dining setup, but her discomfort was stronger than her hunger.
She was hungry, but the table was too fancy. She had never eaten at such a nice table before.
Back then, Anna didn’t allow her to sit at the table. Sometimes Anna would suddenly call her over while eating and say strange things like “I’ll reward you with leftovers.”
Sometimes Anna would also bring leftovers from banquets and give them to her. It made Peiya uncomfortable. With Anna’s status, bringing leftovers was actually improper behavior.
But Anna still stubbornly brought her sweets. She remembered it was called honey flower candy.
Honey flower candy was the first noble dessert Peiya ever ate. It was extremely sweet, so sweet that even now, she still remembered its honey-like taste.
But the bitterness of the past was too strong, and that sweetness could not cover it.
When was the last time she ate honey flower candy? She couldn’t remember. She only remembered Anna once drunkenly placing it on the table and saying, “Here. A reward for you.”
Sometimes, Peiya really felt like Anna was raising a dog. Maybe for nobles, servants were not much different from pets.
She didn’t want to think too deeply about it. In the end, it was just a money-based relationship.
While her thoughts drifted away, Elise cut a piece of beef and brought it to Peiya’s lips.
“Not eating?”
“Ah, I was just distracted. You eat. I can do it myself.”
Elise kept the beef pressed lightly against her lips.
“Eat. I’m not that hungry anyway. You look like you have a lot on your mind. I thought you didn’t like the food.”
“No, I just thought about the past and spaced out. I’m fine now.”
“Hmm. Actually, I was also thinking about the past. Do you want to hear it?”
Peiya looked up in confusion. Seeing Elise’s serious expression, she nodded.
“Of course I want to hear it.”
If Elise brought it up while eating, it must be something important. People often think about past suffering when they are full, as if it makes the food taste sweeter.
Elise smiled playfully and bit into an apple on the table.
“Eat first. I’ll tell you after you finish~”
“…?”
Peiya silently questioned it, suspecting this might just be a trick to make her eat more. But the little joke quickly pushed away her heavy memories.
Her senses returned, and she didn’t care anymore whether she was being tricked or not.
The food smelled too good.
She would eat first, then think about it later.