“Are you okay?”

It was Knight Commander Gwynter. He nodded briefly towards her. Adel pressed her lips with her hand and barely nodded to acknowledge the greeting.

“Commander Gwynter, it’s been a while since I greeted you.”

As she spoke, she realized that her pale face turned bluish when she met the empty pupils and eyes of a deer behind him.

Looking at the deer being dismantled and the vivid blood, he glanced at Adel with thoughtful eyes and then shielded her view with his large body. The intense aversion quickly disappeared when it was no longer visible.

“…….”

After the nausea subsided, a sudden worry crossed her mind—what if the servants had seen her faint-hearted appearance.

As if Gwynter guessed her feelings, he comforted her, “What you’re about to see may not be pleasant. Please come this way. The fire is warm.”

Adel quickly followed him to the area near the bonfire where the knights were gathered. As they approached, a savory smell wafted in the air. Near the bonfire, large trout were skewered, seasoned, and grilling.

When she came closer, the knights who were sitting around hurriedly stood up.

“Greetings to Your Highness.”

“Please be seated. You’ve all worked hard.”

Adel greeted them with proper etiquette, then looked at the trout being grilled with a fascinated gaze.

“Did you catch them yourself? Are there enough trout in the river?”

“We broke the ice in the river and caught a few. When we broke the ice, the trout were all plump. Even if we only catch trout this winter, we won’t starve.”

A young knight with red hair replied to Adel’s question, trembling slightly. He was the well-built man Gwynter always called Donavan. Adel felt slightly better at his confident answer. The thought of finding a stable way to secure food relieved her.

Donavan enthusiastically pointed to the trout sizzling on the skewers, “Do you see the oil dripping? It’s a delicacy to eat in winter. We’ve longed for it since we’ve been away from the territory for a long time due to the war… Ah, it should be cooked by now. Hey, Klaus, bring a plate here too. Let’s give Her Highness a taste.”

Adel extended both hands at Donavan’s words. It was evident that the amount of trout was generous enough to fill the stomachs of the few commanders.

“Oh, no. There’s no need. I didn’t come down here to eat. I just came to check if there’s anything lacking.”

“If you taste this once, you might change your mind about skipping dinner. It’s really delicious, even though it might be a bit plain for the Madam. Ah, it should be cooked now. Klaus, bring a plate here. Let’s let Her Highness have a taste.”
A knight named Klaus placed a thick piece of trout on a plate and handed it to Adel, saying. Seeing the red, fatty flesh of the grilled trout, thoughts ran wild that she had been having inadequate lunches. Adel cautiously picked up a fork and put a piece of the sizzling flesh into her mouth.

“Wow.”

She unconsciously exclaimed. Was it because she had been having insufficient meals due to worries over the past few days?

The well-cooked flesh was resilient, and the savory seasoning captured the earthy smell unique to freshwater fish. The more she chewed, the more the delicious taste emerged. She quickly enjoyed a mouthful.

“It was really delicious.”

“Was it?”

Donavan wiped his hands on a messy cloth after eating his share of trout. Adel nodded her head vigorously several times.

“Starting tomorrow, I’ll have the servants go fishing. If we make stew or porridge with it, there won’t be any problems with meals, and if we sprinkle salt on the leftovers and dry them, it’ll be good for emergency preparedness.”

Adel’s words, in the midst of the most pleasant event in the past few days, became a bit faster due to excitement.

Claude, who was throwing firewood into the fire, looked at her with a smiling and teasing face. It seemed like he was about to laugh. Realizing his intention, Adel bit her tongue.

The man in front of her was not a servant but a knight. Moreover, he was close to the guard that protected Duke Ansgar, not even a regular servant. A proper ‘lady’ wouldn’t have endlessly explained how to cook fish to a guard.

“Oh my. What on earth did I do?”

‘With so much to worry about these days, I briefly forgot who was in front of me….’

“That’s a good idea. Oh, it seems the chef is finally moving his heavy buttocks.”

As Donavan spoke, Adel turned her head and saw servants and the chef coming from the kitchen with cooking utensils and bread dough. Instead of making fun of her or teasing, Adel was grateful that he diverted the topic.

By the time she finished eating the grilled trout, the deer butchering seemed to be over. The deer head that had troubled Adel was nowhere to be seen. The chef skillfully cut the deer meat, adding herbs, tomatoes, butter, vegetables, and various spices to boiling water.