Fastening the First Button Well (4)

The academy’s student cafeteria was impressively large, befitting its status. It wasn’t just a cafeteria inside a building, but an entire separate building dedicated to the cafeteria, spacious enough to accommodate all students and faculty with room to spare.

The meals were self-service, and if supplies ran low, staff were always on standby to refill them immediately.

‘This isn’t much different from reality…’

Delicious menu items quickly diminish, while dishes high in nutrients but lacking in taste are naturally less popular. Especially the noble children, raised in luxury, were shamelessly piling up only the tasty items, either intending to eat whatever they wanted here or simply not caring about nutrition.

The chefs, seemingly used to this, kept preparing more food quickly, which would then quickly disappear, in a continuous cycle. Seeing this scene, it really felt like these people, despite their family backgrounds, were ultimately just students.

“Thank you for the meal.”

Ariel lightly greeted those watching in front and began to fill her tray with a balanced selection of foods. Reinhardt, familiar with her usual eating habits, didn’t think much of it, but those around were watching with curiosity. It was rare enough to see a duke’s daughter filling her tray evenly, but to do so while politely greeting others felt refreshingly novel.

Ariel Walpurgis’s name was already quite famous among not only the new students but also the upperclassmen. Just her family name, ‘that’ Walpurgis, was enough, and while there had been gossip about her violent behavior before enrollment, she had proven she wasn’t just all talk by entering as the top student in the entrance exam.

[Is that really her?]

[Even in the entrance exam…]

[And in this class too…]

With various conversations floating around, Reinhardt considered giving a warning glance but decided against it. Ariel wasn’t a child, she should be able to manage her own reputation. From what he overheard, they weren’t really speaking ill of her, just talking about what she had done, so it should be fine.

‘Though she doesn’t seem to be managing it.’

Ariel’s calm face as she filled her tray showed no sign of concern about the surrounding talk. She probably thought the lunch menu was more important right now.

‘I might need to talk to her about this.’

Come to think of it, when her enrollment was essentially confirmed and he met the Duke of Walpurgis at the imperial palace, the duke had hinted that he was worried about his daughter. At the time, Reinhardt had dismissed it as ordinary overprotectiveness, but… thinking about it now, wasn’t the duke genuinely worried about his daughter?

‘She’s too transparent.’

Ariel seemed completely ignorant of politics, which was almost essential knowledge for a noble lady. Whether she was truly ignorant or simply didn’t care was unclear, but shouldn’t she at least show some interest in her surroundings? He felt the need to discuss this with her.

“Where would you like to sit, Your Highness?”

“Anywhere is fine. What about you?”

“I’m fine with anywhere as well.”

“Alright. Then I’ll lead the way here.”

Out of courtesy to his lady and fiancée, Reinhardt took the lead. Ariel then noticeably retreated awkwardly.

“Why are you doing that? Is something wrong?”

“Ah, no. It’s nothing.”

“I see.”

Though somewhat suspicious, Reinhardt decided not to worry about it since Ariel’s strange behavior wasn’t uncommon. It was probably nothing significant anyway.

As Reinhardt started moving again, Ariel secretly wiped her brow behind him.

‘I almost went in front.’

Among the things Ariel had learned at the mansion, there were certainly lessons on noble lady-like posture and curtsy. However, she hadn’t properly learned about being escorted by men as she had been busy learning other things first.

Even now, if Reinhardt hadn’t moved quickly, Ariel would have been perceived as ill-mannered, carelessly walking ahead despite being with her fiancé.

‘No, would it have been better to do that?’

The more her image dropped, the more Mari’s opposing image would rise, making it easier for her to get closer to Reinhardt…

‘I did something unnecessary.’

Regretting the missed opportunity, Ariel clicked her tongue inwardly.

Due to the cafeteria’s large size, there was naturally plenty of seating space. This naturally led to similar people sitting together, and in a world with social status, the areas naturally divided between nobles and commoners.

Commoners and lower nobles mainly sat near the entrance and exit, while high-ranking nobles usually occupied areas with good views and ample space.

‘Can’t we just sit anywhere and eat?’

Although Ariel had such thoughts as soon as she learned about this, she had no choice but to follow Reinhardt as he had already moved on.

Reinhardt, seemingly having found a suitable spot, set down his tray and naturally pulled out the chair in front.

“Hm?”

Ariel’s expression was full of questions, not understanding what he was trying to do. However, when Reinhardt’s eyebrow twitched, she finally caught on.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“Sigh…”

Ariel quickly bowed slightly and sat down. Reinhardt sat down only after letting out a small but deep sigh.

“Enjoy your meal.”

“…You too.”

The two began to move their utensils with formal greetings. From the moment Reinhardt and Ariel sat down, the surrounding noise instantly decreased.

The rumored Crown Prince and the Lady of Walpurgis. It was said that the Walpurgis lady was quite arrogant and enjoyed looking down on others, but seeing her behave so quietly like this, could the rumors have been wrong? Or was she just acting this way in front of the Crown Prince?

Reinhardt’s chosen seat was in an area where many children of high-ranking nobles sat. Naturally, those who received gifted education from a young age tend to have keen insight and awareness of the political climate.

‘Is she at least fulfilling her duty as a fiancée? Or are they actually on good terms?’

‘She doesn’t seem as violent as the rumors suggest, but she might be behaving quietly in front of His Highness, so I should be careful for now.’

Numerous thoughts ran wild in the cafeteria. However, the parties in question, Reinhardt and Ariel, were calmly proceeding with their meal. Reinhardt, already well aware of how others were viewing them, didn’t say anything special, while Ariel was completely uninterested in her surroundings.

Her attention was solely focused on the menu items on her tray.

‘It’s delicious…!’

It was a culinary experience different from eating at home. She wanted to let her expression show and eat heartily, but given the public eye on her, she had to restrain herself. This was the moment when Muriel’s desperate teachings showed results.

‘Mari would go crazy for this. If even I find it this good, how delicious must it be for Mari?’

If even she, who had become Ariel and tasted numerous delicacies from the ducal kitchen, felt this way, how much of a fresh shock must this cafeteria be to Mari, who had lived as a commoner eating modest meals? Thinking about this, she suddenly became curious about where Mari was.

“Why are you suddenly like that?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

When Reinhardt asked about Ariel’s sudden looking around, she instantly returned to normal. This was clearly a space for high-ranking nobles. If she wanted to find Mari, she would have to wait until returning her tray.

‘Next time, should I just eat near the aisle?’

While this area had a good view and ample space, it was also far from the aisle and had fewer people around. Of course, Ariel was used to eating alone, but she wasn’t so socially anxious that she couldn’t eat with people around. Rather, in a world where she couldn’t even use a smartphone while eating, wouldn’t it be less boring to at least watch the people around?

‘Right. If needed, I can pretend to be a villainess with a straight face. Like deliberately going to pick a fight.’

Even to herself, it seemed like a brilliant idea. She should definitely implement this at dinner today or lunch tomorrow. Ariel kept repeating this idea in her mind so as not to forget it.