episode_0053

Have I ever climbed into Amelia’s bed in the past five years?

Amelia never explicitly told me not to do that, but it wasn’t like I was being extremely careful.

So, in the first place, I was almost instinctively reluctant to get into the bed of someone of a different gender.

I have climbed on a friend’s bed. When I went to a friend’s house and there were not enough chairs, I often sat on the bed. In the first place, there were very few friends who lived with more than two chairs in the room.

But in my relationship with Amelia, I instinctively drew a line.

There is no one in this world I am closer to than Amelia. Even my brother Harvey is probably not this close to me. Throughout the five years, we were almost always together and the only person we developed a relationship with, visiting each other’s rooms without hesitation, was Amelia.

However, Amelia and I had a master-slave relationship to the extent possible. Amelia was a grand duchess from one of the most prominent families in the country, and I was only the youngest daughter of a man who was a vassal of the grand duke family. No matter how close we were, we had something to protect from each other.

Coupled with the idea that genders are different, I naturally followed suit.

So, let alone sitting on the bed, I never even thought about proudly climbing onto Amelia’s bed and sitting down face to face with her.

It was almost a natural step to kneel.

“Phew.”

It seems like Amelia is also nervous.

Since it was the Grand Duke’s capital, there were many girls of a similar age to Amelia and I, but Amelia was the Grand Duchess. Although there were some children who managed to get along with each other on friendly terms, there were very few children who were truly close friends in the sense of ‘friends’.

There must have been someone like that in a past life. But not now. Having been like that for the past five years, Amelia must have been a little nervous to bring her friend into the room and sit down with her like this.

“So, the reason I called Elsie here is to organize titles.”

“Yes.”

I heard that story.

How would you organize your titles? Listening to the way you speak, it seems like it’s because you want to be called a little more comfortably rather than trying to make sense of the way you call yourself.

Are you trying to ask me to call you by my name?

Seeing that Amelia was also nervous in her own way, I relaxed a little, but—

“But before that, if I don’t give a proper reason, Elsie will definitely feel uncomfortable.”

Amelia said those words with a slight smile on her lips.

The right reason?

Before I could even remember what it was, the next words were already coming out of Amelia’s mouth.

“Elsie. Do you have any memories of your past life?”

“uh.”

My reaction after hearing Amelia’s words was such a dumbfounded one.

“So, there are cars driving on the streets, or airplanes are flying in the sky. There is a boiler in the house, so you can warm the floor in the winter.”

As I was looking at Amelia with a blank expression, she seemed to have become more confident in her thoughts and continued talking with a smile.

“Do you remember a country where people cooked food with soybean paste and red pepper paste, or made kimchi using cabbage, red pepper powder, various salted fish, radish, and fruit?”

“… … .”

Did you get caught?

Since when?

“It’s been about 5 years.”

Before I could ask, Amelia answered calmly.

“Honestly, if you don’t get suspicious when you see someone dipping steamed potatoes with sugar, wouldn’t it be weird? It’s already a certainty that they thought of using that expensive sugar to dip potatoes.”

Is that so?

No, sugar is sweet, so you can think about dipping it in anything. Is there anyone else in this world who dips steamed potatoes in sugar?

“And, in this area, where there are not many types of food made with fermented vegetables, people hear about a food they have never heard of and react casually by wanting to try it. When the food became available, they found the recipe and improved it by adding red pepper powder. If you’re trying to make salted seafood, don’t you try to find all kinds of fish and fail again and again… … .”

Amelia comes to the Grand Duke’s house and lists all the little things I have done.

The more I listened to the story, the more I felt my face getting hotter.

“But we succeeded in the end. Even though no one ate it except the two of us.”

And in fact, making it every year was a lot of work and a lot of money, so it was difficult to get fish or shrimp from Gratton Mount, which is located completely inland, and it was difficult to transport them in good condition enough to be used for cooking. It took a lot of money and effort.

“ Green onion pancakes, tteokgalbi, galbitang, seolleongtang, sundae, rice cake… … Considering the foods Elsie has tried here, isn’t it a bit like saying ‘please notice’? Or perhaps you just haven’t noticed that I come from the same place as you?”

“… … .”

No, I did notice it.

The thought that I would have been caught… … Why couldn’t I do it?

That’s right. If you look at what Amelia said, it clearly revealed that I came from Korea.

In fact, almost all attempts at reproducing the food here failed. Even with the help of a chef, it was almost impossible to perfectly recreate the taste I used to eat in my hometown with my poor explanation. At best, even when something edible was created, it looked and tasted like fusion food.

Especially fermented foods… … Due to the nature of this world, where there is no refrigerator that maintains a constant temperature all year round, it was difficult to find that taste easily with what I made.

When it comes to food, the hurdles are too high to rush into without any knowledge.

“Ah, there, that.”

“Don’t worry too much. I don’t plan on going somewhere else and telling you. Who will believe me if I do?”

Amelia smiled at me in confusion and placed her hand on top of mine.

It was just as warm and soft as before.

“… … .”

Amelia gently took my hand and pulled me toward her.

And he played with my hand in silence for a while.

“It’s callused. My hands aren’t like that.”

Amelia’s expression became a little cloudy.

“Did you train hard all this while? Even when all the instructors gave up and went away.”

“I… … Because it had to be useful.”

Amelia raised her head in response to my answer.

It was a surprised expression.

“Useless?”

“I am the worst at swordsmanship in Delki City, so I thought I should have at least a minimum of skill for the sake of the Grand Duchess who trusted me and entrusted me with her protection.”

You have to have at least a cause so that you can continue to stick by my side.

“So, have you continued to practice so hard until now?”

“… … .”

It’s embarrassing to ask that question.

“I’m the one who brought Elsie here. Elsie was hesitant, but I insisted so she came here.”

Amelia said, holding my hand tightly.

“And… … That means Elsie is always helpful to me.”

“Is that so?”

“… … .”

Amelia looked at me silently and said.

“Elsie. Please tell me.What does Elsie think of this world?Has she read the same novel as me?”

uh… … .

No, well, I know it’s in a novel.

That’s probably not what Amelia was asking. Amelia wouldn’t recognize herself as a character, and in fact, from Amelia’s perspective, that was true. Because in Amelia’s world, the ‘original work’ would have existed.

In my opinion, Amelia was a character in the novel, but she was also the main character.

“Yes.”

However, for some reason, I felt reluctant to say, ‘You are also a character in a novel.’

I don’t know why.

“Really?”

Amelia’s hand held my hand with more force, but it didn’t hurt. In the first place, the hand of Delkisi was not a hand that would be hurt if a twelve-year-old child held it tightly.

“Me too. I read the same novel as Elsie.”

Amelia’s voice sounded very pleasant. Her face was bright, and there was an innocent smile on her lips.

“I thought there would be no one I could talk to like that for the rest of my life.”

Oh, I see.

I thought I knew why Amelia chose me over Brother Harvey at that time.

If Amelia had figured out my identity from the beginning, for Amelia, I am the only person in the world.

It’s nice to be welcomed, and it’s nice to have proper empathy and response to your story… … He was the only one.

Amelia’s face came closer to me.

“Then, wouldn’t it be okay for both of us to stop using complicated titles?”

I felt Amelia’s breathing nearby.

Even though I knew that Amelia didn’t mean to do that, my heart was pounding faster in the same twelve-year-old body.

“Huh? Elsie. Can’t we just be comfortable with each other?”

Amelia whispered that in a low voice, as if someone could hear her.

Amelia’s hands were still soft and warm.

No, maybe it was my mood, but it felt a little hot.