Chapter 24. I give you snowflakes that bloom coldly. (3)
Leah wore a pure white satin dress that did not emphasize the lines of her body.
If you look closely, you will see that intricate patterns were embroidered with gold thread, making it luxurious and full of elegance.
The hair on the side was braided and tied at the back, and the rest of the hair was left hanging down. Her rich, curly platinum blonde hair curved down to her waist.
Emerald-colored eyes that look like clear dots on a transparent face. And lips with a little bit of color.
At this moment, Leia seemed like a beautiful snow queen who had come to the palace of humans.
“Lord Mikel boasted like that….”
“I guess I inherited my late mother’s beauty…”
People were whispering to each other and couldn’t take their eyes off Leah.
Leah had an expressionless face as if she was uncomfortable, but that actually added to the inhumane atmosphere.
‘I must have been forced to dress up because Mikel told me to.’
I looked away with a sad face.
In the original work, when the subjugation team that finished the northern subjugation war arrived at the castle.
Mikel does everything he can to get Leah to join him for dinner. To present Leah to those who attended the event.
But Leah was there… … .
‘Are you going to do that again this time?’
As I looked forward to the next few minutes, I glanced sideways in Cain’s direction.
“her…….”
Cain was staring at Leah, unable to keep his mouth shut. With a face mixed with confusion and admiration.
Rather than falling in love at first sight, it seemed more like he was surprised by the unexpected appearance that Leah showed.
‘Well, you’re probably already in love with Princess Violet.’
If Princess Violet was like a gorgeous and haughty glass doll, Leah had a strong feeling of being a noble and mysterious fairy.
And Cain’s tastes were closer to the former.
The only members of the Concellare family who attended this event were Mikel and his daughter Leah.
‘Did you say that your mother passed away a long time ago?’
Even in that respect, Leah and Abel had similarities.
Mikel and Leah’s steps soon reached me.
“-!”
When Leah saw me sitting right next to the head of the table, her eyes lit up.
Normally people would be seated in order of age or rank. It seemed surprising that I, who was only my age, was occupying this position.
Grumbling.
Leah was sitting right across from me.
‘… … Mikel this old man.’
For some reason, the seat in front was empty.
And Mikel’s seat was at the very end of the table, the seat of the host who welcomes the guests.
“I would like to thank all the distinguished guests who attended this event. I hope that you will feel comfortable while staying in the Nord territory, treating it as your own home.”
Mikel spoke in a kind voice.
“This is my only daughter, Lea Nord Concellare.”
Mikel reached out and patted Leah on the shoulder.
“Leia, say hello. These are the people who played a leading role in this subjugation team.”
Leah slowly lowered her eyes for a moment.
“…….”
Then, when he lifted his gaze again, there was a harsh determination in it.
“Yes, father.”
Leah answered obediently and looked at the people.
People expected her to soon gracefully lift the hem of her skirt and bend her back.
but.
“Lea Nord Concellare.”
Leah finished her greeting with a light bow. He had a very stiff, or son-like, greeting.
“-!”
Mikel’s mouth dropped open,
“……hum hum.”
“……Ahem. Nice to meet you.”
“……It’s an honor to meet you.”
People greeted each other, hiding their embarrassment. They realized from Mikel’s expression that this was Leah’s solo action.
“As I heard, you are very beautiful.”
Although someone threw in a compliment to change the mood.
“If you apply this and that for two hours and wear it, it will look like this.”
Leah responded like this with no change in expression.
“…….”
The tabletop suddenly became quiet. People looked at each other and struggled to control their facial expressions.
“Puhup.”
I covered my mouth and tried to stop myself from bursting out laughing.
‘How is it the same as the original?’
Leah, who knew why Mikel had called her here, responded to Mikel in this way.
It was truly her choice.
‘hmm?’
Suddenly my face felt stinging. I looked up and saw Leah glaring at me.
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‘Why are you laughing?’
‘Because it’s funny.’
I raised both hands and shrugged, and Leah turned her head.
“joy.”
Then he snorted slightly and sat down in the chair.
“Leah, are you trying to do this….”
Mikel also sat down sighing. Then he changed the topic in a calm voice as if nothing had just happened.
“Then, let me introduce the people present here one by one.”
After speaking, Mikel’s eyes turned straight to me. His intention was to introduce people closest to his position first.
“This is Abel Ovest Kindreal.”
After I opened the first gun, the rest of the introductions continued in the order in which they were seated.
“This is Joshua Keppel, Commander of the Imperial Palace Knights.”
“This is Derek Graham of the Graham family.”
“This is Bennett Seymour of the Seymour family.”
finally,
“This is Cain Sud Ardante.”
Cain finished his introduction with a smile. She had a smile that looked uncomfortable, as if there were splinters stuck in it.
‘This must be the first time I’ve ever introduced myself like that.’
I could barely contain myself from wanting to laugh out loud.
“It may not be enough for all the hard work, but I did my best to prepare dinner today. In particular, I want to present a variety of traditional northern dishes.”
Mikel raised his hand and the door opposite the entrance opened.
Grumble-
Servants appeared, pushing food carts. There were so many people that the line to get in was endless.
“Oh…! It’s a huge feast.”
“It seems like everything that looks at it is becoming more enjoyable.”
Everyone looked at the plates of food brought by the servants with expectant faces.
Rich dishes made with generous use of various ingredients and spices.
I could see how much effort Mikel had put into preparing this dinner.
The table was filled to the brim with plates of food, and each glass was filled with alcohol poured by the attendants.
“Okay then.”
Mikel smiled and raised his glass. People raised their glasses accordingly and then said, “I hope everyone enjoys it to the fullest.”
I drank my glass in time with Mikel’s toast. Then he grabbed a spoon and fork and rushed to the food.
“Oh…! It’s my first time eating northern-style soup….”
“This is herring. It looks like it’s been pickled in salt, but… ugh.”
“Is it cabbage? It looks cool… hmm.”
People had puzzled faces, wondering whether they should swallow what was in their mouths or not.
“Don’t you like traditional northern food?”
Leah asked in a rough tone. The look on his face was clearly one of confused judgment.
“How could you ignore the sincerity prepared by the restaurant….”
“Uh-huh.”
Mikel quickly covered Leah’s mouth.
“Everyone is from a different region, so it’s natural that they’re not used to it.”
He laughed and shrugged his shoulders.
“The North eats fermented foods as their staple food. This is to ensure that they consume enough calories while also extending the shelf life.”
Mikel’s hand reached for another plate with a golden rim.
“If that doesn’t suit your taste, we also have Central style cuisine, so you can choose that.”
Not to be outdone, people reached out for the plate Mikel pointed to.
“hmm.”
Of course, there were exceptions in countries where northern cuisine was eaten without hesitation.
‘This family is good at cooking.’
Mikel looked back at me and smiled with an expression that said, “That’s right.”
“Huh, how long has it been since I’ve had such a proper dish…?”
“I thought I was going to die because I only ate hard food and grilled meat.”
People ate and chatted comfortably, forgetting the etiquette of nobles. It was a place to roll on the dirt floor and unwind from all the hardships that had gone through.
“At that time, a rock came rolling down from the cliff… Phew. My heart really sank.”
“I was more surprised when I was ambushed at night.”
“If it weren’t for the Black Knight, it would have been quite a forced march.”
Leah seemed to be uninterested in the story and was just focused on eating quietly. But it looks like she kept her ears open.
‘What is the Black Knight?’
Because he asked me with his mouth.
‘later.’
Leah’s brows gathered at my careless answer.
“haha.”
Mikel smiled happily as he looked at the two of us.
“How on earth are you two-”
He could not stand it anymore and opened his mouth,
‘Don’t do that.’
When I shook my head slightly, he remained silent. He hadn’t forgotten what I had told him earlier.
‘If Mikel steps forward for no reason, his relationship with Leah will only worsen.’
It would have worked better for Leah now to carefully seep it in rather than force it.
Before we knew it, the main dish was over and desserts began to come out.
“It’s been a while since I’ve eaten so full.”
“I ate so much that I forgot about my body pain, hehe.”
People’s faces were slightly red as they enjoyed alcoholic beverages with their meals.
Mikel, who was leisurely leaning on a chair, held out a glass to me.
“Would you like a drink?”
It was a moment that reminded me of the conversation we had had alone in the tent.
“I will not decline.”
Mikel and I gave and received and poured more whiskey into our stomachs. It was a bonus to see Leah looking at the two like she was tired of them.
‘Let me see.’
As I sipped my glass, I looked away and looked at Cain.
He was still standing there, holding his glass. While talking with his friend, Bennett, and other close family members.
‘Yes, that’s right.’
I hid the rising smile under my tongue and waited.
“Okay then.”
May Mikel put down his glass and stand up.
“It looks like everyone has finished eating, so let’s get to the point.”
After finishing speaking, he nodded.
“Hansen.”
“Yes, my lord.”
A man with blue bruises on his eyelids approached and held out a piece of paper to Mikel.
“Thank you.”
Mikel’s disapproving gaze passed Leah for a moment and then returned to the paper.
“As announced, the number of monsters killed so far has been added up.”
People stopped laughing and talking. Everyone put down their glasses and stared at Mikel’s mouth.
“I’m sure everyone has some idea of the outcome, but… for convenience, I’ll call them by name starting from the lowest ranking.”
Mikel began to carefully read down the paper.
“Somerset, House of Carrington. 98 horses.”
As expected, names were called out from the families sitting farthest from Mikel.
“The Seymour family, 134 horses.”
“The Grahams, 167 dogs.”
Derek smiled slightly for a moment. It was rewarding to stick close behind the Ovest Knights and diligently kill monsters.
“Imperial Palace Knights, 243 horses.”
Our names were addressed in the reverse order from when we first introduced ourselves to Leah.
Of course, the last one is,
“The Kindreal family.”
Mikel looked up from the paper and smiled at me.
“431. Congratulations. The Ovest Knights took first place in glory.”
“Great!”
Conrad clenched his fist under the table.
“As expected, I thought so.”
“There was an overwhelming difference.”
Other people also smiled and offered congratulations.
“Wow, I wanted to win once, but this is a win. It’s twice as bad.”
“That’s why I gave up from the beginning. I was told to only go halfway.”
There was no discomfort or rejection on their faces. This was because he clearly remembered the courage and dedication of the Ovest Knights after experiencing the past battle.
At this moment, the restaurant was full of encouragement and support for each other.
“…What is this all about?”
Except for one person, Cain, who couldn’t hide his embarrassment.
“Hmm?”
Mikel tilted his head as if he was surprised.
“Didn’t you hear that each knighthood decided to fight based on the number of monsters they killed?”
“……This is the first time I’ve heard of this.”
Cain glanced at the heirs of close families, including Bennett.
fantasy,
