Chapter 405

Outaishihi ni Nante Naritakunai!! Chapter 405

She and the Third Day 4

I decided to grasp the opportunity to ask and brought up the subject with Raid.

“You also said you were in a slump.”

“Haha. As a matter of fact, I am. Before, I was getting inspiration for various situations and scenes from observing people like this, but lately it hasn’t come to me at all. Even if I write, I have a strong feeling of, ‘This isn’t it,’ and I don’t feel like continuing writing. When I was wondering if there was something that could rekindle my spirit, I heard about you, Lidi.”

“I don’t think the story about me and Freed will be useful for your writing, Raid.”

It’s an extremely ordinary story.

What really happened aside, publicly it looks like nothing but a political marriage, and even if the rumors say that Freed is infatuated with me, I doubt they’ve reached Irvine accurately.

I thought she wouldn’t be particularly interested in our story, but she didn’t nod.

“No, that’s not true at all. It should be the very picture of a political marriage, yet no matter how you look at it, it’s a mutual love. It became a big rumor in Irvine how happy your wedding was. That grabbed my interest. I wanted to meet you if possible. I thought I could perhaps obtain something to escape this slump.”

“Don’t get your hopes up… Besides, when it comes to excitement, isn’t the story of your older brother, His Highness Hendrik, more dramatic? Even the rumors in Wilhelm say he took a woman of an unknown origin as his princess consort. There was even a book written about them.”

After becoming friends with Ilya, I secretly obtained that book. Reading it, I got the feeling like she’d die of embarrassment if she heard about it.

It was exactly like Cinderella or something.

When I talked about Ilya, the relaxed expression on Raid’s face turned serious.

“… No. I can’t imagine using my real brother’s love story. It’s too real to spur my creativity.”

“I-I see. Er, Raid, if you don’t mind, I want to read what you wrote. I’ll buy your books if I can find them somewhere.”

I judged from her atmosphere that she’d rather talk about something else, so I changed the topic. Relieved, Raid jumped on the new topic.

“I have the samples of my books in the castle, so I’ll gift them to you. I’ll send them to your room later.”

“Is that fine?”

“Yeah, in the castle only Ed knows that I write books. The books are lying around for no reason. I’ll be happy if you accept them.”

“Thanks. Then I won’t hold back. But, why haven’t you told everyone? It’s an incredible talent.”

I think being able to write books is a special talent, and I don’t understand the reason to hide it. But Raid made a disheartened face.

“I don’t want my mother or elder brother knowing that I write love stories. Mother is kind of person, so she’d definitely say, “You can write about it, so why can’t you do it?’ without any malice, and Elder Brother… I don’t want him to know I write romance novels.”

She asked if I could tell my brother that, and I shook my head.

If I wrote romance novels and Brother read them, I’d be embarrassed beyond belief. Absolutely not.

Of course, there are many people in the world who wouldn’t be concerned about that, but at least I’m the type who’d hate it because it’s embarrassing, and Raid must be the same.

“Especially since I look like this. If it was known I write cliché romance novels with female protagonists, even though I dress and talk like a man… No way.”

“Cliché…”

“Yeah, so cliché I even surprise myself. I like standard setups, or more precisely… There are many male leads who are childhood friends or people from close by.”

“Childhood friend male lead.”

Supporting Prince Hendrik read that, he’d think he was right. Raid must’ve understood what I was thinking from my expression and said with an incredibly bitter face.

“That’s it. I couldn’t stand it if that made him recommend Ed. Novels and reality are different. Just because I wrote a novel with a childhood friend male lead doesn’t mean I love my childhood friend in reality. I don’t think Elder Brother would understand that.”

“I-I wonder… If you talk, I feel like he may――”

“After already completely misunderstanding the situation? Do you really think that?”

When she asked back with a serious face, I raised the white flag.

“Sorry. I can only see it creating further misunderstandings in the future.”

I was strongly convinced of the reason why Raid hadn’t told anybody about her writing activity.

“I’ve kept you waiting.”

Just when our conversation reached a pause, the employee brought us our order. Relieved, I turned my gaze to it.

In front of me, a pudding and coffee were set up.

As Raid had explained, the pudding had fresh cream and caramel on the side, so they could be added as desired. The employee asked with a smile.

“Do you want me to add sugar to your coffee?”

“Ah, it’s fine.”

I also drank coffee black yesterday.

I don’t dislike sweet coffee with plenty of milk, but I’m fundamentally in the black faction. Of course, things that are too bitter or strong are impossible, but otherwise I want to enjoy the original taste.

I immediately picked up the coffee cup.

The white cup had a beautiful bluish-purple floral pattern. I’d never seen that design before, so perhaps it was a local specialty of some region in Irvine.

“… Wow. It’s easy to drink. Delicious…”

I tried drinking it. It was surprisingly delicious. There was hardly any acidity that I’m not good with. However, the aftertaste was pleasant, and the flavor made me want to drink more.

Hearing my impression, Raid smiled happily.

“I’m glad it suits your fancy. If you like, you can buy some to take back with you. Export isn’t really prohibited.”

“Really? Then I may buy some as a souvenir…”

For now, I’ll get some as a souvenir for myself. I also want to have Freed drink it. And if he doesn’t dislike it, Mother-in-law and the King too. If everybody likes it, it’ll open the possibility of importing, and I’ll also be able to drink delicious coffee. I can’t wait.

“Then, for the time being, I’ll get ten bags including souvenirs. Can I buy them here?”

“I’d recommend going to the area where it’s produced for bulk shopping, but if it’s that much, you can buy it here over the counter. If you tell the employee earlier, they’ll be ready by the time we pay.”

“Hm. Then, I’ll ask for that. Haa… This coffee really is delicious. It might be a good idea to try serving it at the curry store after meals.”

It will be another experiment. After-meal coffee isn’t very popular in Wilhelm, but I think it’s because everybody hasn’t come across delicious coffee. Isn’t a new fad bound to be born if they taste delicious coffee?

While I was having such thoughts, Raid called my name, “Lidi.”

“Nn? What?”

“I just heard you say .”

“Yup.”

Is there anything strange about it? When I tilted my head, Raid asked inquisitively.

“By curry story do you mean that? Recently, a store selling something called ‘curry rice’ has become popular in the Royal Capital of Wilhelm. The unique taste has become a popular topic of conversation. I’ve also heard the rumors, and if I were to ever go to Wilhelm, I thought of eating there… Lidi, do you have any relation to that store?”

“Ah, yup. I’m the owner.”

“Ha?”

When I answered without hesitation, Raid’s eyes went round.

Editor: Valkyrie