NOVEL NEXT Chapter 394
For Elizabeth, pregnancy was not a foreign thing.
She was already a mother of four children and would soon become the mother of five, before winter next year at the latest.
However, this fifth pregnancy was no easy feat for her. While pregnancy itself is not usually considered normal, this one was particularly challenging.
The baby just sat in her belly while all sorts of measures were taken for her stability, and on top of that, she had to deal with morning sickness.
This morning sickness was not just a matter of not being able to eat one or two things, but rather that she couldn’t even bear the thought of meat, fish, dairy products—basically, all categories of food.
Thanks to this, Elizabeth had her physical activities severely restricted beyond the rare occasions of meeting her family.
In fact, whether or not to restrict her activities wasn’t even a dilemma; she simply lacked the energy for it.
Her mainstay meals consisted only of flour and some grasses, and there was no way she could find any strength in her body. No matter how skilled the Felwinter Family’s chefs were, the fundamental lack of nutrients was something they simply couldn’t remedy.
Yet, thanks to the amazing white meat (tofu) brought by Karem and Zigmeser, Elizabeth managed to endure the tough times.
In place of the morning sickness that made a day feel like ten, what remained were all sorts of documents and letters waiting for the First Lady’s approval and responses.
Revitalized by the gluttony of the Memorial Day feast, Elizabeth felt utterly drained.
“Iona. I fear that morning sickness might return.”
“My lady, simply saying that won’t make the pile of papers in front of you disappear.”
“I know that. I’m just expressing myself.”
Thanks to the bureaucrats who handled the documents promptly and intuitively, they were finished quicker than expected.
The issue was the letters themselves.
The senders ranged from all over Iceland and certain regions beyond.
In an era lacking in advanced communication methods, failing to reply to letters was considered a far worse rudeness than leaving a chat message unread.
Especially since every single letter was solely concerned about her health. They piled up like a mountain from all across Iceland.
On top of that, they even came laden with gifts, making it impossible to ignore.
Fortunately, the majority of the letters could be dictated to servants and maids, based on their importance.
Even so, she still had several boxes worth of letters left to tackle.
After the Memorial Day ended, she spent from morning until late at night writing responses and deciding on gifts of thanks before finally finishing the replies.
Now, she was in a situation where she didn’t even want to see another piece of text, and yet more letters awaited—
“Oh dear, Duchess! A charitable auction invitation has just arrived under the name of the Triune Church.”
“Letters! Letters… a charitable auction? Hand it over for now.”
Charitable auctions were quite common in the modern world, and even in Europa.
When there was still a lack of provisions among the nobles, Iceland’s influential figures prioritized the welfare of people as soon as they had the means.
After all, the most precious thing in Iceland was none other than its people.
As development continued, the demand for people in Iceland kept rising endlessly.
So much so that workers were willing to risk perilous sea routes to reach Iceland.
The Triune Church’s charitable auction was also about this.
Exploiting the workforce of the impoverished to the very limit, in order to provide help.
Such letters arrived every year.
The content was always the same.
Support for the poor, funding for businesses, hoping they’d grace the occasion, requesting donations of auction items, inviting companions—
“Oh, did you hear that?”
Voices drifted in from outside the room.
“They say Karem has finally struck back, no longer bearing it.”
“To whom?”
“Who do you think? Naturally, to Sir Atanitas in plain sight of everyone.”
Elizabeth silently began to draft an invitation for him to accompany her to the charitable auction.
She had the right to know the details of the goings-on in the Felwinter household.
This was definitely not to relieve the stress that had built up till now!
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“I thought it was tea time.”
Karem continued to stroke the brilliant, soft blonde hair draped over his lap, looking confused. Elizabeth had always invited Catherine to tea time, but now a charitable auction?
“You’re trying to take this opportunity to ask one-sided questions under the guise of inviting me to tea time, aren’t you? Although as always, the invitation contained no related details. Well, I’ve grown accustomed to it.”
“So, are we heading to the Triune Church headquarters?”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?” Catherine, who had been resting on Karem’s lap, scrunched up one eyebrow in confusion.
“You mentioned it was an invitation from the Triune Church headquarters, right? Doesn’t that mean we’re going there?”
“Not at all. You’d have to go quite a ways north before you’d reach there.”
Catherine waved her hands in disbelief.
“Even if we don’t go all the way to Highland, we would need to climb to a place that snows year-round. You must not have read the invitation properly.”
“You never even showed it to me.”
“Huh? Did I?” Karem sighed internally at her innocent obliviousness.
“No, it might actually be a good thing.”
After all, Elizabeth would be directly participating in the auction hosted by the Triune Church.
The participants would likely have valuable items up for auction.
“This time, maybe I can finally spend some of that darn gold. If only I wasn’t treated as an expense every time someone needed something—”
Ha. Catherine lightly laughed while still laying down.
“You’re asking your beloved chef to buy cooking-related items, so of course they’d treat it as an expense. Shouldn’t you have bought something else instead? Indulge a little. Indulge.”
“This is me indulging.”
“I told you before that your definition of indulgence is vastly different from common standards.”
This often left Catherine feeling frustrated.
She wished he’d take an interest in something other than culinary arts, even just a fraction of what he showed for that.
“Karem, my friend, indulgence typically refers to purchasing opulent items for the purpose of self-aggrandizement.”
The same sentiment of frustration was shared by Mary, who sat across from her.
“Just like how a contractor spends lavishly on fine wine.”
“I really don’t like wine that much.”
“I know very well that you’re such a lightweight.”
“I’m not a lightweight. It’s just that I’ve never had enough to drink to reach that level.”
“Let’s just pretend that’s how it is.”
Mary lightly shook her head with her eyes closed.
“In that sense, I think you need to start living a bit extravagantly, Karem. You’re a noble now, after all.”
“Me?”
“Precisely.”
“A noble, huh?”
“Wha—!”
An incredulous laugh erupted from Karem, sounding almost like he couldn’t believe it. Catherine, who had been lying quietly with her eyes closed, slightly opened an eye.
“To say that you’ve always been treated like an under-noble, and now you not only have land in your name but are also directly offered a title of Courtyard Duke by the king—are you not a noble, then?”
“Well, with you putting it so bluntly, I can’t really refute that.”
“I said not to refute it, didn’t I? You knucklehead.”
Catherine stood up, straightening her posture.
“It’s awkward to say this to a lover, but I’ve always said you need to take an interest in something outside of cooking.”
“That’s not an easy task.”
Memories of a past life where the marvels of modern civilization were as familiar as breathing were still vivid.
Life was overflowing with riches known through gaming, videos, dramas, novels, and even advancing into 3D and 4D, an unprecedented era in human history.
To be frank, apart from cooking, he hadn’t really paid attention to anything else.
Theater was similar, and novels or encyclopedias were just like reading a setting book, so they were bearable, and then there were clothes—
“Wait, clothes might be a somewhat acceptable topic.”
Karem’s gaze shifted as if he had encountered a potential intruder (upon detecting something in his line of sight, one would freeze as if facing a monster with magical abilities).
“Huh? Do you have something to say?”
“No, just a moment.”
Clothing was not a big concern for Karem, neither in his previous nor current life.
However, he could spend hours customizing a game character or figurine.
“No matter what you wear, you pull it off well.”
Indeed, she had that natural talent in her figure, where the right proportions made every place and every outfit fit her beautifully, from revealing dresses to casual wizard tower attire.
“Are you saying you’re going to spend money on my clothes?”
Catherine immediately tightened her expression, her gaze harsh.
“You’re going to pick something out for me to wear, not something for yourself. Well, giving gifts in a conventional way is one thing, but don’t you have anything a little more extravagant?”
“I would be more than happy to.”
“Now, what are you about to say?”
“Well, isn’t that only natural?”
Mary, sitting up straight as if stating the obvious, addressed Catherine.
“It’s only logical that managing women’s clothing takes more effort than men’s. From the fabrics to the embroidery and decorations. Karem, I’d recommend a purchase with lots of frills and an abundance of gems.”
“What the heck are you saying?”
“Oh, that’s not it.”
Karem couldn’t agree with that statement.
“Too much decoration is worse than having none at all. Besides, Catherine herself has a flashy enough body; something simple that enhances her figure suits her best.”
“Uh… Wow. I didn’t know you could say something like that…?”
Catherine, who was about to scold him, looked somewhat flustered, tilting her head in surprise.
“That’s a compliment, so why are you reacting like that?”
“I mean, it’s the first compliment ever, and considering the context, it feels a bit strange to be overly happy.”
“It’s just acknowledging a fact. What’s there to it?”
As they pondered how the conversation had taken such a turn, the coachman knocked on the wall of the carriage.
“We’ve arrived at our destination.”
Karem was about to reach for Catherine’s hand to help her down but was stopped by Mary, who shook her head.
He grumbled and glanced around, three thoughts popping into his mind.
Firstly, he realized anew just how wide Coldon’s outer castle was. He had felt this when out with Zigmeser, but Coldon’s outer castle was indeed larger than that of ordinary towns.
Secondly, he felt a little disappointed.
He had expected to see the Triune Church’s temple, which was genuinely dedicated solely to faith, given it was hosted under their name, but that was not the case.
The place they arrived at was just as grand and spacious as the buildings surrounding the magician’s guild’s direct office in Bendleig. Perhaps it was due to accommodation capacity.
Thirdly.
Elizabeth.
There stood Elizabeth, the Duchess herself, waiting at the wall next to the main entrance of the building.
“Atanitas! I’ve been waiting for you!”
Surrounded by people and chatting away, Elizabeth’s face lit up with joy as she saw Karem, Mary, and Catherine get down after him.
“Oh my, my.”
“…You must be having a tough time.”
“Why speak as if it’s someone else’s business? Your name was mentioned in the invitation as well, wasn’t it?”
“…Oh.”
Elizabeth hurried towards him with quick steps.