A Masterpiece Sandwich
It was a sandwich of my utmost dedication.
Between triangles of carefully sliced bread lay ham, cheese, and vegetables, their cross-section a neat and inviting display.
Even before tasting, one could not help but admire the refined appearance — the sort of food that made nobles sigh in appreciation.
Despite the elegant, refined result, the process of making it had been grueling indeed. I held out my masterpiece sandwich.
"This is… a sandwich, is it not?"
"I made it myself this morning. You may try one, if it please you."
Color rushed back into Adrian's face at once.
By his own account, he had been staring down the crisis of an "exceedingly meager meal," only for a familiar sandwich to appear before his eyes.
This, then, was the moment the meal had been elevated to a level at which conversation might actually be possible.
His feelings on the matter were surely quite delighted.
With this alone, I've already succeeded halfway.
Watching him reach out without hesitation, I was certain of victory.
The moment he took even a single bite, my goal would be achieved.
"Hold on. Aren't you being rather careless?"
— until a distinctly dissatisfied voice cut in.
"Careless?"
"Your Highness Adrian, if you simply accept food from someone you don't even know, you'll be poisoned in no time."
"Roxanna, I think…"
"Carmilla de Valin, was it? No matter how famous a noble house you come from, this sort of suspicious behavior is unacceptable."
The one who had interrupted was the red-haired bodyguard — Roxanna.
With her scarlet ponytail and a slender physique that spoke of diligent training, she was a beauty… but she had just ruined a moment that had been on the verge of success, so my gaze toward her was less than kind.
Moreover, her argument was so predictable that I almost wanted to laugh.
"Did you just say poison?"
"Of course. I cannot allow His Highness the Crown Prince to eat food of unknown contents when your identity has not even been verified."
"Haa… I scarcely know where to begin pointing out the flaws in that, I must say."
I pressed a hand to my forehead and sighed.
As though this were a level of conversation that simply could not be reasoned with.
Half of it was intentional; the other half was sincere…
And the reaction to that gesture was satisfyingly immediate, for which I was grateful.
"That attitude of yours… it sounds as though you believe there are points to criticize in my argument. Very well — let's hear them in detail."
She crossed her arms sternly, as if demanding I explain myself.
Whether to call that loyalty or simple-mindedness…
"Hmm, then where shall I begin…"
A little teasing in exchange for the interruption ought to be fine.
"To begin with — if I truly intended to poison someone, I would hardly come so openly, would I? It would be difficult to escape if discovered, and as we've just seen, easy to block."
"Ugh… His Highness Adrian faces assassination attempts wherever he goes. There's no harm in being careful as a matter of course, is there?"
She had a point, but if that were the standard, could he even walk around the academy properly?
I swallowed that retort and chose something more constructive.
"If I truly intended to assassinate His Highness the Crown Prince, I would have disguised myself as one of the cafeteria staff serving that porridge and poisoned his bowl. What do you think of that approach? I would complete the mission without ever needing to meet the two of you."
"What? That is…"
A look of fluster crossed her face.
She seemed to be running her brain at full capacity trying to find a rebuttal, but it wasn't going well.
"Should I interrogate the cafeteria staff even now…?"
Is she serious?
She looks perfectly fine… is she just not very bright?
"I don't believe that will be necessary… though if you truly worry, there is always the method of food tasting."
"Food tasting…?"
I shifted my hand and pointed the appetizing sandwich at Roxanna, tossing the suggestion lightly.
"You would know if you simply tried it yourself."
"Ha, but… I am the sword that protects my lord. If I fall to poison, that too becomes a problem."
Watching Roxanna's pupils tremble, I sighed.
Then I took a bite of the sandwich myself.
Chew, chew.
I had been hungry anyway, so eating one myself was fine.
"Oh?"
"Roxanna, that unwavering professional spirit of yours is most noble… yet you would do well to remember that excessive protection can, at times, become a poison of its own."
Having made my point clear enough, it was time for the main topic.
With that, I drew two more sandwiches from my basket.
"I merely wish to enjoy a pleasant lunch with my two fellow students."
"Roxanna, Carmilla is right. This is St. Celestia Academy, after all… they inspect for poison just as thoroughly as the Imperial Palace does."
"…I have no excuse."
Her bowed head looked rather pitiful, but she had brought it on herself.
"Carmilla, your words are quite interesting. If one is to consider poisoning, one must think from the assassin's perspective… It may seem dangerous at first glance, but I believe that's a way of thinking our Roxanna needs as well."
"My, you flatter me."
Roxanna accepted the sandwich I offered and spoke with a somewhat sheepish expression.
"Carmilla, thanks to you, I've learned something. Tasting what one's lord is about to eat first… that is food tasting, I take it."
"Well… that isn't wrong."
Studying the sandwich in her hand carefully, she squeezed her eyes shut with a resolute expression and boldly took a bite.
I had been saying all along there was no need to be so guarded, but who knew where my words were going…
"Hwah, it's delicious…"
Her reaction was quite satisfying.
The moment she took that bite, her expression melted.
"The mild softness of the fluffy bread and the saltiness of the ham and cheese are wonderfully harmonious… and the texture that might have felt lacking is filled in by the crisp cabbage. And what is this white sauce? I've never tasted it before, but it pairs so well!"
Apparently quite taken with my creation, Roxanna launched into a lengthy stream of praise.
Watching her with satisfaction, I answered simply.
"That is mayonnaise."
"Mayo…naise? What is that?"
"A seasoning with a creamy texture and a charming hint of acidity. I added mustard seeds to give it a little kick, if you will."
"Indeed… a flavor one could never tire of, no matter how many times one ate it…"
The idea itself had come to me quite some time ago.
Back before I entered this world, I had suddenly realized that I had never once found mayonnaise in Chronicles of Rodoros.
Given that the protagonist's party traveled the world and obtained all sorts of ingredients from all sorts of regions for cooking…
I realized that mayonnaise as an ingredient had never appeared anywhere.
Why? Do they just hate mayonnaise?
If the year of its invention was roughly 1800, then given the medieval fantasy genre, it made sense that it wouldn't exist chronologically…
But all the ingredients had existed long before that, so theoretically it was possible.
And with that idea in mind, I had fallen into the game.
Personally, it was an ingredient I rather liked, so I had always wanted to recreate it someday. Today seemed as good a day as any, so I went for it.
Waking up early that morning, I had shaken the still-sleeping Luca awake.
The prepared ingredients: eggs, vinegar, and cooking oil.
And since having mustard seeds was said to make the process easier, I lightly mixed everything into a jar and handed it to Luca.
Then I asked Luca to shake the jar vigorously…
Ta-da — mayonnaise complete.
With ordinary strength, it wouldn't have mixed properly and would have separated, but with a beastman's characteristic power, he had shaken it for quite a while, producing mayonnaise of a fairly usable texture.
"…Delayed poison."
Having polished off an entire sandwich, Roxanna uttered a rather unfamiliar term.
"I beg your pardon?"
"My lord, it is possible the poison takes effect only after some time has passed — a delayed toxin. Therefore, I shall perform another food tasting!"
"No, there's really no need for that."
A flustered Adrian and I could only stare blankly as Roxanna shoved the remaining sandwich into her mouth, her expression looking thoroughly happy.
It was a joy too pure to interrupt; I had no urge to stop her…
But for me, Roxanna's first impression was inevitably settling somewhere near "foodie."
What is with this person?
A room adorned with a red tapestry embroidered with an eagle.
Beneath that symbol, no different from the imperial banner itself, the emperor's descendant solemnly declared:
"Carmilla de Valin… that person is dangerous."
"Again? Stop suspecting innocent people already."
Adrian shot back at once, making the declaration seem rather pointless.
"No — that sandwich… it was abnormally delicious, for one thing."
After the first class ended, Roxanna returned to the dormitory and began seriously reflecting on the events of the day.
It had been lunchtime.
Only after the sandwiches had entered everyone's mouths did Carmilla get to her real point.
She had opened a small restaurant near the academy, and for a modest fee, she would prepare lunch boxes during the day. On top of that, if they visited the restaurant after all classes ended in the evening, she could make whatever menu they desired… in other words, it was a sales pitch.
"Why us, of all people, in the first place?"
"She said she's running a restaurant. She offered to make lunch like today if we wanted."
Having used food tasting as an excuse to polish off a total of three sandwiches before Adrian finally got his turn, she was still feeling rather embarrassed about her own behavior.
Even so, bringing up the topic stemmed from her natural instincts.
"A noble young lady running a restaurant? Doesn't that seem suspicious?"
"It's certainly not the usual case, but there are historical precedents. Maybe she's doing it as a hobby."
"Hmph. Even so, for a noble girl of that age, she was far too composed. I deliberately came on strong for a reason, you know."
Poisoning.
The moment it involved the crown prince, it was an accusation that wouldn't be strange to cut someone down for on the spot.
Even if she were innocent, most people would panic and take a submissive stance — yet that unusually confident attitude had been anything but ordinary.
"For all that, your acting was pretty rough. Looks like you finally met your match today."
Adrian snickered.
At that harmless joke, Roxanna flushed and whispered softly.
"Pretending to be a bodyguard is really hard, you know."
That was their secret alone.
If it reached anyone else's ears it would be dangerous, so it was a secret that could only be exchanged in whispers.
Even so, Roxanna seemed desperate to get it off her chest somehow.
"Well, even if you switched roles as a precaution against assassination threats… with skills like that, you'll be found out soon enough. Want me to teach you a bit?"
"As a princess of the empire, I won't be picky about the means and methods, but…"
Having grown close since childhood, the two were practically siblings.
By status, they should have been treating each other with the utmost formality, yet they spoke down to each other without a care.
Well, this was the academy.
Royalty and commoners alike were treated as equal students.
"Heh. Not you. It would wound my pride."
Roxanna seemed to rather like those unusual rules.
"Hey, this is a matter of survival. Think about it seriously."
"I am serious. I can't be sure that girl is truly safe. You agree with that, don't you?"
"Hmm… I wouldn't put the probability at one hundred percent. She could earn trust first and slip poison in later. But…"
Adrian's judgment of people was fairly accurate.
In fact, it was Adrian who had been serving as the real bodyguard all the way from the imperial palace until now.
For Roxanna's sake, he had learned countless techniques since childhood and honed them to a first-rate level.
Swordsmanship, strategy, and above all, the ability to read people.
By his assessment, what Carmilla had offered looked purely like business promotion…
Judging that further suspicion would be excessive obsession, Adrian decided to hear her real intentions.
"Fine. Let's hear the plan, at least."
"She said she runs the restaurant in the evenings, right?"
Crossing her arms, Roxanna declared boldly.
"Good. Tonight I'll meet that girl alone and dig out every last bit of what she's hiding."
In that moment, Adrian understood.
This one has completely fallen for Carmilla's cooking…
"Sure. Do as you like."
And so he tossed out permission in a tone that could have been resignation or surrender.