Dinner Party

Guided by Verna, we were led to the dining room in the Lord’s quarters. A meal for six had been prepared at the corner of a long table that looked like it could seat many people.

“Actually, since these are the Lord’s rooms, we aren’t allowed to use them, but today is special since there are so many of us. Come, please have a seat.”

“Verna. You’ve done something quite bold. You don’t know what kind of punishment you’d face if the Lord found out. Though, since he never comes here, there’s likely no way the Lord would ever know. Ha ha ha.”

The Town Head laughed with a relaxed expression, as if to say it was impossible for the Lord to find out.

(The Lord’s daughter is right in front of you, though… Well, knowing Caro-san, I don’t think she’d get angry over such a trivial matter.)

“You’re quite daring, Verna-san. But there are only four of us in total; who are the other two portions for?”

Caro asked Verna about the mismatch in the number of people for the prepared dinner.

“The other two are my mother and my brother. I expect them back any moment now. …Ah, they’re back. Please excuse me for a moment.”

With that, Verna left the room.

“Mother, Brother, welcome home. Since my friends are visiting today, I decided we would have dinner in that room. Please come after you’ve changed.”

I could hear Verna’s voice from outside the room.

A short while later, Verna’s mother and brother entered the room.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. I am Verna’s mother. Thank you for looking after my daughter.”

“I am Verna’s brother. We met earlier at the farmland, but you probably don’t remember, do you?”

“I’m Kent. Nice to meet you. …Um… Oh. Come to think of it, I did see you both there.”

“I’m Caro. Nice to meet you.”

The four of us exchanged greetings. Verna’s mother and brother had been working the farmland. We hadn’t spoken directly, but after he mentioned it, I remembered.

“Do even the Town Head’s family members help with the farm work?”

“Well, it’s embarrassing to say, but we’re short on hands. Verna was cleaning the house, so she wasn’t out today, but usually, Verna helps with the farm work too.”

“F-Father!”

The Town Head answered my question. Perhaps out of embarrassment, Verna looked down with a flushed face.

“T-That’s right. I have to finish the dinner preparations…”

Verna spoke as if she had just remembered.

Since the dinner for everyone was already lined up, all that was left was to sit and eat. It seemed they were hesitant to use the fine tableware; the dishes weren’t in what you’d call good condition, even if one were being generous. I figured they weren’t the dishes belonging to the villa’s inventory, but items her own family used.

Verna prepared the drinks (water) and went around pouring them into cups. Her movements were very refined.

“Then, let us eat.”

Verna said as she finished the preparations and finally took her seat.

“”“““Let’s eat.”““““

The food laid out consisted of flatbread, grilled meat—though I couldn’t tell what kind—and a soup with wild vegetables. For the commoner class, it was likely a fine meal, but for Caro and me, whose palates had become pampered, it felt a bit lacking.

“Kent, Caro, how was the taste?”

“I enjoyed it very much.”

“It was delicious. Thank you for the meal.”

Verna asked us once the meal was over, so Caro and I gave safe answers.

“Is that so? I’m glad you liked it. Well then, I’ll clear the dishes.”

Verna began clearing the finished dishes with elegant movements.

“I’ll help too.”

Caro joined in to help. Verna was surprised when she saw her movements.

“Caro, how are you able to move so gracefully?”

“I was working in the food service industry until just the other day, so…”

Verna’s movements were good, but they didn’t even come close to Caro’s. She cleared the dishes magnificently with a fluid motion. Verna’s family seemed surprised by it as well. It seemed that the customer service skills she cultivated at Marie’s bakery and the noble etiquette she was originally taught had overlapped, leading to an improvement in Caro’s skills.

“I was surprised by young Kent as well, but Caro-san is also amazing.”

The Town Head spoke with surprise.

“I’m not really conscious of whether I’m amazing or not…”

“I was able to learn many things thanks to Kent-san.”

I wasn’t really aware of it myself, but Caro was grateful to me.

“I was taught etiquette from scratch by an instructor maid dispatched by the previous Lord. I was educated so that when the Lord visited this place, I could take the lead in providing hospitality. I took pride in that, but seeing Caro’s movements, I realized my studies are still insufficient. Next time you come here, I will show you how much I’ve grown.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

Verna stated her resolve to Caro. Caro replied with a smile, though she was thinking about how she would be coming back next month anyway.

“Kent, Caro, aren’t you staying the night?”

Verna spoke sadly.

“Sorry. We’ve already taken a room at an inn, so we have to head back. We have to look around the town tomorrow, so we’ll be parting for a little while. But once you start attending the academy next year, Verna-san, we’ll be able to see each other almost every day.”

I spoke kindly to Verna.

“I suppose it can’t be helped. I’ll endure it and wait until then.”

Verna seemed convinced.

“Well then, thank you for everything.”

“Thank you for everything.”

Kent and Caro bowed to Verna and her family and left the Town Head’s house.

“I’m glad we gathered more information than I expected.”

“That’s good to hear.”

On the way back, she seemed satisfied that she could collect a lot of material thanks to the Town Head’s cooperation.

Caro and I returned to the inn and entered our room.

“We moved around a lot today, so we’ve worked up a sweat. Caro-san, what shall we do about the bath?”

“Kent-san, this inn doesn’t have a bath, you know?”

“Eh?”

I was surprised, having assumed the inn would have a bath. It seemed Caro had done her homework before coming and was aware of the inn’s facilities.

“So, I’ll go borrow a tub and a towel.”

With that, Caro left the room. A short while later, Caro came back with a tub of hot water and a cloth that looked like a towel (?).

“Kent-san, let’s wipe our bodies then.”

Saying that, Caro began to undress. Since I had already seen her naked many times, she had perhaps grown used to it; lately, she had stopped showing signs of embarrassment. I felt a bit of loneliness at her lack of bashfulness.

I also took off my clothes, soaked the towel in the tub of hot water, took it out, and wrung it.

“Then, Caro-san, I’ll wipe you down.”

Without being asked, I began to wipe Caro’s body. Caro didn’t resist at all and let me wipe her as I pleased.

“Now it’s Kent-san’s turn.”

This time we swapped roles, and Caro began to wipe my body. Then, we both finished wiping ourselves down.

“They said it’s fine to return the tub tomorrow, so I’ll leave it in the corner. Well then… Kent-san, it’s about time…”

Caro clung to me. Since we were both naked, I could feel her warmth. We got into bed just like that.

“Kent-san, after I went home, I felt lonely because I had to sleep alone. I really feel at ease when I can feel your warmth.”

“Me too. I’m happy to have a girl staying beside me.”

“Kent-san, while you say that, haven’t you been sleeping with Marie-san every day since I’ve been gone? It’s a shame she’s gotten a bit of a lead on me.”

“Well, I won’t deny that, but…”

After Caro went home, I have been sleeping with Marie. Since things got busy after Caro left and I would fall asleep the moment I got into bed, we really had just slept together, though…

Then, as it had been a while for the both of us, Caro and I shared our bodies until late into the night.