Drawing Manga in a Romance Fantasy – Chapter 140

“This is Charleslean wine, a specialty of the southern region.”

“Oh, this vintage is quite hard to come by, isn’t it?”

“I was able to obtain it recently through connections. The aroma is exquisite.”

“I am grateful to enjoy it.”

Duke Bluewell was genuinely delighted as he looked at the wine Rupert had brought as a gift.

Although he received all kinds of rare gifts, the wine that Rupert brought was something so sought after that even money couldn’t easily acquire it, making it a joyous gift for the wine connoisseur duke.

“Thank you for coming.”

“Thank you for inviting me.”

Amelia, who hurried over upon hearing Rupert had arrived at the mansion, greeted him warmly, and Rupert returned her smile.

“It may not be as lovely as Lady Amelia’s smile, but I couldn’t miss it on my way here.”

“Oh my, what is this?”

“It’s a dahlia. The color is quite unique.”

Rupert presented a bouquet of flowers he had bought for Amelia.

Indeed, the rosy dahlia stood out remarkably, and upon receiving it, Amelia’s cheeks flushed a bright red.

“Just as I thought…”

Amelia whispered something softly as she tenderly cradled the bouquet Rupert had given her, but it was too quiet to be heard.

‘Women truly love flowers.’

The dahlia was a fortunate find for Rupert, who had been torn about which flowers to choose, and he felt relieved that Amelia liked it.

“Oh my, I’ve kept you waiting too long. Shall we go for dinner?”

“Yes, I’m really looking forward to your cooking, Lady Amelia.”

“Please don’t expect too much. My skills are still lacking.”

As Amelia and Rupert were about to head towards the dining room, the duke stopped a maid and spoke urgently.

“Don’t you want to come with us, Your Grace?”

“I have some business to attend to for a moment… It would be rude to leave the guests waiting.”

“Of course. It’s understandable considering your duties to the Empire.”

“Thank you for your understanding.”

As soon as Rupert finally vanished from sight, the duke grabbed the maid and started questioning her again.

“Was the food properly swapped out?”

“Well… Miss was quite adamant about it.”

“No! If you serve it as is, it won’t just be a matter of not getting a son-in-law, but we’d become enemies within the family!!!”

“Still, her cooking has improved quite a bit recently.”

Despite the maid’s words, the duke couldn’t help but worry.

There were recent rumors that the empire was trying to marry Rupert to the princess.

This was an opportunity to drive a nail into the situation, and Amelia personally feeding Rupert during dinner would move her away from those prospects.

So he had ordered the maid to secretly swap Amelia’s food with that of the chef, but that plan had fallen through.

“I’ve done enough, Amelia.”

Initially, the duke had disliked Rupert, but because his daughter liked him, he tried to help as much as he could.

However, now it had become a matter beyond his control.

What remained was up to Amelia.

*

“This is rather unique.”

“Yes! They say in the eastern Empire, seafood is eaten raw without cooking. So…”

Amelia, excitedly explaining in response to Rupert’s reaction after eating, was the complete opposite of the maid who stood by, sweating coldly.

‘Is this really okay?’

To seal off Amelia’s disastrous cooking skills, the chef had devised a special remedy.

It was actually the technique of Eastern-style raw preparation.

‘I’ll just practice chopping, my lady!’

He recommended this seafood raw eating method from some coastal regions in the east.

‘I’ll prepare the sauce myself. Then it will be just like something you personally cooked, wouldn’t it?’

Since Rupert had once expressed a desire to taste her cooking, it was a compromise that Amelia was determined to personally prepare.

However, there was no way she wouldn’t be tense.

‘Eating raw seafood… are we not savages?’

Although the chef suggested these dishes claiming they had their own charm, they were still far too unfamiliar for the inhabitants of the imperial capital.

Eating shellfish and seafood raw was something they had neither heard of nor seen before, so anxiety swelled.

‘Oh! Isn’t this octopus?’

“Do you know? In other lands, it’s called the devil fish, but it’s considered a delicacy by the eastern people…”

“Yes, I like it very much.”

To those unaware of Rupert’s true feelings, it merely seemed like he was managing to eat those horrendous dishes out of love.

And

‘A rosy dahlia…’

Amelia gazed at Rupert, who was happily eating the food she had made while thinking of the bouquet he had given her.

She knew her cooking skills were lacking.

However, after the major blunder at Somerset Mansion, Rupert had once taken the initiative for her when he mentioned wanting to try her cooking.

To keep that promise, she had worked hard each day.

Finally, just inviting Rupert over to cook for him felt satisfying.

Seeing him admire the flowers made Amelia feel less anxious.

‘I’m glad to know your feelings.’

Though she had been troubled by the presence of other competitors targeting Rupert recently, the pink dahlia he presented was essentially a definitive answer.

It felt like a clear response to whether he was ready to give up everything for her.

*

<Card Master> was a special work for Aida.

“Hmm, this seems good for Aida to read.”

Up until now, aside from Rupert’s work, <Frozen Kingdom>, the other contents hadn’t been suitable for Aida.

As the first to see everything Rupert made, it had been unbearable for her.

However, because it was strictly forbidden, she had been unable to read works like <Iron-Blooded Alchemist> or <Van Helsing>.

But since the new release <Card Master> was allowed to be read by Rupert, Aida could finally enjoy it, leading to the outcome—

“I’m seriously addicted to dueling.”

Oun sighed and reported this situation to Marquis Bradley.

“Dueling addiction?”

“It refers to those who have recently become obsessed with dueling and are trying to solve everything through it.”

“Is it that severe?”

Rupert’s works always caused a significant ripple effect, and the popularity of <Card Master> was well within the Marquis’s knowledge.

He also recognized that his daughter Aida had become engrossed in that card game.

“She’s been going around requesting duels from everyone she meets lately, and it’s a headache.”

“Can’t you just think of it as indulging in a child’s play?”

The Marquis thought it would be better for them to play a card game rather than resorting to violence like before, but Oun’s reaction was different.

“The problem is, she’s too good.”

“Hmm?”

Oun recalled his past defeats against Aida.

“Duel’s on, Oun!”

As someone working in the Somerset household, Oun couldn’t help but take an interest in card games, and he was somewhat confident in his abilities.

His cautious nature and defensive style suited dueling perfectly, often receiving good reviews.

“Alright, my lady. But if you lose, you’ll have to spend the day studying quietly at the mansion!”

In recent times, Aida had become so determined to run away that it had come to a point where capturing her was nearly impossible. So accepting her duel was a way to keep her occupied.

‘Oh no, Oun can’t even play cards?’

Oun suffered a miserable defeat against Aida.

‘How is this possible…’

It was as if she blocked every strategy he attempted, as if she could see right through his hand.

That wasn’t all.

It felt like there was a divine being with her, as Aida consistently drew precisely the cards she needed every turn, leaving Oun breathless.

The result was a crushing defeat for Oun, and he found it impossible to accept, even if he tried again the outcome would remain unchanged.

And Oun wasn’t the only one who suffered.

‘Is this little girl the card spirit of Somerset?’

‘They say all the duelists near Somerset Territory have been cleaned out of rare cards by her.’

‘She’s a card deity!’

Rumors about Aida had already spread far beyond the surrounding territories.

There were even tales warning duelists to be careful of the little girl who carried a massive dog with her.

“Rach! We’re going to enter a tournament and win!”

Even now, Aida was knocking the duelists out as she wandered through the stores.

“Woof!”

Rach, diligently supporting Aida by her side, exclaimed.

“That dog is really amazing.”

“What do you mean?”

“When a duel starts, it automatically retreats to the opposite side in case it might interfere with its owner.”

“Oh, come to think of it, that’s true.”

People remarked in amazement as they observed Rach moving away from Aida to the opponent’s side right before the duel began.

“Woof!”

Rach howled as if cheering on Aida.

“Hahaha, that puppy really does look like it’s cheering for its owner.”

“Who knows, it might be telling her the opponent’s hand.”

“Such a funny man, hahahaha.”

Thus began the legendary undefeated journey of Aida.