Chapter 92 - Charge! Dinner on the Road 4: The Cream Yellow Melancholy <1>
In mid-February of the year 1573 in the Yuresla Kingdom Calendar, one week after the commotion with Anna's maid and Franz's infiltration of the underground treasury, the Clayton Residence was the very picture of peace.
Ritz was sprawled out on the sofa in the pleasantly warm drawing room, flipping through several newspapers. He was skimming through the recent affairs of various foreign countries.
When he casually looked up, he saw Anna and Joe engrossed in a game they had borrowed from Franz, while Evans was showing some documents to Lef and talking intently. It was the usual post-dinner scene.
Franz, who wasn't here, was in his room reading the official records of King Edmond the Frugal, which he had been specially permitted to borrow.
Ritz let out a small sigh and returned his gaze to the newspaper. The paperwork he had brought home as part of his ministerial duties had, without him realizing it, been significantly reduced thanks to Franz's efforts, and for now, there was no need to stay up until the dead of night frantically trying to finish it.
He had hired an excellent secretary named Franz at his workplace, so his job was proceeding smoothly. There were no major incidents, and it finally felt like life had returned to normal.
Ritz had recently changed his lifestyle. He had slightly amended his routine of heading out into the city every night after work.
He now went out about three times a week. On other days, he made it a point to be home by dinner whenever possible.
At first, everyone looked at the frequently-home Ritz with strange eyes, but after a week of this, they seemed to have gotten used to it, and would casually ask, "Is today a going-out day?"
The official reason for coming home was to save money for their upcoming journey. Just by halving the number of days he went out drinking, the amount of money he spent was also cut exactly in half.
It was half for now, but as the day of their departure drew closer, he would have to cut back even more to save money.
And the real reason Ritz came home was Anna. He wanted to make Anna, who had said, "I'm so happy when everyone is together for dinner!" happy, so he made sure to come home.
Ritz, who had come to realize his feelings for Anna after the maid incident, would do nothing in particular after dinner, but would sit here in the drawing room, occasionally glancing at Anna's profile and savoring a small moment of happiness.
Today, too, he was enjoying such a small happiness from behind his newspaper, but time did not pass as leisurely as usual.
"Come to think of it, tomorrow's my birthday~."
Anna's voice suddenly reached his ears. His hand, which was turning a page, stopped. Peeking over, he saw Anna muttering without looking up from Franz's game, Territorial.
"I've been so busy with everything, I completely forgot about it."
Joe, who was also engrossed in the game, widened his eyes slightly in surprise and looked up at Anna.
"Really? Should I get you a present?"
A birthday present… huh. Not a bad idea, he muttered in his head.
"It's okay, it's not my real birthday anyway."
"Not your real birthday?"
What in the world did that mean? He was very curious. But would it be strange to suddenly jump into the conversation? As Ritz fretted, he heard their voices again.
"Yup. Oh, I took this spot."
"Ah, that spot is… Aww, man, you got me."
"I win."
The game seemed to have reached a conclusion. Ritz sat up to coincide with it.
"Anna, is it your birthday tomorrow?"
Feigning that he had just happened to overhear, he asked. Anna nodded with a shy smile.
"Yeah. I don't know my real birthday, so we just decided on that date at the orphanage. I don't really know when I was born."
According to Anna, the harvest festival where she was found was in early October, and at that time, a village woman had said, "This child is about seven or eight months old," so it was determined that she was probably born around February or March.
"And you see, March is busy with preparations for spring farm work, so they decided to make my birthday in February, when there's no work due to the snow and everyone has free time."
"That's pretty random, isn't it~."
Joe sighed in amazement. It really was arbitrary.
"That doesn't sound like something Priest Anton would do."
When Ritz, who knew her adoptive father, muttered this, Anna reacted sensitively to his words. She puffed out her cheeks and glared lightly at Ritz.
"It's not my adoptive father's fault. I'm sure he wanted to decide on it properly."
He flinched for a moment at her glare. Damn it, even though it was unconscious, he had said something he shouldn't have.
For Anna, criticizing Priest Anton was an absolute taboo. Still pouting, Anna continued to complain to Ritz.
"There are a lot of children at the orphanage, you know? It would be unfair to only investigate my birthday."
How had he usually reacted in times like this? He couldn't remember. He had no choice but to apologize immediately.
"Sorry, I was wrong."
When he said that, Anna seemed to realize she had been pouting and suddenly closed her mouth. She stared at Ritz with her big eyes, then gave a shy laugh. She was probably embarrassed by her own emotional outburst.
"Sorry, Ritz. I just get really passionate when it comes to my adoptive father."
"It's fine."
He knew very well how much Anna cared for her adoptive father, Anton.
He thought it would be nice if his own importance in Anna's heart could surpass Anton's, but that was a dream… or rather, closer to a delusion.
In any case, in his current hopeless situation, it was pointless to expect such a thing. Ritz gave his head a slight shake to banish the thought.
"So tomorrow's your birthday, then?"
"Yeah."
Finally getting the conversation back on track, Ritz confirmed with Anna. A birthday, huh? I want to do something to make her happy, but…
Just then, Joe's voice piped up from behind Ritz.
"Let's have a birthday party!"
"A party?"
Ritz turned to look at Joe, whose eyes were sparkling at his own idea. In his mind, Ritz applauded Joe's idea.
That was a good idea. Anna would surely be happy.
"You know, I've always wanted to have a party. My birthday already passed, so let's have a party for Anna's birthday!"
"Ehh, it's not a big enough deal for a party."
Anna said shyly, but Joe paid her no mind.
"What are you talking about? Birthdays are important, you know?"
"…You think so?"
Looking at Anna's troubled face, he was suddenly reminded. Anna would be turning thirty-one tomorrow.
If her actual age matched her birthday, that would be one thing, but with such a discrepancy, she probably felt some sense of unease.
Ritz himself would be turning one hundred and fifty-one on his next birthday. Of course, it didn't feel real. If you celebrated your birthday once every ten years, it was the same as one human year.
"You're a girl, Anna, so I guess you're worried about your age? I suppose there are a lot of things to think about when you pass thirty."
When he said this in a deliberately teasing tone, Anna pouted and gave Ritz a light glare.
"That's not it!"
But that expression didn't last long, and Anna burst out laughing. Ritz smiled back and, seizing the opportunity, declared without a moment's hesitation.
"Then let's do it. Let's have a birthday party for you."
"Huh?"
"It's just family, so there's no problem, right? It's not like we're planning to do anything extravagant."
"But…"
It would be faster to just get things moving than to try to persuade Anna. Ignoring the still-hesitant Anna, Ritz turned around and said to Joe.
"Joe, you're the one who suggested it, so make sure you plan it properly."
"Yessir, Master."
Joe replied, raising both hands happily.
"Decorations, and then presents, and…"
Joe's head was already completely filled with it.
Joe walked over to Evans and started consulting with him and Lef, who hadn't heard their previous exchange, about the birthday party.
"Are we really doing this?"
Anna, who loved events, came over to where Ritz was sitting on the sofa and, after checking that Joe couldn't hear, asked in a low voice.
Anna got excited about other people's birthdays and various events, but now that it was her turn to have her own birthday celebrated, she was hesitant.
She was good at doing things for others, but it seemed Anna was not good at situations where everyone did something for her.
"We are."
"…Is that okay?"
"It's fine. We haven't had anything to celebrate since the New Festival Month, and it's a good thing for everyone to have fun together for a change, you know?"
When he gently persuaded her, placing a hand on her shoulder, Anna nodded. It seemed she was convinced.
"Should I help too?"
"…What's the point of the guest of honor helping?"
"But~, I can't just sit still."
At the words of the incredibly restless Anna, Ritz gave a wry smile. It was impossible to tell Anna to do nothing.
But it would be strange for the guest of honor at a birthday party to be cheerfully preparing for her own party.
"It's fine, just leave it to us."
"…Mmm, I feel so restless~."
Anna was cute as she tilted her head slightly, looking troubled. Lately, every single one of Anna's movements was unbearably cute.
Wanting to see that face more clearly, he placed his other hand on her shoulder. He gently leaned his body forward so as not to arouse suspicion and peeked into her face.
"What is it, Ritz?"
At that moment, she suddenly looked up, and seeing her face so close, he couldn't help but stammer.
"N-Nothing."
"?"
It would be strange to stay silent like this. And right, a birthday present. Since he was cutting back on his drinking expenses, he wanted to buy something for Anna.
"What do you want for a present?"
The words came out of his mouth in a flash.
"Huh? You're going to give me something, Ritz?"
Anna let out a voice as if she had heard something unexpected, and her big eyes went round. He was displeased by her surprise.
"…What, is it strange for me to give you a present?"
"Yeah."
When she said that without a moment's hesitation, his shoulders slumped in dejection. Did he really seem that cheap? Had his past interactions with Anna been that bad?
But Anna's thoughts were different from Ritz's. Lowering her voice so that Joe and Evans couldn't hear, Anna whispered to Ritz.
"We're saving money because we're going on a trip, right? You shouldn't waste money."
"It wouldn't be a waste, would it?"
He pressed on, but Anna didn't nod her head.
"It is a waste. We can only take the bare minimum of clothes, shoes, and books, right? We'll be getting new equipment, but we have to do that ourselves, and…"
"…Alright."
After being told all that, it would be strange for a companion to press any further.
He had wanted to at least give her some kind of present, but unfortunately, it seemed that wouldn't be possible.
Just then, an idea struck him.
"Then, I'll make whatever you want to eat. What do you want to eat?"
She wouldn't refuse this. It was a clever idea. He wanted to praise himself.
But the next moment, that turned to regret.
"I'd like a marron cream cake. Lots of cute little ones!"
"…A cake, you say?"
"Yeah. It would be nice if it used fresh cream and chocolate too."
He had never made sweets before. What Ritz excelled at were miscellaneous dishes that turned out delicious even when made haphazardly.
"…Would it be bad if I just bought one?"
His motivation to make it instantly sapped, he tried proposing that to Anna. But Anna was merciless.
"It's expensive if you buy it. One tiny one costs quite a bit, you know? If you bought enough for everyone, it would be a huge expense. I think it would definitely be cheaper to make it, don't you?"
"…Well, that's true, but…"
This was a problem, a cake… Could a man who had never even made the most basic of sweets, a cookie, make such a thing?
"I'll help too. That way it'll be faster and easier. Okay?"
Toward the agonizing Ritz, Anna spoke with a cheerful, sweet smile, tilting her head cutely.
Cute… unbearably cute, but… he could see it. Anna's ulterior motive.
Since she couldn't sit still without doing anything, she was planning to join the preparation team under the guise of helping Ritz. He wouldn't let that happen.
"Alright. I'm a man. Once I've said it, I'll do it!"
"Ehh! But I said I'd help!"
At Ritz's unexpected words, Anna raised her voice.
"It's fine. I'll make it."
"There's no way you can do it, let's do it together!"
"N-No, I'll manage it on my own somehow."
His former self would have probably let Anna help. No, he might have just bought one and passed it off as his own.
But his current self could do it… he had no basis for it, but he had a feeling he could.
"Look forward to the party tomorrow!"
"Ritz~, that sounds like a parting shot…"
With the disappointed words of Anna, whose plan had been foiled, at his back, Ritz headed for his room.
Anyway, he would take the day off work tomorrow. It would be fine, his excellent secretary Franz would handle things well.
And with that, he would bake a cake for the woman he loved!
This situation felt somewhat pathetic, but that was that. For now, he had to go to the bookstore and get the ingredients.
At this point, Ritz had no way of knowing the arduous struggle that would follow.