Chapter 29: My Husband Came to the Restaurant!

The next day, the Lycoris Tavern was truly packed with customers.

From morning, Rosy busily moved back and forth through the restaurant.

Thanks to that, she was able to avoid thinking about unnecessary things.

But once the lunchtime rush passed, she had a little breathing room.

And when the roses arranged in the flower vase on the bay window caught her eye, she inevitably remembered yesterday’s proposal.

Especially the young lord’s expression, which had been serious instead of his usual lighthearted demeanor.

‘I have to give him a serious answer too…’

When the young lord proposed yesterday, Rosy had tried to refuse on the spot.

Now that she knew she was not actually divorced from Adolphus, there was no way she could accept the young lord’s proposal.

This country practiced monogamy.

Bigamy was not permitted.

Incidentally, although her father—the king—had multiple women, only the queen was his official wife.

The others were all concubines.

…But how could she explain things when she was hiding so many secrets?

The young lord didn’t know that she was the former princess Rosalind.

She couldn’t refuse on the grounds of bigamy.

‘Ah… but Adolphus and I are going to divorce soon anyway…’

If they divorced and she returned to being single, then marrying the young lord would technically become possible.

Of course, she couldn’t marry him while hiding her true identity.

She would have to reveal her real background first.

And only if the young lord accepted it.

Not as a mistress, but as his legal wife.

And Lowell as his adopted son.

The young lord might be a little theatrical, but he was a good person.

And recently, Lowell seemed to be warming up to him.

For both her and Lowell, it was likely that no one better than the young lord would appear.

‘I think that… but…’

She let out a small, quiet sigh.

For some reason, she couldn’t clearly imagine herself living beside the young lord.

And whenever she tried to think about why, her heart suddenly felt heavy—

At that moment, the cowbell above the door rang.

Reflexively, she put on a customer-service smile and turned toward the entrance.

“Welcome—…Whaaaat!?”

The moment she saw the two people entering, Rosy froze in shock.

A tall, handsome man with black hair and blue eyes.

And beside him, a silver-haired man with long hair, glasses, and a suspicious smile.

“N-n-n-n… wha…?”

Her eyes widened as her mouth opened and closed.

She knew she must look ridiculous, but she didn’t have the composure to fix it.

‘Why is Adolphus at the Lycoris Tavern!?’

She had just decided yesterday to avoid getting involved with him as much as possible.

There was no way this was a coincidence.

Although the defense headquarters and the Lycoris Tavern were within walking distance of each other, they weren’t close enough for someone to just wander in casually.

He must have come here deliberately after learning she worked here.

She didn’t remember mentioning the tavern’s name in front of Adolphus.

But many defense soldiers knew she worked here.

It wouldn’t take much effort to find out.

Sure enough, the moment Adolphus spotted her, he walked straight toward her.

Her heart rate shot up instantly.

“Rosal—…Rosy. There’s something I need to ask you. Could you spare me a little time?”

Adolphus looked down at her from a distance close enough to reach out and touch.

Today he wasn’t dressed in an obvious noble knight outfit.

Instead, he wore clothing that looked like something a slightly wealthy commoner might wear.

But the dazzling aura he radiated was impossible to hide.

She almost staggered from the brightness but managed to hold herself together and pasted on a service smile.

“I’m sorry, sir, but as you can see, I’m currently working. And this is a restaurant. If you’re not here to eat, I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

Her cold response wasn’t what she truly wanted.

But if she didn’t say something like that, she might start gushing about how wonderful his “incognito look” was.

And she had no idea what Adolphus wanted to ask.

But it was probably something personal.

Judging from yesterday’s conversation, it might be about their divorce.

She definitely didn’t want to discuss something like that while the tavern was open for business.

Even though the lunch rush had passed, the restaurant was still packed.

And Adolphus and Nathaniel, with their dazzling handsome-man aura, had already drawn the attention of everyone in the room.

Being told to leave seemed to catch Adolphus off guard.

He widened his eyes and froze.

Then Nathaniel suddenly popped his head out from behind Adolphus.

“Of course we’ll be eating as well. Right, Adolphus?”

Nathaniel smiled his usual gentle—though somewhat suspicious—smile and casually patted Adolphus on the shoulder.

The two of them were not only superior and subordinate but also childhood friends.

And when not on duty, they seemed quite comfortable with each other.

Prompted by Nathaniel, Adolphus finally seemed to come back to his senses.

“…Ah. Yes. We’ll eat.”

“Well then, if that’s the case…”

Rosy led them to a table by the wall and propped a menu board on the table.

“These are today’s menu items. Let me know if there’s anything you don’t understand.”

After scanning the board, the two men tilted their heads in unison.

“…Karaage…? Shogayaki…?”

“Many of these dishes are unfamiliar.”

“They’re original dishes from the Lycoris Tavern. I suppose you could say I… proposed the ideas.”

“You… created the menu…?”

Adolphus looked puzzled.

Which was understandable.

“Of course, we also have standard dishes.”

“…No, if we’re here, we should try the originals. Could you recommend something?”

Since he was a noble, she had expected him to avoid unfamiliar food.

So his response made her feel slightly excited.

“Hmm… everything is good, but…”

Come to think of it, what kind of food did Adolphus like?

Even though she had technically been his wife—

Though only in name.

And despite having been his fan since her previous life—

She realized she didn’t even know his food preferences.

“Um… are there any foods you dislike?”

“No. I eat anything.”

“I see.”

The fact that he wasn’t picky made her strangely happy.

Just like her.

And like Lowell.

“In that case, how about the karaage set meal? It’s fried chicken.”

Karaage seemed to be universally popular even in this world.

At the Lycoris Tavern, it was the number one bestseller.

And it was also the first Japanese-style dish Rosy had introduced after arriving at the tavern.

If Adolphus was going to eat here, she wanted him to try that.

“Then I’ll have that.”

“Certainly!”

When she answered with a smile, Adolphus briefly looked surprised.

Then he gazed up at her as if looking at something dazzling.

“I-Is something wrong?”

“…No. I was just thinking… you really are working in a restaurant.”

“Of course I am.”

Apparently he had still been half doubtful until now.

She was glad he finally believed it.

Nathaniel seemed interested in the curry another customer was eating and ordered that.

When Rosy went into the kitchen to relay their orders, Hannah approached her with a worried look and spoke in a hushed voice.

“Rosy… that black-haired customer… could he be Lowell’s…?”

Dan also glanced over from the stove, gently shaking a frying pan.

It wasn’t surprising they noticed right away.

Lowell resembled Adolphus that much.

When Rosy nodded, Hannah gasped softly and frowned with concern.

“Are you going to be alright? If you want, I can handle their table after this—”

“Sorry for worrying you. But I’ll be fine.”

She replied quietly and smiled at both Hannah and Dan.

“…But once they finish eating, could I step away for a bit? I’ll go settle things.”

“Well, that’s fine, but…”

“Thank you. I’ll report everything tonight after I put Lowell to bed.”

Just as she smiled again, a customer called out with another order.

Rosy hurried back into the dining area.

Soon after, carrying a tray with the karaage set meal—prepared by Dan and beautifully plated by Hannah—

Rosy headed toward Adolphus’s table.