It was a peaceful meal, devoid of any disruption, and my lady shared her meat soup with me as I relished the new taste of bread. It was good and fluffy, the delicious innards melting in my mouth as I churned bite after bite until my tongue had gotten used to the novel taste. It came close to reaching second on my bread rank list, but it still wasn’t quite there yet. If it wasn’t for the medieval bread of the earth realm, it would have certainly attained the second rank. Of course, I had stolen the novel bread baked for the emperor during the age. Sad, but I was underprivileged at the time.

Garlan would have eaten away the restaurant if it wasn’t for Beth stopping Melon from refilling the smoking meat soup into his ceramic-like bowl. He glanced at the Academ longingly, who just smiled and shooed him away amidst the amused laughter of Melon and Casey.

“Free meal doesn’t equate to infi…” my lady stared at me, and I whispered ‘infinite’ closer to her ears. Her ears turned red imperceptibly, but she continued without faltering, “infinite meal, mutt.”

“Never-ending,” Garlan said with a smile. “Don’t test my vocabulary, lady Letitia. This immortal has heard more world than you.”

I earned her abhorrent stare, certainly within my expectation.

“I just use that word a lot, my lady,” I said, stuffing a piece of bread into her almost empty bowl.

“I’ll leave first,” Garlan got up, wolfing down his final bowl in a single gulp. “I got some tasks lined up. And smell good money.”

“Does he work, Ruddy?!” Beth asked me in wonder. “I thought he lazed around the booth the whole day.”

“That’s a contractual mission, lady Beth,” Garlan sneered. “Don’t belittle me, or else it might cost you bad when I become the richest man in the capital.”

“Yes, and Letitia’s bust will grow.”

“Beth!” My lady slammed her hands on the table, almost toppling the bowl of soup, while Beth burst out laughing, Casey joining in soon. Letitia pouted, but she resorted to eating soup, almost clawing at my things. That was some repressed anger.

Garlan shrugged and walked out with a snicker. A few moments of silence wasn’t something Beth welcomed, so she indulged in feeding Casey. I enjoyed my bread, offering tasty innards to my lady, who nodded in approval. Nevertheless, she shared my sentiment that our usual bakehouse baked them better.

“I passed this year, Melon,” Beth said after finishing the steak on her plate and glanced at her brother begrudgingly, who had a silly grin across his face. She was quick with a fork and knife, unlike Casey, so she had fed the latter most of the meat instead of eating.

“I heard from Yura,” he said. “Told me you were vying for Casey for the past two years and somehow ended up repeating. Glad you are finally growing up, Beth. Though, even now, the Earl Imbero might try to sell you off.”

“That bastard,” Beth gritted her teeth. “Couldn’t you fight for your position a tad longer? Because of you, I’m almost on my way to ruin. I’ll run away from the mansion if marriage awaits me. He won’t let me leave legitimately.”

“You can stay with us, Beth,” Casey said with a low voice, embarrassed in front of her in-laws. If they ever got married, that is. “Volch wouldn’t mind, and neither would my sisters. The former Baron is dead anyway, so there’s no one to stop us. Though, I feel as much guilty for taking advantage of my father’s death.”

Beth grinned and pecked Casey’s lips real quick, much to the surprise of the Academ. She later stole a piece of fried pork from Casey’s plate, making use of her momentary distraction and flushed face. It went back to Casey’s mouth, though.

“Not here, Beth,” Melon sighed as he took a seat beyond the counter. “My shop does get customers, just so you know.”

“Yeah?” Beth gave him a puzzled look. “How come I always see inverted chairs whenever I drop by your store?”

“That’s because we are still new, and you didn’t even visit the restaurant more than twice!” Yura spoke up. “Mel is an amazing cook, so I know we will start getting an influx of customers soon. Don’t belittle my husband!”

“He’s my brother first, Yura,” Beth glared at her, leaning across the counter. “And then your husband.”

“You want to fight, little bitch?” Yura stood up.

“Huh? Haven’t you mended your ways already, big bitch?!” Beth followed her suit.

Big bitch? Did they really have variants of the curse words? Bad and good bitch already sounded unnatural, but this was on a whole different level of insanity. Insults had an amazing world of their own.

Melon smiled at us apologetically, and Casey steadily pulled her stool backward before she could become the third wheel. Or get drowned in the shockwave of the glowers the two sisters were sharing.

A few more curses followed until empty utensils started flying around us. A bowl hit my head, followed by a few more spoons, and I had doubts whether I was the target of their assaults. Spells followed soon, Beth repeatedly casting [Dispel] before [Splash] could drench her. She failed after two, as the casting time of [Dispel] increased exponentially, and water started dripping to the flooring. It was waterproof and didn’t need any expert cleaning.

“Stop it, Academ,” Casey got up and stood before Beth, who was wiping her face.

Yura smiled and acquiesced before settling down on the chair. “We have clothes upstairs, so help her get changed in the bedroom. Mel, lead the way.”

Melon nodded, and I watched them ascend the stairs close to the rightmost corner of the room. Beth looked happy instead of annoyed, so I didn’t really understand her plight. Once the commotion died down, my lady got up, and I followed her suit. We had finished our meal, so there was nothing much we could do except for idling away our time, which was not something my lady preferred doing away from the western courtyard. Lethargic she was, but one with standards.

“Thank you for the meal, Yura,” I smiled at her as my lady walked out without any gratitude. They were used to it, but as her butler, I had responsibilities.

“Bring some more customers to the store, Rudolf,” Yura gladly returned the smile. “That would be your payment.”

I walked out of the store in haste as my lady was already growing impatient right outside the entrance.

“The basket, mongrel,” my lady said, pointing at the container in my hands. “Did you think it was bread?”

“Ah,” I ruffled my hair. “I will return this, my lady.”

I rushed back to the restaurant and pushed open the door, which was a mistake because Yura’s face was stained with tears, and she was crying in silence behind the counter. She turned around when she noticed my silhouette at the entrance, and I walked toward the counter in uncomfortable silence tainted by her sobs.

“I’m sorry for taking the basket, Yura,” I said and placed the small basket on the counter. She nodded and waved her hand.

“I’m fine, so carry on,” she said with her weak voice.

“I never asked,” I said. “And I’m not worried either.”

She chuckled amidst her sobs and wiped her face with the back of her hands. “Damned butler! You better care or earn an expulsion.”

“Expulsion it is,” I waved my hand as she turned around and ambled outside the edifice.

Mortals had a short life, so they could always exploit their tear glands to the best of their abilities. They cried for the silliest of reasons, or the most gruesome ones, but tears didn’t really differentiate between either of them. She might have been crying tears of joy as far as a bystander was concerned, but well, I wasn’t concerned.

My lady was sharing the shade of a close-by vegetable vendor with a few other mortals, and she continued onwards as soon as she noticed me. A usual commute had been uneventful as we tramped through the busy streets and stopped by the store that had fishes swimming within the glass encampments outside the entrance. The portico almost reached the streets, but they were clever enough not to encroach public roads.

“Do you want to see the tournament, my lady?” I asked as she finished examining the fishes of vivid colors swimming aimlessly within the transparent walls.

“Let’s go home, mongrel,” she straightened up and pulled my hand. “And think about moving into a new residence soon. Watching Yura gave me some ideas.”

“My lady?” I raised my eyebrows. Having a house was good, but capital Femor didn’t sound like a good enough locale. Well, if my lady managed to overthrow the royal family, then we could always compromise.

“I have thought hard about it. It’s about time we leave the house or kick Marlica out. She’s been annoying me for the past two days. Once we save enough money, we can get the hell of that dirty stable.”

“But will lady Marlica let you leave?” I asked. Marlica was probably trying to arrange more marriages for my lady. Her cursed status wouldn’t earn her any noble suitors for a while, so Marlica’s efforts didn’t have any returns.

“We can chop her up if she dares to interrupt,” my lady glared at me in annoyance. “What are you scared about, mongrel?! That we won’t have money for bread?”

I raised my lips. “If it’s chopping up, then consider it done,” I said and ignored the bread issue.

“No,” my lady waved her hand in denial as we reached the carriage. “We will let her live if she isn’t foolish enough, Rudolf. I still need the previledge that comes with my title. She hasn’t been acting up since the Marquis disappeared except for the last two days.”

I was disappointed at the lack of massacre but elated that we would get more bread for a while. Once Marlica died, our house would lose the nobility status unless one of the girls ascended it. But, there hadn’t been instances where women ruled the manor. I cared little about the petty royal laws. If my lady wanted to succeed, then she would. No questions asked.

The commoners were having a heated commotion close to the store on the front, but not many were bothered about those sturdy men. The pandemonium broke out to brawl, then a few punches, followed by jabs, hooks, ultimately one of the clever ones drew his cutlass.

“Stop! Not outside my store,” the owner yelled, despite retreating backward at the glint of the metal.

“You stay out of our business,” one among the sturdy men pointed his cutlass at the two on the ground after helping his fellow up. “They stole my–“

“Mongrel,” my lady had already walked quite a distance, and I didn’t get to hear the prime reason for the brawl. Did they steal his bread? I couldn’t think of any other reason for the scuffle, but then again, mortals were stupids in many aspects, so they might be here for vengeance on behalf of their houses.

The clouds rushed past the sky, mostly dark, the chilly breeze of the winter waning noticeably as the sun reached overhead, albeit behind the clouds. I rushed beside my lady, watching the clouds shape shift erratically over short distances. They never resembled a loaf perfectly, even though some came very close to it.

I helped her inside the carriage after eyeing the stallion vigilantly, who returned me the stare and a snort. The modified wood of the carriage was cracked in places, but I hoped it would last until we reached the mansion. Even if we didn’t, we could always choose to walk since my lady didn’t have any qualms about it. But walking took up energy, and all I wanted to do was rest after a good meal.

Even though undead, I was one lazy undead.