Chapter 173: Being Called an Idiot!

"You idiot!!"

While saying that, the Queen lightly slapped me repeatedly. How cute... I took her hands to stop her and said,

"Your Majesty, let’s prepare to get off. We’ll arrive soon, won’t we?"

"Robin-sama, you idiot..."

With tears welling in her eyes and puffed-up cheeks, the Queen straightened her skirt and fixed her hair while looking in the mirror attached to the carriage. Perhaps because she was angry, her cheeks had turned red as if she had applied blush, looking adorable. Even her lips had become a vivid peach color that made lipstick unnecessary. To think this was the bare face of a woman in her forties — what a terrifying beautiful witch. Anyone who saw the Queen would realize she had become younger, and everyone would suspect she had some secret.

Inside the swaying carriage she finished her makeup (I was surprised she could do it herself!), then sat primly with a cold expression. Conversation ceased, so she was probably still angry inside. At last we arrived at the gate.

The door was opened from outside, and a voice said,

"Please alight."

The Queen stepped down first, and I followed. The tension among the guards was considerable. The three maids with extremely faint presence were scanning the surroundings and paid not the slightest attention to the Queen or me. Would this level of vigilance continue until we returned to the Rear Palace after the restaurant?

I took the Queen’s hand and began walking. The three maids from earlier stood in front. The moment we passed through the gate into the Commoner District, the three maids began walking as if they were good friends. Behind us, Lily and Stevie had appeared at some point and followed.

The three in front never looked back at the Queen’s walking pace, yet they maintained a constant distance while matching her speed. This was impressive. Rather than "the doors have eyes," it was more accurate to say they had eyes on the backs of their heads.

Behind us, Lily and Stevie were complaining about a fictional husband and father, continuing the mother-daughter setting from before. Was there a script? Or was it free talk? I had the feeling they were complaining about me, but maybe it was just my imagination. I wanted to believe it was the universal mother-daughter conversation about a man with bad habits with women or being greedy.

As we walked, first people began walking in the same direction on both sides. A man and a woman pretended to be unrelated while matching our direction and speed. Had the women from the Accounting Bureau been borrowed again and were hanging around near the restaurant?

The Queen’s procession advanced like a U.S. Navy carrier strike group, with the Queen as the aircraft carrier in the center and escorts spread out in an elongated oval around her. With this level of vigilance, and since the return route was different from the outward one, there should be no problem... but was this a flag?

The Queen’s pace was quite fast, and perhaps because of the tension, in no time at all Branning’s restaurant came into view. When I came before it had been deserted, but today, of course, there were people unnaturally loitering here and there. Even the two women chatting in front of the shop were probably escorts.

The line that had formed at the restaurant entrance was also highly unnatural. Ah! Christine and Anisee were in the line. Both of them seemed to have spotted me. Anisee’s face was stiff, but Christine smiled at me. She casually waved her hand at wrist height. As expected of a battle-hardened veteran.

Then the Queen and I joined the end of the line.

"We finally made it this far,"

the Queen murmured. The three maids in front and Lily and Stevie behind all flinched and fell silent.

"Yes. I think we’ll be able to enter soon."

"The weather is nice today, which is good."

The Queen mentioned the weather, but of course it was — we had been waiting for clear weather. The fact that there was not even a single puddle on the road was surely because the roads had been maintained since morning. Cantoner-san must have lost his hair by now. So our friendship hadn’t been that long after all.

"Truly. It’s been a while since we’ve had such a pleasant day."

"I’ve been looking forward to today."

While exchanging casual conversation with the Queen, the tension in front and behind was intense. The Queen must have noticed it as well, but her soft demeanor remained unchanged as usual — that was admirable.

A customer came out of the restaurant, glanced our way, and immediately went out into the street. Hmm, normally if someone saw the Queen they would be so stunned by her beauty that they would look two or three times. That person’s acting was lacking.

As customers left, people from the front of the line entered in turn. The apparent turnover was fast, and we were able to enter the restaurant without waiting long. As usual, we were guided to a table against the back wall.

Perhaps because I had strongly insisted on the previous terrible restaurant’s excessive interior and cooking, this restaurant had become clean — not unnaturally sparkling, but giving the natural impression of having been properly cleaned. The tables were not brand new either; some still had scratches.

With a stiff, clicking gait, Browning-sensei’s wife came to take our order.

"G-g-go-chu, umon, ha, nani-ni, nyasari, maju-ka?"

She was so nervous she could barely speak.

"Is there a menu?"

the Queen asked, so I answered,

"I believe this place only has the daily set meal."

She gave a small laugh and said,

"Then I’ll have the set meal."

"I’ll have the same, please."

"U-understood—!"

Mrs. Browning was far too nervous. Where had the energy gone that she once used to berate Browning-sensei?

Mrs. Browning returned to the kitchen with the gait of a puppet. In exchange, a man came out of the kitchen and walked heavily toward us. His left arm was missing from the elbow down. The sleeve of his clothes hung empty. Yes — it was Browning-sensei.

Everyone in the restaurant seemed to know Browning-sensei, murmuring things like "Browning..." and "Captain of the knight order..." The Queen looked at Browning-sensei but said nothing. However, she watched him with gentle eyes.

Browning-sensei came before the Queen, knelt, and bowed his head.

"Lady Elizabeth, it has been a long time. I am relieved to see that you appear unchanged. No — in the short time since we last met, you have become astonishingly younger. Everyone in the kitchen is also amazed by your beauty, Lady Elizabeth."

Browning-sensei’s eyes and expression as he looked at the Queen were soft.

"I heard from Robin-sama that Browning is running a restaurant here. I am glad you appear to be in good health. I had been looking forward to taking a meal here today. Please take care of us."

The Queen spoke to Browning-sensei in a caring tone.

"Because of this body of mine,"

Browning-sensei said, swinging his empty left sleeve,

"my wife and my father-in-law are preparing the food. My father-in-law is very enthusiastic, so please look forward to it."

Browning-sensei looked happy to meet the Queen. Rather than a romantic relationship, it felt more like the affectionate protectiveness of someone he was meant to guard.

"I am looking forward to it."

"Thank you very much. With that, I will take my leave."

Browning-sensei bowed once and disappeared into the kitchen. As expected of a former knight order captain, even before the Queen he did not appear particularly nervous and seemed natural.

Then the set meals were brought out immediately. They looked the same as usual, but one bite — delicious! The seasoning was almost identical... yet the ingredients must have been different. The grade of the meat was different, and all the vegetables and root vegetables were different from usual. The water itself might have been different. People with sensitive tongues say the taste of food changes with the water. Unlike the terrible restaurant, Browning-sensei’s place had always been reasonably (this subtle wording!) delicious food aimed at commoners, so just changing the ingredients made it this good. Unlike the Rear Palace, the saltiness was pronounced (though spices were few), but that was delicious in its own way. It was probably aimed at physical laborers. The Queen was also elegantly eating with gusto.

The three presence-less maids... were not eating anything. And they were on alert. Hey, is this event really that dangerous?