By Zephyria 
Side Story 4
But Julian couldn’t throw cold water on Lorenz, who was happy that he had finally gained a foothold, so he chose to quietly shut his mouth. At times like this, he resented his childhood friend status. If he had his way, he would smack Lorenz in the back and return to Montar right away, regardless of the banquet.
But Julian eventually chose to keep his mouth shut, deliberately ignoring the coldness that swept through his mind.
“We should eat something delicious to celebrate. Owner!”
Lorenz, who was in a good mood after seizing a meaningful opportunity for the first time since coming to the capital, raised his hand and called the Owner of the inn. He had only been eating one or two meals a day because he couldn’t afford the prices in the capital, but he seemed to be in a really good mood. At his words, the young Owner of the inn, who had been moving busily, approached them.
“Bring us the two most popular menu items in this place!”
Lorenz ordered boldly. But at the order, the inn Owner frowned subtly.
“The most popular? Are you serious?”
Lorenz looked at the inn Owner with a puzzled expression. The inn Owner was tall and had a somewhat pessimistic expression, but he didn’t seem like someone who was deliberately trying to be unkind to customers.
“Of course, why would I lie?”
“Ah, it’s not that… well, okay. I understand.”
The Owner, who was about to explain something, shrugged his shoulders. It felt like he was saying, ‘You ordered it, so it’s not my problem,’ and Julian also looked puzzled, but he soon found out why when the menu arrived.
Lorenz, who couldn’t handle spicy food very well, was seen twitching his nose. Julian made a disgusted face at the terribly spicy scent coming from the tip of his nose, and Lorenz, with a somewhat dazed face, looked up at the inn Owner.
“What… is this?”
The inn Owner looked at Lorenz as if asking what the problem was.
“You asked for the most popular menu items.”
“This?”
‘This’ was a noodle dish covered in red sauce. The moist and glossy noodles looked quite delicious, but the smell was so spicy that the taste didn’t matter.
“It’s our inn’s signature menu, even though it looks like this.”
The inn Owner didn’t seem to be joking. It seemed to be a really popular menu item.
The inn Owner pointed to the menu on the wall. The food picture was drawn at the very top of the menu, proving that the word ‘signature menu’ was not an empty one, and it looked exactly like the menu in front of Lorenz and Julian.
“Fire chicken noodle?”
Lorenz read the menu name aloud.
“Yes.”
The man nodded and smiled, raising the corners of his mouth.
“It’s fire chicken noodle.”
For some reason, the smile looked somewhat evil.
* * *
On the day of Viscount Armand de Laurent’s banquet, Lorenz, who had been killing time playing card games until lunchtime because the banquet was in the evening, urged Julian to prepare perfectly from early afternoon.
“Let’s not eat the food like country bumpkins.”
Lorenz instructed Julian, wearing the most luxurious clothes he had brought from the Montar Count’s family without any gaps. Of course, Julian had no intention of eating the food there like a country bumpkin. He was too nervous to even put it in his mouth, and he had a phobia of unfamiliar food.
Julian, who recalled the food he had eaten last night in his head, shuddered once.
“I still feel heartburn.”
“Me too.”
It was the aftermath of the fire chicken noodle. After eating the food, the two, who had been burning the toilet bowl all night for two days, even discussed whether the inn Owner was seriously trying to assassinate them.
The conclusion was that it couldn’t be.
The food that made Lorenz, who had been confidently straightening his shoulders in the capital, saying that he would definitely succeed, say for the first time that ‘the capital is too scary,’ was really the signature menu of this famous inn in the area.
He had only chosen it because it was cheap and clean, but this inn was a fairly famous place in the area. It seemed to be because there were so many unique foods.
‘There’s another reason why it’s famous, though.’
A drunkard who saw the two staggering after eating the fire chicken noodle said such a meaningful thing, but Lorenz’s stomach was signaling at that moment, so the two didn’t hear more about the other famous reason.
“How is it?”
Lorenz showed Julian the perfectly dressed dress.
But just because he showed it to Julian didn’t mean that he suddenly had an eye for it. In Montar, even nobles dressed like commoners. He knew it looked as fancy as a peacock, but he didn’t know if it would work in the capital.
“Uh, it’s perfect.”
But Julian first raised his thumb.
The two, whose pockets had become even tighter because they had to buy cheap dresses for Julian for this banquet in the absence of money, couldn’t afford to buy new clothes, and since they had to wear them anyway, it was better to praise them if possible.
“There’s no soul in your praise.”
Lorenz grumbled, but he knew their situation, so he didn’t hesitate any longer and headed to Viscount Armand de Laurent’s mansion on time.
And from the moment he participated in the banquet, he could see why Viscount Armand de Laurent had invited the two.
“Tradition is a beautiful thing, but at least not in fashion. Didn’t I tell you? What kind of clothes they would wear if they were invited.”
Viscount Armand de Laurent said to the nobles around him, introducing Lorenz.
“In the fashion world, tradition means clothes that will go into a museum. Look at this ruff.”
He even pulled on the ruff around Lorenz’s neck. Lorenz’s face, who had been insulted, turned red in real time.
“The Viscount won the bet.”
“I thought they would at least stop by a clothing shop in the capital.”
“Baroness Lavienne was the only one who agreed with the Viscount, right?”
“She changed her mind to the opposite side at the end.”
“Oh dear.”
The nobles surrounding Lorenz and Julian made insulting remarks to the two without any hesitation.
A bet? Julian was speechless, but instead of getting angry, he shut his mouth tightly. Even if he, a commoner, opened his mouth to defend Lorenz in this place, things would only get bigger.
Bastards. I wondered why even I, a commoner, was invited to a banquet that was said to be somewhat famous.
They invited him to see what kind of clothes the two would wear and to insult Lorenz, who was taking a commoner around as a servant.
The bet was a bonus. Judging from the story of the golden statue, it seemed that de Laurent had promised to give the golden statue to the person who won the bet. But even that seemed unnecessary because the Viscount won the bet.
In short, it was a money-spending spree of a rich man. Lorenz gritted his teeth, regretting himself in the past, who had admired the gold-plated banquet invitation.
The most frustrating thing here was that he couldn’t dare to leave the place because he was angry. If he did, things would really get bigger.
But it was not a wise move to be a spectacle like a monkey in a zoo. It was when the two were flustered and didn’t know what to do, and the other nobles were looking at them as if they were enjoying it.
“Young Master Montar?”
At that time, a helping hand came down. Lorenz, who had been staring at the pattern on the floor at the pleasant baritone voice, suddenly raised his head.
There, a man like a god of beauty descended from the sky was looking at Lorenz with a smiling face. Behind him was a man with a cold impression, black hair, and blue eyes.
“That’s right, I didn’t know you were here.”
“Ah…….”
It was Prince Pakirius.
He approached Lorenz with a friendly attitude, as if he were an old friend he had met after a long time.
The faces of the nobles who had been openly insulting Lorenz and Julian were embarrassed.
It was not a problem to insult a young noble from the countryside, but if that person was an acquaintance of the young prince, who was the first in line to the throne, the story was different.
“Oh my. Were you acquainted with Young Master Montar, Your Highness?”
“Yes, I happened to have a relationship with him.”
There was a subtle aspect to Prince Pakirius’s words. So it was ambiguous whether the two were close or just acquaintances.
In such ambiguous words, the nobles seemed to have found their own answers.