Inside the dining room was Skira, Grasso, and Ritzy having a frivolous chat. After a dozen minutes of speaking, the food finally arrived.
The maids all came in unison and placed the plates in unison. It was customary for meals to be served at the same time.
Ritzy hasn't had dinner yet so he was starving but when he saw what was on his plate, he lost his appetite.
Grasso then stood up and spoke proudly with a smile,
"This is our family's sacred dish, for people who we desire to have a long-lasting relationship with. It's the combination of three of our most widely made food products. Fish, cinnamon sauce,
and especially boar".
Looking at his plate, Ritzy had no desire to even taste the dish. It would be nice if they were separated and probably made to look edible, but this meal looked as if it was made for farm pigs.
The meat was all shredded up and mixed together. The worst part was the cinnamon sauce. It was a yellowish-brown color and made it look more like farm food.
Ignoring his thoughts, Ritzy used his fork to yank the wet mixed meat and took a bite.
Tasting the dish, Ritzy's body began trying to reject the food in his mouth. The meat taste was bearable but the cinnamon sauce was what took the flavor to a whole other level. The cinnamon was unsweetened so it gave a spicy feeling and as well seemed like it was mixed with a liquid related to fish. Ritzy tried to not guess what the liquid was.
Ritzy kept ignoring his body and swallowed it. As he kept eating, he held his breath, chewed a bit, and quickly swallowed. Ritzy was currently giving gratitude to his old assassin days for teaching him this trick.
As he was eating, he noticed how Grasso and Skira were eating. They eat the meal with pride and as if it was an amazing delicacy. They showed pure joy with each bite. Seeing this, Ritzy wanted to cry inside and cursed at his taste buds for not being the same as Skira's taste buds which enjoyed the meal.
Once the meal was finished, Skira and Grasso started reclining on their chair instead of the regular noble fashion.
Grasso,
"Ahh, I love having guests. It always gives us an excuse to eat this meal".
Skira,
"I know what you mean father".
Ritzy didn't know what to say except flattery,
"I know what you mean, this meal is to die for. I hope you invite me next time you have this meal".
Skira,
"Of course little Ritzy, but it will take a long time. This meal is only used when we dine with new friends. The only other time is during our family's accession to nobility ceremony, so you have to wait until that day comes".
Ritzy,
"That's to bad, but I understand".
After a while of Ritzy kept giving more fake compliments. Grasso then noticed it was already late.
"Huh, it already half-past nine"
Ritzy seeing his chance, he said,
"Well, Skira and Archduke Grasso, I believe it's time to give my farewells. It's already getting late and it would be best to get a good night's rest before tomorrow's battle".
Skira,
"Yes, of course, little Ritzy. You will need to be well-rested before tomorrow. I don't want you to be too tired and become useless in combat tomorrow. Well then, I bid you a good night".
Grasso's forehead showed a vein that seemed like it was about to pop when he heard Skira say 'little Ritzy'. It reminded him of how Skira was taking responsibility for Ritzy.
"Yes, young lord Ritzy, please go rest. I don't want to be at fault for taking away your sleep. I bid you farewell".
Finished giving their goodbyes, Ritzy got off his chair and left.
Junger noticing Ritzy was leaving, he followed Ritzy closely.
As the dining-room door was closing and Ritzy leaving, Grasso quickly stood up and turned to Skira.
"You Son of A BI-".
The door closed before any more could be heard, but since Ritzy had his magic presence active, he could clearly hear what Grasso was saying behind the door and more. It wasn't until he was halfway out the castle, that he was finally unable to hear Grasso.
...
When Ritzy arrived at camp he saw all his men eating merely with alcohol. The deer they hunted before they arrived, was being cooked on a Rotisserie grill. Junger noticed this as well and immediately talked to Ritzy.
Junger,
"Lord, we have arrived. I bid you good night".
Saying that. He quickly walked to the camp and tore a piece of the deer and asked one of the other knights where they got the alcohol.
Ritzy was left speechless by his knight's actions but he understood. It's been over 8 hours since they ate.
He then resumed walking to his tent which was the biggest one in the camp. As he walked, Ritzy started remembering the awful taste of before's dinner.
Under his breath, Ritzy said,
'Lucky bastards".
...
It was morning and breakfast time. Everbody was near the rotisserie grill, waiting for yesterday's catch to become today's breakfast.
The knights were huddled together, looking at the cooking meat of the rabbits they caught yesterday, as if it was their first meals in days. Saliva was dripping from their mouths, and their eyes glued to the meat that the servants were grilling.
Ritzy was in the carriage, looking at the rabbits while his stomach growled. His mind filled with a desire to finally eat something good.
Once the meat was prepared, the maid took out wooden bowls. They cut off pieces of the cooked rabbit carefully and placed each piece into the bowls evenly. When one bowl had its fair share of meat, the other maid would place spinach, mushrooms, and carrots on the side. They then seasoned the dish with lemon and salt.
Typically, commoners wouldn't receive this great of a meal, not even regular knights. Usually, the noble in charge, like Ritzy, would hoard all the meat and seasoning for themselves. With the meat they didn't eat, they would sell all of it. The knights would only eat provisions that the camp provided for them, but since Ritzy wasn't a regular noble. Not only the veteran knights got to eat, but also the regular knights got the chance to eat these delicacies
While they were preparing the meal, the people from nearby camps gave looks of jealousy.
Other Camp Person 1,
"Look at them eat that amazing meal while we eat heavily salted provisions. Just looking at their meal makes me want to throw away the provisions".
Other Camp Knight 1,
"I wish our lord would be as benevolent!"
Other Camp Knight 2,
"Goddammit, why do the lords have to be such as assholes!"
Other Camp Person 2,
"Wait, do you see that. Their noble is in the carriage and he is young. I bet that their just taking advantage of the kid!"
Other Camp Person 1,
"Your right! Damn those lucky bastards. I wish I could be where they are right now".
Other Camp Knight 2 then began sobbing and said,
"This world is so unfair, why can't we be them?".
Ritzy currently didn't have his magic presence activated right now so he didn't hear anything they said. All his concentration was in looking at the servants prepare their breakfast.
Finally, the servants started serving the first bowls. Since Ritzy was in the highest position in the camp, the first bowl went to him.
Servant 1,
"Lord, here is your meal, I hope you enjoy".
Ritzy's mind,
'Just give it to me, I dying of hunger!".
The maid then gave placed the bowl which had a wooden fork inside, on the carriage as customary, because the lower class isn't allowed to touch nobles because of etiquette. Once the bowl was on the carriage, Ritzy hurridly gave thanks to the maid and swiftly grabbed the bowl. Stuffing his face as if the meal was supposedly going to disappear the next second.
Once Ritzy finished his bowl, he ordered seconds. Once he finished with seconds, he ordered more. By the time he finished with his fifth bowl, he was finally satisfied.
After a while of rest, Ritzy felt bored. He knew that they wouldn't leave till noon and it was barely ten, so he still had to wait for another two hours before they departed for battle.
After dozens of minutes of waiting, he decided to go for a walk. He jumped off the carriage and left the camp alone.
Walking by himself, he walked down the camps with no care in the world, with no set place in mind. As he walked, he would stop to anything that caught his eye. From the flowers on the floor, or the beautiful horses from camps.
He then finally saw something that grabbed his full curiosity. It was a magic white horse that had a golden-colored horn. Ritzy began walking up to the horse with the intent to pet it and said in a friendly kinda childish tone,
"What kind of horse are you? Can I pet you?".
A nearby noble saw that someone was gonna pet his horse and angrily said,
"Don't you ****ing dare you damn unworthy of living bastard".
Ritzy heard the voice and turned around, about to say sorry, but then a white object was flying to his face.
Out of instinct, Ritzy caught it. In his hands was a white glove.
People nearby saw what happened and gasped.
Random guy 1,
"A duel is starting! Everyone gather around! It's a fight between the child of a count vs a lowly noble who doesn't even know what a magical horse is. This is gonna be a slaughter!".
Blessed people's eye glow wasn't easy to see in daylight, especially Ritzy's eyes which were gold. They looked as if they were regular yellow color.