After Aurelio nodded in agreement, Gloria took the ladle from his hand. As she rinsed her hands with the water in it, she said, "You can wait outside. It's sweltering in the kitchen." With that, she picked up a clean wooden spoon from the side, scooped out a broad bean from the pot, and popped it into her mouth to taste. "It's fine. It's salty enough," she announced.
"Don't you need my help?" Aurelio asked.
"No need!" Gloria replied as she tied her apron around her waist. "Or would you rather stay here and watch?"
"Perhaps," Aurelio said.
"Fine then, suit yourself if you don't mind the heat," Gloria said with a shrug.
She then picked up a stone mortar. With a series of clangs, she ground all the broad beans in the pot into a smooth paste and transferred it to a large wooden bowl. Next, she added the fried and crushed sesame seeds, a sprinkle of minced garlic, and a dash of pepper powder. Swiftly, she mixed the main ingredients and seasonings in the bowl thoroughly until they were evenly combined. She then smoothed the surface with a small spoon and drizzled a few drops of olive oil on top.
"This is your late-night snack... Well, actually, it's dinner," Gloria said. "I didn't think anything of it when I didn't see you at dinner time, but now I understand. So you skipped dinner and came here for a little something in the middle of the night!"
Aurelio shrugged and said, "It's not really sneaking a snack. I had permission."
"Ah, whatever," Gloria said dismissively. She then placed two slices of salted meat on top of the bowl of broad bean paste. "Now it looks more colorful," she said, setting the large bowl down and wiping the beads of sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. "It's so hot. You can cut the bread yourself."
She walked out of the kitchen first. Aurelio then gathered the dishes, the bread, and two sets of cutlery onto a tray and carried them all into the hall. He found a seat and sat down before beckoning Gloria to join him.
When the female knight saw the two sets of cutlery on the tray, a faint blush colored her cheeks as she asked, "If we share... will there be enough?" Despite her words, she took a seat opposite him.
"Didn't you have dinner either?" Aurelio asked.
"I did... But I'm hungry again. The moment I caught a whiff of those beans, I just couldn't resist," Gloria said with a chuckle.
Earlier in the evening, she'd eaten dinner, but her stomach had felt empty again within just a few hours. Just as she'd taken the dry, hard bread out of her backpack, the tantalizing aroma of cooked beans had wafted through her window.
She took a delicate sniff and exclaimed, "These beans smell so good! I was almost tempted to climb out of my window and scurry along the wall to get to the kitchen."
Seeing Aurelio dividing the broad bean paste evenly into two portions, she quickly waved her hands and said, "Don't give me so much. I'm not that hungry. If I eat too much and put on weight, I won't be able to fit into my armor!"
"Just having a bit more won't make much difference," Aurelio said as he continued to fuss over the two bowls of broad bean paste, adjusting them as he felt one bowl had slightly more than the other, which bothered him greatly.
"Okay, that's plenty," Gloria couldn't help but pat Aurelio's shoulder.
"Here you go," Aurelio said, handing her the wooden bowl.
She took the bowl and picked up a strip of bread. Dipping the bread into the broad bean paste, she took a bite.
The beans had been cooked for a good while and had absorbed the salt from the salted meat thoroughly. The bread, on the other hand, was rather dry and hard. After eating two pieces, Gloria's mouth felt parched. She looked over at Aurelio and was surprised to see that he'd already polished off his entire bowl of bean paste. "I thought I ate fast," she thought to herself.
She looked up again and asked with concern, "Are you thirsty? Would you like a glass of wine?"
"No," Aurelio replied. "I still have things to do."
Gloria said, "You're always so busy. You're really hardworking." Not wanting to push him, she walked behind the counter. There was a large wooden barrel there, clearly a wine barrel. She picked up a glass, lifted the lid of the wine barrel, and filled the glass to the brim with the liquid inside.
Unlike the Serenians who had a preference for wine, the Westrick people were more partial to ale. And this barrel was filled with ale. During their march earlier, several knights who were fond of drinking had constantly boasted about their wide knowledge, and they'd specifically mentioned the ale from Westrick. That had piqued Gloria's curiosity. She wasn't a heavy drinker by any means, but she always liked to sample new and exotic things. Now, the ale, which was rumored to have a light and pleasant taste, was in her hand.
She took a big swig of the ale, but instead of the expected flavor, all she tasted was a rancid, sour taste. The sourness spread through her mouth, and she had to fight back the urge to gag. Try as she might, she just couldn't bring herself to swallow the liquid. In the end, she couldn't hold it in any longer and spat the mouthful back into the glass.
"Oh my goodness! It's sour and stinky, and there's this disgusting creamy aftertaste. I can't swallow it at all!" Gloria shook her head vigorously and quickly took a big mouthful of the broad bean paste to try and mask the taste. "This ale is undrinkable!"
Aurelio paused his writing and picked up the large wine glass on the table. He gave it a sniff and said, "It seems to have gone off. Don't drink it."
Gloria gave a bitter smile and said, "Even if you tied me up and tried to force it down my throat, I still wouldn't be able to swallow it." She placed the wine glass on the counter. "Put it further away. The smell is just awful. It's completely ruined my appetite, but luckily... the food I cooked is pretty good, right?"
Aurelio nodded slightly and said, "It seems that with this hot weather, this mild ale goes bad in just a few days. The owner of this place has probably been gone for quite some time."
Gloria gave a wry smile and said, "Yes, things spoil so easily in summer. Next time we eat something, we should give it a good sniff first. But... are the beans we ate okay?"
"They should be last year's dried beans. Although they're not fresh, they're fine... But now that I think about it carefully, it is rather strange," Aurelio said.
"What's strange?" Gloria asked, looking puzzled.
"The ale has gone bad, but the things in the kitchen... like the garlic, it was still plump and hadn't shriveled at all. Isn't that a bit too fresh?" Aurelio replied. "It doesn't seem like something the innkeeper would have left behind."
"If it's not from the innkeeper, where could it have come from?"
"They were delivered recently. There's plenty of food in the kitchen and an ample supply of water. Does this look like a city that's under siege?"
"Now that you've mentioned it, I think it's odd too. I almost forgot about that. Then is it wrong of us to be enjoying these things here?" Gloria furrowed her brow slightly. "Should we be conserving supplies instead?"
"That's not the issue," Aurelio replied impassively. "Someone wants us to think that supplies are plentiful, that's all."
"Why would they do that?"
"On the positive side, perhaps it's to boost our morale," Aurelio said. "But is the person behind this really that kind-hearted? Not at all. The main thing is not to lose face. That's what a vain monarch would consider first and foremost."