Chapter 144
"Leon-kun, Stacey is cute, isn't she?"
"Y-yes, she is, but..."
"What do you think, Stacey?"
"What am I supposed to say...? I'm a commoner, after all..."
"A commoner might be better for Stacey, since it wouldn't place as much of a burden on her."
"Leon-kun, Stacey is a very kind girl, you know."
The two of them were really pushing hard. We'd only just met, hadn't we?! Was it really all right to marry their precious granddaughter off to some unknown commoner like me?!
"Um, don't the two of you hardly know anything about me...?"
"That's true, but I can tell you're a good boy just from talking with you a little. I'm a noble myself, you know, so I'd like to think I have a good eye for people."
"Besides, Leon-kun, you're a commoner affiliated with the ducal family and a student at the Royal Academy. That alone makes you worthy of trust. If you become an official in the future, your salary should be good, so Stacey can live without hardship."
Carolyn-sama said with a pleasant smile. It was scary... Why was her smile somehow frightening?! Nobles really are nobles, I guess!
I felt I'd be steamrolled if this continued, so I decided to turn them down firmly. I still couldn't even think about marriage, and Stacey-sama was a good girl, but living with that strange girl every day would be... a little difficult.
"Um, I'm sorry, but I'd like to decline..."
When I said that, both of them wore expressions like they could no longer hold back their laughter.
"Ha-ha... Leon-kun, I seem to have teased you a little too much. I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry, Leon-kun. I started enjoying myself partway through."
Oh... They were just teasing me. Well, of course. Talking about marriage was far too soon.
Just as I was thinking that and feeling relieved, another bomb was dropped.
"But I was serious about Stacey becoming your wife, you know? You two have only just met, after all. Let's talk about it again once you've gotten to know each other better."
Wait... We're going to talk about this again?! No, enough. This conversation can end here, please.
Besides, Stacey-sama has feelings too, right?! There was no way she would want to marry someone like me!
"I don't think Stacey-sama would be satisfied with me, though..."
Just as I said that, Stacey-sama returned. She was holding a potted plant covered in beautiful blossoms.
"Stacey, you've come back at just the right time!"
"Grandmother, what is it?"
"We were just having a very positive discussion about your future with Leon-kun."
Positive discussion?! We were not having a positive discussion!
"My future with Leon?"
"That's right. Wouldn't you like to stay together with Leon-kun forever?"
"It sounds like it would be fun if we could stay together forever."
"That's right."
Carolyn-sama, please wait! Stacey-sama definitely doesn't understand! Her answer just now only meant that it would be fun if they could keep playing together forever; she had no idea what she was agreeing to!
This is going badly. Pierre-sama, don't just give a wry smile—please put a stop to this!
I somehow tried to steer the conversation away and decided to bring up another topic.
"S-Stacey-sama, is there anything you'd like to do in the future?"
When I said that, Stacey-sama's eyes suddenly lit up. Maybe there was something she wanted to do?
"Actually, there is! I believe that plants and animals are all my friends, so I've always hated eating. But the other day, Leon told me there were leaves and fruits I should eat, and when I checked with the farmers, it turned out to be true. So I've been making an effort to eat them, and I'd like to open a restaurant serving dishes made with them!"
Who could have imagined that my offhand comment the other day would have such an impact?
"That's a wonderful dream."
Pierre-sama and Carolyn-sama looked extremely surprised as well, as if this were the first time they'd heard anything like that.
"Thank you, Leon. But a restaurant serving only vegetables and fruit wouldn't become popular, would it...?"
"No, I don't think that's true. Stacey-sama, are there any vegetables you can't eat?"
"Until now, I ate vegetables because I had no choice, so I can eat all of them. But I don't eat animals at all. I don't want to eat them."
"...In that case, I think you could create a restaurant that becomes popular."
"Really!?"
I thought a healthy restaurant using only vegetables and fruit might attract quite a few customers. If it were a restaurant for nobles rather than commoners, people who wanted to lose weight might come.
"Yes. Rather than advertising it as a restaurant that doesn't use animal products, I think you should market it as a healthy restaurant serving food that won't make people gain weight."
"That's true... I want to run that restaurant!"
Once the conversation had progressed that far, Pierre-sama and Carolyn-sama finally recovered from their surprise.
"W-wait a moment! Stacey, you really want to run that restaurant?"
"Yes. Would it be all right...?"
"Of course! I'm so happy that Stacey has found something she wants to do."
"Really!? Thank you, Grandfather!"
"Stacey, I'm glad you've found such a wonderful dream."
"Thank you, Grandmother."
Stacey-sama said that with an extremely happy smile. Pierre-sama and Carolyn-sama really were incredibly kind people.
For now, since Stacey-sama had something she wanted to do, there was no need to rush to find a family for her to marry into. That was good for me too. Just as I was feeling relieved, Pierre-sama suddenly took on a serious expression. Was there some problem?
"There's just one problem... Starting a restaurant will require a considerable amount of money, but we don't have that kind of money. How are we going to raise it...?"
Ah, the money problem. Of course—that's usually the biggest issue. I'd forgotten because money was the one thing I had in abundance.
"Grandfather, is it really going to be difficult...?"
Stacey-sama had been so excited just moments ago, but now she was visibly dejected. Pierre-sama was the one who panicked at the sight of her like that.
"S-Stacey, it's not impossible! I'll figure something out for you."
"Dear, this is the time to make a decision. Couldn't we save money by giving up our sweets research? Stacey still has five years until graduation. We can find a way by then."
"...You're right. If we stop researching sweets, we can save the money we'd spend on it. But we've come this far..."
"Our granddaughter's happiness is more important."
Good heavens... Were they poor because of their sweets research? Could the reason this house was so modest be that they'd spent too much money researching sweets?
They're good people, but as nobles, they're still a little... unconventional, aren't they?