Chapter 21
The basement of the Eisengard mansion.
The massive iron door creaked open, and a blast of cold air rushed out.
“Ugh... It’s cold.”
Count Eisen shivered as he pulled the collar of his thick coat tighter.
I, on the other hand, felt refreshed.
“It’s nice and cool. It reminds me of home.”
I blew warm breath into the air and stepped inside, revealing a vast, cavernous space.
Blue-glowing magic stones hung in clusters from the ceiling, while all manner of foodstuffs were stored beneath them, covered in frost.
「Icehouse」.
The name was simple, but it was the culmination of Imperial magitech: powered by a gigantic magic stone, it maintained subzero temperatures all year round.
A colossal refrigerator that only nobles and wealthy merchants could afford.
“Wow... The Empire’s technology is impressive. They can create winter weather even in summer with just one magic stone.”
I was genuinely impressed.
Of course, our tribe had no need for machinery like this.
Open the door, and the entire world is a natural refrigerator.
But being able to store meat without worrying about it spoiling was an enormous advantage in civilized society.
“Haha, I suppose it might be considered a luxury to people from Norhaim.”
Count Eisen smiled bitterly.
“The maintenance costs are considerable, but it’s worth it to ensure a steady supply of fresh food for the territory. Now, let’s hurry. Lady Kara is waiting.”
With grim expressions, we headed toward the section at the back of the storeroom marked 「Gifts from the Winterfang Tribe」.
This was where the enormous bundles of supplies the tribespeople had packed for us when we crossed the border with Count Eisen were stored.
The very luggage that had weighed us down inside the carriage.
“We’ll search from this side!”
“Understood!”
We began searching every nook and cranny.
Dried reindeer meat.
Smoked fish.
Bundles of medicinal herbs....
“It’s not here either.”
“This crate’s a bust too.”
Thirty minutes passed.
The expressions on Count Eisen’s and my faces darkened.
Everything was there, except the one thing that mattered most.
“...It’s not here. Damn it, everything’s here, so why are there no strawberries?!”
I clutched my head.
Come to think of it, it was only natural.
Snowfield strawberries only grew in Norhaim during the dead of winter, and even then, only in the coldest shade.
The problem was that they grew coated in a thin layer of ice.
The moment that layer melted, the flesh turned into mush much faster and more easily than ordinary strawberries.
They were fruits as fragile as glass, losing all their value as merchandise if the temperature rose even slightly or they took a jolt during transport.
There was no way they could survive a carriage journey to the warmer interior, especially in an ordinary baggage compartment without refrigeration.
That was why merchants were reluctant to transport them fresh and usually processed them into jam or fruit syrup instead.
“Count... Are there perhaps any other fruit shops or storehouses in the territory....”
I asked as though grasping at the last straw, but Count Eisen shook his head.
“I-I’m... h-having L-Lonas s-search e-everywhere... r-right now....”
“......?”
There was something strange about the count’s voice.
When I turned around, I saw that his shirt was soaked with sweat and that he was trembling violently.
The moment he heard me in the study, the rigid man had sprinted here without even putting on his coat, his tie hanging loose around his neck.
The combination of his sudden exertion and the cold of the underground storeroom had caused the stammer brought on by the cold in Norhaim to return.
“O-Out-of-season... o-ordinary s-strawberries... m-might... e-exist, but... N-Norhaim-grown... F-Frost Strawberries... w-won’t....”
He clicked his teeth together as he delivered the hopeless news.
The thought of Kara’s disappointed face when we returned empty-handed made my vision go dark.
What husband in the world could tell his wife suffering from morning sickness, “I’m sorry, I couldn’t get them. Just bear with it”?
Just then, the trembling Count Eisen cautiously opened his mouth.
“M-Mr. Varg. If the d-direct approach... d-doesn’t work... shouldn’t we... use a s-stratagem?”
“A stratagem?”
“We could process... o-ordinary s-strawberries... to make them l-look... like F-Frost Strawberries.”
“......Pardon?”
I wondered if I had heard him correctly.
“You want us to deceive her? Our pregnant wife?”
“I-It’s not... d-deception! It’s p-psychological therapy... t-targeting the p-placebo effect... and the m-magic of cooking!”
More importantly, this world actually had a definition of the placebo effect.
Count Eisen’s glasses flashed as he passionately argued his case, all while trembling violently.
“What Lady Kara wants... is probably not the name ‘Frost Strawberries’... but their distinctive ‘taste’ and ‘texture.’ That sour, cold, crunchy sensation! W-We just have to... recreate it!”
“......”
Honestly, it left a bad taste in my mouth.
But we had no other choice.
It wasn’t as though we could fly to Norhaim right now.
We had to make something similar, even if it was a counterfeit, and at least soothe her morning sickness.
“...Let’s give it a try. What have we got to lose?”
I clenched my fist tightly.
A short while later, in the mansion’s kitchen.
“Huff... Huff... I got them!”
Lonas came running in, panting heavily, with a box in his arms.
Apparently, running around himself instead of sending a servant was a family tradition of House Eisen.
When we opened the box, it revealed neat rows of plump, crimson strawberries.
“These are the most expensive, sweetest premium strawberries from the southern Empire’s market! They cost one gold coin each!”
Lonas proudly announced it, but Count Eisen and I wore mixed expressions.
The problem was that those strawberries were too good.
Imperial strawberries were large, sweet, and soft.
Snowfield strawberries, however, were small, sour, and firm.
We had to modify something with entirely opposite characteristics.
“All right. From this moment on, we’re turning these into 「Frost Strawberries」.”
I wrote down the characteristics of Frost Strawberries as I remembered them on a blackboard.
Swish—swish—
“Oh, your father taught you well.”
In the middle of all this, Lonas even praised me for my handwriting.
「Characteristics of Frost Strawberries」
【 1. They are not smooth and rounded like ordinary strawberries, but have a bumpy shape, with small red grape-like beads clustered together like a flower. 】
【 2. The taste is extremely sour, with a cold, refreshing finish. (There is almost no sweetness.) 】
【 3. The surface must be covered in a layer of white frost. 】
After hearing the explanation, the head chef and head maid clutched their heads.
“Good heavens... You want us to crush something this expensive?”
“What about the shape? You want them clustered like grapes... Should we cut them apart one by one and stick them back together?”
“We must. For Lady Kara’s palate.”
At Count Eisen’s stern command, the kitchen transformed into a laboratory.
The chef combined lemon juice, vinegar, and lime zest to create a sauce of extreme sourness.
“More! It needs to be even sourer! Sour enough to sting the tongue!”
The head maid used tweezers to separate the strawberry flesh piece by piece and reassemble it into the shape of a flower.
“The shape can’t fall apart! Brush on a little corn syrup!”
And I was gnawing away at ice.
Crunch, crunch.
We had to make fine ice powder and sprinkle it over the strawberries to complete the appearance of a frost-covered fruit.
“Colder! Frost Strawberries have to be cold enough to make your mouth tingle!”
Count Eisen supervised from the side with a stopwatch in hand.
We clung to the strawberries like madmen.
Could this even be called cooking?
I knew nothing about alchemy.
But perhaps, in a world where the term ‘placebo effect’ existed, we were presenting the first molecular cuisine in history.
And so, after an hour-long struggle.
“Wow, it’s finished....”
The chef held out a plate with trembling hands.
「Counterfeit Frost Strawberries」 lay on it, glowing a brilliant red beneath a coating of white frost.
The shape...
Was roughly similar.
The taste...
They were sour enough to make my mouth water just imagining them.
“This should settle her stomach... no, I mean, satisfy her.”
Count Eisen nodded as he wiped the sweat from his brow.
With grim expressions, we carried the plate toward the study.
We had to succeed.
Absolutely.
In front of the study.
Count Eisen and I swallowed dryly.
Behind us stood the head maid and chefs, who had followed to hear how their creation was received.
Even Lonas had tagged along, having apparently stopped going back to work at some point and simply stayed to lounge around.
Everyone was tense, worried that Kara might be irritable because of her morning sickness.
‘What if she gets angry? What if she throws them away after realizing they’re fake?’
I cautiously grasped the doorknob.
But then.
“Heehee... Really?”
Kara’s gentle laughter leaked out from inside.
“......?”
Count Eisen and I exchanged glances, then cautiously peered through the gap in the door.
An unexpected scene unfolded inside the study.
Alina, the youngest Eisen daughter, was sitting pressed against Kara’s side on the sofa.
With her tiny hands, Alina was gently stroking Kara’s belly while reading her a fairy tale.
“...And so the brave knight rescued the princess. The end!”
Alina shouted as she closed the book.
Her voice was halting, perhaps because she had only recently learned to read, but her earnestness was endearing.
“Did you hear that, baby? Your big sister... or, if you’re a boy, your nuna? Anyway, I’ll read you something even more fun later.”
Alina whispered to Kara’s belly.
Kara smiled brightly at the sight and patted Alina’s head.
“Thank you, Alina. Our baby liked your voice so much that it kicked. Did you feel it?”
“Really? Hehe... It really did! It’s wriggling!”
In truth, it was too early for fetal movement to be felt.
Kara had probably tensed her belly slightly so Alina could feel the sensation of it wriggling—a small kindness.
Alina bounced excitedly at Kara’s warm lie.
It was a peaceful, heartwarming sight.
The child’s clumsy yet warm voice was gently soothing the frayed nerves caused by Kara’s morning sickness.
‘Thank goodness.’
Count Eisen and I both let out sighs of relief.
The timing was perfect.
Right now, it seemed she might happily accept even these 「Counterfeit Frost Strawberries」.
“Let’s go in.”
Count Eisen signaled with a glance.
I solemnly nodded and flung open the door while holding the plate of strawberries.
“Kara! I brought strawberries!”
The fateful tasting was about to begin.
“Oh my, you’re here? Wow... They really are Frost Strawberries!”
Kara’s eyes sparkled as she accepted the plate.
Alina stared at them curiously from beside her.
Just then, Alina tilted her head and asked,
“But, Sis, how did you meet your husband?”
“......Huh?”
Kara froze at the sudden question.
In an instant, the atmosphere in the study shifted strangely.
Everyone’s ears except mine perked up.
Count Eisen adjusted his glasses and pretended to look away, but his ears had turned toward Kara like radar.
The head maid and butler, who had been about to close the door, stopped moving and prepared to eavesdrop, and even Lonas poked his head through the gap.
Apparently, everyone had been curious.
‘What’s the big deal?’
I was dumbfounded.
The meeting in my memory had been about as far from romantic as possible.
A beast caught in a trap, human in appearance only, and the chieftain’s daughter.
An adopted younger brother and an older sister.
Two people who grew close after constantly growling and fighting whenever their eyes met.
There had been no dramatic first meeting or fateful romance.
So I assumed Kara would give a deflating answer like, ‘It was nothing special. We just grew up together.’
But.
“Hmm... Our first meeting?”
Kara blushed, a smile forming around her lips.
Her sapphire eyes grew misty with wistful emotion.
“It was a very cold day. In a forest swept by a snowstorm, Varg was... fighting an enormous pack of wolves all by himself.”
“Wow....”
Alina’s eyes widened.
Everyone’s eyes sparkled with anticipation at the thought of ‘Just as expected—a barbarian romance!’
‘Wait, wasn’t he caught in a trap and about to die? Why are you romanticizing it? More importantly, you weren’t even there!’
I tried to object, but Kara continued her story.
“His body was covered in wounds, and he was growling at me... But his eyes looked just like those of a lost baby wolf, so I couldn’t simply walk away.”
“And then? What happened next?”
“So... I picked him up and made him my husband.”
“Eek! You’re so cool, Sis!”
Alina clapped, while Count Eisen and the servants smiled warmly.
‘No, it was my father-in-law who picked me up.’
The story was heavily distorted, but the mood was too good for me to interrupt.
At this rate, Alina might even ask her to tell them how she had proposed.
If the story about racing along the cliff came up, the mood would definitely be ruined.
More importantly.
‘The strawberries are melting!’
The counterfeit Frost Strawberries on the plate were gradually losing their sheen after being exposed to room temperature.
Once the ice powder melted, the soggy strawberries’ true identity would be exposed.
I watched for the right moment with cold sweat running down my back.
Just then, Alina pointed at Kara’s belly with bright, curious eyes and asked,
“But, Sis, how does a baby get in your tummy?”
“......!!!”
Silence descended over the study.
Kara’s face turned red enough to explode.
Count Eisen cleared his throat and looked away, while Lonas hurriedly tried to close the door, caught his hand in it, and screamed.
“Aaaagh!”
Every adult in the room had the same thought.
‘Now!’
‘Change the subject!’
‘We can’t destroy her innocence!’
I swiftly picked up a strawberry and popped it into Kara’s mouth.
“Here, honey! Say ah! It’ll taste better if you eat it before it melts!”
“Mmph?!”
Kara accepted the strawberry in a daze.
Count Eisen also scooped up Alina in his arms and made a fuss.
“Oh, A-Alina! It’s almost time for your nap, isn’t it? Your big brother said he’d read you a fairy tale! Let’s go!”
“Huh? Really? Big Brother? But Big Brother’s busy! Really?”
“Huh? Y-yes....”
Lonas was dragged away with Alina without knowing what was going on.
We looked at one another, feeling as if we had just aged ten years.
Fortunately, the strawberries were still cold, and they passed Kara’s taste test.
“Oh... They’re sour! But they’re delicious! Varg, you’re the best!”
Kara gave me a thumbs-up and began devouring the strawberries.
Count Eisen and I watched her and let out sighs of relief.
It had been a day of cold sweat colder than Frost Strawberries.