Chapter 409

Chapter 32: My Father is Scalliger

Not long after, as Sarah had mentioned, the maid Charlman from next door brought several maids with her, delivering a sumptuous and delicious breakfast. Of course, they were all light green foods, including what was claimed to be a specially made hangover soup, which looked so dark green that it seemed unappetizing, but Charlman said it contained peas.

So I obediently drank a bowl first.

The queen’s recipe didn’t suit my taste very well, but fortunately, Charlman somewhat understood my preferences, and the portion wasn’t so small that I would still feel hungry after finishing. The stern housekeeper didn’t stay in the mansion for long. After the breakfast was served, she confirmed there were no other requests and then said indifferently, “Miss, please enjoy your meal,” before leaving.

Before leaving, she gave Sarah and company a meaningful glance. At the door, she added, “Miss Peyelo, Queen Victoria specifically instructed me to take care of you before she left on her campaign. But she also knew that you dislike such attention, so she didn’t order anyone to look after your daily life. If you need anything, feel free to ask me; don’t hesitate… Also, please take good care of yourself, Miss Peyelo, don’t let the queen worry too much.”

She seemed to be reminding me of something and then left.

I rubbed my nose, feeling an inexplicable mix of emotions…

It was obvious that Charlman’s “taking care of me” had a double meaning. I guessed Victoria must have told her various things before she left… or maybe not. Regardless, Charlman was certainly keeping an eye on this side, so when there was a slight issue last night, this diligent housekeeper could detect it immediately and rush over to “handle the situation,” under the pretense of “taking care of me.”

Whatever…

Let her do as she pleases…

After Charlman left, the three of us gathered around the dining table for breakfast. Sarah sighed as she speared some vegetables, “Queen Victoria truly cares about you… It’s almost… If that housekeeper hadn’t mentioned it, I might have forgotten. Once, on a rest day, a royal carriage came specifically to pick you up at the academy… Peyelo, tell me honestly, was Queen Victoria sitting in the carriage?”

“Yes.”

“Wow…”

The girl, with cotton stuffed in her nostrils, looked a bit dazed, her eyes blank, as if she was muttering to herself, “I even talked to Mr. Reckert back then… That’s why you two were so familiar… There was someone giving orders in the carriage, and I didn’t realize who it was… Miss Peyelo, sometimes it’s not that you deliberately hide things from us, it’s just that we’re too naive, and we never thought about it…”

“Peyelo… Is your family more powerful than Sophia’s?”

Even Daisy, who was usually slow and indifferent to many things, couldn’t hold back her curiosity now, asking me anxiously, her surprise evident.

I tilted my head and thought.

Well…

How should I put it?

At this point, hiding things would be meaningless… Perhaps not saying it would make others feel distant, thinking I’m dishonest.

Just say it, nothing to worry about.

Actually…

My inner mischief told me that saying such things occasionally could be quite amusing.

“My father is Scalliger.”

Haha.

I suppressed the laughter in my heart, putting on a serious expression, waiting to see their reactions: Daisy blinked her eyes—she looked a bit dumbfounded, her brain seemingly in a state of shutdown, digesting what I had said, probably wondering who Scalliger was… Given her personality, it wouldn’t be strange if she didn’t know him. However, in the next moment, Sarah suddenly coughed, spitting out the leafy greens in her mouth.

“Cough, cough…”

She choked, coughing violently, quickly turning her head, but I felt something… a tiny bit of it splatter onto my face first.

“Ew! Sarah, that’s disgusting!”

“Cough! You… cough—”

The girl couldn’t speak for a moment, her face turning red. I hurried to the kitchen to wash my face and then fetched two glasses of water, giving one to Sarah, who drank it down in one go. When I placed the other glass in front of Daisy, Sarah caught her breath, her eyes turning red, “Scalliger? The King of Deception at Shanter Fortress, Duke Scalliger, the Pope’s Knight in the Valen Empire?!”

“Um…”

I pulled out the chair, sat back down, picked up the knife and fork, and looked around… Luckily, nothing had splattered onto the plate.

“Is that your father?” the girl asked again.

“Mm-hm.”

“You live in Chantelle Castle…”

“Yeah.”

“…”

Sarah was silent.

She seemed to be in shock. I thought Daisy would react more strongly, but Sarah already knew about my status as a Papal Knight. To my surprise, it was calm Daisy who was more composed. The girl, with a calm mind, wiped the table while frowning and grumbling, “Sarah, you almost got it on the plate…”

“Sorry, sorry! I was just…”

The girl’s cheeks flushed red, she clasped her hands together in apology, then lowered her head, lost in thought for a moment. Her eyes suddenly lit up: “Paylor, give me a good sword!”

I was stunned, blinked, and smiled, “Sure.”

“Isn’t that troublesome?”

“No, not at all.”

So Sarah also laughed, “Thank you! I’ve always dreamed of owning a top-grade steel sword forged by the Central Workshop. I planned to save up some money and ask someone to help buy one in a few years, but没想到…妈呀，我现在头皮发麻，真的…说不上来是开心还是…Paylor, if you have any other surprises, please share them… Wait, does the Duke of Skelliger have a daughter? I haven’t heard of it… Your brother is Marquis Lafayette?”

Everyone only knows Lafayette…

I rolled my eyes slightly, “Yes. I also have an older brother named Percival.”

“Really or just joking…”

Sarah rubbed her face, her thoughts still in disarray. She kept saying ‘really or just joking’, then asked, “What’s it like living in a castle?”

I thought for a moment, “It’s a bit far from the room to the dining hall.”

Apart from that, there wasn’t much of a special feeling.

Living in a castle or a manor, the difference was whether family members were still around.

“Paylor.”

Daisy hesitated for a moment, then raised her head, “Chantelle Castle… Is it going to war soon?”

After this sentence, the dining table fell silent for a moment.

Then Sarah slammed the table, “In other words… In a little while, Paylor will become a true royal princess?”

Compared to her optimistic attitude and efforts to ease the atmosphere, Daisy showed some concern, “Paylor, everything will be fine, right…”

“Yes, everything will be fine.”

“Have the battles started? The latest issue of the Gazette didn’t mention anything…”

“The family is doing well, don’t worry… Eat quickly, the food will get cold.”

I didn’t want to discuss this matter further, urging them to eat quickly. They sensed my attitude and stopped talking about it.

We continued chatting about other things, mentioning the Queen. I told them the general process of how I met her, about the incident where I broke into the second residence and was surrounded, and about the honey fruit tree incident—of course, we didn’t go into detail. The stories I could tell were just fragmented ones.

By chance, we talked about the piano. Sarah learned that I could play the piano. After praising me, she insisted I perform a piece for them.

“You hit my nose, so what’s the big deal about playing a song… Anyway, I’ll wash the dishes later.”

Unable to resist her, after breakfast, I sat in front of the piano and played Chopin’s Etude in E major for the two of them.

I liked this piece, but it was quite challenging. And I hadn’t practiced seriously in a long time, so my skills had declined. I made a few mistakes in the middle, but the naive girls didn’t notice. When the piece ended, they clapped excitedly.

“It’s beautiful… But what’s the name of this famous piece? I’ve never heard of it.”

“How many famous pieces have you heard?”

Hearing Sarah’s confusion, Daisy rarely complained.

Soon, the two of them had to leave.

“Last night I didn’t go home, if it were any later, I really should be beaten… ” Sarah said, then looked at Daisy, “Daisy, you could actually stay here, there’s nothing to do in the dorm anyway…”

But Daisy smiled and refused, saying she hadn’t finished reading a book and wanted to finish it today.

I saw them off.

Before leaving, Sarah stood at the door, looking thoughtfully at the large black axe hanging opposite the sofa—the axe of Teresa, which I had hung there later.

“Is that axe… just for decoration?”

“Mm… kind of.”

“Oh…”

After they left, I stood on the sidewalk of Rondar Street, watching their backs disappear at the end of the street corner. Suddenly, I felt something…

Something was released.

Very lightly.

Ah, Sarah hasn’t washed the plate yet…