Chapter 273

Chapter 60 Nighttime Middle

“Why don’t you try it first?”

She slightly frowned, though she took the smoked fish from me as I said.

“You must be hungry. I thought, let you eat first.” I wrinkled my little nose and looked at her with full expectation.

Victoria glanced at me lightly.

She definitely knew what I was thinking; there was no point in hiding it. But if I just opened my eyes wide and blinked a few times, Victoria might, perhaps, roughly… do as I asked.

As expected, that’s exactly what happened.

After taking the smoked fish, she hesitated for a moment before placing it near her lips. She extended her pink tongue to taste the sauce tentatively. After finding no strange odor, she opened her mouth and took a small bite.

Snap.

Upon hearing the sound of the fish skin breaking, my saliva started to seep out.

“Is it good?” I asked eagerly.

Victoria did not answer immediately. Instead, she continued chewing slowly while walking forward. I followed closely beside her, watching her intently, waiting until she swallowed before asking again, “Is it good?”

“Not bad.”

Her gaze remained straight ahead, her face expressionless as she spoke. Then she took another small bite of the smoked fish and looked into the distance.

She seemed to be enjoying herself quite a bit.

“Are there many bones?”

“Very few.”

I looked at the smoked fish in my hand and brought it close to my nose to smell… no matter how I smelled it, it was very fishy.

But since Victoria said it was good, the taste shouldn’t be too bad… Is it something like stinky tofu?

Let me try a bite!

“Ahhh.”

Crunch—

I took a big bite, almost eating all the meat on the back of the fish, revealing a row of bones. The sauce touched my upper lip, and I licked it off with my tongue before starting to chew.

It was very salty, a bit sweet. Sweet with a hint of sour… a taste I had never experienced before, but it wasn’t bad.

Feeling Victoria’s gaze, I puffed up my cheeks and smiled at her.

“Huff—”

But gradually, I couldn’t smile anymore.

Because it was very fishy.

Once the flavor of the sauce faded, the fish’s inherent fishiness suddenly burst out in my mouth, rushing up my nasal cavity, causing my breath to be filled with the smell of fish. The white flesh in my mouth began to taste bitter, with a spicy sensation, an indescribable, very stimulating flavor.

What is this…

What is this!

I hurriedly tilted my head to the side of the road, trying to spit out all the fish meat, but before my mouth could open, Victoria quickly covered it with her hand.

“Do not waste food,” she said to me.

“Mmm—”

My eyes widened like a bell, my mouth tightly covered, unable to speak a single word, only shaking my head continuously.

Victoria was really forceful; it felt like her cheeks would be squished flat. I wanted to bite her hand, but accidentally, “gulping” down all the fish in one go.

Victoria finally let go.

“Gag—”

I couldn’t hold back and dry heaved. Then, frowning, I lifted my head and held up the smoked fish in my hand, shouting at her unhappily, “It’s so disgusting! What is this!”

“It’s Saber River fish,” Victoria looked at me with a hint of a smile, “A type of fish that people in the capital often eat, appearing on their tables almost every other day. Although it’s a river fish, it’s very fishy, so they usually use thick sauce to cover the strong smell.”

My eyes widened even more: “You knew it wouldn’t taste good! Why didn’t you tell me!”

“You didn’t ask,” Victoria said calmly, taking another bite of the fish and chewing slowly.

How could she eat it…

I looked at the fish with a missing chunk in my hand, staring at its white eye, feeling the lingering fishy taste in my mouth, and smacking my lips, unable to take another bite.

“Mmm—”

I got angry by myself.

“Don’t throw it away,” Victoria said softly.

“…I wasn’t going to throw it away.”

“Saber River fish are very alert; catching one usually takes half an hour or more. You shouldn’t waste others’ hard work. Since you’ve already bought it, finish it.”

“…”

But I really don’t want to eat it. I wish I hadn’t bought it…

Tilting my head, I thought for a moment, then turned and offered the smoked fish to Victoria, looking at her pitifully.

“I can’t eat it…”

Victoria and I stared at each other for a while, then finally reached out and took it. She didn’t say anything, just walked side by side with me on the noisy street, both holding a smoked fish skewered on a wooden stick, nibbling on them bit by bit. The golden strands fell onto her cheeks, and she hooked her little finger back, revealing a beautiful earlobe.

Suddenly, I felt a bit guilty. Bringing the high-and-mighty queen out, only to make her wear ordinary coarse clothes and eat such terrible food…

“Morlem Sausage! Freshly baked Morlem Sausage, come smell the aroma, guaranteed to leave you wanting more—”

Hearing someone selling sausages not far away, I was stunned.

Sausage…

Following the sound, I saw the oily meat sausages in front of the stall owner, and my eyes lit up.

I remember, Carlos bought this for me. Although it seemed a bit greasy, the taste was indeed very fragrant.

“Victoria, do you want to eat sausage?”

“I never eat sausages.”

“Why?”

You could eat such a disgusting fish, but you don’t want to eat something tasty… Are you like Sophia, disliking greasy things?

“Hey you, that Morlum sausage is so delicious. I heard that even noble ladies love it.”

After saying this, I saw Victoria’s movement of putting fish in her mouth pause.

“Who told you this?” she asked.

“What?”

“Noble ladies like to eat Morlum sausages.”

Victoria’s expression suddenly turned cold. I sensed that she seemed somewhat upset. Although I didn’t understand why, I still blinked subconsciously: “Carlos.”

“…He’s deceiving you.”

?

What is deceiving me? Deceiving me what…

I didn’t quite grasp the meaning of Victoria’s words. My mind was still spinning as I muttered to myself: “No, it really is very tasty…”

Victoria glanced at me indifferently.

“You shouldn’t casually talk to him in the future.”

“Why…”

I was a bit confused.

Come to think of it, I vaguely remember when I first entered the royal city, Carlos seemed to have mentioned that Queen Elizabeth was a troublesome woman… Could it be that these two don’t get along? Could there have been some secret incident between them before…

“Because the noble ladies in the royal city do not like Morlum sausages. On the contrary, those who like Morlum sausages are mostly male nobles. They don’t eat it themselves; they just like watching the ladies eat, especially enjoying the sight of them with their mouths full of white sauce… Do I need to be more explicit?”

“Uh—”

I froze suddenly.

“Carlos has enough material for a whole book on his love life. He is well-versed in such lowbrow tactics and specializes in deceiving girls like you who are naive.”

“…”

Anger gradually welled up from my chest, making me so furious that my breathing became rapid.

Carlos—

He dared to play tricks on me!!!

Bastard!!! Stinky shit!!!

“I want to beat him up.”

I wished I could immediately return to the Valen Empire, find that man, and give him a good beating until his face was bruised and his legs were broken!

Too despicable, that guy is too disgusting!

No wonder he stayed in the Valen Empire for so long. Although he was familiar with my father, he never met me before… It means my father never introduced me to him!

No wonder I always felt that Mother was wary of him. They must know that guy too well!

Scoundrel…

How dare he make me do such disgusting things. Next time I see him, I will definitely break his little brother.

Wait and see.

I thought viciously in my heart, but I couldn’t suppress the anger in my heart. Feeling unsatisfied, I opened my mouth to curse again, but Victoria, who was beside me, suddenly seemed to notice something and grabbed my hand, quickly walking towards a stall by the roadside.

What are you doing…

I pouted, looking very unhappy and followed along.