The main house’s long dining table was filled with various dishes. There were specialties from all over the continent, delicacies that represented each of the various regions, different types of desserts, and even local dishes with hundreds of years of tradition behind them. It was all organized as a buffet where one could choose whatever one liked to eat without having to worry about the meal’s flow.0

Before she had married into the Lionheart family, Ancilla Kaenes had already been part of a prestigious noble family in Kiehl. This might be stating the obvious, but Ancilla, who had received a very proper education from a young age, didn’t exactly enjoy this type of meal setting because it lacked dignity. No, it wasn’t just on the level of not enjoying it; she truly hated it.0

However, Eugene liked this sort of meal style.0

He hated the style of plating where a few pieces of food would be placed on a large plate with only smears of sauce sprinkled around them, and all of the courses were bite-sized dishes that were served one after another without any seasoning. As such, when Eugene was first adopted into the main house as a foster child, after eating a meal at the main house he would always have to eat another meal upon returning to the annex.0

But that was a story from long ago. As he grew older and gained enough influence to have a say in the matter, Eugene managed to persuade Ancilla to accept alterations in the main house’s dining style. He argued that it wasn’t like they got the chance to eat together every day in any case, and since everyone mostly ate outside with only a few chances to return home and have a home-cooked meal, wouldn’t a simpler style of meal be better for everyone? 0

If Ancilla had retained her past personality that would see her refusing to back down no matter what, there was no way that Ancilla would have readily accepted such an argument, but—0

“Try this dish as well,” Ancilla urged softly.0

The current Ancilla wasn’t as uptight or as venomous as she used to be.0

After becoming the Matriarch of the main house, a position where she couldn’t be looked down upon by anyone, she had become much more relaxed.0

Her children had all grown up, and Cyan had been confirmed as the next Patriarch, and he had even become engaged to the golden child[1] of the Ruhr Kingdom.0

Although she still had Ciel to worry about… was there any wall in this world that couldn’t...4