~Chapter 65~
Ivan didn’t answer Barker’s question right away.
“Why are you saying that?” Ivan asked, narrowing his eyes.
Barker simply shrugged. “I was just thinking. It’s not every day you meet someone as smart and beautiful as Lady Ruby.”
“What does that have to do with me?” Ivan replied, showing a somewhat grumpy attitude.
Seeing Ivan’s response, Barker leaned back, raising his hands. “It’s just a compliment. There’s no need to get upset.”
“I’m not upset,” Ivan denied, turning his head sharply.
But his reaction was so obvious that Barker, while Ivan wasn’t looking, smirked a little, amused.
Ivan didn’t even understand why he was upset. It was just that hearing Barker talk about Ruby made him uncomfortable. Especially when Barker praised Ruby. It bothered him that others recognized Ruby’s value—he was the first to see her potential. That thought made his chest feel tight, and a surge of frustration rose inside him, though he didn’t fully understand why.
“You’re really not being honest with yourself, are you?” Barker said calmly.
“I’m not?” Ivan asked, surprised.
“I understand that you have to be careful with your words because of your position as a prince, but it’s also important to show your true feelings from time to time,” Barker advised.
Ivan glared at him. “Are you giving me advice?”
“I wouldn’t say advice, more like a straightforward comment. It seems like there’s no one around you who would say something like that,” Barker explained, his tone serious but light.
Ivan thought about what Barker said. It wasn’t wrong. He often struggled to be open about his feelings, especially with Ruby. Every time he faced her, he found himself hiding his true thoughts. Why was he so careful with his words around her? He didn’t know.
While Ivan was still processing this, Ruby led them to the place where they could order food.
“What would you like to order?” Ruby asked, pointing to a large painting behind the person taking orders. The painting showed all the menus of the different restaurants with pictures and detailed ingredient lists below them. It made it easier for people who were trying Cardonia food for the first time to know what was in each dish.
“There are so many options, it’s hard to decide,” Ivan said, looking over the menu and feeling a bit confused since he knew very little about the local food.
“Should I choose for you?” Ruby asked.
“That would be great, thank you,” Ivan replied.
Sennis also nodded. “I trust Lady Ruby’s choice.”
Barker joined in. “I’ll leave it to you, Lady Ruby.”
“Then I’ll pick the best and most delicious ones,” Ruby said, making the choice quickly and receiving a piece of paper with their orders.
“What’s that paper for?” Ivan asked, looking at the paper she handed out.
Ruby explained, “You need this paper to collect your food from the different food stalls. When your number is called, you go and pick up the food.”
Ruby had set up the food court system like a modern food court, which was a bit unfamiliar to the nobles. But since they had servants, it wasn’t a problem for them. However, since the children didn’t have servants, they had to collect the food themselves.
Ruby handed out papers to each of them.
“When your number is called, just go and get the food,” she instructed.
“This is an unusual way of doing things,” Ivan said, awkwardly glancing at his own paper. He had never had to get his own food before.
Sennis and Barker also felt awkward. Soon, their numbers were called.
“Go ahead,” Ruby said, giving them a signal. They awkwardly walked over to the designated food stalls to get their food.
When Sennis brought her food back to the table, she looked proud. “This is a first for me. I can’t believe I managed to get the food myself. I’m so moved.”
“You did great, Sennis,” Ruby praised her.
After Ruby went to get her food, the table was filled with a variety of dishes. Ruby explained the food to everyone, as they were all trying it for the first time.
Ruby showed them how to eat, demonstrating with the food on her plate.
“Place the large, flat bread on the plate, and then you can stack whatever you want on top of it,” Ruby explained.
“Ah, stacking it is harder than I thought,” Sennis said as she tried to stack the food with a fork, but she was a bit awkward.
“I’ll help you,” Ruby said, using a different fork to help stack Sennis’s food.
“Thank you,” Sennis said gratefully.
As Ruby and Sennis smiled at each other, Barker easily stacked his food, listening to Ruby’s instructions.
“You’re doing great,” Ruby said.
“I didn’t know I was so good at this,” Barker replied, enjoying the process.
“Do you need help?” Ruby asked Ivan, noticing he was staring at the food.
Ivan shook his head. “No, it’s an experience to do it myself.”
Despite his discomfort, he struggled but eventually managed to stack the food he wanted.
After a few attempts, he finally succeeded and looked relieved.
“Now you can eat everything at once,” Ruby said, as they all took big bites of their food.
The portions were so large that they all had to wipe their mouths with napkins after every bite.
Ivan finished his food first and spoke up. “It’s a bit difficult to eat, but it tastes good.”
“This is my first time trying this. I was worried it wouldn’t taste good since it’s cheap, but it’s actually really fresh and tasty,” Sennis said, surprised.
“Did they use spices that only grow here?” Barker asked, curious.
Ruby was impressed by his insight. “Yes, how did you know? The key to this dish is the local spices. It’s surprising because people don’t usually like them, but they give the dish a unique flavor. That’s why I picked this food.”
Ruby explained that there was always a reason behind her choices. She had carefully chosen each dish.
Everyone was impressed by Ruby’s attention to detail, and they nodded in approval as they continued to enjoy the meal.
Ruby smiled as she watched them eat. Their enjoyment reminded her of her younger siblings.
She then remembered Ivan’s earlier words about not smiling too much, so she quickly stopped smiling and touched her mouth in embarrassment.
“You’re not eating?” Ivan suddenly asked, noticing Ruby hadn’t eaten yet.
“No, I’ll eat,” Ruby replied, starting to eat again but still keeping an eye on her siblings.
Fortunately, they were all eating well, and Ruby felt satisfied just watching them.
“That was so delicious,” Sennis said, wiping her mouth with a napkin after finishing her meal.
“You really ate it all. You got food on your cheek,” Barker teased, making Sennis blush.
“Here?” Sennis asked, wiping her cheek.
“No, it’s on the other side,” Barker corrected her, then, frustrated, took her napkin and wiped her cheek for her.
“Why are you doing that? But thank you,” Sennis said, embarrassed.
Ruby watched them with narrowed eyes, feeling that there was something going on between them.
“Barker, you’re really thoughtful,” Ruby said, smiling knowingly.
“Me?” Barker asked, confused.
“You were looking out for Sennis and made sure she wasn’t embarrassed,” Ruby said, a subtle smile on her face.
“That wasn’t a big deal,” Barker said, his face turning slightly red as he awkwardly looked away.
Ruby was sure that Barker’s blush was because of his feelings for Sennis. She smiled to herself, feeling certain about it.
“Barker, you’re good at learning new things and trying them out. That’s rare,” Ruby added, praising him.
Barker looked surprised but nodded, accepting the compliment. “I didn’t realize I was good at it.”
Ruby glanced at Sennis, who nodded in agreement, though she seemed a bit awkward.
Meanwhile, Ivan stared at Barker with a look that seemed to burn with jealousy, though Ruby didn’t notice it at all.
