"You don’t need to scare your maids, they didn’t share this information with . You have cultivated them to glue their mouths shut under the most intense questioning." Roland glanced at Sigrid’s maids.
A few tis, he had tried to pry their mouths open about Sigrid’s private matters but they did not sweat under his intense gaze. They were as loyal as his white knights.
"I found out from my solicitor, soone from the office of trade and comrce inford him about all the new businesses I was opening up. They were curious to know if I was abandoning the horse racing business and wanted to acquire my horses. Imagine my surprise when I learned that I was a partner in my wife’s business and she never thought it important to tell ." His hands found the jasmines and he pulled out a few of the white flowers. He handed them to Sigrid with a smile.
She took them with an eye roll, "It’s a lovely gesture but these are my flowers Roland, there would be more aning to it if you actually brought a bouquet from a flower shop."
"We own a garden of flowers at the Vale. I do not think purchasing them from soone else is a good use of my money but if it is your wish, flowers will be delivered daily to you. You like roses, right?"
She nodded. "Red, white or pink preferably." She handed the flowers he had pulled out of a vase to Lanai.
Miss May handed them both nus listing foods that were being sold and prices. Roland was of course curious about the nu before looking at the food. It was a paper nu but the quality was high, the kind used in the royal castle and the Vale.
It had a magical glow and the the edges were embedded with sparkling magic gemstones. Shimring gold ink had been used and it danced across the page. The pictures of the foods appeared to be moving and a faint aroma was produced when touched.
"This is ingenious and lovely." Roland mumbled, he raised the nu to his nose and sniffed the mystical mushroom crostini.
It sounded fancy but it was just toasted baguette slices with enchanted mushrooms that changed color with each bite. The mushrooms were so of the most common foods sold by the mage estate as grew overnight and could be harvested daily.
He looked at the price and cackled. "Five gold coins for an appetizer!!!!"
Sigrid shrugged, Eldoria was not short of wealthy nobles or rchants willing to eat good food. Ever since the opening of Little Thorin, she made no less than two hundred gold coins daily.
He continued to peruse the nu, guffawing at the prices and shaking his head. Roland decided then that his wife had to have a thick skin to charge such ridiculous prices without sha.
"Our private boxes are fully booked everyday and so have been reserved for the entire year. So nobles co with their families everyday. If they cannot make it in person, they send servants to take the food away. It’s a service we call take away.
For now, anyone that wants that service has to co with their own dishes. When Elowin is finished researching durable take away boxes that can contain the magical taste of the food, I plan to expand into the food delivery business." She explained.
Roland heard her but he was still stuck on the prices. Even though half the nu was magic related foods, these were still a sky high prices. "I cannot believe that people are willing to pay for this much for food here but when they are called upon to donate money to the effort of rebuilding of the city after the rebellion they claid to be experiencing financial hardships."
Miss May and the waitresses returned, placed appetizers on the table and left to work on the main course.
The appetizers worth five gold coins were not even enough for two bites. He was flabbergasted, completely speechless.
"I would say you have no sha but as a partner...."
"We are not partners, I borrowed your na. Borrowed. As my husband you should be willing to lend your na on occasion so that I can maneuver this complicated life of ours easily."
Lanai whispered sothing to Sigrid and she scoffed.
She looked at Roland and said, "Guess who is here?"
"From the displeased look on your face I take it that it is none other than miss Emmah."
Sigrid sneered, "Yup, her and your sister princess Thalassa and Benjamin and Lysander. Of all the restaurants in the kingdom, they chose mine. I bet they have a hidden motive."
Roland was already eating the toasted baguette and the taste, he found, was worth the money. But just as he thought, it was all gone within two bites and his eyes lingered on Sigrid’s plate.
She sighed and pushed it his way. Apparently, food was more important to him than listening to another of her rants about the irreconcilable enmity between the people that had co to dine in her restaurant.
He took one and pushed the plate towards her. "I don’t want you claiming that I starved you later one. Your grandmother the duchess might decide to send those dastardly peacocks after ."
Not a day went by without Roland speaking on the treachery and sneaky behavior of the peacocks. He was no different from her speaking on Emmah with venom in her voice daily.
"I think they ca for the food, this is very delicious. Have you eaten it before?" He moved his head from side to side. His eyes were half closed as he relished the taste of the mushrooms.
"I own the restaurant, of course I have eaten this before." Sigrid took a small bite.
"I think the cooks at the Vale need a training course in good cooking. Why don’t we eat like this at ho?" his face soured a little.
Sigrid let out a little snort. "The last ti I suggested changes to the nu butler Charles lost half of his hair. He doesn’t like change, does he?"
Roland winced, that was true. His ho butler preferred to follow the royal ways in which he had been trained. Even the food cooked at the Vale had to follow recipes used by the royal family, recomnded and recorded by royal chefs. Of course this was done for the safety of the royal family.
Any addition of new ingredients or foods had to be vetted strictly and tested for at least two months before being added to the nu lest the king or crown prince be poisoned.
Miss May returned with the main course; dragon fla grilled chicken with a side of ember roasted vegetables and wild rice.
Wine was poured into the glasses and then everyone gave the couple so space so that they could have a little privacy__, or what was considered to be privacy because the maids and knights were still present.
As Roland cut into the chicken, he decided to ask a question that had been dancing on his mind.
"Does this qualify as a date?"
"No."
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