We had arrived at the royal castle. A servant came forward and opened the carriage door.
The general stepped out first, followed by Queen Ainasse. The general extended a gentlemanly hand, allowing the queen to hold onto him as she got down from the carriage.
Naturally, I got out last.
The servant who opened the door immediately gave me a nasty look, openly sizing me up from head to toe without even trying to hide what he was thinking.
When he had greeted the general and Queen Ainasse earlier, his smile had practically bloomed like a flower. Sure, I was dressed plainly and probably looked rough around the edges, but anyone with eyes could tell I wasn't ordinary if I had arrived in the same carriage as the general and the queen. This guy was hopeless.
Still, I wasn't going to stoop to his level.
I simply nodded politely, gave a faint smile, and walked over to stand beside the general and Queen Ainasse, leaving him to close the carriage door behind me. Soon, the light-purple carriage departed, and the red carriage carrying Jacob and the others rolled forward.
The servant opened the door again. Jacob stepped out first, then extended his hand like a proper gentleman to help the three girls down.
Meanwhile, I kept staring at the servant's face.
Sure enough, there it was again—the disdainful expression, the obvious up-and-down stare.
I couldn't tolerate it anymore.
Just then, Alice jogged over and lightly tapped my forearm.
"Mr. Karen, could you lean your ear over here for a moment?"
I bent down as she asked, and she whispered into my ear.
"The person opening the carriage door feels really unpleasant... and he also looks very angry. What's wrong with him?"
Even Alice found the servant's gaze uncomfortable. That basically confirmed it—he really was staring at people in a rude and obvious way.
But why was he angry?
I glanced back at him and noticed he seemed to be staring at Jacob. Was it because handsome Jacob was clearly surrounded by three pretty girls, making the servant feel jealous and bitter? That was probably it.
Then I told Alice,
"It's not important. Ignore him."
It really wasn't important.
Besides, he was definitely about to get punished.
I straightened up and spoke loudly enough for the general to hear, addressing the servant's employer, Queen Ainasse.
"Your Majesty, is the servant opening the carriage in a bad mood? Or is something wrong with his eyes? They keep darting all over the place."
I couldn't directly accuse the servant of anything. It was better to let Queen Ainasse notice it herself. After all, her subordinate was the one being disrespectful.
The queen glanced at the servant once before snapping her fingers.
"Yes."
The sudden elderly yet gentle response startled both Alice and me.
What the—?!
I quickly turned around and found a plump old man standing there. Judging from his clothes, he was probably the butler.
But when had he appeared? I was certain I hadn't seen or heard him until now.
And all Queen Ainasse had done was snap her fingers—not even loudly—yet he had appeared instantly. That speed was terrifying.
The queen slightly raised her chin toward the servant and asked the old butler,
"How long has he worked in the royal castle?"
"Four years."
Four years? He wasn't even new here, yet he still acted this rudely—especially as an employee of the royal castle. Embarrassing. Queen Ainasse probably thought the same thing.
Then she said to the butler in a dissatisfied tone,
"...Once the carriage leaves, take him away for re-education."
"Understood."
As expected of a butler. Even without a detailed explanation, he immediately understood.
Soon after, Jacob and the others joined us, and we entered the building known as Violet Palace.
There was no need to describe the interior in detail. Other than beautiful and luxurious, I couldn't think of any other words for it.
Eventually, we arrived at the dining hall, where an incredibly long dining table awaited us. There were probably around twenty seats.
Queen Ainasse sat at the head of the table, while the general sat in the first seat on the left.
To make conversation easier, I sat in the second seat on the left, right beside the general.
Jacob sat in the third seat on the right, Grace in the first seat on the right, Ethefelis in the second seat on the right, and Alice sat in the third seat on the left, next to me.
Soon, numerous maids pushed food carts into the hall and began placing dishes onto the table.
But once again, the amount of food was piled as high as mountains and spread as wide as the sea. Even Ethefelis was left staring in shock.
The terrifying part was that the general and Queen Ainasse had already eaten so much during the Food King Tournament, yet they could still eat this much.
Did they even understand the concept of appetite?
No—did they even have a concept of portion sizes at all?
Still, just looking at the massive feast before me was enough to make me feel half full from the smell alone.
Then Queen Ainasse, now wearing a dining bib like someone about to get a haircut, pressed her palms together and said,
"Let's eat."
The moment she finished speaking, she started eating.
The general started too.
But the five of us didn't move at all, because what exactly was wrong with the way these two ate?
The general practically swallowed plate after plate like he was drinking water.
Meanwhile, Queen Ainasse devoured food ravenously. She was royalty, wasn't she? Her table manners were unbelievably chaotic.
"Why aren't you eating yet? Don't be shy."
"That's right. Eating well is a blessing."
Did the queen and general seriously not realize we were all stunned by their eating habits?
Gathering my courage, I finally asked,
"It's not that... it's just that the way you two eat is incredibly intense. Doesn't it go against dining etiquette?"
"True, but that's a king's privilege."
A king's privilege?
Shouldn't royalty be the ones following etiquette the most?
"Why? Also... after eating this much, how do you maintain your figure?"
"No idea. I was born this way."
What an infuriatingly blessed physique.
The rest of us were left speechless.
Still, Queen Ainasse's appetite had to have some limit, right?
"...How many portions do you eat in one meal?"
"Twelve."
"Twelve portions... that's a lot..."
What kind of monstrous appetite was that?
Then I looked at the steak in front of me. It seemed about twice as large as a normal steak.
When I poked it with my fork, I realized why.
Good grief—it was actually two steaks stacked together.
That raised another question. I originally wanted to ask the general, but he seemed busy drinking what could only be described as liquid food, so I turned to Queen Ainasse instead, since she was still capable of speaking.
"Your Majesty, is this considered one serving?"
"Yes."
I finally understood.
Dilibrash simply had a completely different understanding of food portions. The people here ate twice as much as we did, so the entire society considered what we saw as two portions to be a single serving.
Which meant that, from our perspective, Queen Ainasse was actually eating the equivalent of twenty-four servings.
But then why did restaurants still serve what looked like standard portions? Was it because of costs?
(Forget it. Not important. As long as the prices are reasonable and people get full, that's enough.)
I had no interest in worrying about another country's economy. Understanding the common sense here was enough.
Then I picked up my knife and started eating.
Honestly, it was my first time using a knife and fork to eat steak, but thankfully, my inherited knowledge taught me the proper technique.
Afterward, we all ended up completely stuffed.
Absolutely stuffed.
So full I felt like throwing up.