Once everything was set, Esme insisted that he vacate the kitchen and let her prepare the tea, and he did without complaints.
She began by pouring water into a pot and placing it onto a stove and turned on the heat, now that she was by herself Esme couldn't help but think back to the blunder she had made, regarding her decision about the protection fee.
It was obvious to her that choosing not to pay it was simply asking for trouble. The fact that they both came back from the market and their home was still in one piece was a stroke of luck.
"Why would he let someone that's so unqualified as me decide something like that?"
She whispered to herself as she felt the guilt of her decision. It was obvious Arthur was different and did not follow the image of what a husband should be. However, even so, a woman has no business making decisions on things that don't concern her.
Had he decided things by himself she wouldn't be feeling guilty about it all, she didn't need to think about the dangerous people that might be sent by Bulat to force them to pay the fee, right now she would be blissfully making tea for her husband and placing full trust in him to protect her.
Unfortunately, she can not do that now. Her decision will no doubt create issues and place not just her but Arthur in danger.
Yes, he is an explorer, but who's to say Bulat doesn't have items to deal with an explorer or he might even have an explorer on his payroll? The chances are slim but not zero.
"I could take back my decision and let him decide"
She thought as she watched the water slowly come to a boil and began to take out the cups from the cupboard and started slicing the cake into thick slices.
Despite her words, Esme couldn't help but feel opposed to that idea. She wasn't so proud that she didn't want to admit when she was wrong, but rather, the idea of caving into the demands of some thug who used violence to exploit people was unsettling to her.
She didn't like it, and it made her frustrated. Why should they do that? Better yet, why were the guards, the very Knights meant to protect the realm, letting this happen? What about the nobles? Do they know about this?
Esme couldn't help but frown deeper and deeper, the frustration slowly turning into anger.
Unfortunately, now that she was married, she was unable to do anything about anything, even if she weren't married, she was a commoner princess no one would listen to her or even give her the time of day
As her frustration grew into anger and intensified, it eventually fizzled out. Her face returned to a neutral gaze, and she let out a sigh.
"Maybe if I were Judith, I could do something, but I'm not her, I'm just some useless commoner"
She said to herself before she shook her head, thinking that now was irrelevant, plus she is far from her sisters at the moment, so there's no need to keep them in mind anymore.
She heard the water boil and quickly turned off the stove and began to make the tea
'But at least I have a husband, even if my life with him will be short-lived'
She thought inwardly and wished that her mother could have seen her. She can now hold her head high and be proud as a woman.
With a small smile on her face, she walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. She had finished the preparations for the tea, poured the hot water into a newly bought tea kettle, and walked out of the kitchen with a tray of tea and cake.
The tray was also newly bought, as it turns out Arthur didn't think it was something necessary to buy and never bought it, had she not accompanied him he probably would have just bought the tea bags and come back.
"See, it didn't take that long? Now you can have the cake with proper tea"
She said that while she set the tray on the table, Arthur at the time was looking over the books she had asked him to buy for her before he looked up at her and responded to her statement.
"This "proper" tea you talk about is still just brown water with sugar"
"As an Explorer, I assume you never had actual tea before. Otherwise, why would you say something so incorrect"
She said, her face showing a bit of amusement on her face, That was the conclusion she had come to. Otherwise, it didn't make sense to her.
As an Explorer, he probably travels from place to place and never stays in one location long enough to enjoy something like tea. She also figured he was not much of a tea person to begin with.
"No, I've had tea before, but to me, it's just brown sugar water"
"Then it's obvious to me that any tea you've had till now was not real tea. The maids at the palace taught me plenty, so I assure you, you'll know the difference today"
Esme expressed her tone a little bit boastful and proud, as a commoner in the eyes of her family, she had to learn how to make tea from the maids, mostly because her sisters seemed to enjoy having her serve them like a maid would.
It was also because it was expected of a woman to learn how to cook and take care of a home, including noble women, although for them, it was less enforced.
Arthur took a slice of the cake and shoved it in his mouth and chewed, showing a lack of table manners that he hadn't shown yesterday.
"You really like cake"
She said, taking a bite off her own slice and following it up with a sip of her tea. She chose not to comment on his lack of manners, mostly because they didn't have any guests, and as such a man can eat however he likes in the privacy of his own home.
"Yes"
He answered with an oddly serious expression, one Esme couldn't help but find amusing. Once he was done chewing and he took a sip of the tea to wash down the cake
"Oh!"
He exclaimed as he finally tasted the rich flavors of the tea. Not only that but he also managed to smell its pleasant aroma and that only served to enhance the taste of the tea itself, his eyes opened slightly, he was pleasantly surprised by the taste of the tea.
"See, now you've tasted real tea"
She said nodding with a proud expression on her face, hopefully now she won't have to hear him say things like "tea is just hot sugar water" The head maid at the palace would probably have his head if she ever heard him say that.
"Alright, I stand corrected"
"As you should"
She responded, her proud face morphing into a smug grin. Seeing her smug face, Arthur could not help but shake his head in amusement.
The two continued to eat their cake and continued with their conversation, Esme asked plenty of questions regarding the monsters he had faced in his career and Arthur was happy to divulge, telling her stories of how he defeated them or how he almost lost his life.
It didn't take long before Arthur, too, became curious and asked about the books she bought. Taking one of them off the table and looking it over before he asked.
"What's this book about? The title is interesting"
He said as he looked at the hardcover book, the book itself was titled [The Peasant], and from that alone, Arthur could only imagine what it was about.
He was quite the reader in his past life, and he enjoyed it quite a lot however for some reason in this new life of his, he's never really read as much as he did in his past. He only read when it was necessary. It wasn't something that he went out of his way to do. He had figured it was one of those things that changed when he was reborn.
"The plot is about a young peasant girl who was hired to be a maid in the royal palace and how she navigates the world of nobles and royalty. It's quite interesting as it views the politics of nobility through the eyes of an ignorant peasant girl.
The main character is quite endearing and kind, she often gets caught up in the schemes of the nobles and sometimes gets tricked but by the end of the first volume she ends up learning and understanding the world she is in, there's a great deal of drama and she almost loses her life a couple of times, it's incredibly entertaining–"
She explained, voice portraying more than a silver of excitement. She had more to say about it. However, she stopped herself as she realized she would probably go on for more than a while.
"Is this the hobby you were talking about yesterday?"
He asked, and she gave him a nod. Yesterday, she had asked him if it was okay to pursue a hobby, and he thought it was an odd thing to ask for, but he was not against it. It would be far too odd if he were against it.
"Yes, sometimes I may get caught up reading and forget about my duties. In the palace, I used to spend hours in the library reading."
She admitted, Whenever she had the time and did not have any etiquette lessons, she would go to the library and stay there for hours, sometimes forgetting when to eat.
"Hmm, the book sounds interesting, now I'm interested in reading it"
He said as he flipped through its pages rapidly, only barely catching glimpses of the words written on the pages.
When he first opened his eyes in this world, he had thought it was odd how everyone seemed to speak English.
He wasn't a native English speaker himself, but he was fluent in the language, so it was convenient. However, he later found out that the way they write it is completely different.
For starters, there were no silent letters, so every word was written how it sounded, and secondly, the letters were written upside down and backward. It was a hassle trying to write it down without resorting to the way he wrote on Earth.
"You're interested in reading it?"
"Why not? Or is reading something only women do in this kingdom?"
"No, that's ridiculous. I just thought you wouldn't be interested. I didn't think you to be a person who likes to read"
"Just because I kill monsters for a living doesn't mean that's all I do"
He said with a light smile before taking another sip of the tea, Esme could only let out an agreeing hum. She could not say anything to oppose him as she didn't know him nearly enough to say otherwise.
"Then I'll have to learn more about my husband"
She said before taking a bite off her cake slice and then washing it down with some tea. She couldn't help but love how the sweetness of the cake mixed well with the flavor of the tea.
The two continued to talk and eat, slowly but surely getting to know each other better and becoming closer as a married couple