“Do you come here often?”

When the two of them had first entered the dining hall, the room had momentarily quieted before returning to its lively chatter.

People ate, laughed, and talked among themselves, paying no attention to the lord’s presence.

Cecilia found this atmosphere fascinating.

“Hmm… well…”

“How often do you come here?”

“If I don’t eat in my office occasionally, I’m usually here.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know… it’s just the way things have always been. I hear all sorts of stories during meals. Unless it’s a time like this, I’d only see the same few people all day.”

Grand Duke Jericho also occasionally arranged meals with his retainers or knights.

On such days, the grand duke ordered even the family members to join, so Cecilia had to attend.

Everyone would sit in neat rows, standing only when the grand duke entered.

When the grand duke raised his glass, everyone raised theirs simultaneously, pledging loyalty.

People praised the grand duke for dining with his subordinates.

‘That was just a staged event. Whereas, this… This is what dining together really looks like.’

Now, at a table that could seat about eight, only the lord and his wife sat together.

Had she witnessed Russell’s usual meals here, Cecilia would have been even more surprised.

The table was typically packed with people, and Russell would dine alongside them.

“Is today a special occasion for entertaining the merchants?”

“It is a special day. Guests who come only once every few months make it so.”

“So, what do you normally eat when you come here?”

“Not much different from today. It’s usually similar.”

‘They eat like this every day?’

Cecilia was inwardly astonished.

While this meal was nothing extraordinary by noble standards, it was luxurious for commoners.

Originally, Cecilia had never left the grand ducal castle, so she had no knowledge or interest in what commoners ate.

Her sixth husband had been a gambler, a maniac who squandered his family’s fortune in just a few years.

At that time, Cecilia’s smartest move had been legally locking away her own assets so no one could touch them—not even herself.

For the first time in her life, she experienced what it meant to struggle financially.

That’s when she learned just how meager the meals of most commoners were.

‘The food tastes… similar to what they serve me.’

It made sense, as the same cook prepared it.

‘But the problem is that it’s the same cook. This would be unimaginable in the grand ducal castle.’

There were subtle differences, though.

The meals served to Cecilia were more elegantly presented, with vegetables arranged neatly and garnishes decorating the meat dishes.

Still, they never met Cecilia’s high standards.

The cooks at the grand ducal castle were experts at creating visually stunning dishes.

Cecilia smirked.

Looking at tonight’s meal, she realized that the Lagos Castle cook was doing their absolute best to prepare her food.

Bang!

A loud noise startled Cecilia.

She turned her head and saw two men at a nearby table jump to their feet, glaring at each other.

“Are you challenging me?”

“Yeah, let’s see what you’ve got!”

Both men rolled up their sleeves as the people around them cheered.

Cecilia tugged on Russell’s sleeve.

“Isn’t this a big problem?”

“It’s not a big deal…”

Russell smiled wryly.

This sort of thing happened occasionally.

‘Of all days, it had to be today.’

There was no one present today to enforce order.

There wasn’t a specific position for it, but two people usually kept the peace—Hoffman and Harrison.

Hoffman never came to the communal dining hall on nights like this.

He couldn’t drink at all, and if he got caught up in the atmosphere and had even one sip, he’d suffer terribly.

Meanwhile, Harrison and a few hunters who had gone to Big Rock Village hadn’t returned yet.

Russell glanced at Cecilia to gauge her reaction.

She didn’t seem particularly displeased as she watched the commotion unfold.

He wasn’t worried about the situation escalating.

There was a rule in the communal dining hall: disputes had to be resolved peacefully.

The two men, who had seemed ready to fight, sat back down across from each other at the table.

Nearby diners cleared away the dishes from the table.

Each man placed one arm on the table and clasped hands, preparing for an arm-wrestling match.