"Are you not hungry? I'm absolutely famished."
When Edwin announced his hunger in the carriage bound for Vikander territory, my mind naturally drifted to bread as the obvious meal option. A sandwich, perhaps—one generously layered with ham and cheese. The image reminded me of the sandwiches Chef Martha used to prepare at the Grand Duke's residence.
But I quickly abandoned the thought with a small smile. I knew better than anyone that eating in a rocking carriage was most comfortable with simple bread spread with jam. Years of traveling to various regions at the Princess's command had taught me that much.
Which was precisely why this situation felt so utterly foreign to me.
The carriage stood motionless on a quiet road cutting through a vast, rolling plain. The drivers had dispersed here and there, pulling sandwiches from pretty wicker baskets and settling onto the grass.
"Olivia, which would you prefer?"
Edwin surveyed the four sandwiches before him as though he had encountered the most difficult puzzle in the world.
"The ham with melted cheese is excellent. The chicken steak with arugula and green olives is wonderful. And the tomato with pickled veal is also quite good."
He tilted his head thoughtfully.
"Ah—I do like salmon, but I'm not particularly craving it today."
Edwin looked at me as though genuinely uncertain of what to do.
Sunlight filtered through the thick canopy of leaves above, dappling across his face in shifting patterns of gold and shadow. The wind stirred his hair. The faint scent of grass drifted past on the breeze. Even his hesitant posture as he leaned forward on the seat—
All of it felt almost unbearably vivid.
I swallowed the unfamiliar feeling rising in my chest and spoke.
"Is it truly all right to proceed like this?"
"Like what?"
"You're busy. It takes three days to reach Vikander territory. Stopping like this is—"
I paused and looked around. The sky stretched above us, so impossibly blue it seemed painted. The green plain extended in every direction, so vast my eyes ached from taking it in. And everywhere I turned, I could hear the cheerful laughter of knights sitting at comfortable intervals, enjoying their meals.
"It's just like a picnic."
---
---
---