Third Arc: Twentieth Chapter

"Lady Cosette... no, Teacher Cosette! The recipe for this...!"

What do I do. Elliot was kneeling before me, or to be exact, before the mayonnaise I held up, all but worshipping it.

On his face, I thought, was the guarded look of a man of business. But no, it was nothing but pure appetite. It was written across his face in huge letters. "I want to eat more."

Of course, I am no ogre. As one who loves mayonnaise, yes, as a mayo devotee, I am resolved to cast aside my own selfish interests and spare no effort for the spread of mayonnaise.

Solemnly, I raised the mayonnaise, then gently set the jar into the hands of the kneeling Elliot. And with a smile full of loving kindness, I declared,

"To you, I grant this mayonnaise. And you shall spread this condiment throughout the whole world. That is the mission the Mayonnaise God has given you."

"My... mission...!"

To be honest, making it myself is a pain. All that whisking is far too much of a drag. If it means I can buy it in a shop, a recipe is a small price to pay. From making mayonnaise day after day, I rather think the muscles in my arms have gotten quite a workout. ...Ah! Could it be that Lord Mayonnaise means, in this way, to lessen even a little the effect of his own calories? What a profound design. Mayonnaise truly was a god.

Struck by the shocking truth I had realized, I froze as if I had received a revelation. And before me, Elliot had likewise frozen, with a look on his face like he had been struck by lightning. He gripped the mayonnaise in trembling hands and stared at it. I could hear him mutter under his breath, "Could it be I became a merchant for this?!"

No way. Even for Lord Mayonnaise, surely not... ...Surely not?

Deciding, it seemed, to leave the two of us frozen where we were, Lady Remie and the others chatted amiably as they ate their mayo meat sandwiches.

Dabbing the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief, Lady Remie spoke.

"Come to think of it, Georg... um, is His Highness the Crown Prince keeping well? It may be strange for me to ask, but... I did cause him trouble."

Lady Remie said it as if it had just occurred to her, casting a glance toward Elliot as she did. Elliot, for his part, had been frozen this whole time, still staring at the mayonnaise.

In our letters, Remie had written that she had realized, upon meeting Elliot, that her feelings for His Highness had been a case of being in love with love. Elliot seemed to understand those feelings of hers, but being the conscientious sort she was, she had probably brought up His Highness in front of Elliot on purpose. Still, was Elliot even listening properly?

Paying no mind at all to the way Lady Remie let her eyes wander shyly, Georg wiped the mayonnaise off his mouth carelessly with his cuff and answered with a smile.

"Yeah! His Highness is doing fine. When I said my goodbyes before setting off, he was... doing the hula hoop."

"Huh."

That did sound like he was doing very well indeed.