Apparently, I'm the Infamous Earl's Legendary Bride

Book 2: My Lord Saves the Citizens - Chapter 63

Quinn

I thought it was very clever of me to create vending machines to magically conjure small bowls of fruit as snacks for the children, but I just didn't know how... popular it'd be, not until that very evening.

As usual, the dining hall was crowded and loud as everyone came in for dinner, and Aldric came to sit beside me. As a greeting, he kissed me on the forehead and then began eating, which was seafood paella, stunningly delicious and packed with rice, spices, and seafoods such as prawns, mussels, squids, lobsters, and chunks of white fish. To add to the Spanish cuisine of the evening, there was also tortilla Espanola, or Spanish tortilla, an omelet made of egg and potato, patatas bravas, which was potato that had been cooked in olive oil and then served with spicy sauce, pollo al ajillo, which was garlic chicken, and pisto, the Spanish version of ratatouille, and they were all mouthwatering.

I was just popping a forkful of paella, including a prawn, into my mouth and loving every bit of it when Mark came to stand in front of me near the table and said, "What is this about fruit and the Vicky Vending Machines?"

I lifted my head, my eyes wide. He found out about that, did he?

I pointed to the door and said, "It's out there for the children." I smirked. "Did you want to try the fruit, too."

He sighed. "That's not it, Quinn."

Aldric must have sensed that Mark was not pleased with something and directing his annoyance toward me. He said, "Is something the matter, Mark? I don't appreciate you using that sort of tone with Quinn."

Tone? Ah, he meant the exasperated sort.

Mark said, "I've been bombarded with questions from almost everyone I met in the last two hours. They're asking the same thing and that's when they're going to get their point card so they can eat the fruit. Because apparently, the children go around telling everyone how exotic and sweet and delicious the fruit is and that they can only get it when they receive a point card from my lady, whatever in heaven a point card is."

"Well," I said. "A point card is a card I created so that the children can insert it into the vending machine to get the fruit. If I were to simply have the fruit sit out there, they'd either not touch them, which will leave the fruit to rot and that would be a waste, or they'd eat too much and spare no room for their lunch or dinner, and that's not good for children. They need a proper diet, so a point card is perfect since they are portion controlled."

Mark sighed. "I see. Yes, I understand that logic, but what I'm trying to ask is, are we going to be giving out a point card to everyone?"

I chuckled awkwardly. "Ah, that, in this case, I didn't think that far ahead. Perhaps we should?"

"Yes, I think we should, because apparently, Uncle Colt has been snaffling Leo's and Ruby's fruit in front of their very eyes."

Across the table, Leo said, "He just grabbed my rambutan without asking. He said what's this red hairy-looking thing and then took one without asking and peeled it and ate it and then took another. He took half my rambutan. I like rambutan, and now, I have to wait until tomorrow to get some more when I get more points."

Oh, dear. I didn't know there was snaffling going on within the family, and from a great uncle at that. And speak of the devil.

Uncle Colt was strolling in from the direction of the residential area, chewing something. Who had he snaffled the fruit off this time?

"Evening all," he said once he was at the dining table.

"What are you eating, Uncle Colt?" Leo asked. "You didn't steal any fruit from the other children, did you?"