Lunch had actually already passed. Hobart had only been sitting in the lounge for a few minutes when a servant invited him to Alice's dining room.
The Princess's dining room was about the same size as the one used at Earl Hobart's residence, but it was far more exquisite.
The Oil Paintings hanging on the walls were far more upscale than those Hobart had hung in the hall of his estate. One of them looked familiar to him, and upon closer inspection, he recalled that it was a piece from the exhibition he had visited with Audrey.
Neither he nor Audrey had bought anything from that exhibition. Audrey had already amassed quite a collection and possessed superb painting skills herself. There had not been a single piece in the entire exhibition that she had liked enough to purchase.
As for Hobart, he simply had not wanted to waste money on it.
As soon as he sat down, the servants began serving the dishes and poured Hobart a glass of aperitif.
"Please replace it with coffee or juice." Hobart smiled. "I'm still working."
The servant froze briefly, but nodded and replaced it with juice.
"I heard that you are usually rather frugal?" Alice, seated at the head of the table, suddenly asked. "Your dining procedures are all very simple."
Hobart suspected that the entire Noble circle already knew about the way he ate. Alice had merely put it politely, calling it "rather simple procedures" instead of saying he was stingy.
"Yes, Your Highness," he said.
Then he joked, "Perhaps I haven't yet grown accustomed to the luxurious life an Earl ought to have."
"If you were the same as every other Earl, that would be rather boring." Alice suddenly asked with a cold, proud expression, "Is my leg ring beautiful?"
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