How the Villainous Consort Avoids His Death Ending - Chapter 56.1
He finally parted his lips, gnawing at his lower lip with a troubled expression.
“Y-Your Grace, Grand Consort. I do not understand what you mean…… Why would sailors need vegetables……?”
“What did you say?”
For a moment, I was dumbfounded. Were there people who needed vegetables and people who did not?
“Are you discriminating between people with food?”
I raised my voice automatically while scolding the cook. Tristan stepped forward.
“I surely gave instructions to provide sufficient vegetables. When did this supply stop?”
“Uh, if you ask when…… From the start, vegetables were not abundant in the sailors’ diet. They are difficult to store and take up a lot of space……”
“I have no memory of giving such an instruction. Did you take it upon yourself to act this way?”
His sharp gaze made the cook turn pale. He nervously rubbed his hands together.
“N-no, it is not like that. Please do not misunderstand, Your Grace. I would never do such a thing intentionally. The officers can eat anything without anyone saying a word, but for the sailors, it is… it is complicated……”
“What do you mean about the sailors?”
Tristan pressed him in a low voice. The cook hesitated, looking down.
“The sailors are rough men of the sea. When we had just set sail, the vegetables supplied were somewhat available, so they were placed on the table. But very few would bother to eat them. Most of the sailors do not even look at such things. Moreover, on a long voyage like this, which sailor would bother to eat vegetables?”
“Do not change the subject. Being a rough sailor has nothing to do with vegetables.”
I scolded him, as it seemed he was repeating excuses that made no sense. The cook, however, could only repeat the same explanation in panic.
“That is not what I meant, Your Grace! Sailors prefer strong alcohol and rough food. So……”
“So what?”
“If they eat greens, even a noble might mock them and ostracize them that very day. A sailor lives by pride, and in that pride, eating vegetables is seen as weakness.”
“……Pride in not eating vegetables?”
What was all this nonsense? My head began to ache suddenly. The cook seemed puzzled, not realizing why I was angry, which made the pain in my head even worse.
I bit my lower lip tightly and turned to Tristan.
“Your Grace. Fresh vegetables are necessary. Or at least some fruit…… If vegetables are too unusual for the sailors, then potatoes will do. There must still be some unspoiled potatoes. Tell me, where did you store the potatoes?”
“Eh? Potatoes…… What are those, Your Grace, Grand Consort?”
“Ruellin. What are potatoes?”
The cook, bewildered, paused, and even Tristan, who was about to nod quietly, froze and asked. I ended up clutching my neck and glaring into the void. What a mess. There are still no potatoes here……
Yet one thing was clear. This explained why none of the knights, Constantine, or I had fallen ill.
The knights were a strong group, but there was no prejudice that eating vegetables made someone weak. I, having mostly lived among nobles, had no awareness of the perception common among sailors.
I could not have guessed, but after hearing the cook’s hesitant explanation, I understood the situation. I pressed my throbbing temples with my fingers and spoke.
“Now, I understand what this is about.”
“Is that so? I knew you would have a solution.”
Tristan’s expression brightened instantly. But the situation was far from simple.
The disease spreading throughout the ship—the one afflicting the sailors in groups—was a terrifying phenomenon caused by a deficiency of vitamin C, known as scurvy.
I was somewhat familiar with scurvy. Fortunately, it did not require treatment by a doctor with professional knowledge. Simply consuming ingredients rich in vitamin C could cure it. The problem, however……
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