Chapter 433: Noble With A Knife.

Chapter 433: Chapter 433: Noble With A Knife.

He really seems to know what he’s doing. And it’s really not like Rogard to behave himself or follow direction unquestioned but Khobi seems different while he’s cooking.

More patient, maybe? More serious? Or maybe he’s just got something on his mind –every now and then Rogard catches him staring down into the stew they’re making like somehow it holds the secrets of the universe.

Whatever it is, Rogard finds himself diligently following along as he’s requested. He wants to get this right, after all.

This is Drogger’s favourite dish, and he’d never forgive himself if he somehow ruined it. He even gets to put his potato peeling skills to practise and gets a little offended with how surprised Khobi is that he doesn’t cut himself.

​"Who would cut themselves peeling potatoes?" Rogard can’t help but ask, bewildered.

The question has Khobi shaking his head like it’s given him war flashbacks.

​"...You’d be surprised."

​Rogard has a sneaking suspicion he knows who he’s talking about. And maybe it’s petty, but it’s nice to know that he’s finally better than Loac at something .

​And it turns out to be quite nice, cooking. Rogard understands a little about why Khobi likes it so much, and why Drogger seems to enjoy doing it.

There’s something quite satisfying about watching a dish come together; especially when it starts to smell really good and starts to taste even better.

A little audience even starts to form at some point –servants all peeking around from whatever it is they’re doing as the delicious smells from their hearth start to join the others.

​Maybe he’ll make an effort to learn. It would be nice to be able to make Drogger dinner all by himself for once; let him relax by the fire with a book and prove that as much as he intends to take care of Rogard ( for the rest of their lives , he reminds himself a little hysterically), Rogard intends to take care of him, too.

He thinks he could probably make this, now that he’s been shown how. As a dish it seems pretty straightforward, and more about patience than anything else.

There’s a little market in the city that Drogger likes to get their groceries from; Rogard’s pretty sure he can remember the names of everything he would need.

​Thank the gods for Khobi.

​(Of course Loac would get so lucky. But for once, Rogard’s not bitter. He got pretty lucky, too.)

​"And now we wait," Khobi declares, once he’s happy with their work and the pot’s been set on the fire to cook away nice and slow. The pot that Rogard has only now just realised is absolutely enormous .

​Khobi seems to realise it at the same time, and chuckles ruefully as the pair of them stare at what isn’t just far too much stew for one person, but probably far too much for an entire family.

"I uh, hope Drogger’s hungry?"

​"...Khobi..." Rogard whispers in awe.

There’s no way on earth Drogger could finish that much by himself, favourite food or not. He can’t quite hide a small, sheepish laugh.

"...I think we made too much."

​"Looks like it," Khobi admits, equally sheepish, "...I uh, I guess I’m just used to having to make extra..."

​He doesn’t elaborate as to why exactly that is, and Rogard doesn’t need to ask.

​"S’not a bad thing though," he adds offhandedly, as he finishes up with cleaning up their mess and automatically starts looking for something else to do with his hands while they wait.

The servants quickly procure him an enormous bucket of freshly washed potatoes and he immediately set to work peeling them.

Rogard surprises himself by reaching for one as well. "You could uh, take some extra and have lunch together, or something?"

​Well now, isn’t Khobi just full of surprises today?

​"That’s...surprisingly romantic of you, Khobi," Rogard admits sagely, and can’t help but cackle at the way his comment makes Khobi’s expression curdle.

He presses a finger to his lips,

exaggeratedly thoughtful. "Ah~ Loac was in a meeting with master all morning, wasn’t he? Maybe I’ll take some along for him as well. He’d probably be mad if he found out he missed out on the chance to eat some of Khobi’s cooking."

​"...Probably."

​See, how is Rogard supposed to not be curious when Khobi gets all distracted-sounding like that?

The curiosity only grows the more potatoes they peel and the longer the pot simmers away because there comes a point where Rogard comes to the startling realisation that his pile of completed potatoes is considerably bigger than the one sitting in front of Khobi.

Which while he would usually love to brag about besting Khobi in something, it feels a little lame to gloat over.

And eventually, he looks up to find that he’s stopped completely and is just staring blankly at a half-peeled potato.

​Okay, something is definitely up.

​"...What did that potato ever do to you?" Rogard inquires impishly.

​"Ah..." Khobi starts, like he hadn’t realised he’d spaced out. "Uh, just thinking." He promptly picks up his knife to actually finish peeling it instead of staring at it like it’s called him something rude.

​Well, technically the stew’s still stewing so he’s supposed to be playing nice, but Rogard just can’t quite resist.

​" Oh ?" he hums lightly, leaning his chin into his hand, "About Loac ~?"

​Khobi’s knife slips.

​Thankfully, it doesn’t cut too deep, and Khobi immediately shoves a finger in his mouth with a hiss, a curse, and a heated glare.

​Well, now .

​"Ah, I was only joking!" Rogard assures him hurriedly, because Khobi is still holding a knife and he was .

​"Why would...why would I be thinking about him?" Khobi mumbles, and despite the words coming out muffled on account of the finger jammed in his mouth, they still sound rather defensive.

​"Oh, you tell me~" Rogard chimes airily, wondering if this is it –if Khobi has finally cottoned on. It’s taken him long enough. But he got pushed off a fence last time he pushed too hard and there are too many sharp things around here and he’s just a little too close to the fire for him to risk it again.

"...You know me; always here to lend an ear, Khobi~"

​"I’ll keep that in mind."