Editing Maria Sama Ga Miteru:Volume12 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 3===

When she went down stairs at half past twelve, Sachiko-sama had not yet shown up.

"She said she wanted to lie down for a bit, and will be upstairs resting. She said that she didn't need lunch."

Kiyo-san entered the atrium pushing a service cart.

"Yumi-sama, where will you eat? The atrium? Or the terrace?"

"Ah, whichever…"

"Then, shall we do the terrace? It's fine weather."

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Having been persuaded, Yumi went out onto the terrace and sat in a chair. ''So, Sachiko-sama wouldn't be eating with her.''

"It happens every year. The day that she arrives, she tends to rest until nearly evening."

"I see."

''Because of the after effects of the drowsiness causing motion-sickness medicine, she might be pretty much out of it until the medicine wears off.'' Yumi wiped her hands with a hand towel that had been prepared for her.

"Just a little while ago I asked about mi'lady's meal, but I forgot to ask about Yumi-sama's likes. Are there things that you don't eat?"

Kiyo-san inquired.

"No. I can eat just about anything."

"Oh, that helps. I have prepared egg and chicken sandwiches. For the drink, will ''café au lait'' be okay?"

"Ah, that would be terrific."

"You don't need to use polite speech for us. Please be more at ease."

"Even if you say so…"

Using casual speech to an older person was something she was not just a bit reluctant, but rather considerably reluctant, to do. After all, she wasn't a upper-class lady by birth.

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"Since there is a second serving… please feel free to call for me."

With Kiyo-san apparently having completed laying out the table setting, Yumi hurriedly called out to stop her.

"Umm… aren't Kiyo-san and Gensuke-san joining?"

"We eat in a separate room."

Kiyo-san smiled sweetly and left. Evidently, it seems that in this place the masters and servants have strictly divided areas.

"Itadakimasu." <ref> Ritual saying generally equivalent to "thanks for the food" that is said before eating.</ref>

And that was how it had ended up with Yumi having lunch on the terrace alone. Sachiko-sama was skipping the meal and Yumi didn't really have much appetite, but since she felt bad for Kiyo-san who made it for her, in that way, she made up her mind to do her best to eat even though she wasn't hungry.

That said, the amount of sandwiches, neatly arranged on the large plate, wasn't skimpy. Just the bread alone seemed like it could very easily be an entire loaf. This was not an amount that a high-school girl could eat alone.

On the serving plate were chicken sandwiches and egg sandwiches, she took one each of the two kinds of sandwiches. 

"Ah"

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As she was preparing to take a bite, Yumi realized there was something to the left and right of the plate. 

A knife and a fork.

"Aha…"

''Because of such a thing, there sure was no doubt that this was Sachiko-sama's home'', she thought. It was a shame she that couldn't be laughing about it together with onee-sama.

As an experiment, she tried eating with the knife and fork. Alas, with the egg sandwich, the filling squeezed out from both ends, and with the chicken one, she used a bit too much force and the bread was smushed.

It was a sandwich that Yumi desperately battled. If it was Sachiko-sama, she probably could skillfully cut it up and elegantly convey it to her mouth, even though it was such a difficult thing. 

"I give up."

Yumi resigned herself to eating them using her hands. She started things off by picking up the lettuce that had fallen onto the plate and tossing it into her mouth.

"Chicken and egg. ...parent and child?"

She said by herself, and laughed by herself.

As for the sandwiches, the bread was done moist, and even the ingredients for the filling were fresh and tasty. 

Just a bit, it was a lonely lunch.

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