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The little Felwinter Ogre, a bear cub born as a human, and various other nicknames like “Pig” that Alicia is called by Robin stem from one simple fact.

It was all too obvious.

She had such an appetite that it warranted such nicknames.

However, she was, after all, a foodie.

Those who knew her might tilt their heads in disbelief, but she truly was a gourmet.

Considering her surroundings, it was no surprise she grew up to be a food enthusiast.

It was different than the old days when even nobles experienced hunger.

Since the Kingdom of Adobice began purchasing timber from Iceland for air conditioning, the Felwinter family has at least been free from money woes.

Thanks to that, Alicia, born in the golden age of Iceland, previously ate whatever she wanted until her Ladyship Baroness Poppins started tagging along.

In fact, even after she started following her, Alicia continued to eat to her heart’s content.

Alicia basically loved all delicious foods.

This is tasty, that is too, how could she possibly rank them? Preferences might shift temporarily, but there was no food she detested.

“Oooooo…”

“Princess Alicia.”

“Shh. Alicia will eat it with her own hands.”

That feeling wavered for the first time.

Hissssss—

In truth, it wasn’t from the start that her resolve shook.

Even though it was filled with Nutella, the doughnut Karem brought looked like just a mound of powdered sugar.

But the moment she grasped it firmly with both hands to take a bite—

Her evaluation flipped upside down instantly.

Crispy yet chewy and soft, from the familiar doughnut, a rich and sticky dark brown custard cream surged forth.

The Amadeus custard cream seemed like it would spill over at any moment, but it didn’t.

Instead, it sunk into the countless holes of the doughnut.

“Princess Alicia! The powder is falling. A fork and knife—”

Alicia resolutely refused Poppins’ gentle insistence.

Instead, as if to emphasize, she took a large bite of the torn doughnut directly with her mouth.

“Haah, you follow classes well, yet when it comes to using them—”

“If focusing on food means neglecting manners, then Alicia believes that isn’t a courtesy toward food.”

“I’ll be more thorough with the next class.”

“Alicia isn’t swayed by such pressure. Cooking should be enjoyed for it to taste better…!”

Karem couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Alicia like that. The greatest joy for a cook is seeing their guests relish the food.

“Did you say this Amadeus Nutella is the last one?”

Catherine asked Karem after swallowing the doughnut and savoring the taste left on her tongue.

“Having eaten like this, there should be about two-thirds left in the container.”

“Didn’t we fill one side of the cart with Amadeus and Nutella before departing? Already eaten this much?”

“Yes.”

“Already gone that much?”

Catherine’s brows knitted with concern. She accepted a doughnut that Mary offered as she contemplated.

“That’s how often we’ve eaten. It doesn’t feel like it. After all… no wait. Since we ate every snack along the way and during breakfast and dinner—”

“The Amadeus Alraune you’re having now, Double A is also Amadeus.”

At Mary’s words, Catherine momentarily lowered her head. The silver cup held in her hands was filled with a light brown drink topped with whipped cream.

“Of course, the Amadeus is long gone, though.”

“Right. You mentioned you made it with Nutella. It certainly has a different nutty flavor compared to Amadeus.”

As Catherine’s gaze shifted, Karem shrugged his shoulders.

“Cooking is fundamentally about improvisation, you see.”

“The nutty and bitter aroma enhances while the smooth sweetness combined with the nutty flavor piled high with whipped cream creates a unique taste.”

“That fact that only one container remains doesn’t disappear, though.”

Catherine, enjoying her Europa-style café mocha, cast a lively glance at Karem.

“No. Since you made the doughnut, it should be two-thirds. Because the drink was made, it would likely be less than that.”

“Ugh. If I knew this beforehand, I should have stolen a bit more from that mercenary.”

“Could you have?”

Flora, the forest fairy, controlled various plants.

However, the Amadeus Tree was so delicate that it couldn’t be manipulated in such a way.

“Just kidding. Just kidding. Do you think I wouldn’t know that’s a stretch?”

“Your voice certainly sounded serious.”

“It means I’m disappointed. One doughnut and this cup—it’s all I can eat.”

Catherine, making a regretful sound, pulled a slightly blushed face as she sipped the silver cup.

“What shall we do with the remaining doughnuts? Should I tell Mary and Princess Alicia to devour them all?”

The two pairs of sparkling eyes coincidentally aligned with Catherine’s at those words.

“Not all, just half of what’s left. If I keep it all, there might be a rebellion.”

“A rebellion? Who exactly is going to cause a rebellion?”

“You. You. Wipe that blatant hunger off your face. You shameless one.”

At that, Mary flinched. Alicia did the same.

“Put the rest in a box enchanted with preservation magic for safekeeping. We’ll eat it later.”

“With that settled, you two.”

The princess and the house fairy’s gazes turned toward Karem.

“He says so.”

Karem flicked his fingers while looking at the two.

“Once again, the contractor is generous. Then, as per that order, I shall—”

“Alicia is here too!!!”

“Ahem. We’ll enjoy it deliciously. So, Princess Alicia, you should eat like this.”

“Eh. Mary has a lot more!”

“That’s natural, isn’t it? I’m physically bigger, after all.”

“Still, Alicia eats more!”

Bickering chaotically.

Though their eyes lit up with greed for food, both maintained a minimum boundary, and thus their quarrel was verbal.

Meanwhile, Karem retrieved a suitable basket, filled it with the initially mentioned half portion, sealed it with a preservation magic lid, and pushed it toward one side of the tent.

“Will you be alright without eating? Unlike me, a few more wouldn’t cause you any harm.”

“Hmm. It’s true, but personally, I prefer the ones filled with jam.”

“Hm, then make those for tomorrow’s snack.”

“Hm? You aren’t eating the remaining doughnuts?”

“I’ll eat those too.”

In other words, tomorrow’s snack would be a whipped cream jam doughnut sandwich, followed by snacks of a different time.

“That’s a perfect recipe for gaining weight.”

“Why? Are you jealous?”

“I think I’ve mentioned this before, but yes, I’m envious.”

Karem nodded seriously.

“However, you don’t eat as recklessly as me or that little house fairy gobbling down the doughnuts, so there’s no need to worry, right?”

“Even so, I can’t eat without restraint like last autumn.”

Had she been in her growing years, this would have been a trivial concern. No matter how much she ate, feeling hungry afterward was normal. But now, due to the curse of aging, her body grew, reaching the tail end of her growth phase.

“If I ate like that, I’d end up plump like Duke Godwin, spreading mayonnaise across everything.”

“Hmm. I think you’d look better if you gained a little more weight than now.”

“That’s nice to hear, but it sounds like empty words.”

“Do you think I’d drop empty words in your presence?”

Catherine chuckled as if she heard something amusing.

“If that was the case, I wouldn’t have been knocked over by my lord.”

“Wow, last winter was terrifying. You suddenly charged at Your Grace.”

“If you didn’t use magic, that would have sufficed.”

“Are you not worried about my terrified heart?”

“You’re lacking in training.”

“Absolutely not. I practice every chance I get.”

Though she indeed didn’t want to.

“Hm? I don’t think I’ve seen that.”

“That’s because I practice where no one else can see. It’s embarrassing.”

“Oh, I have seen it.”

Mary, who was gently pushing Alicia’s hand away to keep her portion, casually raised her hand.

“I can definitely say you’ve improved enormously since then.”

“…When did you see that?”

“While cleaning the tower, I caught a glimpse of it as I passed by.”

“Alicia saw it too!”

Even under Poppins’ intense gaze, Alicia, dropping sugar powder while munching her doughnut, raised her hand high.

“Watching you make ice grow like candy and Karem rolling around, swinging a club was amusing.”

“When did you—”

“Just the other day, I slipped in to munch on a cookie—oops.”

“Oh, so William mentioned you, but I didn’t expect you to confess yourself.”

With a poker face, Mary chuckled while gazing down at Alicia.

“Princess Alicia. I seem to have quite a few things to discuss with you. Don’t you think so?”

“Alicia has nothing to say to Mary!”

“Too bad. But Princess, do you know this?”

“Hm?”

“This isn’t Winterhome. There’s nowhere to escape.”

“Before that, I’ll take my leave for a moment.”

Poppins pressed her furrowed brows together.

“I don’t mean to intrude. But as your dedicated tutor, I feel the need to engage in a conversation with you first.”

“K-Kitty and Karem both said they could come anytime—!”

“They both couldn’t even detect your sneaking in and thus gave up.”

Poppins’ words contained an undeniable truth.

“It’s not incorrect, but I find it somewhat unpleasant.”

“Well, aside from the fact that the only one who could sense you at the tower was Mary.”

“If that’s unpleasant, I apologize.”

Poppins quietly bowed toward Catherine and tightly held onto Alicia in her arms. The little Felwinter Ogre, who was trying to sneak away, jumped in surprise.

“And you, princess, must practice your dictation with me.”

“This, this isn’t fair! Didn’t you say we could play until we arrived?”

“I’ve been saying repeatedly that sneaking in is a huge rudeness. And doing this while spilling powder like that means you’ll need to rewrite it a hundred times.”

“Hiiiiiing.”

“Still, you can have enough time for snacks.”

“I’ve nearly eaten it all.”

As she said, only two doughnuts remained on the tray.

Alicia quickly grabbed one and devoured it.

Sugar powder sprinkled everywhere.

Squeak—

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

“I’ll come again later!”

Waving her hand in farewell, Poppins carried Alicia out of the tent.

Munch munch—gulp—

Mary quickly swallowed the remaining doughnut and froze.

She hastily glanced around.

“Then I’ll also excuse myself for a moment.”

“Where are you going, Mary?”

“To make snacks for the wizards.”

Mary dusted off the doughnut powder and sugar from her hands, then lifted the tray and stood up.

“Wait a moment.”

“Do you have something to say?”

“That tray needs to stay here.”

“Tch.”

Mary clicked her tongue in annoyance, nodded to Catherine, and stepped outside the tent.

“Sir Atanitas, are you inside!”

When Mary pulled aside the entrance of the tent, a soldier’s voice was heard shouting.

“Come in. What’s the matter?”

“Oh, thank goodness. His Grace the Duke has requested your counsel.”

“Counsel? At this time of rest?”

“Yes.”

The soldier nodded.

“The reconnaissance team has gone missing.”

“…Since you’ve come all this way, I assume you’ve found the cause.”

“Yes. It’s said to be a huge rock…”

“A rock?”

How could a rock be the cause of a disappearance? Did a rockslide occur?

But in this coastal cliff area, there were no mountains, let alone even hills.

“What did the rock do?”

“I’m not sure myself…”

At the soldier’s words, Karem exchanged glances with Catherine, a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

Before long, he rose, following her as they followed the soldier.

 

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