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A letter arrived from Orcus.

It contained an apology for not being able to attend the Engagement Ceremony and asked if there was anything I needed as a gift. In response, I sent back a message asking him to find out about tourist attractions or famous dessert shops in Ruden.

Since I had to move to Ruden for my enrollment in the Academy next year, I thought it would be better to gather information in advance through local people. As for the dessert shop I mentioned, I had a hunch that Elena probably knew all about it, but you never know.

Hidden gems known only to the Imperial Family. Well, that could exist.

“Speaking of Ruden…”

I pictured the capital of the Empire, known as the “safest city in the world,” and considered what might happen there.

The place where most of the original story’s incidents occurred was none other than that “safest city,” Ruden, so it was impossible not to worry about it. And since half of those incidents were set to unfold at the Academy, where I would be entering next year, that added another layer of concern.

Seeing similar events occur in the Legion regardless of the time frame made me curious about what exactly would happen in Ruden.

Perhaps, contrary to my worries, nothing would happen at all.

As for this Legion incident, the southern attack by monsters was initially an event that took place at the height of the heretics’ influence, but in the original story, we didn’t have enough power to completely eradicate those behind it.

There had been so many prior incidents that the Imperial Family’s strength was spread thin, and thus the entire Empire was in a dark age.

However, things were currently progressing in a very different direction from the original story.

For some reason, a religious sect that should have been recovering its influence was on the move, allowing us to suppress them more easily than in the original story. Thanks to the Imperial Family cleansing the Empire of heretics during this period, many of them were washed away.

It goes without saying that the boundaries of the Imperial Capital were being reinforced, so perhaps there was a real chance that nothing would happen while Elena and I stayed in Ruden.

It wasn’t a high possibility, just something that could happen. To be honest, it was partly born out of my personal hope.

I took out a book I hadn’t opened in a while from the drawer. The pale green leather-bound book was covered in quite a bit of dust, likely because I hadn’t touched it in ages. I used to read it whenever I had time, but since meeting Elena, I hadn’t opened it at all, so it was understandable.

I dusted it off and opened the book to find familiar letters. After reading through the disorganized notes written in a shaky hand, I turned the pages back. The beginning was scribbled like that, but the rest was neatly written, so it didn’t strain my eyes.

My hand stopped at the activity schedule I had written for the future.

The schedule started with the cancellation of my engagement with Elena, which, since I had drawn a striking cancel line over it just the day before, was nearly torn at the edges. I guess I was a bit flustered since it hadn’t gone as planned from the beginning.

I paused for a moment, recalling the past, and began reading the untouched notes below.

They were rough action guidelines aligned with the timeline of the novel, but now that I looked at them, nothing matched the current situation, making me laugh. Back then, I seemed to have blindly trusted the information I gathered from my memory, but revisiting it now left me feeling nothing.

Why did I firmly believe that the story would flow exactly like the novel?

Even if I canceled the engagement with Elena that day, it would still diverge from the story.

I raised my aura and set the book aflame. The book, engulfed in black flames, vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.

After all, the settings I noted in that book had long been memorized in my mind, so its value had ceased the moment I met her.

Even so, the reason I hadn’t disposed of it until now was that I found solace in believing that the future would unfold according to what I had written.

Watching it burn completely away seemed to clear my mind a little. It didn’t necessarily hurt or anything; it just felt that way.

“It’s time to start on today’s tasks.”

I checked the clock on the wall and realized it was time to meet the chef.

I got up from my seat, opened the door, and stepped out of the room.

*

“You’ve come, young master. I’ve prepared everything, so you just need to wash your hands.”

As I opened the kitchen door, I was greeted by a short man with a neat white chef’s uniform and a small mustache.

Since it hadn’t been long since lunch, there were still droplets of water on the utensils hanging in the kitchen. I walked over to the sink, washed my hands, shook off the water, and slipped on the gloves he offered.

The man’s name was Hans Pillow.

Like my dedicated butler Ken, he was an employee of Kraus and had been in charge of our family’s dining table for a long time. He had a hearty demeanor and clear eyes, and he was known to have a kind heart, just as his appearance would suggest.

From what I heard, Hans was the favorite of the servants in the Lord’s Castle. While Ken was popular for his kindness and experience, Hans captivated people with his charm combined with his talent for presentation. Personally, I also liked the food he prepared very much.

Following his guidance, I put on the prepared chef’s clothing and stood at the countertop.

“It looks clean.”

“The kitchen must always be kept clean. We clean it thoroughly, but some tools have been enchanted to maintain their cleanliness. The chef’s outfit you’re wearing now is one of those items.”

The completely white outfit bore no trace of dirt or scent. Seeing such a clean outfit, I had unconsciously expected it to emit a pleasant aroma, but it smelled completely odorless, like the clothes picked up from the laundry.

Thinking again, it didn’t make sense to assume that a good fragrance on the clothes would positively impact the food.

When enjoying food, the aroma also plays an important role in taste, so any overly strong scent might interfere with the dish’s original flavor. Indeed, a professional’s tools are different from the start.

As I pondered the smell of the clothes, Hans looked at me with amused eyes as if he had seen something interesting. Realizing I had acted foolishly, I hurriedly lowered my sleeves in response to his gaze.

Perhaps because I had known them since childhood, I was sensitive to the looks of people like him, Ken, and Maria. I might have matured more than I should have, but older servants in the Lord’s Castle, like Ken, Maria, and Hans, tended to rush over whenever I acted a bit clumsy.

I addressed Hans, who wouldn’t take his gaze off me.

“This outfit is my first time wearing something like this.”

“If it doesn’t fit well, please let me know. I brought this outfit by estimating your size from the spare clothing we have. If it’s uncomfortable, I would appreciate it if you wear that today. I will make sure to have one custom-made for you later.”

“Uh, I don’t really need to go that far…”

When I said this with a reluctant expression, Hans gently smiled and replied.

“You will definitely need it later.”

With Hans’s confident assurance, I nodded.

It seemed he had plans to get me hooked on cooking through this experience; would that really happen? Cooking this time felt like a minor event, yet in Hans’s mind, he might already have envisioned me continuing to cook afterward.

Originally, I should have been roaming the Training Grounds for physical training or handling tasks as a viscount at this hour, but for today, I had cleared my schedule to come here. It was all to learn how to make pastries from him.

The reason I, who didn’t enjoy sweet treats, was learning from Hans, who was once a renowned pastry chef, was obvious.

What I was doing now was preparing my own engagement gift.

Typically, when we think of gifts, we prepare items like rings or jewelry; naturally, I also gave Elena the ring and necklace I had set aside after the Engagement Ceremony. I lacked a discerning eye for jewelry, so I chose the pieces I believed suited her the best after much consideration.

Fortunately, Elena liked the items I picked, and the very next day, she took me to the downtown area in return.

“Damian, it seems like you only wear stuff that’s about your family’s conquest. All your other clothing is dark and has similar styles, so you really need to broaden the range a bit! Oh, Madame! Can you prepare one outfit each from this catalog, tailored to his figure?”

“Huh? E-Elena, that’s too much…”

“By the way, new clothes also require matching accessories. We should head to the store where Damian picked out the necklace and ring next. Uhm… if there are any brooches or tie pins, they should match those as a set… heehee.”

At that moment, I realized for the first time that Elena was the daughter of a duchy, one of only three in the Empire.

I never expected to witness her immediately demanding everything listed in the catalog right in front of my eyes.

Although I knew that Kraus was an equally prestigious family rich in power and influence, my economic mindset still followed the patterns of my past life when it came to going out and buying things myself.

While handling the family paperwork as a viscount, I often saw transactions exceeding tens of thousands of dollars, yet seeing them in action in real life felt rather detached. After all, even the checkbook I carried could easily reproduce Elena’s spending behavior.

Anyway, that was why I was now preparing my second gift.

They say the most important virtue of a present is the giver’s heart, but after receiving so many gifts in comparison to the one I had given, I felt a bit of a loss. However, competing in wealth wouldn’t do; I figured that would simply lead to extravagance, so after much thought, I chose to gift her home-baked pastries.

After all, receiving something made by hand carries a special meaning for the recipient, and reflecting on my plan again felt like the right decision.

I moved my wrist around and grabbed a whisk from the countertop.

In front of me was a round bowl stacked with ingredients. I had only ever watched someone else do it, and now that I was doing it myself, even this simple task made my heart race.

“Um, so I just need to make the dough with this, right?”

“Yes, it’s quite a labor-intensive task, but you don’t need to worry, young master. Just watch me and stir accordingly.”

As Hans moved his hands, the ingredients in the bowl started mixing together. I watched his hands and tried to replicate his movements. The thick mixture required significant effort, and I had to be careful not to let the dough spill out of the bowl.

Having a good teaching material right in front of me made it easy to adjust my strength while creating the dough.

After filling the piping bag with the thickened dough, I spaced it out evenly on the tray as I panned it. It was no boast, but I was quite adept at controlling my body, and I completed the panning skillfully.

The sizes of the dough were uniform, almost giving it the impression of having been produced by a machine.

Hans, upon seeing this, applauded and praised my skills.

“You’re doing really well! You have talent, young master! This time it may just be simple macarons, but next time…”

“Hans, I can see through you.”

At my words, Hans flashed a sheepish smile.

I almost fell for Hans’s lip service. Upon glancing at the dough laid out on the tray again, I realized that all I had done so far was make and pip the dough. I still felt a sense of accomplishment, but it was too exaggerated to be called talent.

After about ten minutes, the dough on the tray began to set.

Next was the simple task of placing it in a temperature-controlled magical tool to bake it. After preheating in two stages at different temperatures, the enticing smell of baking wafted through the air, giving way to perfectly baked pastries.

Finally, I piped Hans’s special cream onto the baked pastries and stacked them with another pastry on top to complete the macarons.

It turned out to be simpler than I expected.

Bake the dough, pipe the cream, and stack; done.

It was no wonder Hans had recommended making macarons to me. While the cream, which constituted the most significant part of taste, was his creation, the production process was incredibly straightforward. I began to think that I could make it whenever I had some spare time.

“All the shapes turned out great. Would you like to try one?”

“You know I don’t eat sweet things… but the maker should at least have a taste.”

I took a bite of the macarons.

Having just been baked, the macarons were still warm. They had just the right texture—not too hard and not too soft. The only downside was that they were a bit too sweet for my taste. Overall, not bad at all.

Hans also took a bite and lightly nodded, giving me an okay sign. Given that this was such a simple pastry, there was no major problem unless one mismanaged the temperature settings while baking.

“By the way, I think this is too much for one person.”

Was it the size of the tray that was the problem? Or perhaps I got too carried away with piping the dough? It was probably the latter, as I intended to make about six but ended up tripling that amount. Still, leaving empty spaces was not an option.

“Haha, don’t you usually eat about this much anyway? It’s perfectly fine. Especially for a lady.”

“If I eat too much, I might get sick. I’ll deliver the six I originally intended for Elena, but I’ll need to share the rest with others.”

Excluding the two I had just eaten with Hans, there were still ten left.

If I gave three to Alphonse, one to Father, and two each to Ken, Maria, and Hailey, the numbers would roughly match. After receiving a bag from Hans, I finished packaging them and headed toward the Isilia Pavilion to present them to Elena.

“Oh! Damian young master!”

Just then, I bumped into Hailey on my way.

Given that she was coming from the direction I was headed, it seemed likely that Elena was currently in her room.

Hailey looked me over briefly and then, seemingly having noticed something, brightened and spoke.

“Your outfit today is quite a bright color compared to usual! The white, in stark contrast to black, suits you very well. Is that the outfit the lady chose for you yesterday?”

“That’s right. I’m glad it suits me.”

“By the way, that delicious smell I sensed was indeed coming from the bag you’re carrying. The lady had asked me to check in the kitchen, and what a coincidence! The tea is all prepared in the room, so you just have to be escorted in, young master~”

Given that there was a distance between the Isilia Pavilion and the main kitchen, Hailey was pleased not to have to walk back to the main building. While walking with Hailey towards Elena’s room, I handed her a small bag I had been holding in my other hand.

“What’s this?”

“I tried making macarons to give to Elena, but I think I made too many for one person, so I planned to share the extras with those around us. This is for you, Hailey.”

“Wow! You made this yourself for the lady?! This is quite a valuable item! Usually, young masters don’t make pastries themselves, do they?”

“Well, that may not always be the case, right?”

“Hmm, the scent is perfect! But since the taste might not match, I’ll have to sample it first!”

Hailey immediately popped a macaron into her mouth and quietly raised her thumb in approval. It felt like I was being judged by a royal inspector.

After receiving the approval of Hailey, Elena’s closest aide, I gained confidence and headed straight to Elena’s room without hesitation. It wasn’t unusual for me to visit her at this time, so she welcomed me like usual without any signs of surprise.

“You really look good in white, Damian. But what’s in the bag you’re holding? It seems to have a sweet smell.”

“It’s a gift.”

Elena opened the bag I handed her. Inside were two pink macarons. Considering they were like the ones always brought from the kitchen during our tea time, Elena looked at me with a somewhat puzzled expression.

Just then, Hailey, who had been observing us, spoke up first.

“Those macarons were made by Damian young master for the lady!”

“Really?!”

“It’s true. While we used Hans’s cream, I made the shells myself.”

“Are you serious that Damian made these?!”

Upon hearing this, the expression on Elena’s face mirrored that of Hailey when she first heard my words. Was it that hard to believe? Elena briefly looked back and forth between me and the macarons, then broke into a bright smile and thanked me.

“Thank you so much, Damian. I’ll save them and cherish them.”

“But! That wouldn’t do. If you do that, they might spoil!”

“But! There are only six of these; how could I possibly eat them all!! If I cast preservation magic, I can keep them for at least a year….”

Hearing Elena’s words dripping with regret reminded me of Hans’s earlier words. Did he foresee that I would need a chef’s outfit in such a situation?

Yet thinking back to the delight on Elena’s face when she first received the macarons, it seemed that perhaps his words would indeed hold true.

“Then I can just make more for you later. So please stop casting magic on the macarons right away.”

After making that promise, I was finally able to stop Elena from trying to cast magic on the macarons. I had a feeling that what I would learn from Hans wouldn’t just be macarons.

 

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