A Confectioner’s Embarrassing Request

“Oh!!! Your insights on flavor are incredibly valuable! Next time, let’s make desserts together at ‘Beethoven’!”

“Really?! I’d be honored!”

Princess, her eyes seemingly sparkling, excitedly jotted down my humble observations in her notebook.

Meanwhile, I blissfully savored the ‘Eyeball Jelly’ she had retrieved from her backpack, right in front of her.

This ‘Eyeball Jelly’ was truly a masterpiece; I would wholeheartedly give it a perfect score, its appearance notwithstanding.

The pupil was crafted from thinly sliced round strawberries, while the disturbingly realistic blood vessels were made from aloe vera fibers dyed with raspberry jam.

For the sclera, pureed coconut meat and bananas were blended with a touch of milk.

Unlike the typical bouncy texture of jelly, this one truly felt like eating meat.

Moreover, it completely lacked that unpleasant, artificial taste often found in powdered jellies! Princess was truly incredible!

“Um, excuse me for interrupting you two!”

Suddenly, Leidi, her tone tinged with a hint of awkwardness, broke into the private world Princess and I had created.

“What is it? Do you want some of this jelly too?! I’m so sorry, I didn’t bring much out.” Princess apologized, scratching her cheek.

‘Leidi wanted some jelly?! Ah, I understood! It truly was delicious!’

“It’s fine, I can share mine with her.”

Smiling, I offered the jelly I had taken a bite from to Leidi, certain she wouldn’t mind.

“No, no, no! That’s not it at all! If you two keep chatting, it’ll be evening before you know it!” Leidi retorted, a look of exasperation on her face.

“Eh?!” both of us exclaimed.

Princess and I exchanged a look of disbelief.

Had time truly flown by so quickly?

Was it almost time to head back?

‘Perhaps this was simply how it was with kindred spirits!’

Princess and I felt as though we had met far too late!

After I correctly guessed she was the creator of the skull-shaped chocolates, our conversation had become unstoppable!

We had delved deep into every topic imaginable, from the precise use of various culinary carving tools and the accurate control of cooking temperatures, to even the most personal aspects of dish plating.

I truly apologized for having inadvertently lost track of time.

‘Ah! Come to think of it, Princess and I were the only ones who had been talking just now… we had completely neglected everyone else.’

‘I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,’ I apologized silently in my heart.

“Um, Princess, what exactly did you need my sister for? You two have been talking about cooking and desserts nonstop, but aside from learning you work at ‘Beethoven’, nothing else has been said…”

After she finished speaking, Ruka sister and Brother Mingdao both nodded silently in agreement.

‘Huh? Why does Brother Mingdao have two jelly wrappers in his hand?! He couldn’t have eaten Ruka sister’s portion too, could he?! He’s such a glutton…’

The animosity everyone felt towards Princess had actually vanished long ago.

While this might just be my wishful thinking, I firmly believed that someone capable of creating such wonderful sweets couldn’t possibly be a bad person!

“Ah, I’m so sorry. I got completely carried away with our conversation, and your reminder just brought me back.” As she spoke, a faint blush crept onto Princess’s face.

Then, like a child pouting while wishing their parents would buy them a desired toy but fearing refusal, she nervously poked her index fingers together in front of her chest.

“Um, could you all step out for a moment? I actually have a rather embarrassing request to make of Piengo.”

Leidi and the others exchanged glances, and Ruka sister was the first to speak.

“Just to confirm, you’re not planning to bite her, are you?”

‘Huh?! Why would Princess bite me?!’

‘Ah… I almost forgot she had vampire blood in her veins…’

“No, no, no! How could I?! Unless it’s absolutely unavoidable, I always drink expired blood bags bought from the hospital! Look!” Princess frantically pulled an empty, sucked-dry medical blood bag from her backpack and waved it in front of everyone.

Silence descended upon them.

Everyone fell silent; Princess’s honest gesture was, to be frank, rather bizarre.

“Everyone, there’s no need to worry too much,” I said, smiling as I tried to reassure them on Princess’s behalf. “I think it’s fine.”

‘She couldn’t be a bad person.’

‘How could someone who loves cooking so much possibly be evil?’

Leidi merely smiled at me, yet remained silent.

‘Don’t worry so much, Leidi, I’ll be fine.’

“Princess, would it be alright for them to wait just outside the private room door?”

‘Surely that would put their minds at ease?’

“Yes, yes, yes! We’ll come out as soon as we’re done. Please don’t worry! It’s really nothing bad!” Princess exclaimed, nodding excitedly.

“Will half an hour be enough?” Leidi asked, smiling as she confirmed with Princess.

‘It seems she’s agreed.’

“Hmm, let me think. Probably about that, but give me ten more minutes; forty minutes will definitely be enough!”

“Alright then.”

Having said that, Leidi turned her head to me.

“Sister, hand me the white wristwatch from your right arm. We’ll come in as soon as the time is up.”

“Eh?! But that’s—”

“It’s fine, I won’t break it.” Without giving me a chance to finish, Leidi took my right hand and removed the ‘Shackle’.

“Well then, see you later.”

Smiling, Leidi nodded to Princess before leading Ruka sister and Brother Mingdao out of the room.

****

‘I knew what it meant to have one of the four ‘Shackles’ that restricted my power removed…’

‘The power restriction was nullified…’

‘If there weren’t four ‘Shackles’, they were merely simple ornaments…’

‘Leidi… she lied because she was worried about me…’

‘I felt a pang of guilt…’

****

After closing the private room door, Princess first gestured for me to sit on the sofa, then retrieved two large iron bottles from her bag and placed them on the table.

‘Come to think of it… that backpack certainly held a lot of things…’

“Princess, what’s inside the bottles?”

‘Could it be some kind of dessert for me to sample? It couldn’t be that simple, could it?’

“Oh, those two are empty. They were originally meant for a special blend of honey water. But that plan was canceled because I have something much better to put in them!”

“So, what will you be putting in them now?”

‘I was beginning to feel a little confused. Compared to a special blend of honey water, there didn’t seem to be anything in this private room worthy of Princess’s attention for those bottles… Could it be the drinks we were served earlier?! No, no, no, those weren’t anything special… And if it were just drinks, why would she need me?’

Princess seemed to sense my confusion, for she smiled and sat beside me.

She then scratched her cheek sheepishly, as if she had some favor to ask of me.

“Um, I won’t be greedy, just these two bottles will do.” As she spoke, Princess’s face flushed crimson.

“Huh?” Unlike her blushing, I was utterly bewildered.

‘I didn’t understand… Was she asking me for something? I didn’t seem to have anything on me that could fill these two bottles, neither solid nor liquid!’

“If I’m too shy, I can wait in the restroom.” With that, Princess actually stood up and started to head towards the restroom.

I hastily grabbed her hand.

“No, um, Princess, I genuinely don’t understand what you mean. What is it you want? I don’t have anything on me that could fill these two bottles…”

‘It felt like I wouldn’t get a clear answer otherwise…’

“Really?!” Princess asked, her face filled with surprise as she sat back down.

“Yes… if possible, I hope you can just say it directly.” ‘I had a feeling Princess had misunderstood something…’

“Ahem—um, er…” Princess cleared her throat twice, seemingly trying to ease the awkwardness.

‘But where was the awkwardness?’

“Piengo, you’re someone who understands the importance of ingredients, aren’t you? For premium ingredients, I, as a pastry chef, feel that ‘worship’ is a more fitting word than ‘respect’. So…”

“So?”

I tilted my head in confusion, watching Princess’s face grow redder and redder.

It seemed she desired a very high-quality ingredient… and one to be obtained from me…

‘But how could I not know I possessed something so premium?’

“It, it’s that…” Her voice grew softer and softer, and Princess’s face was now as red as a roasted octopus.

“That?” But even with her face a comical shade of red, I still couldn’t understand what Princess was referring to…

“Ah… honestly! Piengo, you are truly—” As if finally making up her mind, Princess grabbed my shoulders, and with a face that was terrifyingly red, she hysterically uttered words I would never forget for the rest of my life…

“It’s ‘milk’! I want your ‘breast milk’!!!”