Chapter 8: The Gift of Mischief

The next destination was a bakery with the delightful aroma of freshly baked bread wafting through the air.

“Why here…?” she asked.

“Well, I thought that maybe if we brought a gift for the duke, it might calm him down,” I replied.

Of course, that was a lie. I wasn’t thinking of buying something for that purpose at all.

“Would you like to pick something to eat, Lady Ellyn?”

“…I’m not hungry,” Ellyn replied, looking away.

Growl.

A cute little sound echoed.

Ellyn lowered her head, her ears turning bright red.

“Why are you telling such an obvious lie?”

I’d noticed something earlier. Ellyn seemed to shy away from receiving things. It wasn’t that she disliked kindness, but there was something she seemed afraid of, as if she feared something behind it. Probably anxiety.

“Anyway, please pick whatever you’d like.”

“Hmm.”

“If you can’t decide, I can pick for you.”

“…Alright.”

Only then did Ellyn nod. Was she really going to avoid picking if I hadn’t insisted?

I placed her down in the chair in the center of the shop and approached the baker.

“Looking for something, sir?”

The baker had a stylish mustache. Both he and Rondo had that in common. It seems like growing a mustache is a requirement to be a chef.

“Do you take custom orders?”

I placed a silver coin on the counter.

“Of course. I will make it with the best skills on the continent. What can I make for you?”

The baker pounded his chest and blew out a puff of air. For some reason, it looked like his mustache was even more pronounced.

“Hmm, I’m not sure of the exact name, but let me describe it.”

I started explaining with hand gestures.

The baker nodded in acknowledgment but raised his hand midway.

“Wait a moment.”

“What is it?”

“Well… could it be that this dessert is for your daughter?”

The baker looked at Ellyn. She was sitting there, staring blankly at us like a doll with its string cut.

Once again, I was mistaken for her father.

Am I really that old?

Since it wasn’t an important issue, I quickly dismissed the thought and shook my head.

“No. I’m giving it to someone else.”

The baker’s expression didn’t quite relax.

“But this seems a bit extreme. How much of an enemy have you made to warrant this…?”

“So, is one silver coin not enough?”

“No, no! Absolutely not. If I took any more, I think I might get arrested.”

The baker quickly shook his head and continued.

“It’s just… with this combination, I thought you might be planning to assassinate someone.”

Assassination?

What was he talking about?

I let out a small chuckle.

“That’s impossible. You’re exaggerating.”

“Oh… haha, right, right? I was just joking…”

The baker sweated nervously and hastily changed the subject. Despite my lips smiling, my eyes were not. The golden eyes glimmered faintly like a predator’s, making the baker shiver.

“How did you know about this combination…? Well, I’ll prepare it.”

With an awkward laugh, the baker went toward the kitchen.

“Wait, I have one more request.”

“Oh, what is it?”

The baker looked uneasy.

“I need you to come a bit closer.”

I approached the baker, keeping my voice low so Ellyn wouldn’t hear.

After I explained the details of the order, the baker closed his eyes slowly.

“This is not an easy request. I’ve never made a cake like this before…”

“Is it impossible?”

“It shouldn’t be. I’ll do my best.”

The baker’s eyes shone brightly with the silver coin.

“So, the one you ordered… is for later, correct?”

“Yes, I’ll pick it up later.”

Ellyn, who hadn’t heard the conversation, tilted her head.

“What did you talk about?”

“It’s a secret.”

I couldn’t tell her yet.

Ellyn furrowed her brow for a moment, then relaxed again.

“Have you decided what you want to eat?”

Ellyn shook her head.

Why?

If she wasn’t going to pick something, I had thought I might pick something for her.

“I don’t know.”

“What?”

“I’ve never eaten bread like this before, so I don’t know what’s good.”

That was an unexpected answer.

Could it be that they didn’t even give her good bread at the Duke’s house?

Considering how she’s been treated, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was just tough rye bread.

“My mistake. Let’s look around together.”

I quickly admitted my mistake and knelt in front of Ellyn.

I stopped her from trying to climb onto my back.

“Please place your legs on my shoulders.”

“…?”

Ellyn hesitated but did as I said.

I grabbed her legs firmly and stood up slowly.

“Be careful not to fall. You can hold onto my head if you need to.”

“Ugh…”

Ellyn awkwardly grabbed my head.

It was more comfortable to look around this way than carrying her on my back.

“Let’s look around then. If anything looks good, just tell me.”

We slowly wandered through the display of breads.

“Put me down.”

Ellyn seemed embarrassed, tapping my head.

There wasn’t enough force to make it hurt.

I felt like a watermelon.

“At least carry me properly.”

“This is much easier for me to browse, don’t you think?”

“…?”

Ellyn didn’t respond for a while. Eventually, she seemed to give up and tugged at my head.

“Let’s start over there.”

“Understood.”

Like a chef being controlled by a mouse, I moved at Ellyn’s command.

“What do you think of this one?”

“Hmm…”

Ellyn carefully examined the bread, sniffing it a few times.

She chose a few and brought them over to the counter.

It seemed that the custom-made bread was also ready, as the baker brought it out.

“…That one smells the best.”

Ellyn pointed at the custom-made, glimmering castella.

It was bound to smell delicious. I had made sure of that.

“That one is dangerous,” I replied.

“…Dangerous?”

“Yes. It’s for the Duke.”

Ellyn tilted her head.

There was no need to understand right away. She would soon find out for herself.

“What’s going on?”

“It’s something fun.”

I had mixed some herbs I had bought earlier into the special castella.

And when I infused it with mana…

The castella began to puff up and shine as though it was evolving.

After the dazzling colors settled, the castella revealed its final form, looking even shinier.

“It’s time to go back.”

…What about the mana herb?

“Oh.”

I stopped before opening a portal. I realized I had forgotten the errand.

If I went back now, even with the gift, the Duke would surely be furious.

I quickly headed to the mana herb shop.

It was almost closing time, but I managed to get the strongest mana herb just in time.

Of course, I used Gerald’s money for this purchase.

“Now, we can really head back.”

I snapped my fingers, opening a portal.

We arrived in Ellyn’s room.

The first thing I saw was…

“…What took you so long?”

A slightly less angry but still fuming Gerald was standing there.

“Have you been here this whole time?”

“Where else would I be? She can’t even leave her room.”

Ah, right.

To get the items from Ellyn, I had to come to this room anyway. But had Gerald really been waiting here the whole time?

There were two possibilities. Either he was the type to act cold but was secretly a tsundere older brother, or he had become seriously addicted to mana and had nothing else to do.

Of course, it was the latter.

“Did you get the mana herbs properly? Or do you want to die…?”

“Of course.”

I handed him the mana herbs I had just bought.

Gerald took them with shaking hands.

His trembling seemed too intense. It wasn’t that he was exhausted from being angry. It was more likely that he was experiencing withdrawal symptoms from mana addiction.

When my suspicion turned into certainty, Gerald quietly started smoking the mana herbs.

“Smoking is prohibited in the lady’s room.”

“Shut up.”

“My name is not ‘Shut up,’ Duke.”

With no energy left to argue, Gerald slapped my shoulder and passed by.

“Ah… I see. This is the strongest one. Since you bought it, I’ll let you off the hook today…”

“Wait a moment.”

I couldn’t just let him go like this.

“I also brought a gift for you, since it’s so late.”

“Huh? Well, at least you thought ahead.”

It was clearly an empty compliment, but Gerald took the castella without suspicion.

“…What’s this? I’ve never seen this before.”

Gerald looked at the bread and sniffed it, his eyes widening.

“It’s a special custom-made bread. I felt sorry earlier, so I added a little something as a gesture.”

I made a ring shape with my hands.

Understanding the meaning, Gerald grinned widely, his face looking oddly unappealing, though similar to Ellyn’s.

“Alright, I’ll eat it since you’ve made the effort.”

He brought the bread to his mouth.

As the bread neared his lips, I couldn’t hold back my smile.

Squish.

Gerald bit into the bread.

“What do you think?”

I couldn’t hold back my curiosity and asked.

“It’s… surprisingly good… Ugh…?”

Gerald quickly covered his mouth, his face turning pale.

“Ugh…”

He ran off towards somewhere. It didn’t take a genius to figure out where he was going.

“…Teacher?”

Only then did Ellyn notice something was wrong and grabbed my sleeve.

“You’ll understand soon, Lady Ellyn.”

“…What do you mean?”

Ellyn looked at me with uneasy eyes.

“You’ll understand what happens when you touch the Lady.”

“…What did you put in it?”

“It’s nothing serious. Just some poison… No, it’s herbs.”

“…Is it okay?”

Ellyn’s voice was filled with concern.

“What if I get kicked out…”

Of course, her concern wasn’t about Gerald.

What happened to him didn’t matter to her.

Gerald had always given her orders and beat her when she defied him.

But she worried about me being kicked out.

“Of course, it’s fine. It’ll just make him run to the bathroom a lot. There’s no way the Duke would kick me out over something like that.”

I smiled slightly.

“And since I did this to the Lady, surely making his stomach hurt is the least he deserves?”

Ellyn slowly nodded, her eyes gleaming with understanding.

She was right.

Gerald, who had often hurt her out of sight, deserved this little bit of discomfort.

“He’s going to have a rough time today.”

I muttered, watching Gerald disappear down the corridor.

He didn’t know, but my golden eyes, hidden under my dark circles, gleamed with a faint madness.

The next day, I went to visit Ellyn with light footsteps.

She was still half-asleep when I woke her up, clearing my throat.

“Lady Ellyn, I’ve got good news.”

“…What is it?”

Ellyn yawned, her voice barely audible.

“Apparently, the Duke was running to the bathroom so much last night, the maids lost count after the 26th time.”

Ellyn blinked, and her hair seemed to stand up in surprise.

She had just remembered what I had done to Gerald yesterday.

“You see, now you understand. When someone touches the Lady, this is what happens. So don’t worry about him.”

“…I understand.”

In Ellyn’s eyes, a bit of laughter lingered.