The Best Dural Bread
Chloe was about to head to Morta Village with the tailors when she realized there was only one carriage available. A troubled look crossed her face.
The tailors had no choice but to split up and ride on the cart loaded with coats.
“Are you sure you’re all right riding in a luggage cart?”
At Chloe’s question, the tailors answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Of course, my lady! We’re already overjoyed just to not have to walk.”
“We rode in a luggage cart on the way here as well.”
“Riding in a cart is fun!”
The tailors chattered excitedly, like students on a field trip. Chloe knew that even a short ride in a proper carriage could leave one’s hips and back aching, so a luggage cart would be far worse.
She called for Handsome, who was busy preparing for departure.
“Yes, my lady.”
Handsome hurried over and bowed his head before Chloe. He looked a little thinner than before from the heavy workload, but it only sharpened his jawline and made his clothes hang better on his tall frame. With his striking features and commanding presence, he was impossible to ignore.
No matter how she looked at it, Scrooge had chosen an outstanding successor as butler. Simply gazing at him was enough to refresh the eyes—an unexpected bonus.
“We need to purchase more carriages. Can you look into it?”
“More than one… you mean?”
Handsome trailed off, clearly struggling to grasp the scale of the request.
“When the workers head out to the wasteland, do they all ride in carts?”
“Yes. But since there aren’t enough, most of them walk.”
“Really? It’s quite far!”
“That’s why they depart a little earlier.”
Chloe smacked her forehead. She hadn’t even considered this. Handsome swallowed nervously, looking bewildered. He worried he had done something wrong again, but no matter how hard he thought, nothing came to mind.
In his experience, it was perfectly normal for laborers and workers to walk to their jobs. If anything, riding in a cart had always felt like an unnecessary luxury.
“Work is already hard enough. Walking all that way will exhaust them before they even start. This won’t do. Buy more carts and carriages. Discuss it with the treasurer, find suppliers, and call in merchants if needed. Understood?”
“……Yes. I understand.”
Handsome answered while frantically trying to make sense of everything.
When Chloe’s carriage and the cart carrying the tailors and the coats arrived in Morta Village, the villagers rushed toward them in a crowd.
“It’s the lord!”
“The lord has come!”
Seeing the villagers cheering as if they had met a hero, Chloe’s face flushed with embarrassment.
Handsome and Scrooge exchanged glances and smiled at their lord’s girlish reaction. Even when she acted mature, moments like this reminded them how endearing she could be.
The knights escorting the carriage formed a wall between Chloe and the surging crowd. Above all else, the lord’s safety came first.
Chloe felt like an idol.
Children in colorful clothes ran up to greet her. She could almost hear the villagers’ favor toward her skyrocketing. It was fortunate she had set the alarm volume to mute.
“……”
Chloe looked at the children who had reached her first.
“Yes! My mom made Dural bread for me this morning!”
“Kevin’s mom makes the best Dural bread!”
The children eagerly brought up the topic of Dural bread. Chloe recalled the task she had given the village chief.
“Is that so? I’d like to try some myself.”
“Come to our house, my lady! The chief said my mom makes it the best!”
From the child’s words, it seemed Chief Hope was diligently carrying out his assignment.
“Handsome, help the tailors distribute the children’s coats. Scrooge, come with me to see the chief.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Handsome answered promptly and hurried over to the tailors, who looked overwhelmed by the crowd. The knights blocking the villagers remained expressionless, as they had been trained, even as the cheers grew louder with every step Chloe took.
“My lady!”
As if summoned, Chief Hope came running toward them, out of breath. His few remaining strands of hair fluttered like seaweed in the sea.
“Have you been well?”
Perhaps because she had given him a name, he felt more familiar now. Almost like a son she had borne herself.
“Yes, my lady. I was planning to visit Grace Castle tomorrow to report on the Dural bread.”
The chief’s voice was especially loud and clear. Noticing how the villagers’ attention focused on him, Chloe realized he wanted to show off their connection.
The chief looked at Chloe with bright, expectant eyes.
Since he’s doing his homework so diligently, maybe I should give him a little more time.
Chloe smiled warmly at Hope, who stood respectfully before her.
“That’s good to hear. Then let’s go to your house so I can hear the rest of the report.”
“Yes!”
The chief answered loudly, clearly wanting the villagers to hear.
Chloe found the sight both cute and amusing. She nodded and followed him.
“Is this the Dural bread Kevin’s mother made?”
Chloe asked as she looked at the round loaves arranged on the table.
The breads had been carefully prepared in anticipation of the lord’s visit. They varied in size and shape, clearly the result of multiple experiments.
“Yes. These are the best ones we’ve made so far. Some were made by Kevin’s mother, and others by different people.”
Since the shapes and sizes differed, the bakers must have been different as well. Chloe’s anticipation grew.
“They all look delicious. Are the ingredients the same?”
“The ingredients are the same, but the methods and ratios vary slightly. Some have more Dural, while others use more grain flour.”
As Chloe listened to the chief’s explanation and examined the breads, she noticed several pairs of eyes peeking through the open window. They belonged to women of various ages, not children. They were likely the ones who had baked the breads.
“Are these the people who made the bread?”
At Chloe’s perceptive question, the women’s heads vanished in a flurry. She wanted to invite them inside, but the chief’s house was too small. She pretended not to notice as they peeked in again and focused on the bread.
Chloe tasted the loaves one by one, from smallest to largest. Every time she took a bite, a commotion erupted outside the window.
“The lord ate the bread I made!”
“Oh my! I’m so nervous!”
The women were both excited and tense, their faces stiffening, like trainees auditioning for an idol agency.
After sampling several, Chloe selected the one she liked best.
“This one.”
It was a Dural bread about the size of a steamed bun. Outside the window, sighs of disappointment and cheers of joy rang out at the same time.
“Who made this bread?”
At Chloe’s question, one of the women outside timidly raised her hand. She looked overjoyed but couldn’t fully express it, mindful of the disappointed gazes around her.
“Come inside.”
Chloe gestured, and the woman’s eyes widened as she looked at the chief.
“What are you doing? The lord told you to come in! That’s Kevin’s mother.”
“Oh, really? I heard Chief Hope praised it as the best. It seems our tastes match.”
“I-It’s an honor, my lady.”
Hope looked as though he had received the highest praise, even though Chloe had only said their tastes aligned. Meanwhile, Kevin’s mother stepped inside and stood hesitantly before Chloe. Though her head was bowed, her flushed forehead showed how overwhelmed she was.
“It’s my mom! My mom was chosen! I told you! My mom’s the best!”
It was the voice of the child who had bragged about his mother’s skills earlier. Chloe waved Kevin over as well. He was already wearing the coat he had received from the tailors.
The coat was a bit large on him, but seeing him wear it anyway eased Chloe’s heart. She felt an urgent desire to dress the other children too—not just in Morta Village, but in Enol, Condal, Lasen, and beyond. There was no time to waste.
Kevin stood smiling brightly, clutching his mother’s skirt. He was an adorable child with a dimple in one cheek.
“What’s your name?”
Chloe asked Kevin’s mother. It was the first time a noble had asked for her name, so she took a deep breath and answered in a tense voice.
“Bakey.”
Bakey.
Well, at least it wasn’t Nike.
The name was just as expected. If the bread maker had been Kevin’s father instead, would it have been Baker? Chloe wondered.
“You’ve created an excellent result. It was so delicious that I wanted to keep eating even though I wasn’t hungry.”
“Th-Th-Th-Th……”
“You’re welcome?”
Bakey nodded vigorously, her mouth still forming the shape of “th.” Both she and Kevin were undeniably adorable.