Chapter 36
Chapter 36
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Whispers and Walnut Pie
-----------------------------------------------------------------
***
“Did you see? The Young Lord and Lady Lucillea have been together since this morning.”
In the main building of the Descartes Grand Duchy, the laundry room.
Amidst the thick, hot steam that had been rising since dawn, the maids’ hands were busy sorting through a ceaseless pile of laundry.
Countless garments were plunged into tubs brimming with white foam, and the rhythmic thud of paddles beating wet cloth echoed through the room.
“I saw them from a distance, too. I thought I was seeing things! The heir of Marquis Sidrat was with them as well, right?”
A maid asked as she pulled a sheet from the mountain of laundry.
“Yes, I heard they fought and then made up.”
“Children are quick to make up after a fight.”
“Still, this is the first time the Young Lord has kept someone by his side.”
Excluding his aide, Jed, of course.
At that, another maid, who had been beating the laundry, tapped her own back and spoke.
“I know, right? That cold and indifferent young master. I suppose it’s a relief he’s finally made a friend, even if it’s late.”
“But to call them friends…”
The maid paused, tilting her head as she continued.
“That little girl, Lucillea, is seven, isn’t she? Can you really call them friends when there’s a six-year age gap?”
Hearing this, another maid beside her chuckled.
“Friend is just a word. Do you really think he considers her a friend? He’s probably just humoring her because it’s cute how the little thing follows him around. Gosh, just thinking about it is adorable.”
The other maids listening in nodded in agreement.
The image of their proud young master, who never easily let anyone near, unable to push away a small girl who stuck to him more persistently than his own shadow.
It was a scene that brought a smile to their faces just by imagining it.
“It’s for the best. Truthfully, the Young Lord didn’t have anyone to open his heart to.”
“…”
At the older maid’s words, the atmosphere in the laundry room instantly grew solemn. Even the sound of the paddles paused for a moment.
The maids were powerless.
When the collateral branches and vassal families of the Grand Duchy had taken it upon themselves to isolate Serdian, the maids had no choice but to follow their orders.
Even if it meant hurting and lonelying Serdian.
Moreover, when the one who gave the order was Anasis, once the princess of the Grand Duchy, who would dare to defy her?
The older maids, who had grown up in the grand ducal estate, remembered.
That fearsome princess, who had been more headstrong than the current Grand Duke and was never satisfied until she got whatever she wanted.
They remembered the fate of those who had crossed her.
“It was the day I sent him medicine because he was injured during training…”
A faint terror flickered in the old maid’s eyes as she recalled that day.
She had sent medicine for his treatment, but what reached Serdian was poison.
It was impossible to know who had switched it, but the incident was a sufficient warning to both the maids and Serdian.
After several such incidents, the maids decided to thoroughly ignore Serdian.
They believed it was the only way to protect the boy.
Pretending not to see his injuries, feigning ignorance of his hunger—treating him as if he didn’t exist was the only way they could shield him from greater threats.
A place where interest became poison, and sympathy returned as a blade.
That was the reality of the grand ducal estate where the young heir lived.
“Come to think of it, since His Highness the Grand Duke is here, the princess… no, I mean, Marchioness Belgar hasn’t been visiting, has she?”
“That’s right. She can’t have her way when His Highness is around.”
“Then…”
A maid carefully began to speak.
“His Highness said he won’t be leaving for any campaigns for a while, so… perhaps we could start looking after the Young Lord now?”
But no one could answer easily. There were still those in the estate loyal to Anasis, the former princess.
It seemed difficult to care for Serdian without getting caught in their persistent web of surveillance.
*Phew*, another maid sighed.
“It’s shameful. We full-grown adults are still hesitating, while that tiny child approaches the Young Lord without a second thought.”
“That’s why he must find the little one so endearing, isn’t it?”
Someone who approaches first, and who comes back even when pushed away.
“You’re right.”
Perhaps.
Perhaps Lucillea was a small salvation not only for Serdian but for all of them, who had been forced to remain silent in their guilt.
“Thinking about it, she really is amazing. That girl, Lucillea. Whatever method she used, she managed to win the Young Lord’s heart, didn’t she?”
“Indeed. His Highness the Grand Duke also seems to hold her in special regard. A while ago, she even set her bedroom on fire, but instead of scolding her, he gave her the room His Highness used as a child, right?”
“That’s right!”
The center of the chatter naturally shifted to Lucillea. The once heavy atmosphere became lively again.
“There must be something special about her. I don’t really see it. She just has common brown hair and brown eyes, right? The kind you can see anywhere.”
When one maid spoke her honest opinion, another retorted.
“Hey, you haven’t looked closely, have you?”
“What’s there to look closely at?”
“I got a good look when she came to the laundry room before. Her features are so delicate and adorable!”
“Really?”
“Of course! Especially when she smiles, she gets these little dimples on both cheeks. Did you not see them? You didn’t see them?! She looks just like a doll!”
Genuine excitement colored the speaking maid’s face.
“Right, even that fearsome Mei packs snacks to feed the little one whenever she has free time.”
“She does?”
“I would too. I gave her a piece of candy once, and the way she savored it in her tiny mouth was just so cute.”
“And the parrot she always has on her head is cute too!”
“Yes!”
“I…”
Just then, a usually quiet maid spoke up slowly.
“When she bowed and said, ‘Thank you for the food, sister…’ My heart… it ached…”
“…”
At her words, everyone in the laundry room froze for a moment, then burst into laughter simultaneously.
For some time now, the atmosphere of the grand ducal estate had been changing, little by little.
And the first to feel it were the employees who saw to every nook and cranny of the estate.
“Well, whatever the case, it’s a good thing.”
A maid said, wringing out a wet garment with all her might.
“Thanks to that child, the estate is starting to feel the warmth of a lived-in home.”
*Yes, yes.* The other maids, agreeing vehemently, began to move their hands busily once more.
Amidst the conversations that came and went as they worked, Lucillea’s name was mixed in, like a small, budding hope.
***
The kitchen of the Descartes’ west annex.
Lucillea, Serdian, and Reiden stood before a bowl of flour dough, each wearing an apron.
Reiden had received permission from Elbadin to enter the west annex during his stay.
Serdian poked the pale dough with a finger and said in a voice lacking confidence.
“He’s not going to like something like this.”
Lucillea reached up and patted Serdian on the back.
“Did you think I went through the trouble of borrowing the kitchen just to hear you say such discouraging things before we even start?”
Though her words were far from comforting, it was Lucillea’s own way of encouraging him.
The three children were in the kitchen to make a walnut pie.
This was part of a plan to improve the relationship between Elbadin and Serdian.
*A son making a snack for his father for the very first time! The father-son bond that blossoms while they share it! And thus, their intimacy level rises!*
Doing something you’ve never done before is always more effective.
*Hehehe.*
Just as Lucillea was smiling slyly to herself.
*Clatter, clatter, clatter.* Cookie came running across the kitchen counter, rolling a single walnut.
[Walnut delivery! Fresh walnuts have arrived!]
Cookie pushed the walnut, as big as his own head, with his beak from the end of the counter right up to Lucillea.
“Oh, my Cookie! Good job!”
As Lucillea stroked Cookie’s head, the parrot puffed out his chest with pride.
“Alright, shall we get started?”
Lucillea said, recalling the secret walnut pie recipe she had learned from Mei.
“First, the most important part, the pie dough! We have to mix the butter and flour by cutting them together!”
At Lucillea’s words, Reiden tilted his head for a moment, then waved his finger in the air.
“Like this?”
A sky-blue stream of mana bloomed from Reiden’s fingertip, flowing like a transparent string to mix the butter and flour in the bowl.
It was as if an invisible hand was kneading the dough.
“Oh!”
Lucillea clapped her hands in admiration.
*You can do that with mana?!*
Wow, mana is the best!
Just then, Serdian, who had been glancing between Lucillea and Reiden, cleared his throat and stepped forward.
“We have to crack these walnut shells too, right?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.”
As Lucillea nodded, adding an egg yolk to the well-mixed dough, Serdian grabbed a kitchen knife from the counter.
Instantly, a golden aura shimmered like a heat haze over the entire blade.
Then, *Thwack! Thump! Thwump—!*
He precisely split the hard walnut shells as if he were lopping off the heads of the wooden dummies in the training yard.
“…”
“…”
The loud noises echoed through the kitchen. Lucillea and Reiden blinked as they watched.
For some reason, the round, hard walnuts overlapped with the image of her own head, and Lucillea swallowed dryly without realizing it.
Soon, perfectly clean nutmeats were revealed, without a single scratch.
Cookie, watching alongside them, whispered thoughtlessly.
[When he’s an adult, he’ll be able to lop off a person’s head without a second thought.]
‘…’
*Right, lop it off. What’s one human head.*
*He’ll lop off dozens, hundreds of them…*
*And my head is one of them.*
As cruel moments from the original novel flashed through her mind, the dough and ingredients were quickly prepared.
Under Lucillea’s direction, the walnut pie was finally baked in the oven.
Though its shape was crooked, the combined efforts of the three children resulted in an intensely nutty and sweet aroma.
It’s done!
Now all Serdian had to do was take it to the Grand Duke—.
“So this is where you were.”
Huh? The gazes of Lucillea and the two boys, who were about to cut the pie, turned to the kitchen entrance.
It was the butler, Anton, who had come looking for them.
*Huh? What’s that man doing here?*
Lucillea’s eyebrows shot up as she looked at Anton.
Anton continued.
“His Highness the Grand Duke is looking for you.”
Oh, perfect timing! Lucillea gestured to Serdian and Reiden with her eyes.
*Do well, you two.*
But then.
“He has requested that Lady Lucillea come as well.”
“…What?”
The invitation came with an unwelcome addition.