Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 247
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 247
To that end, she first had to concentrate on finishing the pie.
“Licht, are you done?”
“Yes. I just finished.”
Licht showed off the neatly sliced apples.
“Oh…”
Lion’s admiration was genuine.
Licht’s knife-work was remarkably impressive.
“You must have done quite a bit of cooking. Your skill is outstanding.”
At Lion’s sincere praise, Licht waved a hand as though embarrassed.
“Not at all. It’s just that I have a little background in swordsmanship…”
“Swordsmanship?”
Now, that was a first.
“Ah, yes. The Archbishop once placed me with a knight order for a time to improve my physical strength. That’s where I learned a great deal.”
“…”
Only then did Lion feel a few things from the past click into place.
Right. How else could a priest hoist a person up and carry them around?
It was all the result of specialized training.
“With this level of skill, you could even join the Temple Holy Knight Order.”
“I agonized over it quite a lot when I was young. The… knight orders do carry a certain romance to them.”
“Mm.”
Lion couldn’t understand everything, but he could certainly appreciate the dream and romance of the Temple Holy Knight Order.
To begin with, the sight of someone wielding both divine power and swordsmanship in pure white armor was extremely impressive.
A cool look is romance. Obviously.
“Then why did you walk the path of a priest? Did the Archbishop wish it?”
“Ah, that was certainly part of it.”
Licht paused to consider how to answer, then spoke in a roundabout way.
“I did not wish to harm people. Temple knights are fundamentally an order that protects, but there are inevitably times when they must attack others.”
Lion could see why the Archbishop had placed Licht on the priest’s path—more precisely, made Licht his own successor.
At the very least, it was a position that did not require getting blood on one’s own hands.
“I see.”
Lion nodded, transferred the apple slices Licht had cut into a pot, added a generous amount of sugar, and slowly simmered them down.
He did not forget to split a fresh lemon, squeeze in its juice partway through, and sprinkle a little cinnamon powder on top.
‘Hmm, for a proper blood-sugar spike…’
Lion deliberated, then added butter to the simmering apples.
That would caramelize the sugar syrup, doubling the rich, sweet fragrance.
It worked exactly as intended.
A sweet aroma began to spread through the whole kitchen.
Watching, Licht unconsciously swallowed.
“I’ll make the cream.”
“Please do.”
While Licht was wholly absorbed in the filling, Elvia tactfully moved farther away and started making the cream.
“By the way, Priest.”
“…Yes! Lion.”
Licht, who had been briefly captivated by the stewed apples, answered a little late.
“When did you arrive at the mansion?”
“Ah, you must have been wondering. I was dispatched to the Asteri Mansion only a few days ago.”
“Dispatched? Is it perhaps confidential?”
“It is not something that would benefit from being disclosed publicly, but…”
Lion is different.
Licht checked the surroundings, then explained the reason for being here in a quiet voice.
“…Troubled times?”
“Yes. But nothing is about to happen immediately. It is purely a preventive measure, and I am merely a courier of information.”
And thanks to that, I also get to have this enjoyable experience.
Licht reassured Lion, calling it practically a legal vacation.
‘Well, I suppose they must be worried…’
The head of House Asteri himself had directly experienced the war against the demons fifty years ago.
The anxiety of his descendant, Lion, was probably greater than most people’s.
‘The Archbishop was the same way.’
Others might not notice, but the Archbishop was always acutely sensitive to matters related to troubled times or heroes.
The Archbishop believed he had lost the Former Archbishop because of such a matter.
‘To be precise, he never told even me…’
Every time, he would say he’d tell me properly later, then cover it up.
Licht figured it was probably because the Archbishop’s own heart was in no state to speak of it before telling Licht.
The heart that had lost someone precious must have been unfathomably wounded.
“So you need not worry. As I just said, it is purely a preventive measure.”
“I see.”
Lion set aside the apple filling, which had begun to soak up the sugar, took out the rested dough, and began rolling it with a pin and folding it repeatedly.
‘Troubled times… So that’s how it is.’
The conversation had been casual, but he had learned one piece of information through Licht.
First, there were signs of ‘troubled times’.
Nothing major had occurred yet, but something was preparing to happen.
And the Archbishop had noticed it.
…However.
A question rose in Lion’s mind.
“Priest Licht. I have a question.”
“Yes. Lion. I shall tell you everything within my knowledge.”
“What exactly are ‘troubled times’?”
“Um…”
“Is every incursion by demons labeled ‘troubled times’?”
Licht considered for a moment.
How to explain this…
Calmly choosing his words, Licht began the explanation in a slow tone.
“A situation that could pose a threat to humanity and the continent is called ‘troubled times’.”
“A situation that could pose a threat?”
“Yes. Even if it is not demons. Hm, Lion, your ‘labyrinth’—had it not been resolved, it too would have become a kind of troubled time.”
Of course, he added, he no longer thought of it as a threat now.
“Rather, it was a stroke of luck that the labyrinth’s owner appeared. In a way, you accomplished something significant, Lion.”
“Hahaha. You flatter me.”
So, troubled times were essentially akin to a disaster.
And the priests’ role was to detect those disasters in advance.
‘Through prophetic dreams.’
Last time, while organizing the small library in the temple, Lion had read about ‘prophetic dreams’ among its materials.
Specifically, the things Licht had not gotten around to mentioning.
For example.
-If you have a prophetic dream, you must verify its substance without fail.
…Things like that.
If the reason you had to verify the dream was to prevent a disaster early, or to select those who could stop it, then it made sense.
‘If that’s the case.’
Lion recalled the Archbishop he had met in a dream before.
Then he looked at Licht, who stood before him now.
“Anyway, yes. That is the case. I am not sure if my explanation has been helpful.”
“No. It was quite sufficient. At any rate, it means we need not worry too much, yes?”
“Yes. That’s right. And even if something should occur, I… no, the temple intends to do its utmost to prevent the troubled times.”
“Then that’s settled. Ah, the pie is almost ready to bake.”
During the conversation, Lion took the dough back out of the cold storage, cut it to an appropriate size, fitted it into the pie tin, and poked holes in the bottom with a fork.
‘He must be suspicious of me.’
The Archbishop, that is.
Licht did not seem to have caught on to that yet.
‘Hm. No need to provoke him.’
Hadn’t Lion heard his grandfather offhandedly refer to the Archbishop as a ‘madman’?
When he ultimately had to face him, Lion thought it best to avoid needlessly provoking first, so that things could be resolved as amicably as possible.
“The cream is also finished.”
Timing her words to the end of the conversation, Elvia brought over the custard cream.
Lion spread the cream evenly inside the pie, then heaped on a generous amount of the stewed apples, their syrup perfectly soaked between the fruit pieces.
Lastly, he sliced the dough thinly to create a lattice pattern, brushed the top with egg yolk, and placed it into the preheated oven.
Before long, a savory aroma filled the air as the pie baked to a golden, appetizing color inside the oven.
“This is the first time I’ve seen a pie being baked. It’s quite…”
Appetizing.
Licht murmured, unable to tear his gaze from the oven.
“Thanks to your help, Priest, it all went much more smoothly.”
“You’re right. Ah, would you like to have some together?”
“Would that be all right?”
“Yes. There’s plenty of it, after all.”
The pie was indeed quite large.
It seemed more than big enough to put Licht to sleep, and still have enough to give Urhil as a ‘tasty snack’.
‘Well, it might make him a little sleepy…’
Probably less so than the bait gangjeong from before.
And so, while they were making that light chatter…
“It’s done.”
Elvia took the pie out of the oven and brought it to the dining room.
“Ooh…”
The apple pie looked magnificent.
The pastry was visibly crispy and flaky, while the filling inside was packed heavily full.
A subtle scent of cinnamon and fresh apples.
And on top of that, a lattice pattern!
It was the picture of a perfect apple pie.
And now…
Now that the apple pie was finished.
Glance.
It was the moment Lion’s plan began.
“Elvia. Could I ask you to bring some tea?”
“Yes. Understood.”
“Ah, use the teas on the shelf in my room.”
“I will.”
Elvia obediently did as Lion asked.
She had become curious what kind of mischief the young master was about to get up to.
‘Good. Elvia is gone.’
Lion personally cut the slightly cooled apple pie and placed a slice on a plate.
“Oh, there was something I’d missed.”
“…”
In Licht’s eyes, the apple pie was perfection itself.
What on earth could be missing?
“You know, a little salt sprinkled on top of sweet food actually doubles the flavor.”
And as it happens, I have some good salt.
Lion grinned and took a powder from his coat.
Ordinarily, the sight of a mysterious powder emerging from a coat pocket should have prompted suspicion.
“I see!”
But Licht, who had considerable trust in Lion, did not guard against it.
In front of Licht’s eyes, Lion lightly sprinkled the pie slice with ‘salt’—no, the same ‘sleep-inducing powder’ he had used on Urhil—and handed it over.
Naturally, to avert doubt, he also sprinkled the powder on his own plate.
“Hmm, Elvia seems like she’ll be a while. Shall we eat first? It’s hard to resist looking at that freshly baked pie. And it’s a dish I haven’t had in quite some time…”
“That you haven’t had in some time… Ah.”
Licht understood at once.
Clearly, Lion had been so absorbed in something that he’d skipped another meal.
In that case, eating quickly was the right move.
“Yes. That seems best.”
“Well then.”
Without hesitation, Lion filled his mouth with pie and chewed.
-Looks delicious…
“…”
The thin, layered pastry crumbled lightly, and the warm custard cream melted softly, coating the inside of the mouth.
Then, a crunch.
The sweet-and-sour stewed apples served as a focal point against the sugary taste, keeping it from cloying.
Even the faintly crunchy grain of the powder at the very end was excellent.
‘Glad it’s not too sweet.’
He would have to try it with a different apple variety later.
Watching Lion eat robustly, Licht also began to eat the pie.
“…! It’s delicious.”
Captivated by the pie, which was even more delicious than expected, Licht unconsciously emptied a whole slice in no time.
And a moment later.
Drowsiness rushed in.
‘Is it because it’s been so long since I ate something sweet?’
The body grew languid, and the eyelids kept drooping.
“The atmosphere is so different from the temple, you must have been tired while adjusting.”
“Ah, yes. I thought I was fine, but apparently I was a bit.”
“The commotion earlier likely added to the tension, too. Hmm, I think it’s best you go upstairs and rest first.”
I-Is that it?
It seems so.
Otherwise, it was impossible to be this sleepy.
‘Could there be something in the apple pie…’
But he had watched the entire cooking process, and Lion was perfectly fine.
It really must have been built-up fatigue after all.
“Then, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be going…”
Sadly, Licht’s words did not find their end.
Thump.
Head met table on the spot.
“May you have sweet dreams.”
My apologies, Priest!
Lion swiftly pushed aside the fork and plate and offered a light apology in his heart.