Nutella Custard Cream Donuts (2)
The Felwinter family's little ogre, a bear cub born human, the pig (a nickname only Robin used)—Alicia's monikers were many and varied.
The reason was painfully obvious.
Her appetite was ferocious enough to earn every last one of them.
Even so, she was a gourmet through and through.
Anyone who knew her might tilt their head and wonder, Really?, but she truly was a gourmet.
Given the world she grew up in, she could hardly have become anything else.
It might have been different in the old days when even nobles went hungry.
Ever since the Adobis New Kingdom began purchasing cold-releasing magic wood from Iceland, the Felwinter family had never once fretted over money.
Thanks to that, Alicia—born into Iceland's first golden age—had eaten whatever she pleased right up until Baroness Poppins attached herself to her side.
In truth, she still ate whatever she pleased even after that.
Alicia loved every delicious food under the sun, fundamentally and without exception.
This was tasty, that was tasty—how could one possibly rank them? Preferences might dip for a while, but there was no food she disliked.
"Ooooh…"
"Lady Alicia."
"Shhhh. Alicia is going to eat this with her hands."
For the first time, that conviction wavered.
Pssshh—
Actually, it had not wavered from the very start.
Even though Nutella was involved, the donut Karem brought looked for all the world like an ordinary ring liberally dusted with powdered sugar.
But the instant she gripped it in both hands and tore it open to eat, the evaluation in Alicia's heart flipped completely.
From within the crisp-yet-chewy, soft, utterly familiar donut, a thick, sticky dark-brown custard cream welled up with a heavy glug.
The Amadeus custard cream looked ready to overflow at any second—yet it did not.
It seeped into the countless little holes riddling the dough and settled back down again.
"Lady Alicia. The powder is falling. Please use a fork and knife—"
Alicia firmly rejected Poppins's not-quite-coercion.
Instead, as if making a point, she brought one half of the hand-torn donut to her wide-open mouth and took a huge bite.
"Haa… You follow the lessons so well, yet the moment you have to apply them yourself—"
"If you fuss so much over manners that you can't even focus on the food, Alicia believes that is no manners toward the food at all."
"I shall be stricter with the lessons from now on."
"Ah, Alicia does not yield to that kind of intimidation. Food tastes better when you eat it deliciously…!"
Karem found the sight of her so heartwarming that a smile bloomed across his face unbidden. A chef's greatest joy was watching a guest eat with pure relish.
"Did you say this Amadeus Nutella we're eating now is the last of it?"
Catherine swallowed the donut in her mouth, savored the lingering taste on her tongue, then asked Karem.
"After eating this much, about two-thirds of the jar should still be left."
"We filled one whole side of the cart with nothing but Amadeus and Nutella before we set out, and it's already this low?"
"Yes."
"Already nearly gone…"
Catherine's brow furrowed into a valley of pure anguish. Even while she fretted, her mouth obediently accepted the donut Mary held out to her.
"To think we ate it that often. It doesn't feel real. At most… no. We had it with every single snack after setting out, and at breakfast and dinner as well—"
"The Amadeus Alraune—Double A—you're drinking right now is also Amadeus."
At Mary's words, Catherine lowered her head for a moment. In the silver cup she held with both hands sat a light-brown beverage crowned with whipped cream.
"Of course, the pure Amadeus itself ran out long ago."
"Right. You said you made it with Nutella. Indeed, drinking it this way, I can taste a nutty depth quite different from Amadeus itself."
As Catherine's gaze shifted to him, Karem simply shrugged.
"Cooking is basically improvisation."
"The savory, bitter aroma is further enhanced, and with the soft sweetness and nutty flavor topped so generously with whipped cream, it has a wholly unique taste."
"Even so, that doesn't change the fact that only one jar remains."
Catherine, still savoring her Europa-style café mocha, shot Karem a sulky look.
"No. We made donuts, so two-thirds. And we made drinks as well, so even less than that is left."
"Ugh. If I'd known it would come to this, I should have squeezed a little more out of that mercenary."
"Would that even have worked?"
The forest spirit Flora could command all manner of plants.
But while other plants were one thing, the Amadeus tree was far too delicate for that sort of force.
"It's a joke. A joke. Do you think I don't know that would be forcing it?"
"For a joke, your voice sounded awfully sincere."
"That's how much I regret it. One donut and one cup of this. I shouldn't eat any more."
Letting out a disappointed little groan, Catherine—cheeks faintly flushed—wore a thoroughly regretful expression as she sipped a little more from her silver cup.
"Then what about the remaining donuts? Shall I tell Mary and Lady Alicia to finish them all?"
At those words, two pairs of sparkling eyes that were of one mind flashed toward Catherine in perfect unison.
"Not all of them—just half of what's left. If we try to store every last one, we might have a mutiny on our hands."
"A mutiny? Who exactly is going to commit mutiny?"
"You. You. Wipe that blatant appetite out of your eyes before you speak, you shameless thing."
Mary flinched. Alicia flinched right along with her.
"Put the rest in a box with preservation magic and store it. We'll eat it later."
"There you have it, you two."
The young lady and the house elf both turned their gazes on Karem.
"That's what she says."
Karem looked at the pair and flicked his fingers.
"As expected, the contractor is generous. Then, following that order, I shall—"
"Alicia is here too!!!"
"Ahem. We will eat them deliciously. So, Lady Alicia—you can eat it like this."
"Eh. Mary's side has way more."
"Isn't that only natural? I'm bigger, after all."
"But Alicia eats more!"
Bickering and fussing filled the air.
Of course, no matter how food-crazed the two of them were, they still had a minimum of boundaries—so they only argued with words.
Meanwhile Karem took out a suitable basket, packed the half-portion he had mentioned from the start, covered it with a lid enchanted with preservation magic, and set it aside in one corner of the tent.
"What about you? Are you done eating? Unlike me, a few more won't hurt you."
"Mm. That's true, but personally I prefer the ones with jam inside."
"Hmm. Then make those for tomorrow's snack."
"Hm? Without eating the remaining donuts?"
"We'll eat those too."
In other words, she planned to enjoy whipped-cream jam donut sandwiches for tomorrow's snack and save the others for a different snack time altogether.
"That's a diet perfect for packing on the pounds."
"What. Jealous?"
"I've said it before, but yes. I'm jealous."
Karem nodded with complete sincerity.
"But you don't eat like me or that house elf over there who swallows donuts in one bite. No need to worry, right?"
"Still, I can't just gorge myself the way I did before last autumn."
If it had still been a body in its growth period, this would have been a trivial worry. No matter how much you stuffed yourself, you turned around and were hungry again. But now, as a result of the Curse of Aging, his body had grown, and he was at the tail end of his growth period.
"If I ate like that, I'd end up fat like Young Master Godwin, who scoops up Maoines like this and stuffs it in."
"Hmm. A bit more bulk than you have now would look good on you, though."
"That makes me feel good, but it still sounds like empty flattery."
"Do you think I'd ever say empty words, from everything you've seen of me?"
Catherine grinned as if she had just heard something interesting.
"If I had, I wouldn't have charged at His Lordship."
"Wow—last winter I was really startled. You suddenly charged straight at His Excellency."
"As long as I didn't use magic, it was fine."
"And you don't care about how startled I was?"
"Your training is lacking."
"No way. I practice whenever I have free time."
Of course, he did not want to.
"Hmm? I don't think I've ever seen it."
"Well, of course you do it where other people can't see. It's embarrassing."
"Ah, I've seen it."
Mary, who had been eating donuts while gently fending off Alicia's hands to protect her own share, raised her hand slightly.
"It's improved vastly compared to when you were rolling around with Sir Stark."
"…When did you see that?"
"Well, I saw it in passing while cleaning the tower."
"Alicia saw it too!"
Even under Poppins's fierce gaze, Alicia—still dropping powdered sugar as she ate—raised her hand high.
"The ice growing out like candy, and Karem rolling this way and that swinging a club—it was fun."
"And when did you, my lady—"
"Just the other day when I snuck in for cookies—oops."
"Oh ho. Young Master William mentioned it, but I never expected you to confess yourself like this."
Mary looked down at Alicia with a blank face, chuckling softly.
"Lady Alicia. It seems we have quite a bit to talk about. Don't you think so, my lady?"
"Ah, Alicia has nothing to talk about with Mary!"
"That's a shame. But my lady, do you know this?"
"Hm?"
"This isn't Winterhome. There's nowhere to run."
"Before that, excuse me for a moment."
Poppins said, pressing her wrinkled brow.
"I don't mean to interfere. As her dedicated governess, I believe I should have a conversation with the young lady first."
"Ki-Kitty and Karem said I can come anytime…!"
"The two of you gave up because you couldn't even detect the young lady's infiltrations."
Poppins's words held an undeniable truth.
"It's not wrong, but somehow that stings."
"Well, the only one who could detect and catch the young lady in the tower was Mary."
"If that offended you, I apologize."
Poppins gave Catherine a slight bow and firmly held Alicia in her arms. The little ogre, who had been trying to slip away, startled.
"And the young lady will have to do dictation with me."
"Th-This is unfair! Didn't you say I could play until we arrive!"
"As I have said repeatedly before. Sneaking in is a great rudeness. And before that—dropping powder all over like this. You will have to do dictation a hundred times."
"Hiiiiiing."
"But I will give you enough time to eat your snack."
"I've already almost finished it."
As she said, only two donuts remained on the tray.
Alicia grabbed one and quickly ate it.
Powdered sugar cascaded down.
Creak—
"Then I'll take my leave."
"I'll come again next time!"
Poppins carried Alicia—still waving goodbye—out of the tent.
Munch munch—gulp—
Mary quickly swallowed the remaining donut and paused.
She quickly scanned her surroundings.
"Then I'll also excuse myself for a moment."
"Where are you going, Mary?"
"To make snacks for the mages."
Mary brushed the donut crumbs and powdered sugar from her hands onto the tray. Once her hands were clean, she picked up the tray and stood.
"Wait."
"Do you have something to say?"
"You should leave that tray here."
"Tsk."
Mary clicked her tongue softly as if it pained her, bowed to Catherine, and stepped out of the tent.
"Lord Atanitas! Are you inside!"
As Mary lifted the tent flap with her hand, a soldier's shouting voice rang out.
"Come in. So, what is it?"
"Ah, thank goodness. His Grace the Duke requests your counsel."
"Counsel? While we're resting?"
"Yes."
The soldier nodded.
"The scouting party has gone missing."
"…Seeing as you've come like this, I take it you've identified the cause."
"Yes. A giant rock… they say."
"A rock?"
How could a rock be the cause of a disappearance? Had a rockfall occurred?
But here atop the coastal cliffs there wasn't even a hill, let alone a mountain.
"What did the rock do?"
"That, I don't really…"
At the soldier's words, Karem exchanged a regretful glance with Catherine.
Then he rose following her and trailed after the soldier.
A picture drawn by ChatGPT.