Chapter 79
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Wish Voucher
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Chill.
The first sensation was a piercing cold that prickled straight to the scalp. The cells on her heat-weary tongue screamed back to life.
And then, following right after, an explosive sweetness crashed in.
It wasn't the simple sweetness of sugar. A thick, creamy richness blended with the nutty depth of milk coated her entire mouth.
"Hmm...?!"
Leona's pupils dilated wide.
The lump melted silkily across her tongue. No need to even chew. Soft milk fat caressed it like a lover before bursting with a tangy strawberry scent right at the edge of her throat.
A crisp finish that offered no chance for cloying aftertaste.
"Wh-what in the world is this...?!"
Leona couldn't find the words.
The hard bread from the Great Jin Empire? Salt-cured meat? Those were garbage. This wasn't cooking. It was magic.
A jolt of dopamine slammed her brain. The sweltering heat, her irritation, her resentment toward Cheonwi—all vanished without a trace. Her mind held only one primal urge: I need more.
Her hand sped up.
Clink, clink.
Elegant table manners? Forgotten. Leona shoveled it in greedily. With every bite, a smile bloomed on her lips, her face lighting up like she might break into a hum.
"So good... unbelievable... how can it taste like this..."
The cold gelato slid down her throat, chilling her belly refreshingly. It felt like the sweat was being sucked right out of her pores.
Cheonwi watched with arms folded, a pleased glint in his eye.
Like an owner gazing fondly at a pet devouring its meal.
"How is it? Still look barbaric to you?"
Cheonwi asked in a deliberately haughty tone. Normally, Leona would have exploded with "Insolent fool!" But right now, her ears rang with nothing.
"Munch munch... mmm...!"
Instead of a reply, she jammed the spoon in deeper.
The haughty imperial princess of the empire had crumbled utterly before a single bowl of ice cream. Hilda, watching from the side, gulped hard, her eyes boring into the princess's spoon.
As expected, the sugar-fat combo is unbeatable.
Cheonwi savored his victory.
This was no mere dessert service. It was the opening salvo in gastronomic mental conquest.
Before long, the bowl's bottom peeked through.
Leona scraped desperately at the gelato clinging to the walls, reluctance in every stroke.
Scrape, scrape.
On the opulent table of Yeongbin Hall, pathetic echoes rang out. Sounds unfit for an imperial princess—more like a beggar scraping the last grains from an empty bowl after days of starvation.
"Gone... all eaten... how could this happen..."
Second Princess Leona von Heinrich's eyes welled up. Incredulous, she peered into the transparent crystal bowl.
The pink-hued, sweet, icy paradise that had melted at the touch of her tongue was no more. All that remained were faint milky streaks on the walls.
Instinctively, she scraped again.
A precious dab of scraped liquid made its way to her mouth.
Slurp.
"Ahh..."
The teasing sweetness ghosted across her tongue, only sharpening her thirst. Her body shuddered. This was no ordinary hunger. It was withdrawal crashing in after her first taste of such intense pleasure.
"Your Highness, mind your dignity."
Hilda murmured a low warning from beside her. But even her voice lacked conviction.
"You mustn't forget your poise as an imperial princess. Scraping the bowl like that..."
Hilda put on a stern face while slyly wiping a smear of white cream from her lips with her finger. With perfect naturalness, she brought it to her mouth.
Lick.
The knight captain's eyes briefly melted in ecstasy before snapping back to severity.
"...Though, it is astonishingly good."
Cheonwi, arms still crossed as he observed, let out a snort of laughter.
"Glad it suits your palate. I was worried, calling it 'barbaric' food and all."
Leona flinched at the jab. Normally, she'd have shot to her feet, bellowing "Insolent!" But her brain had no room for rage. Every circuit fired on one command: more.
Leona slowly lifted her head. The venomous glare was gone, replaced by the pitiful, pleading eyes of a puppy begging for treats, fixed on Cheonwi.
"Take... take back 'barbaric'."
She mumbled, lips twitching as her pride cracked.
"This... fine, I admit it. Food of the gods. Beyond mortal hands. So..."
Leona shoved the empty bowl toward Cheonwi.
"One more. No—all of them! The whole vat!"
Cheonwi shook his head leisurely, as if he'd seen it coming.
"Afraid that's difficult, Your Highness."
"Difficult how? Money? I'll pay anything! Gold coins? Jewels? My carriage is stuffed with the finest mana stones. That enough?"
"Not a money issue."
Cheonwi feigned distress with a sigh, planting a hand on the table and leaning in to meet her eyes.
"This 'gelato' is incredibly complex and finicky to make. The ingredients? Rare as they come."
"Rare? Milk and fruit?"
"Not just any milk. Colostrum from cows raised on dawn dew, blended with precious 'sugar' from the far east's edge. And maintaining that chill? Requires a high mage pouring ice spells nonstop."
All bald-faced lies, of course. Sugar was stacked in the warehouse, ice a mere mana stone away. But information asymmetry was a merchant's sharpest blade—and Cheonwi alone knew ice cream's worth in this world.
Leona's face drained of color.
"N-no... you mean the ingredients are gone?"
"Regrettably, yes. What you just ate was the very last bowl. We pushed it out just to honor such a distinguished guest."
"Liar!"
Leona slammed the table.
"Lies! Your face screams you're hiding more! That smug glint says it all! No ingredients? Make more! I'll drag every mage here with my authority to churn out ice!"
She was half out of her mind. The lingering sweet aftertaste faded, unleashing unbearable emptiness. The dopamine high crashed into void.
Cheonwi cheered inwardly.
She's hooked good.
Sweetness was humanity's most primal pleasure. For medieval folk subsisting on tough preserved rations, refined sugar and fat hit like narcotics.
Cheonwi quietly drew a chair and sat across from her.
Chef time over. Now, the negotiator took the stage.
"Calm yourself, Your Highness. It's not entirely impossible."
"M-method? What method? Spill it!"
"As I said, money's no object for me. Managing the palace's inner funds? Gold's trivial."
Cheonwi propped his chin, staring her down.
"What I want... is Your Highness's heart."
Silence fell.
Leona's eyes rounded, her pale cheeks igniting like a ripe apple.
"Wh-what? My heart?"
She stammered in shock. Hilda's jaw dropped.
A mere official wooing the Great Jin Empire's princess? A eunuch? In this situation?
"A-are you insane? Daring to proposition me, a princess... such blasphemy..."
Leona hid behind her fan, eyes darting away. Her heart thundered. He was handsome, but the status chasm... And a eunuch! Yet thinking of that sweetness he conjured... No, what was she thinking!
Cheonwi let her stew a beat, savoring the mix-up, then chuckled and snapped his fingers.
"Ah, seems you've misunderstood. Not talking romance."
"...Huh?"
"I want your heartfelt sincerity. Specifically, a 'Wish Voucher'."
Leona's expression blanked. Mortification washed away the flush, leaving hollow embarrassment.
"Wish... Voucher?"
"Exactly. I give you the gelato recipe and unlimited refills for your stay. In return, you grant one wish of mine. Whatever it is, no arguments—a true blank check."
Cheonwi's eyes gleamed sharp.
This went beyond treats. It was a calculated snare for diplomatic leverage.
Leona swallowed hard.
A princess's word was worth its weight in gold. Handing out wish vouchers lightly could spell national loss. Reason blared alarms.
"Your Highness! Too risky!"
Hilda cut in urgently.
"What wish might he ask? Your lands? Military secrets? Absolutely not!"
Solid advice. Leona knew it rationally. But...
But... never taste it again?
Her gaze drifted back to the empty bowl. That divine flavor etched on her tongue. The cool liberation amid stifling heat. The thought of nevermore blackened her vision.
As Leona bit her lip in torment,
Cheonwi landed the killer blow.
"Hmm, too much for a princess, I suppose. Understood. Deal's off then..."
He made a show of rising regretfully, casually plunking a small jar from his bosom onto the table.
"Was gonna eat this alone out of pity."
He popped the lid.
Whoosh.
A dense aroma seized Yeongbin Hall's air. Leagues beyond strawberry.
Heavy, bittersweet, lethally alluring.
70% cacao dark chocolate gelato, synergizing explosively with fresh milk.
"Th-this is..."
Leona's nostrils flared. Even Hilda froze, staring at the jar.
The dark crimson gelato gleamed like a devil's temptation.
Cheonwi scooped a thick dollop.
The chewy stretch amplified visual bliss.
"Chocolate flavor this time. Twice as sweet and intense as strawberry. Legend says the Jade Emperor tasted it once and overturned his banquet for more."
He dangled the spoon before her eyes, swaying it teasingly.
"Care for a bite?"
Leona's gaze locked on the spoon's tip. Hypnotized.
Reason shrieked no, but her body leaned forward over the table.
"Ah~."
Cheonwi cooed softly, like soothing a child.
The spoon hovered at her lips. Rich chocolate scent burrowed deep into her lungs.
"Ugh... so... unfair...!"
Leona groaned.
Princess pride? National good? Later problems. Without that dark mass in her mouth now, her tongue would shrivel and die.
"If you refuse, I'll have it."
Cheonwi drew the spoon back toward himself.
"No!!"
Leona cried desperately, seizing his arm. Then, like a beast, she lunged wide-mouthed and snatched it.
Nom!
Cold metal touch yielded to the heavy mass invading her mouth.
And it detonated.
"......!!!!!"