Jingle.
“Welco—”
The smile on Ceres’s face instantly vanished the moment she saw who walked in.
“I’m hurt seeing you make that face at me.”
Del, Kainel’s aide, smiled pleasantly despite his disappointed tone.
“If you don’t want to see this expression, then stop coming here.”
“Haha. If Miss Ceres would just sign the papers, I doubt I’d have any reason to visit anymore. Though, should I raise your wages a little?”
Why did talking to both master and servant feel like talking to a wall? The longer she dealt with them, the more she wanted to break something.
“This is what His Excellency asked for.”
Del’s arms were full of small boxes. Even before he reached the table, the sweet scent drifting through the air made it obvious what was inside.
A moment later, all kinds of desserts were laid out across Kainel’s table.
“...Don’t tell me you bought all that just to eat it here?”
“Why? Is there a problem?”
“Of course there is!”
Ceres stared at Kainel in disbelief as he nodded calmly, as though nothing about this situation was strange.
It was absurd enough to bring food from another shop into someone else’s restaurant.
Doesn’t he hate sweets?
Has his tastes changed over the years? [N O V E L I G H T] Though judging from the way he still carefully picked out bell peppers, probably not.
“Are you going to eat all of that? Since when did you like desserts?”
“You can have some too.”
“Me?”
“My aide bought too much.”
Kainel clicked his tongue and gestured toward Del standing behind him. For a brief moment, Del’s eyes widened before his expression smoothly returned to normal.
You were the one who specifically named the café and told me to buy one of everything, Your Excellency.
Del grumbled inside, but outwardly, he just smiled politely and bowed his head like he was entirely to blame.
“Me too! Can I have some?”
“...Go ahead.”
The moment sweets were involved, Cheion instantly forgot all the complaints he’d been throwing at Kainel earlier.
“Oh? These are from Layla Dessert Café.”
“Layla? You mean the shop near the intersection over there?”
“Yeah!”
“That place is still around?”
“It is. Oh, Ceres, you know it too? Well, I guess they’ve been in business for over three hundred years now.”
“...I know.”
To be exact, it had already been over three hundred and twenty years. She could still remember the owner and pastry chef enthusiastically going around promoting the shop.
Grace loved the desserts there so much. No matter how busy she was, she always visited two or three times a week. Whenever she couldn’t go herself, Artia or Kainel would bring some back for her instead.
“It’s still as colorful as ever.”
The beautifully decorated cakes looked exactly the same—bright, extravagant, and charming.
“I really love the desserts here!”
“You say that about everything.”
Ceres snorted before placing a slice of chocolate-covered cake in front of Cheion. Then, she picked up a slice of walnut pie scented with cinnamon and placed it in front of Kainel.
Kainel’s gaze lingered silently on the pie. Despite disliking sweets, walnut pie was the one dessert he would eat. Ever since Grace first brought him there as a child, it was the only thing he ordered.
His gaze slowly shifted toward Ceres.
Ceres Drow was happily eating a slice of seasonal fruit cake, Grace’s favorite.
...This makes no sense.
It was an absurd thought. But even then, Kainel couldn’t bring himself to look away from her.
***
“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming?”
“Who are you?”
“Me?”
Ben, a member of the intelligence guild Sky, sighed as he looked at the children staring blankly at him.
“An errand guy.”
“An errand guy? What kind of errand?”
“The kind where I watch over you brats.”
“But why are you doing that?”
“Good question. Why am I doing this?”
Ben wanted to know that himself. Another sigh slipped from his lips.
A few days ago, Ceres had come to him with a request. She wanted him to keep an eye on the children for a few days in her place. There wasn’t much he actually needed to do, but if they started overworking themselves, she wanted him to stop them.
“Why me?”
“You don’t want to? Then don’t.”
“...What are you planning to do if I refuse?”
“I’ll just tell the leader of Sky to send someone else. What else can I do? Maybe I should also mention that you got caught tailing me because your skills suck. And since you never listen to a word I say, you’re basically useless. While I’m at it, I should make them pay for putting someone on my trail without permission.”
“It’s not because my skills suck that I got caught!”
“.......”
“...Fine. I’ll do it.”
I’m one of the best in the organization!
To say he got caught because he sucks? What kind of slander was that? That woman was the strange one.
Who notices someone tailing them that quickly? Who was she? A Sword Master?
But if word really reached the guild leader, and the other members in Sky heard about it—
“...Kids, life really isn’t easy.”
“Huh?”
“What are you standing around for? Move.”
“W-Well...”
“The last one to arrive has to run from Rocky Mountain to Snow Mountain three times.”
“Waaahhh!”
“I’ll increase the weights on your arms and legs too.”
At the familiar threat Ceres always used during training, the children, who were still standing around in confusion, immediately shrieked and sprinted forward.
“...Haah.”
Watching them dash off, Ben sighed again. Then he hurried after them while recalling Ceres’s final warning.
“You know what’ll happen if the kids get hurt, right? Though I’m sure you’re not incompetent enough to let that happen.”
“Damn it!”
Ben picked up his pace more.
***
“Good morning, Miss Ceres.”
When Ceres arrived at the shop early that morning, she spotted Del standing primly in front of the entrance. She scoffed.
Now they’re showing up at dawn to interfere with business?
What time even was it? Why was he already here?
“Where’s Kai—no, your master?”
“He didn’t come today. I’m here alone.”
“Alone?”
Sure enough, Kainel was nowhere to be seen.
So, Del really came by himself. But why?
“Would you spare me a bit of your time?”
At the polite request, Ceres just stared at him.
What is he trying to say this time?
That pleasant smile of his no longer looked harmless. Then again, anyone close to Kainel was bound to be difficult. Del was just as skilled as his master when it came to subtly cornering her into signing the contract.
“Come in.”
She couldn’t exactly leave him standing outside after he had come all the way here this early.
After taking a sip of the tea Ceres served out of courtesy, Del immediately got to the point.
“Could you perhaps think of this as a transaction instead? Rather than debt collection.”
“A transaction?”
“Yes. I would appreciate it if you considered it a deal between you and me.”
“I honestly don’t see the difference.”
Ceres turned away with a frown. What was this? Some kind of word game?
“His Excellency hasn’t been eating properly.”
Del spoke quickly, trying to stop her from leaving.
“Who can’t eat?”
Ceres froze mid-step on her way to the kitchen.
That b*stard was not eating?
“...I suppose you could say he’s picky.”
Kainel had never eaten much, even when they were children. On top of that, he had always been particular about food, so getting him to eat was never easy.
Feeling a bit sympathy for Del’s suffering, Ceres glanced back at him.
Sounds like you’ve had it rough.
“It’s beyond picky eating. He barely eats at all.”
“Not at all?”
“Yes.”
“Wh...!”
Was he insane? Why would he stop eating?
“It’s already been quite some time.”
A sigh slipped from Del’s lips. Ever since Lady Grace’s body had crumbled away and disappeared, Lord Kainel’s condition had only worsened.
“Still, he ate the stew Miss Ceres made rather well. For a while, that reassured me...”
“So?”
If he was at least eating the stew, wasn’t that enough?
Wait.
Now that she thought about it, has Kainel eaten any stew lately? He still came by the shop often enough, but she couldn’t remember ever seeing him actually take a bite.
“He said the taste changed.”
“The taste changed?”
“Yes. He said the stew the current chef makes tastes completely different from the one Miss Ceres made.”
What was he talking about? Even to her own tongue, Mark’s stew tasted the same as hers.
Well... almost.
There was a slight difference in flavor, but he actually noticed that?
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