Chapter 21
21
Not wanting to blow things up, I could have played it off with a bright smile, saying, 'It's nothing, the cake just looked so delicious I cried!'
But I couldn't just brush off what I'd been through as nothing, and if I let it go like this, I'd face this situation again.
I didn't want to taste sweet potato cake in my strawberry cake.
If I couldn't solve it myself, I could get help from someone. I learned that it's not something to be ashamed of. Being ungrateful is what's shameful.
I rubbed my eyes until they turned red and pointed at Georg.
"That bastard is the problem."
Dante glared at Georg. Even the air seemed to freeze, and a chill permeated the surroundings. The sight of his Sanpaku eyes turning eerie sent shivers down my spine.
Georg, singled out by me, raised the corner of his lips and turned his gaze towards Dante.
"Oh, so you're the one she's with?"
He sneered, raising his little finger in a demeaning gesture. But such arrogance and composure were only fleeting.
"Looking at your clothes, you seem to be from a well-off family, but what's there to see in that orphan..."
As I said before, Dante Van Dyke is quick to act and hot-tempered.
Thwack!
With a brutal sound of impact against his face, Georg's body teetered, lost its balance, and collapsed to the floor. He didn't even let out a whimper before passing out.
Dante unbuttoned his shirt cuffs and turned to look at me.
"Would you care to explain what happened?"
Striking first and figuring things out later, what a terrifying man.
"Well, he's my relative. He's such irredeemable trash that you can hit him more."
I finished his introduction succinctly. Dante, with his sleeves rolled up and hands on his hips, stared down at the fallen Georg without moving.
At first glance, he looked like a predator letting go of its prey only to catch it again. He was clearly waiting for him to regain consciousness.
Then, seeing the Blue eyes filled with loathing and hatred, I felt a strange sense of unease. Why was he so angry? As if he were looking at a long-standing enemy.
"Don't act like you're dying, get up."
Ezekiel snapped his fingers, and Georg's eyes snapped open.
Is that magic too? Like waking someone from hypnosis?
Georg, clutching his cheek that had instantly swollen, frowned and pointed to his injury.
"H-How dare you hit me? I'm going through an elite course and will join the royal guard! I'm going to report this to the police..."
Ezekiel snapped his fingers again and grinned.
"Well, shall we start over from the beginning? For someone aspiring to join the royal guard, your endurance is not good."
As if using magic to turn back time, Georg's face changed, completely free of injuries.
Sensing something strange and unsettling, Georg's complexion gradually turned pale.
"These guys, aren't they devils?"
After repeating the process of fainting and waking up about three times, he finally learned his lesson. Georg couldn't utter a word in front of the true powerhouses, Dante and Ezekiel.
"You didn't know when you were only picking on the weak, did you? That you could also get beaten up by someone."
At my accusation, he looked at me with his swollen eyes and asked.
"...Who is that man? You never told me you knew someone like that."
Ezekiel scoffed at Georg with a disdainful look.
"Does that mean you wouldn't have acted up if you had known? You're pathetic. Apologize before you get hit more."
Then, Georg, staggering to his feet, wiped the blood streaming from his nose and bowed deeply. Not to me, but to Dante.
"I'm sorry."
"Apologize to the person you wronged, not to me."
At Dante's forceful tone, Georg, who had learned to fear, cowered instinctively. And then, looking at me with a helpless expression, he spat out a perfunctory apology.
"Sorry."
"That's not sincere."
Seeing Dante's fist clenching again, Georg was startled and corrected himself.
"Mia, I'm sorry for saying harsh things. I'm sorry for bullying you all this time, and for pushing you into the water, pushing you down the stairs, kicking you, and I don't remember well, but..."
Thwack-
He couldn't finish his sentence.
I'll say it again, Dante is hot-tempered.
Dante, stepping over Georg's sprawled body with his long legs, reached out his hand to me.
"Let's go."
Stepping over a person lying down, even breaking a major Korean taboo. Perfect.
I inwardly admired him and took Dante's hand, stepping over Georg's body. You're going to have nothing but bad luck from now on. I smiled contentedly inside.
"Do we really have to walk like this?"
Ezekiel wore a dissatisfied expression.
As a result, a harmonious scene was created with Dante, me, and Ezekiel holding hands side by side.
But somehow, I felt like I wasn't alone, and my heart felt a little stronger.
* * *
Perhaps because I had a tumultuous day, the time returning home felt particularly peaceful. I walked along the fields tinged with sunset, following Dante, who was leading the bicycle.
"Ah, Tin Can and Scarecrow should have seen that scene too. Dike Brigadier General's personality is really terrible."
Ezekiel, sitting on the bicycle seat, was now bursting into laughter that he had been holding back.
Tin Can seemed to refer to Killian, but who was Scarecrow? I asked Ezekiel, who was constantly chuckling.
"Who are you talking about when you say Scarecrow?"
"The plague doctor. He's inside an empty human body."
He was talking about Elluaerd, my financial therapist and financial planning fairy. He somehow felt like a member of the Wizard of Oz. Dante would be Dorothy, and Ezekiel would be the Cowardly Lion. They could debut right away.
Meanwhile, Dante silently led the bicycle, occasionally giving Ezekiel a fierce look that meant, 'Get off, you're heavy.'
I smiled brightly and walked ahead, turning to look at Dante and Ezekiel.
"Thank you both for taking my side and helping me."
But at my heartfelt words of gratitude, they both only showed bland reactions.
"I didn't take your side. It was a purely cold and neutral perspective."
"I was just doing what I had to do."
Such stoic men.
I walked again, lost in thought.
If there had been kind people by my side in my childhood, instead of my aunt and uncle and cousins, who were like devils, would my life be different now?
But after a moment of contemplation, I shook my head.
Kindness was everywhere.
Thanks to the kindness of a child, I was able to receive my grandfather's letter, and thanks to my grandfather finding me, I was able to feel the warmth of family. I didn't have much money, but my heart was full.
Now, I am simply grateful to be free from misfortune.
I should become that kind of adult too. Generous to children, kind, and able to support any dream.
I looked at Ezekiel, a child reading a baking book he bought at the bookstore while riding on the bicycle.
[Bakery That Anyone Can Do]
I also read that and made bread, but the result was a Bronze ingot. Am I a fool who is worse than a dog or a cow?
I sadly lamented and asked Ezekiel.
"Ezekiel, is it possible to master ten bread recipes in a week? And the taste has to be recognized too?"
Of course, I was grateful for their help, but my goal of increasing their workload and not giving them time to plot a rebellion remained the same.
In fact, I also had a slight selfish desire for them to stay in our house for a long time without rebelling. I felt a little lonely after my grandfather passed away.
Anyway, I had instructed Killian to carve all the trees in the garden into animal shapes within a week, and I had told Elluaerd to complete a project that could increase my wealth.
At my question, Ezekiel's hair, which had turned almost purple in the darkened evening light, nodded weakly.
"Yes, it's possible."
"Even if you don't use any magic?"
"I've accomplished everything I've set my mind to. Nothing is impossible in the world. It's just that the means and methods are forbidden."
"Forbidden?"
Ezekiel's golden eyes turned to me, questioning me anxiously.
"To make the impossible possible, you have to enter the realm of 'forbidden'."
"Ugh... are you going to make forbidden cuisine?"
Am I going to have to live on Netherworld Twisted Fritters, Hellfire Lava Tart, and Chewy Thick Leather Pancakes from now on?
Just imagining it makes me shudder.
For reference, those are the names I gave to the dishes I failed to make. In the past, my grandfather thought I had conjured lava and took me to an alchemist.
"Never mind. You wouldn't understand even if I told you."
Ezekiel clicked his tongue.
"Master, what kind of extreme training will you give me?"
Unlike his usual tone, which had little change in pitch, Dante's voice was filled with anticipation. I looked at him and pondered deeply.
Making him clean rigorously = Dante's overflowing happiness
Dante cleaning rigorously = My quality of life decreases, leading to unhappiness
If he came to my room every 10 minutes and wiped everything, this unreasonable result would eventually be established.
If Mathias was 'nagging with words,' this man was 'nagging with actions.' Watching him clean silently made me feel guilty and self-conscious.
Having watched him so far, he had exceptionally high stamina, befitting a former commander. Even if I made him do housework 24 hours a day without rest, he wouldn't get tired, but rather become more energetic.
To exhaust him and send him to dreamland on time...
I faced him with a determined expression.
"Dante, I'm very grateful to you, and you've worked hard so far. I'll help with the housework."
At my suggestion, the person who is the worst at housework in the world, Dante's shoulders twitched.
The villain brought in as a housekeeper
