Chapter 26
26
"Mia."
After clearing away the trampled crops, Ezekiel approached, carrying a picnic basket, as I sat resting under the shade of a large tree.
He walked straight over but then circled around me, looking hesitant.
"Ezekiel, what is it? What's in the basket?"
At my question, Ezekiel hid the basket behind his back, even though he'd already shown it to me, and looked down at his feet.
After a long pause, he abruptly thrust the basket forward.
"Try it."
Why are his ears turning pink? It's a cute color, no different from his hair. He must be embarrassed. How adorable.
"Did you make a packed lunch?"
"Butter Madeleines. I made them using a book."
When I opened the basket, I saw large, shell-shaped Madeleines, emitting a sweet, buttery aroma. I smiled pleasantly and asked,
"Is this the first time you're giving me something like this? I'm touched."
"I gave one to Dike Brigadier General, but he refused. He asked why I was giving him a grenade."
"Oh, he's just being playful. You made them so nicely."
As I picked up a Madeleine, I felt a sense of strangeness and unease.
Wasn't a Madeleine supposed to be soft and fluffy? Why is it as hard as Zircon, the hardest material in the world?
Ezekiel looked at me with expectant eyes. I stared at the Madeleine, then turned my gaze to meet Ezekiel's.
"W-Well, I'll enjoy it."
As expected, the moment I put it in my mouth, it made a clanging sound.
It felt like biting into a real seashell. I rubbed my aching jaw and asked Ezekiel,
"Why is it so hard...? Is it the book's fault?"
I also used that book and ended up creating Bronze ingots and granite instead of bread.
At my question, Ezekiel's eyes widened.
"Is it bad?"
"I can't even chew it, so I can't evaluate the taste."
If I forced myself to bite it to avoid hurting the child's feelings, I wouldn't be able to avoid tooth damage. I gave him a big smile, full of comfort and encouragement.
"It's okay. You can make mistakes. You'll do better next time, right? You can't do magic perfectly from the start either. Think of it as practice."
"I was good from the start, though. I've lived a life without failure."
Amazing. I've lived a life where I fail nine times out of ten.
I gave Ezekiel, who looked upset, some advice.
"From the moment you start walking the path of the King of Baking, you'll fail often, but failure is actually the true mother of success. Everyone doesn't know this fact well."
I delivered the famous quote like a plot twist in a drama.
Then Ezekiel turned his head and let out a shallow sigh.
He should be more childlike sometimes. He's too mature for his age.
"No mistakes have been allowed for me so far. I feel like a pathetic person who can't do anything without magic."
Even his strenuous efforts were dismissed as genius talent, and he must have had a hard time living amidst so many expectations. I felt sorry for the child's self-reproach, unable to easily accept failure.
"Everyone gains experience through trial and error. The real failure is hiding mistakes, ignoring problems, and giving up."
Golden eyes, made even brighter by the sunlight, turned to me.
"You can say plausible things too."
"Yes, it's baking that you've chosen. Endure it with grit and determination."
I made a stern face like a Marine Corps drill instructor. At that, Ezekiel nodded and closed the basket lid.
"Anyway, thank you. I'll try again."
"Yeah, if you open a bakery later, make me the sales manager."
Ezekiel covered his mouth with his hand and chuckled.
But did he offer it to me without even tasting it himself? Like the former Magic Tower Lord, he has no qualms about bio-experiments.
"Master."
Suddenly, I heard Dante's voice calling me from behind. His voice was lower than usual, so I quickly turned to look at him.
"Yes? What's wrong?"
"You have guests."
Did I have guests coming? I don't have any friends. While I was feeling bewildered, he added with a blank face.
"They said they are your aunt and uncle."
* * *
My aunt and uncle had finally come.
With the newspaper that revealed my real name and address, and having encountered Georg, I expected they would come someday.
But now that I was facing the unpleasant meeting, I felt confused and even afraid. I don't know what I was thinking when I came all the way to the front gate.
They've been living in the countryside, so they probably don't know the ominous rumors about this mansion and came without fear.
I suddenly let out a hollow laugh.
No, that couple would do anything for their own gain, regardless of ghosts or anything else.
Dante, who had quietly followed, saw my pale face and asked with a cautious expression.
"Master. Shall I tell them to go back? You seem to dislike meeting them."
"No, I'm going to tell them strongly with my own mouth not to come again."
I desperately grabbed Dante's sleeve and looked up at him.
"...Will you watch from the side? It'll be fun."
"Yes, I will be by your side. Because I promised."
Okay, I've gained a strong ally and a support buff. I can win.
I felt nervous as I looked at the gate in front of me.
It felt like opening that gate would bring me face to face with the unhappiness of the past. It's not that I'm afraid of them, but I hate the miserable feelings I felt back then resurfacing and tearing at my heart.
"You did well not letting them inside the mansion. Something might disappear."
I turned to Dante and said. His eyes curved kindly.
"I thought so too."
He seemed to have subtly understood through the conversations we've had so far. That I was treated badly after being left in the care of my relatives.
Dante calmly added.
"And they look a lot like the man I saw yesterday. Including the hair color."
I forced a smile and then opened the gate with a creak. Beyond the slowly opening gate, I saw the two people I hated the most.
"Mia! How have you been?"
My aunt, Gertrude Murray, with her curly red bob and overly decorated with flashy lace and cheap jewelry, shouted with a delighted expression.
"Oh, the land is vast and the house must be worth quite a bit."
My uncle, Christopher Murray Viscount, with his bulky figure that seemed burdened by his two-button coat and his outdated fedora, scanned the garden and mansion as if searching for something valuable.
Just as I was feeling a sense of territoriality due to the unpleasant intruders, a nauseating perfume smell came close. My aunt, who had clasped my hands, gave an exaggerated smile.
"I heard you met Georg yesterday? I was worried that you were struggling with your nanny job, but I saw in the newspaper that you had found a good house. Let's go inside and have some tea while we talk."
I shook off her grasp with a serious expression.
"Didn't Georg tell you he got beat up for being annoying? And who are you to expect to be treated like a guest? Aunt."
For a moment, my aunt's eyebrows twitched and her brow furrowed slightly. But because she had a clear purpose, she didn't lose her smile.
She's the kind of person who easily says things she doesn't mean for the sake of profit.
"Well, Georg must have deserved it if he got beat up by you. But I'm sad if you talk to me like that, like I'm a stranger."
I glared at my aunt with eyes full of contempt.
Then she said, conscious of Dante standing next to me.
"Mia, do you know how much we've struggled for you? We raised you from when you were a baby, even though we couldn't receive a single penny of child support in our poor circumstances, and we worried about you and tried to take care of you even after your grandfather passed away. I don't really know what you're so upset about."
Anyone who heard that would think I was an ungrateful person who didn't appreciate the kindness of being raised.
"I'll ask you in return. What do you want from me?"
She feigned injustice at my cold question.
"Honey, do you think we raised you expecting something from you? I don't know how much your grandfather's inheritance was, but you wouldn't have been able to buy this house if we had been greedy."
It was disgusting. As soon as my grandfather passed away, they made a fuss, saying that they should share the inheritance with them.
She sighed as I let out a hollow laugh.
"You seem to be greatly misunderstanding. I just wanted to see if you were doing well. You haven't contacted us once since you went to the capital."
My aunt put on a kind face and tried to take my hand again, but I quickly hid my hands behind my back.
"Now that you've seen that I'm doing well, please go back."
"Why are you being so cold? By the way, who is that gentleman next to you? His clothes don't look like a servant's... but he's wearing an apron like a servant?"
Now she was openly observing Dante and asking. Just as I was about to answer that it was none of her business.
"We're living together. It hasn't been long, though."
Dante answered calmly.
Oh no, this man has a habit of saying even wholesome things in an unwholesome way.
I hired a mastermind as a housekeeper
