-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: My Enemy Sister Cares for Me
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I stood there, dazed. Plenty of people had made my life hell in my previous life, but I'd never once received an apology from anyone.
“I-I did so much wrong that day, but thanks to you stepping in for me, I’m now learning to cook… and finding new joys…”
Tears welled in his eyes as he rambled incoherently. From what I could gather, like Soyer, Louis seemed touched that I had sided with them.
It wasn’t because of you, though.
I wanted to say that, but it didn't seem like Louis, who was currently highly emotional, would listen to anything I said.
“I-I’m not asking for forgiveness. But…”
“I forgive you.”
I cut him off sharply.
“Pardon?”
“I said, it’s fine.”
He blinked, staring at me with a dumbfounded expression. But my words didn’t strike me as strange at all.
It wasn't because I liked him; it was because I’d suffered so much in my past life that what Louis had done had no impact on me whatsoever.
In fact, I’d completely forgotten about it until I met him again after my regression.
But Louis, unaware of this fact, clenched his fists and rubbed his face.
I couldn’t tell if he was wiping away tears or snot, but I could tell that this moment was quite moving for him.
“I-I’ll never forget this, My Lady.”
He sniffled a few times, then vowed to me. His usually hazy eyes were sparkling in a way that seemed genuinely sincere.
To quickly escape the awkwardness, I nodded vaguely and tried to turn away.
However, Louis’s next words caught my ear.
“Um… could I offer you the chocolates I made, My Lady?”
Louis, whose face had returned to normal, pointed to a spot where dozens of round chocolates, adorned with colorful patterns, were neatly arranged.
*Slurp.*
I licked my lips and my eyes gleamed. Had this guy been cooped up in the kitchen so much that he hadn't heard Theon's orders?
“Would… you?”
I feigned indifference, pretending to be reluctant.
Making them was good, but more chocolate was always better.
No, I could give away the ones I made and eat these beautiful ones instead.
I smiled, satisfied with a plan that was much more perfect than before.
***
“What kind of fertilizer did you pick up?”
Jena wrinkled her nose as she opened the box I hesitantly offered her.
“Are you planning to grow plants? You could probably get better fertilizer if you asked the gardener.”
“No, it’s not fertilizer…”
“My Lady, I told you. You don’t have to worry so much about the Duchess anymore. You don’t have to go pick up fertilizer yourself.”
“It’s not fertilizer…”
“Lady Callista is subtly concerned about Lady Harper too…”
“It’s not fertilizer, it’s brownies!”
I swallowed my embarrassment and blurted out.
Silence filled the room for a few seconds. To me, those few seconds felt like an eternity.
“…This?”
She picked up a piece of the brownie using just the tips of her thumb and forefinger, as if it were something repulsive, and asked.
Seeing its shape, I couldn’t bring myself to emphasize once more that it was my first creation, made with utmost care, and lowered my head.
Yes, even I thought it was ugly. It was clearly baked in a mold, but somehow it had flattened into a strange shape that resembled the kind of manure one often saw in stables.
Even if I tried to console myself by recalling that Naitra’s assassins had thought something similar when I threw chocolate at them before, the truth remained unchanged.
It had been a perfectly fine cake before I tore it apart, and what Jena held in her hand was purely and simply the trash I had created.
“Is this all you made, My Lady?”
Jena tried hard not to show her disappointment as she asked. I reluctantly fumbled around and handed her a small paper bag containing a few of the chocolates Louis had made.
“Oh, my! How lovely! As expected, My Lady is so clever!”
Jena fussed dramatically, popping a chocolate into her mouth. Then she launched into a lengthy review of how fantastically delicious it was.
“…Take the fertilizer too.”
I slumped my shoulders and turned away. Her reaction was no different from the others.
‘Oh, is this some new kind of poison? Sometimes animal droppings are used as medicine…’
Vittori had shown interest, saying that.
‘The smell is quite strong. I’ll make good use of it to repel monsters. Thank you, Lady Harper.’
I offered one to Aramis, who was nearby, and he accepted it with a grateful expression, sealing it multiple times in a thick leather pouch.
The others were similar. Most refused to believe that what I was giving them was brownies.
I had no choice but to give Louis’s chocolates to everyone. Otherwise, Theon would think I’d made something and eaten it all myself.
‘I gave it all away…’
All that remained in my hand was still a single, ugly piece of brownie. I turned my back on Jena and let out a deep sigh.
As I walked into my bedroom, wondering whether to eat it or not, Jena tapped me on the shoulder.
“Hmm?”
“Um… Lady Callista has arrived.”
Jena pointed towards the hallway.
Sure enough, leaning against the doorframe connecting the drawing-room and the hallway, staring intently at me, was Callista.
As perfect as ever, she seemed to have come alone, without a single lady-in-waiting.
I couldn’t possibly guess her purpose.
“S-Sister?”
I stammered, bowing in greeting, but she merely continued to stare at me with an unreadable expression that made it impossible to tell if she was angry or had something to say.
“…What brings you here?”
When I asked hesitantly, she slowly stepped into the room.
*Thump, thump.*
Callista stopped in front of me and continued to look down at me.
“Did I do something wrong…?”
I asked, feeling like Louis being scolded. Had I upset her recently?
“…Is there?”
Callista finally spoke. However, I couldn't believe what I had heard.
“…Pardon?”
“Chris said she heard it from you.”
She repeated the exact same words as if nothing was amiss, seemingly oblivious to my face, which was filled with shock.
“The chocolate you said you made for me, do you have it now?”
My ears must have gone bad.
“…”
“…”
Did I say the time spent waiting for Jena’s reaction to my brownie felt like an eternity?
I was wrong. The silence between Callista and me right now felt longer than the history of the universe.
“…You don’t have it?”
Callista asked again. Her face always looked cold, making it hard to read her expression.
Her tightly pursed lips didn't suggest she was in a good mood, and while I thought she might be angry, that wasn't quite it either.
That slight glint in her blue eyes just now… could it possibly be anticipation?
“I-I do!”
In a daze, I thrust forward the last remaining brownie, still in its bag.
Even that was an embarrassing gift, containing the ugliest chunks among all the things I had made.
Her eyes widened slowly as she took the bag, and my heart began to pound faster in response.
What if she got angry that I gave her trash?
I had no strength left to make excuses and bit my lip tightly, bracing myself for a scolding.
However, to my surprise, Callista slowly wrapped both arms around the bag and brought it to her chest.
In short, she cradled it as if it were a precious treasure.
Jena, who was standing further away, turned pale. She trembled as if what Callista held in her hand was dangerous.
Callista gazed at the crumpled bag as if it were a curious artifact, then said awkwardly,
“…I’ll eat it well.”
This time, I froze with a blank expression.
Eat it well? That?
Fortunately, it was sealed so the contents weren't visible, but my embarrassing creation honestly didn't even smell like chocolate.
“You should take this too.”
Callista pulled out a small, colorful, egg-shaped object from her hand and placed it in mine.
By its weight and shape, it appeared to be a chocolate wrapped in ornate paper.
My heart fluttered before I even had time to wonder why she was giving it to me.
Finally, chocolate I could eat. The only thing given by someone who didn’t need to worry about Theon, the only thing he couldn’t take away!
“Theon returns tomorrow, so go to bed early.”
As soon as I held it in my hand, Callista turned abruptly and left. The speed was so quick it left my mouth, which had opened to say goodbye, feeling awkward.
…I wanted to say thank you.
But that wasn't what was important.
While Jena went to see her off, I tore open the sparkling wrapper and quickly bit off half of its contents.
As expected, it was sweet. It was as sweet as the cake Callista and I had shared at the banquet the other day.
“The taste is good, as expe… huh?”
The moment I looked down to eat the remaining half, I discovered something sparkling inside the chocolate, which I had thought was empty.
What was it?
*Click.*
When I flipped the chocolate over, a pendant the size of my thumbnail fell into my palm.
It was a round gem with a loop for a chain, intricately decorated with dozens of purple and transparent crystals.
Did she buy it for me…?
I put the remaining chocolate in my mouth, pondered for a moment, then shook my head.
It was probably something a maid bought. A toy with a children's surprise inside.
“It’s pretty good for a toy.”
I didn’t know why she gave it to me, but it was pretty, so I might wear it sometimes.
I tossed the small, ball-shaped gem from one hand to the other, catching it repeatedly, and sucked the last bits of chocolate from my mouth.
