Chapter 46
Picnics are all about the snacks!
The largest shopping district in the Eldarion Empire's capital city.
Atrange Street, especially famous for its dessert shops, was bustling with so many people that one couldn't even feel the autumn chill.
Following the crowds, one would eventually come across a building with a sign featuring a red-haired child, standing like a long-time resident: Fausett Pepperone.
Even on this old street, it was a famous dessert shop with a history spanning 200 years.
Lucia and Nia, a black-haired mother and daughter, were gazing at it from afar.
"...The line is incredible."
Lucia, overwhelmed by the crowd, muttered blankly, and the child holding her hand tightly nodded in agreement.
Looking at the endless line stretching from the dessert shop entrance, filled with children, they couldn't even bring themselves to approach.
That was because today was the day before the Eldarion Academy's attached kindergarten picnic.
Choosing snacks, one of the exciting reasons for a picnic, was one of the few days when the children got to eat something other than what they were usually given.
Perhaps that was why. Despite the tedious wait, most of the children were sparkling with anticipation.
And that enthusiasm was shared by the mothers for a different reason.
With snacks being the only thing they could bring to show off, the mothers were relentless, fearing their children would be overshadowed if they prepared something simple.
Lucia watched them, contemplating.
Like the other mothers, she had come to Ivanne's popular shop for her child, but she hadn't expected so many people.
And seeing that her child wasn't used to the crowded streets, she thought that standing in line for a long time would be quite torturous.
"Nia, shall we take a break first?"
Lucia soon took the stiff child to a cafe alley with fewer people.
As they walked through the more secluded areas, she realized there was a reason why there were so few people.
Either the places were too shabby to enter, or they were suspicious buildings with entrances nowhere to be found.
But perhaps there were many hidden gems in this shabby alley?
A richer, nuttier smell of baked goods wafted from this alley than from any fancy bakery.
Observing carefully, she could see pastries cooling through the countless small windows of the old houses.
-Sniff, sniff.
Nia, being small, lifted her heels to find the source of the scent.
When Lucia picked Nia up, the taller child saw the pastries through the window and mumbled.
"...Apple pie! Butter cookies...! Madeleines!"
"Oh, you know them well."
"Yes! I ate them during snack time! That's pound cake and walnut pie and...! Ivanne!"
"...?"
Ivanne?
Lucia was admiring her child's knowledge when she was slightly surprised by the sudden mention.
And it was true.
At the end of the child's pointing finger, there was Ivanne, her face comically squashed against the glass window.
The child soon came bursting out from somewhere with a crash.
Lucia didn't know where she had come from, since there were only windows on the wall, but she came running out of the small alley.
"Nia!!"
"Ivanne...!"
The children, reunited by chance, held hands like soulmates and spun around.
"Ivanne, why are you here?"
"Nia's mom! Ivanne is working now! Here, here!"
Ivanne, who often came to the dorm to play, was comfortable with Lucia and jumped up and down with joy.
Following the child into a narrow alley, a huge iron door appeared, the kind you'd see on a warehouse.
Ivanne slipped through a small wicket in the iron door.
Lucia bent down and followed, and before she could look around, various dazzling scents mixed together and enveloped her.
The smell of freshly baked pastries, the sweet smell of caramel, the smell of simmering fruit.
All the sweet smells of the world were mixed together, but each scent came from a different place.
Sensing something strange, she looked around and saw that the old small houses she had seen earlier were connected by a courtyard, making it look like a small village out of a fairy tale.
'What on earth is this place... what do they do here?'
Just as Lucia was wondering, she heard a gruff old man's voice nearby.
"Ivanne! Ivanne, where are you!"
"Grandpa! I'm here!"
"You rascal, you went outside again?"
It was a small, white-haired old man with the same green eyes as Ivanne.
The seemingly stubborn old man frowned when he saw Lucia and Nia, as if he didn't like them.
"Who are you people?"
"Grandpa! Ivanne's friend, Nia!"
"Excuse me. I'm Lucia, a parent from the same kindergarten."
He raised his curved eyebrows as if slightly intrigued, then stared at the mother and daughter with a disapproving look and said.
"That black hair, the last time I saw it was on Count Kerban Kluer."
He was Gillianna's father, and reportedly a stubborn, headstrong dessert artisan. Baron Olive.
He had once been the head pastry chef of the Imperial Palace, so he roughly knew who she was, but Lucia didn't respond to his words.
"So, you're our granddaughter's friend?"
"...!"
Nia, startled by the old man's sudden fierce expression, hid behind her mother, her small shoulders rising.
He clicked his tongue at the sight.
"Tsk, tsk, such a timid child. If you came here because you didn't want to stand in line, you'd better go! I don't do business in the workshop, even for my granddaughter's friends."
Whether his gruff personality was his usual self or not, she understood why he disliked outsiders.
This place seemed to be the workshop and factory of the Fausett Pepperone dessert shop.
"Yes, then we'll be going."
However, Lucia, who had no way of knowing that, turned around without thinking of clearing up the misunderstanding, offended by his unpleasant treatment.
She knew that her eloquence wasn't good enough to clear up the stubborn old man's misunderstanding.
As Lucia greeted him and turned around, it was Nia who was surprised by her decisive action.
'It's because of me! Nia didn't say hello...!'
Perhaps noticing the child struggling as she was being led away, Ivanne ran up and blocked their path.
"Nia's mom, wait a minute!"
Ivanne whispered to Nia.
Then, Nia, after glancing around, let go of Lucia's hand and approached the old man.
She looked up with her round eyes and hesitated,
"...Fausett Pepperone cookies are so yummy, give me cookies! Grandpa...!"
The scary-faced old man seemed flustered, his face blank.
Then, one corner of his mouth, which had been firmly turned down, slightly lifted.
"Heh, cough. So, you like the cookies I make that much. I can't help it. Follow me."
As Lucia blankly watched Nia following the old man, Ivanne tugged at her skirt and whispered.
"Nia's mom! Our grandpa really likes kids, but the kids always cry when they meet him! But if you praise him a little bit, he gives you cookies without Mom knowing!"
Ivanne wore a sly smile for such a young age.
Lucia, watching her cunning appearance, thought.
'...Did she make the wrong friend?'
.
.
.
"Ho ho, who is this?"
"Oh, it's our granddaughter's friend and her wife. She begged me so much for cookies that I couldn't help but let her in. Cough."
"Oh my, is that so? Then you must eat! Our little taste tester friend, you're so pretty! Come in, come in!"
The mother and daughter began to tour the small workshops connected to the courtyard, following him as if being introduced.
The old artisans there greeted Lucia and Nia skillfully, even in the midst of their busy work.
The mother and daughter returned the greetings, unable to take their eyes off the artisans' dazzling skills.
The way they squeezed out cream as if breathing, the magical sugar crafts, the way they skillfully stretched the candy and cut it rhythmically.
Even Lucia, a master of swordsmanship, was captivated by their skilled movements, honed over a lifetime.
After passing through those wonderful places, they finally arrived at a place filled with display cases full of finished products, and she was once again impressed.
"...Oh!"
Looking at the largest display case, there were castles, small houses, forests, flowing water, and even livestock.
It was as if an entire territory had been made of sweets and displayed.
It seemed to have been made specifically for show, but it went beyond simple snacks and seemed to be a work of art, enough to make even her, who didn't express her emotions well, exclaim in admiration.
And around the display case were the new sweets for this month.
The old man pointed to them and said to Nia.
"Well, pick a few."
His tone was indifferent, but he was already holding two boxes and wrapping paper in his hands.
Presumably, he was preparing not only what they would eat now, but also what they would take to the picnic tomorrow.
But despite his proactive attitude, Nia remained frozen and silent.
"Nia, what are you doing? You have to pick. This forest-shaped brownie with green crumble is really yummy?"
So that was a brownie.
What Ivanne pointed to was a brownie with a unique appearance and vivid colors that she had certainly never seen before.
But despite its strange appearance, Nia stood still, frozen.
Watching her, she realized that the child hadn't even taken a deep breath until she came here.
She had been so captivated by this place that she hadn't paid attention to her child's reaction.
She quickly approached the child and examined her,
"...!"
The child was holding her trembling hands tightly, unable to even approach the display case, her eyes welling up with tears.
Ivanne and the artisans who had followed them tilted their heads in response.
"What's wrong? Why are you like that? Nia's weird. She eats them really fast during snack time. Is it because her mom's here?"
"What? Her mom doesn't give her snacks like that?!"
Ivanne's grandfather's booming voice echoed in the sweet-smelling place, and the air instantly froze.
A face as if she was looking at a demon.
Lucia, receiving those stinging eyes, was reminded of what had happened at the tailor shop.
"...No, I give her plenty."
It was Lucia's desperate excuse, trying to turn away, not wanting even a moment of misunderstanding.
But she still had a flushed face and was trembling, and they didn't believe her.
In a difficult situation, Lucia quickly sat down in front of the child and said.
"Pick something. Anything is fine."
"...Nia. Can I pick? Really?"
The child, finally coming to her senses at Lucia's urgent words, mumbled desperately with her still tearful golden eyes.
Until she came here, Nia had been in shock from the dreamlike scenery she was seeing for the first time in her life.
To be able to take evidence from that dream, and multiple pieces at that.
It was a temptation so great that she was afraid of what kind of punishment she would receive later.
Then, the gazes watching her pitiful figure became even fiercer, and the sound of kitchen utensils moving violently began to sound like a threat.
'...I don't care what it takes, please hurry...'
Following the last time, Lucia, once again being seen as a heartless mother, began to sweat on her back for the first time in a long time.
The Black Knights' training grounds, which were always filled with rough breathing and shouts,
Today, it was neatly decorated, with colorful flags fluttering in the wind on each wall.
And beneath them, the members in heavy full plate armor were moving around noisily, helping each other with elaborately decorated horses, because today was the day.
The day the chick-like children were coming for a picnic.
Berl, the vice-captain of the Black Knights, was holding a tattered notepad in his hand and was busily going back and forth, checking and rechecking this unexpected event.
Then, his busy eyes caught sight of the captain and the noble man around him.
"Why is His Highness sticking to the captain again? Is there something he doesn't like..."
As if echoing his words, Airen had been spending time with Lucia at the Black Knights' training grounds every day since he took on the role of supervisor.
But Berl, who had no sense in that regard, began to stir up the members again as if his checklist was about to be torn apart.
Lucia, who had been quietly watching Berl and the members' actions,
Her expression remained unchanged, as if she was still thinking about something else, even with the Crown Prince's effusive smile beside her.
"Captain! Captain!"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Charles talks about Nia a lot, you know."
"Is that so."
Crown Prince Airen continued to speak, undeterred by her ever-indifferent reaction.
"So, listen. As the supervisor, I'm about to welcome them, and since she's Charles's friend, you might be greeting her together. Is that okay?"
"Do as you please."
A smile broke out on Airen's face, who had been watching her reaction, at her nonchalant words.
And he began to recall the plans he had prepared for today in his head.
