CH 198

“What? First time seeing pie being made?” Maggie asked in disbelief. “Did your mother never make some for you before?”

“My mom passed away early.”

“Then, what about your father?”

“He’s someone you’re better off without, you see,” Cecile said. It was the first time she’d thought about the king of Navitan in a long while. A man whom she resembled, except for the color of their hair and eyes.

Maggie’s face darkened as she said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know… Hang on for a bit!” Disappearing into the shop, she emerged seconds later holding something in her hands which she thrusted towards Cecile. “Now, put this on, will you?”

“What’s this?”

“What do you mean what’s this? They’re work clothes obviously. After all, a clean outfit is the first step to making pies. Come, come. Put on the hat first. Quick! It won’t do to let any hair fall into the pies now, will it? And change into the work clothes. Make sure to put on this apron good and proper too!”

Moments later, Cecile found herself perfectly decked out in work clothes. She looked to the side with a troubled expression, where Estian stood, also dressed in the same outfit as her. He was even wearing a mask to boot. ‘Th-this isn’t what I wanted!’ She’d only wanted to enjoy some freshly baked pie, so how did she suddenly end up having to work?

“What’re you zoning out for? Let’s get right to it. Now, watch and follow exactly as I do.”

Maggie picked up a sack of flour, poured it slowly into a large sieve placed on the workbench, and then began setting about to strain the flour. In an instant, the flour was piled into the shape of a mountain. Using her hand, she stirred to form a hollow center in the mound.

“The next step is to add butter! It’s our shop’s motto to put in enough to shock other people.” After her explanation, Maggie took a butter the size of a head from the box next to her and plopped it in the middle of the flour.

Having observed up to this point, Cecile walked over and attempted to lift up the flour sack. “Oof… Ack! I-I can’t lift it?” Cecile stammered. Though she tried her hardest, the sack wouldn’t budge.

“What’re you talking about? How could you not lift that up?”

Hearing Maggie’s confused tone, Cecile tried again. However, the flour still didn’t move an inch. Before she could struggle again, Estian stepped in from behind Cecile and said, “I’ll do it.” With one hand, he easily lifted the flour sack she’d been struggling with all her might and began pouring it over the workbench.

Maggie, who’d been watching with a look of surprise, handed Estian an iron scraper. “Now, scoop some butter in too! From here on, you’ll need skill, not strength. Watch closely.”

After Estian added some butter to the mound, Maggie used both hands to hold her iron scraper and began to finely dice up the butter. A series of light and pleasant sounds could be heard from her steady movements as the scraper hit the wooden workbench—tatatatatatat!

“Did you see that? You have to chop a piece of butter until it’s a cube about this size on top of the flour. It’ll be a little hard for a beginner, but—”

Before Maggie could finish, Estian jumped into action. The sound of his chopping was even faster and more rhythmic than her movements. When he finished, he asked, “Is this good enough?”

Maggie and Cecile were speechless at the sight of the perfectly chopped butter.

‘I didn’t expect he’d cut it so well!’ Cecile exclaimed inwardly, before her eyes lowered to look at the sword that hung from her husband’s belt. ‘Then again… he’s good at dicing up other things, so I guess it’s not that different from butter.’

Meanwhile, Maggie was wearing a vexed look. Collecting herself, she shot back, “Hah, but I don’t think you’ll be able to easily copy this!” But contrary to her expectations, Estian completed the pie dough faster than she did.

“T-then what about this!” Maggie exclaimed, brandishing a peeler. However, a little while later, there were more peeled apples piled in front of Estian than Maggie.