CH 6

Chapter 6: Please tell me about the confection

(Calm down, Linea.)

I tell myself to calm down and take a deep breath before asking again.

“Duke, did you say ‘a strange dream after eating something with some kind of special element in it?’”

“That’s right.”

Duke Svald nods easily.

“Wh…”

Why did you give such a thing to my uncle?!

I feel like yelling again, but I hold myself back.

…What should I do? My peaceful mood today is half gone.

“If I may ask, why did you give such a thing to my uncle?”

Duke Svald answers without hesitation when I ask again.

“Your uncle, Viscount Vinge, said he wanted to give something unusual to eat sometimes. He asked me to make it using sacred flowers that he bought for himself. I didn’t use anything dangerous, but I wanted to see what kind of effect it would have… I guess you had a nightmare or something? I’m sorry.”

Duke Svald lowers the corners of his eyebrows.

It was certainly a terrible nightmare, but because the occasion for this strange ability may have been that sacred flower dessert, it might be judged to be zero after all.

“That’s why you shouldn’t easily give away things that haven’t been verified…”

The black-haired knight whispers softly behind Duke Svald.

Startled by such a good voice, I can’t help but look at him.

Purple eyes, hidden by slightly long bangs, are directed at the Duke. The knight’s face, as beautiful as Duke Svald’s, was filled with amazement.

I wonder if this knight is close to Duke Svald because he is allowed to speak in such a casual way.

“The sacred flower confection was so ineffective that…that’s because it really used a special sacred flower. I was going to eat it, but the Viscount was in a hurry…I thought. In any case, the effect of the sacred flower dessert is not a minor matter.”

“Well, ordinary sacred flowers don’t have such a big effect…”

The knight nods to Duke’s argument.

I was surprised to learn for the first time that the sacred flower sweets had a subtle effect on me.

“And I thought that it would be okay if I sent it to her because I knew she was going to the Academy. I thought that if I could hear the result at the Academy and apologize immediately if anything happened, it would be okay.”

He shrugged.

Was Duke Svald not afraid of meeting me? Surely he knows the rumors about the Elvasti family. Or does he think of me differently from my father?

If he does not think badly of me, I do not want to do anything that would leave a bad impression.

(But…is the influence of the sacred flower really that much?)

If something else happened, it would be a problem, and if I cut off the conversation now, I might lose my confidant.

There is also a way through my uncle…but I do not want to make my uncle, who is the only one who gave me a present, feel uncomfortable.

I decided and told Duke Svald,

“Actually, I had a bit of a bad dream…but could that be due to the influence of the sacred flower? I heard that if you make it into a sweet, it doesn’t work as a medium for magic.”

It is said that sacred flowers with less attractive shapes are less likely to be used as intermediaries for magic.

So apparently, damaged ones are even turned into ingredients for sweets.

“That’s right. But even a small amount of the strong power of a sacred flower can produce some effect. With the power accumulated in that sacred flower.”

“There is an effect…?”

It was an interesting story.

Until now, I had thought that sacred flower sweets were sweets that didn’t make you gain weight because they used expensive ingredients.

That’s right, they don’t make you gain weight.

If you use sacred flowers, you don’t need as much sugar because sacred flowers are sweet.

There is a story that a princess who ate a lot of sacred flower sweets in the past made by using sacred flowers never gained weight at all.

But it’s not just that, to think that there is an expected effect…

It seems that the proportion of sacred flowers mixed in also plays a role. And it’s definitely not a mistake that strong sacred flowers have a strong effect, at least that’s what the [Confectionary Duke] has figured out. He seems to have been studying sacred flowers.

“The sacred flowers with strong power can only influence their surroundings with their own power. They emit a faint light. The power involved in the blooming of the sacred flower becomes the ability of that sacred flower.”

“The ability of the sacred flower…”

“Yes. For example, a black sacred flower accumulates dark magic power, so it becomes a medium for dark magic spells.”

I’ve heard that black sacred flower confections are not very popular. I didn’t care and ate them anyway.

Come to think of it, the sacred flower that was a birthday present was mixed with black.

“What kind of flower did I eat?”

“That was from the White Night Mountains, a place where the power of the night that blocks out the sun is strong. But the night does not block out the light of the stars. And the light of the stars is related to the power of fate and dreams. It seems that magicians use such sacred flowers to see into the future, and they have almost the same accuracy as divination.”

“Dreams… That’s why you asked me.”

I see. So the bad dreams were really caused by the sacred flowers.

I was curious about the other one too.

Fate.

Could it be that the blocking skill sprouted because the power of the stars that moves fate has affected me?

“But if it’s the light of the stars, basically you shouldn’t have that many bad dreams. I’ve eaten it many times and I’ve also made Asher eat it, but I haven’t been plagued by particularly bad dreams. But the strength of the night’s power is worrying… I’ve also been slightly plagued once when I ate the sacred flower with strong night power.”

Duke Svald apologizes again there, saying “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not something for which you should be apologizing to me, Lord Duke. Please don’t worry about it.”

I said that, somewhat confused.

To be honest, it’s not something that happens often for someone like me to be apologized to by someone other than my servant, and I’m not used to it.

Also, if I’m left alone with Duke Svald like this, I’m afraid that the person who sees me next will think I’m the one who did something wrong and say so. I just want this to be over.

“Besides, I wasn’t that scared either. I’m even thinking of eating the remaining sacred flower sweets today.”

“There are still… remaining?”

Duke Svald responds to those words and looks at me intently, as if he is extremely interested. Maybe he wants to further study the effect of the sacred flower I received… Is that it?

“I was thinking of trying a little bit to eat today.”

Then Duke approaches me and firmly shakes my hands.

“I really want to try it. And if possible, I would like to know the result.”

I was slightly taken aback by Duke’s sincere gaze and enthusiasm.