CH 41

Chapter 41: The cooperation consisted of eating sweets

“First of all, this.”

After Calva-sama and the others left, Lars-sama called me into the reception room and showed me beautiful sweets…flower confections.

Translucent thin red or purple petals. Mille-feuille with cream sandwiched in between.

I held my mouth with both hands and tried not to shout.

“How beautiful and delicious…”

Most flower confections are made into candy or sugar sweets because they are expensive and reproduce the appearance of the original sacred flower more.

But this is different.

It’s meant to be eaten as soon as it’s made.

“The petals are like pie dough. Come on, eat it.”

Invited with a smile, I immediately reach out.

Ah, I wonder what this confection tastes like. And what kind of flower was the original sacred flower?

(Ah…, it feels like I forgot something…)

I take a bite-sized flower sweet and put it in my mouth.

The fluffy texture of the sweets and the light sound of the sweets breaking apart. The sweetness that melts in my mouth and disappears while I am thinking I want to enjoy the aftertaste more… makes me want to eat the next one.

I took a breath of sadness and said, “Hmm?”

There is a sense of discomfort… with myself. Like, suddenly it got hot…

“Can I have some water?”

I asked the Duke’s servant and drank the water that was brought to me, and I took a sigh of relief.

Lars-sama looked at me and asked.

“It seems like something has changed?”

“Yes, I feel hot somehow.”

“I see…”

Lars-sama instructed the servant to bring the next confection.

What was brought was a blue flower in a glass dish.

“Please use the spoon.”

I’m lucky to be able to eat another flower confection.

Thinking so, I naturally scooped up the flower with the spoon placed together.

The flower was cold and sweet, melting on the tongue like a thinly shaved ice cream.

Then I felt my body heat gradually disappear.

No, rather cold?

“I feel cold somehow.”

Lars-sama, who heard my answer, began to make notes in the notebook he took out of his pocket.

“I see, it seems that sacred flowers grown in the ice and snow have stronger effects…”

“… effect?”

That’s when I finally remembered.

Even after making it into a confection, the effect of the sacred flower can remain. Especially for me who has tasted it and had vivid dreams because of its effect, I wonder if other sweets made with the flower would also have an effect.

“But I’ve eaten sweets before and never had anything like this happen…”

“I’m sure it’s a problem with the ratio of sacred flowers used. Personally, I like the original color of the sacred flower to appear as is, so I think I put in more than usual.”

“I understand.”

I close my mouth because it seems like I might say something negative about Oji-sama if I continue.

It can’t be helped. Oji-sama wasn’t deceived and he isn’t the maker of the confections, so he doesn’t know how much sacred flower is used.

In normal sweets, the shape of the sacred flower is barely visible in the syrup used to make them… That’s why there was no effect until now.

Rather, it’s just that Lars-sama, who goes out of his way to use a lot of sacred flowers, is strange.

Thinking about that, I shivered from the cold.

“Well, try eating a little more of these sweets. It will help balance things out.”

“Yes, thank you.”

I was offered a flower-shaped confection similar to a mille-feuille and I ate another one. As a result, the coldness subsided and I felt just right.

“Would you like to try this one next?”

After dinner, flower-shaped confections were served again as dessert.

This time, small bell-shaped flowers that shone golden were laid out on top of and between chocolate cakes in a light blue dish.

The color scheme was very beautiful.

The taste was also not too sweet thanks to the slightly bitter chocolate cake, and I might have accidentally eaten too many of them.

However, this time there was no effect.

Lars-sama, seeing my puzzled expression, said,

“I think this probably affects dreams. I’m sure you’ll have good dreams, not nightmares.”

I believed Lars-sama’s words, but…

That night, I had a dream where even the grass, trees, flowers, and even the clouds in the park were laughing.

I wonder if I’ve become weird, I thought as my head became chaotic… After I woke up, I was a little worried.

At the breakfast table, I was given a very expectant look by Lars-sama and asked, “Did you have a good dream?”

“I was somehow tired…”

That was all I could say.

After that, for three days, I ate sweets and cakes that came out after meals, morning, noon, and night, and just expressed my opinions.

It seems that I have no choice but to spend some time in the Duke’s house while I prepare to re-entry in the Academy.

Even so, I am glad to be able to help Lars-sama.

To be honest, even taking classes as part of my bride training is not that enjoyable. Maybe the history classes? I was thinking that I should listen seriously.

As for studying, I don’t know how far I have progressed, and there is nothing I can do about it.

However, I have become overwhelmed with the feeling of pure boredom.

So I asked Katie, the servant, if she knew of any adventure books.

Kind-hearted Katie immediately recommended her favorite.

“In that case, My Lady, I recommend [The Story of Heroine Adelle]. It is a story about a female heroine who sets out on a journey to defeat the evil emperor who created monsters and ruled the world.”

“Looks good. Maybe I’ll get him to buy it for me…”

When I thought about it, I wondered.

Where did my living expenses end up coming from?