CH 36

Gerald gave a room to Luana, and she opened the diary first as soon as she entered. He said she could learn about her mother’s past and the curse. In the novel, the source of the curse is unknown. And she doesn’t know if she could lift the duke’s curse. The novel also stated the duke carried his curse until he died. Just by thinking about it, her heart raced.

The elegant handwriting caught her eye when she turned over the thick book cover.

[I leave this diary to my descendants.

-Elanya]

Flip-

Luana turned the diary page cautiously.

Page one, two, three… as she read slowly, she suddenly jumped out of her seat. She immediately left the room and approached Gerald who was sitting in the living room chair.

“Gerald! About Elanya! No, what kind of witch was my mother?”

As Luana asked with a sparkle in her eyes, Gallard looked at me with a surprised expression.

There is a witch of potion and also a witch of space. Seeing that there were such titles, Luana knew that each witch had its own characteristics. So she thought that if she read Elanya’s diary, she would be able to find out about her characteristics as well. She turned over the diary.

[I tried wild boar meat for the first time. It has a fantastic taste that is a little different from pork. Oil glazed over the meat of boar raised by picking up acorns in the forest. All I need to prepare is a special herb and salt to remove the smell of wild boar meat.]

[I made caramel today. Sweet and bitter coffee-flavored caramel that melts in my mouth. All I need to prepare are coffee powder, whipped cream, a lot of sugar, and salt. I’m still not good at magic, so the coffee was bitter than I expected.]

The contents that filled the front pages were all about cooking. Among them, the desserts are overwhelming! She wrote several complex recipes and succeeded in making them even without machines. And there was one word that had to be in that part.

Magic.

Luana might be able to extract a lot of cacao that she has bought!

Gerald’s expression, looking at Luana with excitement, quickly softened.

“Of course, as expected from Elanya’s child. I guess you two have similar interests. All right, Elanya was a gourmet witch. When it comes to cooking, no one can match her.”

“T-then, can I use the same magic?”

She was so excited she stuttered. Then Gerald raised his hand to soothe Luana’s excitement.

“Relax a little.”

“I’m relaxed!”

“You don’t look like you are.”

“So, can I use magic?”

“Well, in conclusion, that’s impossible.”

“Why?”

For the first time in her life, Luana was greatly disappointed. Her mother, Elanya, could use magic, but why she can’t? He said the witch’s daughter is definitely a witch!

“You are not an official witch yet, so you can’t use any magic. To use magic, you must officially become a witch.”

“How do I officially become a witch?!”

“You can participate in the Witch’s Night and go through a simple ritual; then, you’re officially a witch. But Luana, witches have their own special magic and are not good at using other magic other than their specialty. Even if you become a witch, you don’t know if your magic will be like Elanya’s.”

Gerald explained calmly, but her racing heart never subsided. She had a strange conviction. She was sure that if she became a witch, she would use the same magic like her mother!

Alas, how she wishes she could use that magic. That thought made her want to become a witch. She wanted to eat things that she tasted in her previous life but couldn’t eat here. Things that she liked very much went through her mind. But as if he had read her thought, Gerald added.

“It’s good news for you, but I’m telling you just in case. If you want to continue to live as a human being, you’d be better off not receiving the witch’s rituals. Once you become a witch, your lifespan changes.”

It was then that she came to her senses.

“Does it change a lot?”

“Yeah, it’s a lot. So think about it first. You probably didn’t finish reading her diary anyway, right?”

“That’s right.”

Luana became sullen and returned to her room.

When she heard that her lifespan would be different, there was a person who came to mind, and she felt hesitant. She banged her head against the desk, but he still came to her mind.

“What’s the good thing about being a witch?”

She can cook more, and she could live longer. After all, Luana was in a situation no different than an orphan. Although she had a nanny who raised her, she wasn’t the kind of person she would go with for the rest of her life. So it wouldn’t matter if she became a witch.

‘Yeah, I should.’

She doesn’t know why she keeps thinking of duke.

‘What’s he got to do with me being a witch?!’

Luana rested her head on the desk and looked through the diary again.

“Cooking… This is also about cooking. This is a dessert… Oh, there’s also a way to make chocolate.”

It was a great temptation.

“Does it mean I can do everything if I become a witch?”

‘But why is my heart shaking so much?’

Luana sighed deeply and looked through the diary. Most of the contents are about cooking, and there were only a few stories about everyday life. And at one point, Luana put a severe look.

[I can’t forgive anyone who treats cooking carelessly!]

The calm handwriting all along suddenly changed like it was flying. In some parts, the writing was erased by scratching it with a pen, and the paper was crumpled.

[How can you throw away a dish that has been made with so much care?]

The words were filled with anger. As she scans the content seriously, she understands to some extent.

In the past, the ancestors of the current Duke Legion had patrolled the territory. At that time, a girl from the territory served him a carefully-baked bread. The bread was hard from a poorly-proofed bread, but she must’ve tried her best. But it would have been a little different from the duke’s point of view.

Legion’s ancestors slapped the girl’s hand that served the bread with trembling hands. The bread rolled on the floor, and Elanya, who was just passing by, seemed to have seen it.

[All food is precious.]

And Elanya, the gourmet witch, was furious at the sight. She couldn’t forgive the duke for trampling the girl’s heart who had worked so hard to bake and made courage nor for being rude to her food.

[Those who treat food carelessly should be punished!]

So she put the curse on them.

[From now on, your family won’t be able to taste the food!]

The scale was significant because it was cast by the witch directly at the person. The curse did not stop at the duke but passed down to his descendants. When that happened, the duke did not sit still. He looked for the witch to break the curse, and when he found a witch, he would torture her and use her as bait to find another witch. The relationship between the witch and the duke naturally has deteriorated.

‘She didn’t put another curse.’

After reading hard while forgetting to eat a meal, she finally reached the end of the chapter. However, even after continuing to flip over the pages, nothing was written about how to lift the curse. Other than that, most of them were food recipes.

‘But maybe if I read it until the end, there’ll be something.’

As a result of reading so hard and forgetting her meal, she finally reached the last page.

[I have a lovely child. I don’t know if it’s a son or a daughter, but it doesn’t matter. I’ll leave it all to my precious child because I love you no matter what you are. Please be happy.]

After closing the book, Luana closed her tired eyes for a moment. She recalls her previous life if someone asks her what her mother is like. She took good care of her, but even though sometimes her mother would scold her, she raised her with sincerity. That was her memory of her mother.

Elanya.

On the other hand, her present life’s mother, Elanya, was absent. She had never seen her face before, so she didn’t feel any emotion. Love and hate were emotions that could only be created by knowing the person. She’s been thinking that her mother was nothing.

The writing on the last page was engraved in her mind. Although she died without being able to hold or care for her child, she was still a mother. Unlike her father, who put her in the corner and didn’t even look at her, she loved herself. As she thought about it, her eyes watered.

“Uwahhh!”

She didn’t mean to cry. Luana wiped her tears and looked down at the diary she had read. In the end, she had no idea how to break the curse. She thought she’d have to ask Gerald a little more about that. Even though she was not the one who cast the curse, she was the same characteristic, so she had the basic principles to lift the curse. Luana felt a little deceived, but she didn’t regret following Gerald.

“I’ve learned more about my mother.”

It suddenly occurred to her.

‘Is this really a fiction novel?’

There was no such delicate setting in the novel. Everything was too delicate for a mere novel. The story went well even without the main characters Ingrid and Raytheon. Extras also had a life from birth to old age and were the main characters in their own life.

Can this be called a novel? Luana began questioning her life as she had taken a step back, thinking this was a novel so far.

TL’s Note: I have some announcements. First, I decided to continue the daily updates for this series until further notice!!! *YAAAY!!!* Second, we’ve finished the first of three books of Bon Appétit! Third, thank you, Layla for the ko-fi! It really boosts my motivation <3 To celebrate, I mass released chapter 34-36 today! And lastly, thank you for all of the comments throughout the chapters; I’ve always loved to read them >< hope you all enjoy the story~